St John's excursions

We are going on Carnival Liberty at the end of Nov 15 and wanted to know if there were any St. John excursions you all might be able to recommend to us. It will be a party of six people. Thank you for help you may give us

Are you going to St John's in Antigua or St John in the Virgin Islands?

Good morning, we are going to the Virgin Islands. We wanted to leave from the port where the ship pulled in and to go directly to St. Johns instead of using the ferry. Thank you

Ferry or some other boat is the only way to get to St John.

The first thing to do is check the Carnival shore excursions to see if they offer service directly from your ship to St. John. Royal Caribbean offers an excursion like this but I don't know if Carnival does. Royal's excursion puts you on a ferry ship side and takes you directly to St. John. You can't get to St. John without getting on a ferry (or private boat).

If they do not, here is how you can do it on your own (I give this info to family & friends on a cruise with a stop in St. Thomas):

Getting There & Cost

• Roundtrip taxi from ship to Red Hook ferry: approximately $20

• Roundtrip ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay: $14

• Roundtrip from Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay: $14

• Disembark the ship as soon as they allow you to get off

• Jump in a taxi and head to the Red Hook Ferry ($10 per person)

• The ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay departs on the hour and is approximately 20 minutes long.

The Island

There are only two towns on St. John. Cruz Bay on the west end of the island where the ferry will drop you off and Coral Bay on the east end. Cruz Bay is far bigger (lots of shops, restaurants, grocery stores, car rental agencies, hotels, etc). Coral Bay is barely a town but it’s a great place.

Beaches

The best beaches are along the north shore of the island. North shore beaches are easily reached from both Cruz Bay. Hawksnest, Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bay, Maho and Leistner are among our favorite north shore beaches. Trunk and Cinnamon have snack bars and facilities to rent snorkel gear, beach chairs, and lockers. You can take a taxi (safari type) right at the ferry dock to your beach of choice.

Shopping & Restaurants

For a small island, St. John has a lot of great restaurants and some fun shopping. Mongoose Junction in Cruz Bay is a pretty high end outdoor shopping area with great shops, restaurants and a fun atmosphere. There is also a fun area to the right when you get off the ferry. It’s called Wharfside Village and there are bunches of great bars that line the beach here. High Tide (the first bar next to the ferry dock) and the Beach Bar (a short walk down the beach) are two good ones to grab a bite to eat and enjoy a blender drink!

Returning to the Ship

The ferry returns to St. Thomas every hour, on the hour. We always take the ferry three hours before our ships departure. Afternoon traffic on St. Thomas can be heavy. Between the ferry ride and the taxi back to the ship, you are typically looking at about 45 – 50 minutes total. There are plenty of taxis waiting at the Red Hook ferry terminal when you return to St. Thomas.

Anne: You have round trip Red Hook to Trunk Bay when I think you mean taxi from Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay..:D

Anne: You have round trip Red Hook to Trunk Bay when I think you mean taxi from Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay..:D

:-) Thanks...I fixed it!