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Virgin Islands National Park Visit

igooutsidesometimes

By igooutsidesometimes,
in St. Thomas/St. John

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igooutsidesometimes

igooutsidesometimes

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One of my goals is to visit all of the US National Parks. I recently got back from an 8 park trip and decided the next vacation should be relaxing (hint hint- a cruise)... BUT, our ports of call are St Croix and St Thomas and there is a perfectly good National Park right there for us to scratch off our list.

 

My questions is, what experience do you have with or without an excursion getting to VINP to hike and explore the park? I am mostly interested in seeing the NPS entrance sign, visiting the park store, getting in at least one hike, which is why I am concerned with excursions. I feel like I would feel rushed. 

 

Also unrelated, where do you go to see reviews of excursions?! 

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Pratique

Pratique

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The ferry to St. John drops you within walking distance of the park visitor center but you will need to take a taxi to see other parts of the park as it spans most of the island. In my opinion the beaches are the best attraction but there are some trails to explore. But you will be rushed because of the time it takes to get from St. Thomas to St. John and back only leaves a few hours to explore.

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satxdiver

satxdiver

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If you can take the ferry from the ship to St John which will give you more time.  Otherwise take a taxi to Red Hook and board a scheduled ferry but remember the schedule to get back.  Traffic on St Thomas in the afternoon is horrible to gridlock so plan ahead.  We did the Red Hook ferry several years ago and had a great time touring the island.  

 

 

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Machta

Machta

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We took an excursion to the park a couple of years ago.  We had a great time and did exactly what you described -- went for a hike around a point to a beautiful beach, had a swim, went to the visitor center & gift shop, and headed home.  It's a beautiful park!

 

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Host Kat Holiday Sharing Rare

Host Kat

Posted
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8 hours ago, igooutsidesometimes said:

One of my goals is to visit all of the US National Parks. I recently got back from an 8 park trip and decided the next vacation should be relaxing (hint hint- a cruise)... BUT, our ports of call are St Croix and St Thomas and there is a perfectly good National Park right there for us to scratch off our list.

 

My questions is, what experience do you have with or without an excursion getting to VINP to hike and explore the park? I am mostly interested in seeing the NPS entrance sign, visiting the park store, getting in at least one hike, which is why I am concerned with excursions. I feel like I would feel rushed. 

 

Also unrelated, where do you go to see reviews of excursions?! 

 

Howdy @igooutsidesometimes from  a fellow Texan!  emo22.gif

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic and thank you for your new thread on the Royal Caribbean International forum. 👍

 

Since your topic is about your ports of call it is off-topic there. I have moved your thread to the Ports of Call - Caribbean - St. Thomas/ St. John forum. As for St. Croix, you will need to research the Ports of Call - Caribbean - St. Croix forum.  Your fellow Cruise Critic members that have sailed or will be sailing to St. Thomas/St. John frequent this forum and provide feedback here. Please feel free to browse through the thread titles here. L👀k for titles of interest. You will probably find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers about St. Thomas/St. John that may be of interest to you. For other ports see all the Ports of Call forums.

 

Cruise Critic is a great resource for new as well as experienced cruisers and we are so glad you are posting on the boards! emo34.gif  Please feel free to browse the Cruise Critic Community Categories list. Read a few threads in the different forums to get a feel for what each forum is about. Make sure you read any pinned threads (aka Stickies) on the top of the first page of threads in a forum. You will find very important instructions or information there.

 

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blue_water

blue_water

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Actually Igooutside, your best option by far is going on your own. That just gives you the utmost freedom and flexibility, and you don’t have to be tied to a larger group or worry about waiting in a queue.

 You didn’t include your port times, but you definitely want to taxi to the Red Hook ferry rather than take the ferry near the ship. Taxis are plentiful at the port and will whisk you to the Red Hook terminal in 20 - 30 minutes, depending on your port.


The 15 minute ferry will drop you in Cruz Bay where safari taxis  (open-sided group taxis) are waiting to transport visitors to Trunk and Cinnamon Bays. They also offer a mini-tour of the north shore before dropping those guests at a beach, the tour is ~$25/pp. 

 

But you can also hook up with a guide ahead of time, or just have a driver take you to a spot other two and return for you. You’d want to be sure you have good cell service, but you can also flag a taxi for a ride back when you are back on the main road.
 

I would also suggest posting your query about seeing those points you are interested in on the STJ forum on TripAdvisor. The experts/residents there can be very helpful, both in details about the park, and getting around…

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igooutsidesometimes

igooutsidesometimes

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On 9/30/2021 at 9:01 PM, Machta said:

We took an excursion to the park a couple of years ago.  We had a great time and did exactly what you described -- went for a hike around a point to a beautiful beach, had a swim, went to the visitor center & gift shop, and headed home.  It's a beautiful park!

 

Did you do the Honeymoon Beach excursion?

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blue_water

blue_water

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Posted (edited)

For reviews of excursions offered through the cruise lines, or reviews from cruisers going in their own, you will also find the most relevant reviews right on the cruise line site.

TA is an excellent source for reviews from land visitors as maureen mentioned. You can also take advantage of excellent feedback from residents, destination experts, and frequent visitors on the destination TA forum as I mentioned earlier. In this case STJ. 
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g147409-i432-St_John_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html
Great feedback from the “horse’s mouth” as they say 😄

Edited by blue_water
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