How to get to St John
Think of St. John and you probably conjure up thoughts of swaying palm trees, crystal clear water, exquisite white sand beaches, and leaving behind the crowds and the hustle and bustle. There’s no other place like it – at 19 square miles, 2/3 consisting of the Virgin Islands National Park, perfect year round weather, and more than a dozen of the world’s best beaches – St. John is, to sum it up, an idyllic island paradise. While St. John definitely rewards those with an adventurous spirit, getting here involves just three easy steps.
1. Fly
The first step to getting to St. John is to fly into St. Thomas, airport code STT. There are nonstop flights from numerous US cities, including New York, Atlanta, Newark, Miami, Philadelphia, Boston, Charlotte, Washington DC, Houston, Chicago and Ft. Lauderdale. Another option is to fly into San Juan (SJU) from the mainland and then take a quick 20-minute hop over to St. Thomas.
2. Ride
After arriving at the St. Thomas airport, the next step to reaching St. John is getting to one of the two ferries. This leg of the trip requires a taxi ride. If you’re going to Crown Bay Marina it’s just a 5-minute ride. Or if Red Hook is where you’re headed, it’s 45-minutes give or take. For the most part, taxis are the passenger van variety and shared by 10 or 12 travelers. Another option, especially to Red Hook, is to arrange a private taxi in advance. This can be a pricey option for one or two people, but if you have a group of four or more, plus luggage, it’s actually pretty cost effective.
3. Cruise
The cruise to St. John is hands down the best part of the trip. The ferry leaves Crown Bay daily at 3:30pm and 5:30pm and arrives at the “Creek” on St. John, where the Virgin Islands National Park office is located. If you can make the 3:30 or 5:30 departure from Crown Bay, it’s a more relaxed option with more personalized service in our opinion. It’s $20 per person plus bags from Crown Bay. The Red Hook ferry is $8.15 per person plus bags (unless you have a VI driver’s license, in which case it’s only $6). It arrives at the main ferry dock in Cruz Bay, St. John.
So that’s it…fly, ride, cruise…ahhh St. John!