We arrived late day 1 and got situated in our villa, and got groceries for the week.
Day 2 we went to the Visitor Center and got the layout of the island, got some rental life vests for the kids and some rental fins for Ben for snorkeling. We headed to the north shore to Maho Bay to teach the kids to snorkel and have a relaxing afternoon at the beach. The kids picked up snorkeling really fast! We had a great time and saw a couple sea turtles, a flying gunnard, and all sorts of tropical fish.
Day 3 we headed to Cinnamon Bay. We did the 1/2 mile trail around the ruins of the old Sugar Mill. Along the trail are placards highlighting the ruins, specific trees that were planted, and some wildlife that can be found. We saw hundreds of lizards of all sizes.
Afterward we walked back across the street to the beach. The campground that used to operate in Cinnamon Bay was supposed to be reopening this December. They’ve been rebuilding since Hurricanes Irma and Maria wiped them out. Then Covid hit and significantly slowed down progress. There are still signs of rebuilding all over the island. We had a nice afternoon at the beach again, and headed back to the villa in time for an early dinner.
Our villa was really nice. They had all sorts of beach equipment and snorkel gear free to use. We didn’t have to rent hardly anything. Unfortunately the island does not have Verizon compatible cell towers so we did not have service on the island except where we could get wifi (something to keep in mind if you come here).
The weather forecast kept changing on us and ended up showing rain for our entire stay. What we didn’t understand was that the rain would pass in minutes. The first 2 pictures are just 5 minutes apart. It was blue skies, then a storm rolled in and soaked us a bit, then back to blue skies. Once we accepted this reality we didn’t let it hold us back.
Day 4 the kids and I hung out at the house and Andrew went snorkeling at Trunk Bay. After being on the go so much, driving, and flights, and ferries, we chose a much needed rest day of nothing.
On day 5 there was a regularly scheduled Ranger led hike and snorkel to Solomon Beach from the Visitor Center via the Lind Point trail. The trail was 3/4 of a mile hike, and then we snorkeled with the Ranger and a couple volunteers for 45 minutes. Snorkeling with a guide was really fun. He showed us all sorts of cool fish and reef dwellers and took us to parts of the reef I would’ve been more hesitant to go one due to the shallow depth. We all loved it. For the kids only having been snorkeling for a single day, they did awesome too! I think we’ve got them hooked.
On Day 6 we attempted to go to Waterlemon Bay via a 1 mile hike. After assessing the water though, we felt the currents and waves looked too strong to comfortably snorkel with the kids (even though Waterlemon was a more protected beach). We turned around and went back to Maho Bay where it’s always calm. We saw all sorts of sea turtles (at least a dozen) of different sizes, some with ramora on their backs! We also saw a stingray, blue tangs, and all sorts of other cool fish. We still had random rain showers which ended up being kind of nice while snorkeling. You’re already wet so you hardly notice it. After we tired of snorkeling the kids played in the sand and shallow water. We basically had to drag them off the beach every day.
Our final full day we went snorkeling one final time at Maho Bay and then drove to some overlooks to take pictures of the beautiful water. The next morning we packed up, dropped off the rental Jeep, and hung out a bit in Cruz Bay until our ferry came. We were greeted by a beautiful rainbow out over the water, some live music, and this Christmas tree.
We ended up getting the Charlotte Amalie ferry back, and then a short taxi to the airport. This ferry is much smaller in size than the Red Hook ferry, and ends up being a wash in total time and price to the airport. I probably wouldn’t choose this option again. The Red Hook ferry is the way to go, although we did see some cool sights on the southern coast of St Thomas, including a Disney cruise leaving.
We had to wait in a quite long customs line which we weren’t expecting to have to do. Thank goodness I brought all our passports which sped up the process a bit. We had not expected to have to prove the kids were ours. We had no documentation with us, and no cell phone use allowed to pull up pictures of birth certificates or anything. We also got to the airport way too early, with very few food options. It was a very long travel day. Right after takeoff though, Ben and I saw this rainbow outside our window. 😊 Then somewhere along our flight I looked down and saw these beautiful islands and water below us. It was definitely one of the most beautiful flights I’ve taken.
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