Jennifer and Cj's Guidebook
Where to eat in Coral Bay
Everyone has to eat. Here's a list of places that can help make that happen!
Island Life Disclaimer:
All names of restaurants, food quality, and operating hours are subject to change at any time with absolutely no warning.
Shockingly good pizza for an island! Tiny little space with outside seating. You should 100% go. They also do takeout if you want to grab a pie and bring it home. They open at 3pm (I think) and are closed on Sunday and Monday and almost never answer their phone. It’s a little bit farther from the house than the other choices, but not too bad. It’s on the way back from Salt Pond and Lameshur, so stopping in for dinner after the beach could be a plan.
10 locals raden deze aan
Pizzabar {in paradise}
Route 107Shockingly good pizza for an island! Tiny little space with outside seating. You should 100% go. They also do takeout if you want to grab a pie and bring it home. They open at 3pm (I think) and are closed on Sunday and Monday and almost never answer their phone. It’s a little bit farther from the house than the other choices, but not too bad. It’s on the way back from Salt Pond and Lameshur, so stopping in for dinner after the beach could be a plan.
Open for lunch and dinner. It’s got a centrally located bar right across from the water and all of the seating is outside. Burgers, fish sandwiches, conch fritters, steaks, salads, some kind of alfredo, desserts. Full service. Live music playing softly in the background. Like that. It’s a solid choice for dinner out in coral bay and it is NOT as fancy as the website makes it seem!
22 locals raden deze aan
Aqua Bistro (Seafood Restaurant)
Harolds WayOpen for lunch and dinner. It’s got a centrally located bar right across from the water and all of the seating is outside. Burgers, fish sandwiches, conch fritters, steaks, salads, some kind of alfredo, desserts. Full service. Live music playing softly in the background. Like that. It’s a solid choice for dinner out in coral bay and it is NOT as fancy as the website makes it seem!
Iconic coral bay burger dive (they have veggie burgers and fish sandwiches, too). Very casual. Their motto is “a pretty ok place.” And it is. They’re open for lunch and dinner and word on the street is there’s Trivia on Tuesdays.
48 locals raden deze aan
Skinny Legs
Iconic coral bay burger dive (they have veggie burgers and fish sandwiches, too). Very casual. Their motto is “a pretty ok place.” And it is. They’re open for lunch and dinner and word on the street is there’s Trivia on Tuesdays.
Rhumb Lines/ Indigo Grill- Recent merger of two restaurants into one space. I think what’s going on now is that it’s the Indigo menu (eclectic american) for lunch and Rhumb Lines (pan asian) for dinner. Worth checking out just to see what’s happening. It’ll either be Pad Thai or gourmet tater tots. Very tropical vibe. Popular Happy Hour. Also, they frequently have live music.
12 locals raden deze aan
Indigo Grill
Rhumb Lines/ Indigo Grill- Recent merger of two restaurants into one space. I think what’s going on now is that it’s the Indigo menu (eclectic american) for lunch and Rhumb Lines (pan asian) for dinner. Worth checking out just to see what’s happening. It’ll either be Pad Thai or gourmet tater tots. Very tropical vibe. Popular Happy Hour. Also, they frequently have live music.
Where to eat in Cruz Bay
There are a lot more restaurants in Cruz Bay than in Coral. Here are some you might want to try.
Located in The Marketplace. Brand spanking new healthy takeout counter. Smoothies. Natural Juices. Kombucha. Lots of vegetable dishes and salads you can take to-go with options to add things like herbed chicken or salmon. Menu changes constantly. Before our kitchen was finished we would stock up on prepared food from here. Lunch only.
Shaibu's
Located in The Marketplace. Brand spanking new healthy takeout counter. Smoothies. Natural Juices. Kombucha. Lots of vegetable dishes and salads you can take to-go with options to add things like herbed chicken or salmon. Menu changes constantly. Before our kitchen was finished we would stock up on prepared food from here. Lunch only.
Our favorite night out in Cruz Bay. Great happy hour, delicious drinks, good food. Menu has coastal fusion options featuring ceviche, poke bowls, tacos, sushi. Upscale laid-back vibe. Opens at 3 seven days a week.
30 locals raden deze aan
The Longboard
Our favorite night out in Cruz Bay. Great happy hour, delicious drinks, good food. Menu has coastal fusion options featuring ceviche, poke bowls, tacos, sushi. Upscale laid-back vibe. Opens at 3 seven days a week.
Beautiful setting for a romantic, pricey, in-town dinner that leans modern Italian. Will likely need reservations. We like sitting at the bar and making a meal of the starters.
34 locals raden deze aan
Extra Virgin Bistro
Beautiful setting for a romantic, pricey, in-town dinner that leans modern Italian. Will likely need reservations. We like sitting at the bar and making a meal of the starters.
A sit down restaurant serving good Caribbean food like curry goat, roti, beans and rice, etc. Worth a visit.
7 locals raden deze aan
De'Coal Pot
A sit down restaurant serving good Caribbean food like curry goat, roti, beans and rice, etc. Worth a visit.
Local favorite fancy night out. Airy dining room, well-prepared fish dishes. It burned down, they rebuilt it. It blew down, they rebuilt it. It’s still packed! Just dinner. Might need reservations.
21 locals raden deze aan
Morgan's Mango
Local favorite fancy night out. Airy dining room, well-prepared fish dishes. It burned down, they rebuilt it. It blew down, they rebuilt it. It’s still packed! Just dinner. Might need reservations.
Our local brewery! Good beer and decent food at decent prices. Open for lunch and dinner. In Mongoose Junction-St. John’s mall!
17 locals raden deze aan
The Tap Room
Mongoose JunctionOur local brewery! Good beer and decent food at decent prices. Open for lunch and dinner. In Mongoose Junction-St. John’s mall!
Another high-end local dining favorite. Birthday? Anniversary? Oysters Rockefeller anyone?
11 locals raden deze aan
The Terrace
Another high-end local dining favorite. Birthday? Anniversary? Oysters Rockefeller anyone?
Elegant and expensive with an innovative menu and a drop-dead sunset view from the bar. Dinner only. Will need reservations.
OCEAN|362
Elegant and expensive with an innovative menu and a drop-dead sunset view from the bar. Dinner only. Will need reservations.
Where to Hike
Most famous trail on St. John and for good reason! It has some spectacular views, hidden tropical jungle ruins, informative plaques, a spur leading to a waterfall with ancient petroglyphs, and ends at the ruins of an old sugar plantation next to a usually deserted beach. Round trip is about 4.6 miles. Pretty easy going down and strenuous coming up. Also spur trails to Lameshur and other ruins. Budget at least 2 to 3 hours. You'll want to spend time seeing everything!
7 locals raden deze aan
Reef Bay Trail
Reef Bay TrailMost famous trail on St. John and for good reason! It has some spectacular views, hidden tropical jungle ruins, informative plaques, a spur leading to a waterfall with ancient petroglyphs, and ends at the ruins of an old sugar plantation next to a usually deserted beach. Round trip is about 4.6 miles. Pretty easy going down and strenuous coming up. Also spur trails to Lameshur and other ruins. Budget at least 2 to 3 hours. You'll want to spend time seeing everything!
Gorgeous flat trail that hugs the coast for almost a mile. Great views of the British Virgin Islands. Lots of places to stop, swim, and snorkel. Starts at Annenberg Ruins which are very well maintained by the National Park, have amazing views, and give visitors a good overview of plantation life on St. John. Trail ends at stretch of sandy beach at about a mile in. Can continue along the beach and pick up Johnny Horn Trail or continue further along the coast line to get to snorkeling at Waterlemon Cay.
Leinster Bay Trail
Leinster Bay TrailGorgeous flat trail that hugs the coast for almost a mile. Great views of the British Virgin Islands. Lots of places to stop, swim, and snorkel. Starts at Annenberg Ruins which are very well maintained by the National Park, have amazing views, and give visitors a good overview of plantation life on St. John. Trail ends at stretch of sandy beach at about a mile in. Can continue along the beach and pick up Johnny Horn Trail or continue further along the coast line to get to snorkeling at Waterlemon Cay.
This is one of the most spectacular hikes on the island! Be sure to bring your beach stuff so you can cool off at Salt Pond beach after the hike! The trail starts at the far end of Salt Pond Beach. Walk along the rocky coastline until you see the trail cut in. It steers you a little inland and upwards leading to some good early viewpoints. After a while it lets out on a very rocky beach. Keep walking down the beach towards the big point of land in front of you (Ram's Head). More than halfway down the beach keep an eye out for the trail to cut back inland through the brush. There should be some cairns marking it. Then it takes you on a moderately steep uphill climb out along the point of land. There are steep drop-offs into the water below and it gets windy!!! The views are amazing, the landscape is almost otherworldly. As you get closer to the end of the trail it breaks off into a lot of spurs. Try to stay on the most clear cut, obvious one to help prevent erosion. At the end you are rewarded with an amazing vista of the Caribbean on one side and the Atlantic on the other. The drop off is very steep here as well! This is an absolute must do!!! Total distance out and back is about two miles but plan to spend some time enjoying all the incredible sites.
7 locals raden deze aan
Ram Head Trail
Ram Head TrailThis is one of the most spectacular hikes on the island! Be sure to bring your beach stuff so you can cool off at Salt Pond beach after the hike! The trail starts at the far end of Salt Pond Beach. Walk along the rocky coastline until you see the trail cut in. It steers you a little inland and upwards leading to some good early viewpoints. After a while it lets out on a very rocky beach. Keep walking down the beach towards the big point of land in front of you (Ram's Head). More than halfway down the beach keep an eye out for the trail to cut back inland through the brush. There should be some cairns marking it. Then it takes you on a moderately steep uphill climb out along the point of land. There are steep drop-offs into the water below and it gets windy!!! The views are amazing, the landscape is almost otherworldly. As you get closer to the end of the trail it breaks off into a lot of spurs. Try to stay on the most clear cut, obvious one to help prevent erosion. At the end you are rewarded with an amazing vista of the Caribbean on one side and the Atlantic on the other. The drop off is very steep here as well! This is an absolute must do!!! Total distance out and back is about two miles but plan to spend some time enjoying all the incredible sites.
Johnny Horn is an intense trail with a number of spurs and look-outs. You can pick it up from the Leincster Bay Trail and climb up to an amazing view of Sir Frances Drake Passage framed in the archway of an old Danish ruin. A bit further up are more Danish ruins also with incredible views. This is one of our regular hikes...we take the dogs, have a snack at the ruins and turnaround, but you can definitely keep going for a longer hike. If you stay on the Johnny Horn it will let you out by the Moravian church near the Coral Bay Triangle (and just a short walk to Skinny’s). The Johny Horn and Brown Bay can be long and strenuous. Plan to spend at least 4 hours if you are doing all of either of them and definitely check with the park service and maps for more info before you go.
6 locals raden deze aan
Johnny Horn Trail
Johnny Horn TrailJohnny Horn is an intense trail with a number of spurs and look-outs. You can pick it up from the Leincster Bay Trail and climb up to an amazing view of Sir Frances Drake Passage framed in the archway of an old Danish ruin. A bit further up are more Danish ruins also with incredible views. This is one of our regular hikes...we take the dogs, have a snack at the ruins and turnaround, but you can definitely keep going for a longer hike. If you stay on the Johnny Horn it will let you out by the Moravian church near the Coral Bay Triangle (and just a short walk to Skinny’s). The Johny Horn and Brown Bay can be long and strenuous. Plan to spend at least 4 hours if you are doing all of either of them and definitely check with the park service and maps for more info before you go.
Beaches
There are so many beaches on STJ. It's hard to go wrong. Here are some of our faves.
Great beach, little bit of a trek down a rocky path from the parking area, but well worth it. Has a few picnic tables and a National Park porta-potty. This is one-stop shopping. Beautiful beach with access to Ram’s Head Hike (fantastic) and Drunk Bay.
16 locals raden deze aan
Salt Pond Beach
Great beach, little bit of a trek down a rocky path from the parking area, but well worth it. Has a few picnic tables and a National Park porta-potty. This is one-stop shopping. Beautiful beach with access to Ram’s Head Hike (fantastic) and Drunk Bay.
Two secluded beaches nestled in the National Park. Lameshur is a rocky beach and Little Lameshur is sandy. Little Lameshur has some picnic tables with grills and a National Park porta-potty. The road to get to these beaches is VERY, VERY ROUGH. Please don’t go if you don’t have a 4WD vehicle. You can also hike down to Little Lameshur from Bordeaux on the Bordeaux Trail.
Lameshur Beach
Two secluded beaches nestled in the National Park. Lameshur is a rocky beach and Little Lameshur is sandy. Little Lameshur has some picnic tables with grills and a National Park porta-potty. The road to get to these beaches is VERY, VERY ROUGH. Please don’t go if you don’t have a 4WD vehicle. You can also hike down to Little Lameshur from Bordeaux on the Bordeaux Trail.
This is probably the most famous beach on STJ. It also has the most services (snack bar, regular bar, showers, real bathrooms, snorkel rental). It can get pretty busy but you should probably check it out anyway. It really is beautiful. And accessible. Has a National Park snorkeling trail. There is no hiking involved.
69 locals raden deze aan
Trunk Bay
This is probably the most famous beach on STJ. It also has the most services (snack bar, regular bar, showers, real bathrooms, snorkel rental). It can get pretty busy but you should probably check it out anyway. It really is beautiful. And accessible. Has a National Park snorkeling trail. There is no hiking involved.
This is a perennial fave. Maho is a beautiful beach right next to the road (so no hiking in). The snorkeling here isn’t that great EXCEPT it is an EXCELLENT place to see sea turtles. No, really. There is an extremely good chance you’ll see them. Make sure to talk to other snorkelers/swimmers. They are usually more than happy to point out turtles. Also, someone recently opened a space with a bar and some food and tons of hammocks and couches to chill on. It’s called Maho Crossroads. It’s one of the few non-National Park operations. There are also some picnic tables and National Park porta-potties at the far end of the beach.
45 locals raden deze aan
Maho Bay Beach
This is a perennial fave. Maho is a beautiful beach right next to the road (so no hiking in). The snorkeling here isn’t that great EXCEPT it is an EXCELLENT place to see sea turtles. No, really. There is an extremely good chance you’ll see them. Make sure to talk to other snorkelers/swimmers. They are usually more than happy to point out turtles. Also, someone recently opened a space with a bar and some food and tons of hammocks and couches to chill on. It’s called Maho Crossroads. It’s one of the few non-National Park operations. There are also some picnic tables and National Park porta-potties at the far end of the beach.
Part rocky and part sandy beach with some nice snorkeling. Tucked away on the east end. No services.
Haulover Beach
Part rocky and part sandy beach with some nice snorkeling. Tucked away on the east end. No services.
Very sweet sandy beach off a short trail from either behind the National Park Visitor Center in Cruz Bay or an easy to access trail off Centerline Rd. I believe there is also now a dingy service that will take you over there from near ferry landing in Cruz Bay! Has hammocks, shady beach spots, amenities.
22 locals raden deze aan
Honeymoon Beach
Main RdVery sweet sandy beach off a short trail from either behind the National Park Visitor Center in Cruz Bay or an easy to access trail off Centerline Rd. I believe there is also now a dingy service that will take you over there from near ferry landing in Cruz Bay! Has hammocks, shady beach spots, amenities.
Very small, quiet white sand beach near Trunk. Not very much parking. No amenities.
6 locals raden deze aan
Jumbie Bay
Very small, quiet white sand beach near Trunk. Not very much parking. No amenities.
Groceries, ATMs, Gas
GAS: There are only two gas stations on the island and they are both in Cruz bay on the same street (just past The Marketplace). There are NO gas stations in Coral Bay. Always fill up in town before you think you need to!
Groceries: We have a couple of food markets very close to the house in Coral Bay. Love City Mini Market is a glorified convenience store, but they have way more stuff than you would think. We also have Dolphin Market which is more of a complete grocery store. The grocery store with the best selection on STJ is Starfish Market which is located in The Marketplace in Cruz Bay.
ATM's: The only ATM in Coral bay is located in the Dolphin Market (same comple as Aqua Bistro). It may or may not be working. There are a few ATM's in Cruz Bay including in The Marketplace near Starfish Market and at the Ferry Dock.
Best grocery selection on island. Wines, cheese, produce, meat, seafood, deli.
18 locals raden deze aan
Starfish Market
Best grocery selection on island. Wines, cheese, produce, meat, seafood, deli.
Dolphin Market
Biggest grocery store in Coral Bay.
Love City is kind of a glorified convenience store but it's surprising how much stuff they have. Just down the hill from the house. And not as scary as it looks! Good place to pick up beer, wine, water, etc.
11 locals raden deze aan
Love City Market
Love City is kind of a glorified convenience store but it's surprising how much stuff they have. Just down the hill from the house. And not as scary as it looks! Good place to pick up beer, wine, water, etc.
This is the main gas station. It's in Cruz Bay, just past The Marketplace. This is NOT a 24-hr operation. I think they close at 7 or so...
E&C Service Station
Route 104This is the main gas station. It's in Cruz Bay, just past The Marketplace. This is NOT a 24-hr operation. I think they close at 7 or so...