St. John guides
St. John is a national park with villas in it: almost 58 percent of the island's land is park, per the National Park Service, there is no airport, and every area we list but Cruz Bay needs a car. These guides are written to that. Every drive is measured from Cruz Bay and every fee carries its date.
This page holds the planning guides first, then the beach pages, the things to do, the way in and around, and the two resort comparisons, with the month the facts were last checked at the end.
Planning guides
The planning guides come first: the island with kids, a honeymoon decided by the road to the house, a week of day trips in order, and the sugar ruin at Annaberg. Each names its tradeoff. The East End is up to 43 minutes from town, the North Shore lots fill by mid-morning in season, and Trunk Bay charges an entry fee the other park beaches do not.
St. John beaches, with the drive from town
Every beach we have written up has its own page: the fee, the parking, the shade, the snorkeling by our read, and the drive from Cruz Bay measured rather than guessed. The National Park Service names Maho Bay and Francis Bay for families and beginners, 18 and 25 minutes from town. The far lots at Salt Pond and Little Lameshur are 41 and 45 minutes out, and the walk at Salt Pond adds ten more on foot.
Things to do, by kind
The days are reefs you swim to from the sand, trails, the sugar ruins and a boat to Jost Van Dyke. The things-to-do page sets the shape of a week. The pages under it take each kind on its own, with the Reef Bay Trail's climb back out named for the downside it is.
Getting there and getting around
Every trip lands on St. Thomas and finishes by boat. The passenger ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay takes 20 minutes at $8.15 an adult one way, and the car barge about 25 minutes at $65 a car, both as of October 2026 per the operators' own pages. From the airport the usual route measures 56 minutes to the dock, before the wait for a boat. A Jeep is the default for most villas; the pages below cover the ferry, the barge, the car, the map and the weather by month.
A villa or one of the resorts
Three places on St. John are run as resorts as of October 2026: Gallows Point in Cruz Bay, Lovango on its own cay and the Westin at Great Cruz Bay, 9 minutes from town. The Westin suits a short stay with young children. A villa suits a group past ten or a longer week. Each page puts the two side by side with the charges each states.
When these pages were last checked
The drives on every page are our own measurements from the Cruz Bay dock; add ten minutes in high season. Every page carries the date its facts were last checked; the most recent check on St. John was in October 2026.
Featured villas on St. John
All villas on St. JohnListed by their owners. See rates and dates, then write to the owner.
