While You're in St. John
This section of the website is dedicated to information about dining and commerce and links to helpful sites. Many guests ask us about Car Rentals. We do not recommend one car rental agency over another because we feel they are all the same, to find car rentals go to www.usvi.net's Car Rental page. Another site to check out for St. John info is www.usvitourism.vi
For boat rentals, charters, and watersports check out Cruz Bay Water Sports Company @ www.divestjohn.com. If you have visited the island before you might already be familiar with this information but if you have not stayed in Coral Bay, we hope it will be helpful. Coral Bay and Cruz Bay are the main towns on the island. Coral Bay is on the west side of the island and is more of the quiet, local area. Our villa is in Coral Bay, and if you walk or drive down to the end of our road from the villa (.2 miles) you will be at Cocoloba Center. It has a grocery store called Lilly’s Gourmet. It is usually smaller than the other two main grocery stores located in Cruz Bay. Cocoloba shopping center has a restaurant called Aqua Bistro, a chiropractor, shops, and a postal store from which you can fax and ship things home. Other entertainment and restaurant options are Sweet Plantains, Shipwreck Landing, Island Blues, Skinny Legs, Donkey Diner, Miss Lucy’s (Sunday jazz brunch) and food stands like Miss Vie’s. There is a video rental store called K2 across from Skinny Legs. Skinny legs and the Donkey Diner are .8 miles from the villa. The two main roads to get to Cruz Bay are North Shore Road and Centerline. It takes about 20 minutes to get to Cruz Bay on Centerline. North Shore Road is the scenic longer route which takes you through the National Park and past all of the beaches. There is an air conditioned bus that leaves every hour from Coral Bay to Cruz Bay. It is just as fast as driving and costs a dollar (be aware that you cannot take suitcases or coolers on the bus). The closest Beach is Maho Bay at 3.2 miles and Francis Bay at 4.2 miles. At Maho Bay you park on the road whereas Francis Bay has a very small parking lot. You hit all of the other national park beaches on North shore road as you pass Maho Bay (Cinnamon Bay, Trunk Bay, etc.). All of those beaches have parking lots and bathrooms. Cruz Bay is where you arrived on the ferry. The passenger ferries usually travel from 7-11pm depending on the season. Most of the restaurants, bars, and shopping are located in Cruz Bay. It is always loud, busy, and it can be hard to find parking. A good choice for groceries is Dolphin Market or Starfish Marketplace. Starfish Marketplace has a grocery store, gourmet food and wine store, hardware store, drug store, video store, coffee shop, restaurants, and other shopping. Some of the restaurants that we have liked in Cruz Bay are Asolare, Paradiso, ZoZo's, and Rhumblines. We have heard good things about Hinds, La Tapa, and Fish Trap. A great place for lunch in Cruz bay is Deli Grotto (in Mongoose Junction) and Beach Front Bistro.
For boat rentals, charters, and watersports check out Cruz Bay Water Sports Company @ www.divestjohn.com. If you have visited the island before you might already be familiar with this information but if you have not stayed in Coral Bay, we hope it will be helpful. Coral Bay and Cruz Bay are the main towns on the island. Coral Bay is on the west side of the island and is more of the quiet, local area. Our villa is in Coral Bay, and if you walk or drive down to the end of our road from the villa (.2 miles) you will be at Cocoloba Center. It has a grocery store called Lilly’s Gourmet. It is usually smaller than the other two main grocery stores located in Cruz Bay. Cocoloba shopping center has a restaurant called Aqua Bistro, a chiropractor, shops, and a postal store from which you can fax and ship things home. Other entertainment and restaurant options are Sweet Plantains, Shipwreck Landing, Island Blues, Skinny Legs, Donkey Diner, Miss Lucy’s (Sunday jazz brunch) and food stands like Miss Vie’s. There is a video rental store called K2 across from Skinny Legs. Skinny legs and the Donkey Diner are .8 miles from the villa. The two main roads to get to Cruz Bay are North Shore Road and Centerline. It takes about 20 minutes to get to Cruz Bay on Centerline. North Shore Road is the scenic longer route which takes you through the National Park and past all of the beaches. There is an air conditioned bus that leaves every hour from Coral Bay to Cruz Bay. It is just as fast as driving and costs a dollar (be aware that you cannot take suitcases or coolers on the bus). The closest Beach is Maho Bay at 3.2 miles and Francis Bay at 4.2 miles. At Maho Bay you park on the road whereas Francis Bay has a very small parking lot. You hit all of the other national park beaches on North shore road as you pass Maho Bay (Cinnamon Bay, Trunk Bay, etc.). All of those beaches have parking lots and bathrooms. Cruz Bay is where you arrived on the ferry. The passenger ferries usually travel from 7-11pm depending on the season. Most of the restaurants, bars, and shopping are located in Cruz Bay. It is always loud, busy, and it can be hard to find parking. A good choice for groceries is Dolphin Market or Starfish Marketplace. Starfish Marketplace has a grocery store, gourmet food and wine store, hardware store, drug store, video store, coffee shop, restaurants, and other shopping. Some of the restaurants that we have liked in Cruz Bay are Asolare, Paradiso, ZoZo's, and Rhumblines. We have heard good things about Hinds, La Tapa, and Fish Trap. A great place for lunch in Cruz bay is Deli Grotto (in Mongoose Junction) and Beach Front Bistro.
