--- title: "St. John guides: beaches, days out and the way in, measured · Virgin Islands Villas" url: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/guides description: "Every St. John guide in one place: the beaches with the drive from Cruz Bay, things to do, the ferry and the car, the resorts against a villa, each one dated." source: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/guides --- [St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john) # 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. [Planning A St. John honeymoon, decided by the house and the road to it A St. John honeymoon happens inside a national park: almost 58 percent of the island's land is park, per the National Park Service. The house shapes the week: every area but Cruz Bay needs a car, and the East End is up to 43 minutes from town. Below: areas measured for couples, the months, and the park's and court's rules.](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/guides/st-john-honeymoon) [Leinster Bay · Virgin Islands National Park Annaberg Sugar Plantation The Annaberg Sugar Plantation is the ruin of the largest sugar estate on St. John, on the North Shore above Leinster Bay inside Virgin Islands National Park. Entry is free, per the National Park Service as of October 2026, and the lot is about 27 minutes by car from Cruz Bay. Below: the history, the walk and the road in.](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/guides/annaberg-plantation) [Itinerary St. John day trips: a week planned by the drive St. John day trips are short drives with real limits. The farthest beach lot we measured, Little Lameshur, is 45 minutes from Cruz Bay, but the lots are small, Trunk Bay charges a fee and the Reef Bay Trail is a climb back out. Below: a week in order, with the measured drives and the reason for each day's place.](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/guides/st-john-itinerary) [Guides St. John family guide: traveling with kids A St. John family trip turns on the calm North Shore bays, where the National Park Service names Maho Bay and Francis Bay for families and beginners, 18 and 25 minutes by car from Cruz Bay. The park lists no lifeguard at either. Below: beaches, fees, the ferry, the car and the sun.](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/guides/st-john-with-kids) ## 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. [Every St. John beach compared](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches) ## 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. - [Things to do in St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do) - [Cruz Bay to Jost Van Dyke](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do/jost-van-dyke) - [Hiking on St. John: the Reef Bay Trail and six more](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do/hiking) - [Scuba diving on St. John, Virgin Islands](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do/diving) - [St. John snorkeling, from the beach and by boat](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do/snorkeling) - [Virgin Islands National Park](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do/national-park) ## 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. - [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) ## 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. - [St. John resorts or a villa?](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/villa-vs-resort) - [The Westin St. John or a villa nearby?](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/westin-vs-villa) ## 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. [Back to St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john) ## Featured villas on St. John [All villas on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/vacation-rentals) Listed by their owners. See rates and dates, then write to the owner. [Indo House Great Cruz Bay, St. John · 4 bedrooms From $4,000 / night](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/villas/indo-house) Featured