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Check Out My New St. John Beach Guide!

Everything you need to know about a beach… all in one place!

Are you curious which beaches have food and drinks? How about which ones have restrooms or showers? Or perhaps you like to know about the parking situation. If so, then you are going to love today’s post!

I created a simple, searchable and sortable beach guide that’s very easy to use. Say you’d like to know which beaches have food and drinks available for purchase. Just click the little arrow next to that topic, and all the the ones that do will pop up as yes. Want to know what amenities you can find at a specific beach? Simply type the name in the search area, and the results for just that beach will pop up. The beach guide includes the following topics:

  • Food and beverage
  • Restrooms
  • Showers
  • Chairs for rent
  • Snorkel gear for rent
  • Entrance fee
  • How to get there: Drive, hike or water access only
  • Do the taxis regularly go there?
  • Is it sandy or rocky?
There are nine categories of information per beach. Each category is sortable.
Type a specific beach name in the search area to see information for that beach only.

Pretty cool, right?

The Island Tidbits Beach Guide is located at www.islandtidbits.com/BeachGuide. Please bookmark the page. Share it with your friends and family. Click here to check it out.

And as always, I love to hear your feedback. If there is a category you would like me to add, please send me an email at jenn@explorestj.com.

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A True Look at the Caneel Bay Beach Club

Cabanas at the Caneel Bay Beach Club

Hello everyone! So I have to admit, I am a social media lurker. I like to know what everyone is chatting about when it comes to their St. John vacation. And one topic that I see coming up time and time again is the Caneel Bay Beach Club. It seems that many of you are curious just how much of Honeymoon Beach is affected by it. Well rather than tell you, I think it’s better to actually show you.

I grabbed the GoPro this morning, and hiked down the Lind Point Trail to Honeymoon Beach. I took the following video around 11:30 a.m. As you will see, it was pretty quiet down there. Check it out:

So what do you all think?

Want to know more about the Caneel Bay Beach Club? Click here to read a story I posted last month.

Want to know more about the hike to Honeymoon? Click here to read a story on that with directions and lots of images. 

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Check Out These Fun, Weekly Events Happening on St. John

Hello everyone, and happy Monday! There are lots of great events that happen here on St. John every week. Here is a quick rundown of some things you may want to check out the next time you visit the island.

Sundays – Bingo at The Windmill Bar 

The Windmill Bar has some of the best views on island!

Bingo with an amazing view? Yes, please! Our friends over at The Windmill Bar hold Bingo every Sunday starting at 4 p.m. This fun event is open to people of all ages, so feel free to bring the kids! Cards cost $1 most rounds, and $5 for the blackout round. Winners receive the cash collected from each round.

Mondays

I could be wrong, but I do not think there are any weekly events that happen on Mondays. If I am wrong folks, please send me an email at jenn@explorestj.com.

Tuesdays – Karaoke at Upstairs Bar & Grille

Be sure to check out St. John’s newest bar & grill!

Karaoke starts this week at the Upstairs Bar & Grille, so grab a friend and head on over to Cruz Bay’s newest bar & grill. Karaoke starts at 9 p.m. on Tuesday and continues until midnight. Beginning this week, karaoke will happen every Tuesday. Not familiar with the new Upstairs bar and restaurant? Click here to read an article we posted on it a few weeks back.

Wednesdays – Bingo, Trivia & Karaoke 

Trivia happens at the Johnny Lime every Wednesday night.

There are a lot of fun things that happen here on Wednesdays!

Missed Bingo on Sunday at The Windmill Bar? Well you’re in luck! They’re holding Bingo at their sister restaurant in Cruz Bay, the Upstairs Bar & Grille (the same spot that hosts karaoke on Tuesday nights.) Bingo runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Upstairs every Wednesday.

The wildly popular trivia night happens every Wednesday at Johnny Lime in Coral Bay. It starts around 6:30 p.m. or so, and the event usually attracts upwards of 100 people. This is a charity event, so the turnout is absolutely incredible. There is a $1 per person minimum for teams of up to six people, and $20 for teams of seven or eight. Cookies are also available for $3 each, and they are baked by the amazing Leslie McKibben. Her husband Steve hosts the event. The money raised is donated to a different St. John nonprofit every month, so it’s a fun night for a great cause.

Not familiar with Johnny Lime? Click here to read an article we posted about it a few months back.

And rounding out our Wednesday night fun is more karaoke! This time it’s happening at Flavours Nightclub, which is located on Centerline Road around mile 2. (It’s two doors down from Shambles.) Karaoke happens here weekly from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and they typically have a deejay afterwards.

Thursdays – Open Mic Night at Miss Lucy’s 

Miss Lucy’s hosts open mic night every Thursday.

Now this is an event that’s been happening for years, and it continues to draw quite the crowd! Open mic night happens every Thursday at Miss Lucy’s in Coral Bay. It starts at 5:30 p.m. and continues until 9 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend, even if you do not plan on grabbing a microphone or instrument. There are weekly food specials and the bar is always open.

Fridays – Trivia at Skinny Legs

You never know who will show up for trivia!

And finishing out the week is trivia at Skinny Legs in Coral Bay. Trivia its not happening this Friday, but it will return next week. It starts at 6 p.m., and from what I’ve heard, it gets quite the crowd. So arrive early to get a seat. The restaurant and bar are open until 8 p.m.

So as you can see, we have a lot of fun things that happen here on a weekly basis! Looking for more nature-oriented activities? The Virgin Islands National Park also holds a variety of weekly events, many of which are completely free. Click here to read a recent post that details all of the current Virgin Islands National Park offerings. 

Want to know exactly where each of these restaurants are located? Click here to check out Island Tidbits Restaurant Map. 

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Major Piece of Real Estate Lists For Sale

Isola Shoppes is located across from the water in Coral Bay.

Attention investors, this one is for you! A very impressive piece of real estate just listed for sale in Coral Bay!

The Isola Shoppes complex is looking for a new owner. This is a unique and rare opportunity to own a fully occupied, turnkey commercial building on St. John. Isola Shoppes is home to Salty Mongoose, Surf Club Cantina, Jolly Dog, Zemi, Antarest Property & Hospitality, and Coral Bay Fresh Market on the first floor. The second floor has two apartments, each with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. One is being used as a short term vacation rental, and the other is the current home of 340 Real Estate Co.

This beautiful complex has impressive water breezes and cool breezes all day. There is an adjacent, flat parcel included in the sale which provides ample parking for the complex.

(Side note: Surf Club Cantina is currently listed for sale on Biz Buy Sell. None of the other businesses located in this complex are for sale. This particular listing is for the building only.) 

The Isola Shoppes building is currently listed for $10.5 million by 340 Real Estate Co. For more information, please contact Tammy Donnelly at 340realestateco@gmail.com or by phone at (340) 643-6068.

Click here to read a recent story we wrote about Surf Club Cantina.

Click here to read a recent story we wrote about Coral Bay Fresh Market.

Click here to read a recent story we wrote about other businesses currently listed for sale on St. John. 

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Seagrapes Currently Producing an Abundance of Fruit!

Seagrapes at Saltwell Botton on the island’s East End

Hello everyone, and welcome to the middle of the week! Today, I want to share a little inside scoop with you. Some of the island’s most prolific trees are currently fruiting, and they’re providing an abundance of a delicious little treat!

For those of you who have been to St. John, you have probably noticed quite a few seagrape trees lining our beautiful beaches. The seagrape, whose botanical name is coccoloba uvifera, has broad, leathery round leaves with prominent red veins. These evergreen shrubs or small trees are an important species as they protect the island’s coastal areas from erosion and storm damage. The seagrape produces spikes of white flowers and then clusters of grape-like fruits. (Only the female trees produce fruit.)

I was out at Saltwell Bottom last week with island tour guests when Yola, one of the owners of the property, pointed out the fruiting trees beside the beach. “Get them now because they will be gone soon,” she told me. So I immediately did.

When the seagrape fruit is ripe, it turns reddish in color. And while it is not a true grape, people say it tastes similar to a muscadine grape. You can snack on this tasty little fruit, or use it to make jelly or wine. I don’t think it tastes like a supermarket grape per se, but it was an interesting little snack.

A closeup of a seagrape at Saltwell Bottom
My guests took a handful of serapes home.

I also noticed a seagrape tree fruiting at Cinnamon Bay the other day. Specifically it was the tree outside of the main bathroom along the walkway to the beach.

If you’ve been on island following the 2017 storms, you likely have noticed small trees in little cages planted along the beaches inside of the National Park. A lot of these plants are serapes, and they are planted to restore some of the shoreline that was affected during Irma.

A seagrape planted at Maho Bay. (This is a pic I took back in 2020.)

Pretty interesting stuff, right?

I was pretty excited to see these trees fruiting, and I hope you enjoyed this little story today. As always, if there is anything you are interested in learning more about, please feel free to send me an email at jenn@explorestj.com.