--- title: "Haulover Bay, St. John: Two Free Beaches at One Stop · Virgin Islands Villas" url: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/haulover description: "Haulover Bay on St. John: a south beach across the road and a north beach at the end of a short trail, both free, no facilities, 38 minutes from Cruz Bay." updated: 2026-10-16 source: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/haulover --- [St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john) · [Beaches](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches) · East End · Virgin Islands National Park # Haulover Haulover Bay is two National Park beaches at one roadside stop on the East End of St. John, 38 minutes by car from Cruz Bay: one across the road, one at the end of a short trail. The National Park Service charges nothing to use them as of October 2026. Below: the two sides, the drive and the snorkeling. **Conditions:** Two exposures at one stop. The north beach looks onto the open north shore, where the National Park Service says winter tends to bring stronger winds and large waves; the south beach looks onto Round Bay. The park describes both as pebble with little sand, with the snorkeling along the sides of each bay over boulders and coral. Local accounts warn of a current past the western point of the north bay, and neither side has a lifeguard. *Aerial view of Haulover Bay on St. John's East End: a curve of pale beach, the road behind it and turquoise shallows.* ## Haulover Bay at a glance | | | | --- | --- | | Entry | Free | | Hours | No closing hour: the National Park Service lists the park as open 24 hours, all year | | Parking | Roadside only, room for a few cars by local accounts; some parking along the road, in the park's words (NPS) | | Restrooms | None | | Shade | Sparse | | Snorkeling | 4 of 5, Very good | | Crowds | Quiet | | Drive from Cruz Bay | about 38 minutes by car | | Lifeguard | No | Verified Oct 9, 2026. ## Conditions today at Haulover Bay As of 7:00 AM on Oct 16, 2026, island time. Read each morning from the National Weather Service, DPNR, the National Park Service and Open-Meteo; the bay opens northeast, by our read from the map. **Sea state** **Swell at an angle.** The swell is from the east at 0.9 m, period 4 seconds; Haulover Bay opens northeast, so the swell comes in at an angle and the water moves without breaking hard. Open-Meteo wave model at the nearest ocean cell; the bay's opening is our read from the map. **Rip current risk** Low. Surf around 3 feet, east winds around 15 mph. National Weather Service San Juan, surf zone forecast for St Thomas, St John and adjacent islands, issued 3:51 AM. **Water test** Not a site in DPNR's weekly programme, which samples St. John only some weeks. Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Beach Water Quality Monitoring Program. **Park alerts** No alert names Haulover Bay; the park posts 1 alert today. National Park Service, Virgin Islands National Park alerts. **Rain** Dry through the day; the chance of rain peaks at 21%. Open-Meteo hourly forecast at the pin. **The day** UV index up to 8; sunset 5:55 pm; sea 30 °C, 85 °F. Open-Meteo. ## Getting there About 38 minutes by car from Cruz Bay. How to reach St. John: [Airfare to St. John means a flight to St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/getting-there), [Car ferry from St. Thomas to St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/car-barge), [How to get around St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/getting-around), [St. John map](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/map), [St. John weather by month](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/weather), [St. Thomas to St. John ferry](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/ferry), [Things to do in St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do). ### How to get to Haulover Bay from St. Thomas The usual way: a taxi to the Red Hook ferry terminal (36 min), then the ferry to Cruz Bay (20 min, $8.15 a person), then 38 minutes by road from Cruz Bay to Haulover Bay. About 94 minutes from Cyril E. King airport to Haulover Bay, more on cruise-ship days. Six other ways across are below, with times and fares.Every route From Charlotte Amalie waterfront - Ferry [The Charlotte Amalie ferry](https://transportationservicesusvi.com/schedule) The boat if you are stepping off a cruise ship or staying downtown: it leaves from the waterfront terminal, twice a day each way. 1. Ferry, Charlotte Amalie to Cruz Bay 45 min Plus $4 a bag; $3.50 child; $6 for residents 60 and over with the elderly ID · Two a day each way: 8:45 and 11:15 am from Cruz Bay, 10 am and 12:30 pm from Charlotte Amalie (Transportation Services of St. John) · Varlack Ventures lists its own Charlotte Amalie run as suspended for the off-season, as of October 2026; check its page before you plan on that boat · No reservation · [Times (Transportation Services of St. John and Varlack Ventures)](https://transportationservicesusvi.com/schedule) 45 min $13 a person $12 resident From Cyril E. King airport - Ferry [Taxi to Crown Bay, then the Inter Island boat](https://www.interislandboatservices.com/ferry-trips/crown-bay-to-cruz-bay/) The closest boat to the airport and the fastest door to dock, but two sailings a day, four Friday to Sunday. It lands at Cruz Bay Creek, not the main ferry dock. 1. Taxi to Crown Bay Marina 8 min 2. Boat to Cruz Bay Creek 35 min Boat only; $15 senior, $10 child 3 to 11. The taxi to Crown Bay is $8 for one rider, $6 each for two or more. · 3:30 and 5:30 pm daily; 9:45 am and 2:15 pm Friday to Sunday · Check in 30 minutes before departure · [Times (Inter Island Boat Services)](https://www.interislandboatservices.com/ferry-trips/crown-bay-to-cruz-bay/) 43 min $20 a person - Ferry [Taxi to Red Hook, then the ferry](https://dpw.vi.gov/ferries/) The route most guests take. The taxi is the long part; allow extra on cruise-ship days and at school-run time. 1. Taxi to the Red Hook ferry terminal 36 min 2. Ferry to Cruz Bay 20 min Ferry only, plus $4 a bag. The taxi to Red Hook is $23 for one rider, $17 each for two or more. · Ferry hourly, 5:30 am to 10 pm · No reservation · [Times (VITRAN, run by Transportation Services and Varlack Ventures)](https://dpw.vi.gov/ferries/) 56 min $8.15 a person $6 resident - Ferry [Taxi to Charlotte Amalie, then the ferry](https://transportationservicesusvi.com/schedule) Rarely the best choice from the airport: the terminal is closer than Red Hook, but the crossing is twice as long and only two boats a day leave Charlotte Amalie. 1. Taxi to the Charlotte Amalie ferry terminal 12 min 2. Ferry to Cruz Bay 45 min Ferry only, plus $4 a bag. The taxi to the terminal is $11 for one rider, $9 each for two or more. · Two a day from Charlotte Amalie, 10 am and 12:30 pm (Transportation Services of St. John) · Varlack Ventures' Charlotte Amalie run was suspended for the off-season in October 2026; it usually sails again from about November, so check its page first · [Times (Transportation Services of St. John and Varlack Ventures)](https://transportationservicesusvi.com/schedule) 57 min $13 a person $12 resident - Water taxi [Taxi to Crown Bay, then a private water taxi](https://stthomaswatertaxi.com/) Your own boat on your own schedule, any hour with notice. Priced by the boat, from $695, so it makes sense for a full house arriving together. The operator does not publish the crossing time, so no total is shown. 1. Taxi to Crown Bay Marina 8 min 2. Water taxi to Cruz Bay The boat, not the seat; the operator quotes from $695 from Crown Bay and from $495 from Compass Point Marina. The land taxi to Crown Bay is $8 for one rider, $6 each for two or more. · By reservation; 24-hour service with notice from $695 a boat From Red Hook, St. Thomas - Ferry [The Red Hook ferry](https://dpw.vi.gov/ferries/) The default way over: hourly until 10 pm, no booking, and it lands at the main dock in the middle of Cruz Bay. 1. Ferry, Red Hook to Cruz Bay 20 min Plus $4 a bag. Varlack adds a fuel surcharge from June 12, 2026. · Hourly, 5:30 am to 10 pm from Red Hook, 6 am to 10 pm from Cruz Bay; an off-season timetable runs from late July, usually to the end of October, so check the operator's current schedule · No reservation; buy at the window · [Times (VITRAN, run by Transportation Services and Varlack Ventures)](https://dpw.vi.gov/ferries/) 20 min $8.15 a person $6 resident - Car barge [The car barge](https://www.viport.com/schedules-ferrycargoschedules) Only with your own car, or a rental whose company allows the crossing: National and Discount Car Rental say theirs may go (their own pages, 2026-10-09), so ask yours first. Most people rent on St. John. The crossing time is not published, so no total is shown. 1. Car barge to the Theovald Moorehead terminal at Enighed Pond [Times (Big Red Barge, Love City Car Ferries and Global Marine)](https://www.viport.com/schedules-ferrycargoschedules) $65 a car one way, $80 round trip, on the Big Red Barge and Love City Car Ferries rates pages (checked 2026-10-09). Each company sells its own tickets. Fares change; the operator's page has today's. Road legs measured on island roads. Taxi fares are the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's tariff, in force since October 2022: per person, less each for two or more traveling together, plus $3 a bag. Checked 2026-10-09. ## How to get to Haulover Bay from Cruz Bay Haulover Bay is 38 minutes by car from Cruz Bay, across the island to Coral Bay and then out East End Road, which is Route 10. That is 11 minutes longer than the drive to the Annaberg lot on the North Shore, and one minute short of Hansen Bay, the next beach east on the same road. Staying on St. Thomas means the Red Hook ferry first, then a car hired in Cruz Bay for the long run east. A taxi makes the run too, at $32 for someone traveling alone or $22 each in a group of two or more, the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's Cruz Bay fare, unchanged since October 2022. There is no lot. The National Park Service says only that there is some parking along the road, and local accounts put the verge at room for a few cars. The south beach is across the street from where you park, and the trail to the north beach starts on the north side of the road. If the roadside is full, Hansen Bay is a minute further on. ## Haulover Bay north and south: which beach is which The south beach is the one at the road, and the north beach is the one at the end of the trail. The National Park Service calls North and South Haulover unique for that reason: a bay on each side of the island at the same stop. For the south side, in the park's words, you just walk across the street; that beach faces Round Bay. For the north side you follow the short trail on the north side of the road to Haulover Bay itself. The park prints no length for it; by our read it is a few minutes on foot through the trees. Underfoot, expect stones. The park describes both as pebble beaches with little sand. On the south side the accounts differ by degree: the St. John Source, reporting the land donation on Feb 7, 2015, called it a white sandy beach, and the local guides we read in October 2026 describe cobble and coral pebble with some sand among it. Nobody describes sand on the north side, so water shoes earn their place in the bag. There is nothing here but the two shores. The park's entry names no restroom, water or shelter, and the local guides agree: no bathrooms, no food or drink, no rentals. No source publishes a lifeguard, and none measures the shade, so bring your own. Under the Superintendent's Compendium re-issued in October 2026, pets and glass bottles or containers are not allowed on the beach. The tradeoff is plain. Thirty-eight minutes each way, roadside parking, and nothing supplied when you get there. What the drive buys is two shores from one parking spot, and a south beach the local guides call quieter than the park's others. ## Snorkeling Haulover Bay: boulders and coral at the edges The snorkeling is along the sides of each bay, not off the middle. The National Park Service says the rocky shoreline turns to boulders and coral as you head out either side, with a wide variety of fish and other creatures, and the local guides we read rate both sides good and put the north side ahead. Choose the side by the season. When a winter swell is running on the north shore, the south beach on Round Bay is the one the park's warning does not name; in the lighter summer winds both are worth a look. Read the water before you get in, keep clear of the western point of the north bay, where the current runs, and stay inside the bay. There are no rentals, so the mask and fins come in the car with you. The park's snorkeling page asks you to read the ingredient list on your sunscreen and leave out the ones that damage reefs, oxybenzone among them. ## How Haulover became park land in 2015 Haulover joined the park by gift. On Feb 6, 2015 the National Park Service announced that the St. John Land Conservancy had donated just over 3.5 acres here, bounded by Haulover Bay on the north shore and Round Bay on the south. The St. John Source reported the next day that the parcel took in most of the south beach and about half the north beach, with Route 10 running through it, and that for years people had swum here assuming it was park land already. Offshore, the park's compendium closes its portion of Haulover Bay to group access from any commercial vessel, authorized scuba operations excepted, as of October 2026. Suits snorkelers with their own gear, a day already heading for the East End, and anyone who likes a choice of shore; not a family after soft sand, a restroom or a lifeguard. ## Questions people ask about Haulover Bay **Where is Haulover Bay on St. John?** On Route 10 east of Coral Bay, St. John, in the US Virgin Islands. Haulover Bay itself is the north side; the beach on the south side of the road faces Round Bay. The National Park Service lists both among the park's snorkeling beaches. **How do you get to Haulover Bay from St. Thomas?** By the passenger ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay, and then by car: Haulover is a 38-minute drive from Cruz Bay through Coral Bay, by our October 2026 measurement. Park along the road; the south beach is across the street and a short trail leads to the north beach. **Is there a fee at Haulover Bay?** No. There is no fee as of October 2026, per the National Park Service, which requires no entrance pass and charges only at Trunk Bay. Haulover has been park land since the St. John Land Conservancy gave it in 2015, so park rules apply: no pets and no glass on the beach. Written by Virgin Islands Villas. Facts verified Oct 9, 2026. Updated Oct 16, 2026. Facts checked against [the National Park Service](https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/snorkeling.htm). Checked October 2026. ## Nearby beaches - [Hansen Bay Hansen Bay · 0.7 km away · free entry](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/hansen-bay) - [Salt Pond Bay Kiddel Bay · 5.2 km away · free entry](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/salt-pond) - [Waterlemon Cay North Shore · 5.2 km away · free entry](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/waterlemon) [Every beach on St. John, compared](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches)