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Something Fun to Do: Spend the Day at the Lovango Beach Club

Jenn Manes January 17, 2023 4 Comments

Hello everyone, and happy Tuesday! Who is looking for something new and fun to do when vacationing in St. John or over on St. Thomas? Well you’re in luck, because I have just the place!

So as I mentioned yesterday, I enjoyed a bit of a staycation last week. And I have to say, my absolute favorite day was the one I spent with my family at the Lovango Resort & Beach Club. It was the third time we spent the day at the Beach Club, and it certainly will not be the last.

Let’s start with logistics. The Lovango Resort & Beach Club is located on Lovango Cay, which is a quick 10-15 minute boat ride from Cruz Bay. It is open to the public, so you do not have to stay at the resort to enjoy the Beach Club or its waterfront restaurant. In today’s post, I am going to focus on the Beach Club. (Truthfully, I had so much fun that I never made it over to the waterfront restaurant to sample the food and take some pics. So it looks like I will have to go back. Twist my arm!)

There are three options for guests who want to spend the day at Lovango’s Beach Club. You can rent a lounge chair on the beach, a two-person lounger which is tucked away and surrounded by beautiful landscaping, or a poolside cabana that seats up to six guests. Each option comes with a roundtrip ferry ticket. You can choose to take one of the following ferries heading to Lovango – the 10:45 a.m., 11:15 a.m. or 12:45 p.m. You then then choose to return to Cruz Bay at either 4 p.m., 5:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. (I took the 10:45 a.m,. ferry over and was scheduled to return at 4 p.m. I was having such a great time that we changed our return time to 5:30 p.m.)

The Lovango Resort & Beach Club provides roundtrip ferry service for its guests. The ferry picks up and drops off in Cruz Bay at the bulkhead area.

Lovango is located about 10 minutes from Cruz Bay by boat. (St. John is pictured in the distance to the right.)

You can choose from the following three options when visiting the Beach Club:

Beach Lounge

This is the most affordable way to spend the day at the Beach Club. There are only two rows of lounge chairs, so each has a beautiful water view. The beach lounges are located on the sand and come with an umbrella and side table. The cost to rent a beach lounge is $135 per person for the day. USVI residents can rent a chair for a discounted rate of $120 a person. Guests renting a beach lounge have full access of the beach club, including pool access, snorkeling, games and more.

The beach lounge chairs are located right beside the water.

A comfy place to lounge beside the games area

Beach Hideaway

For those of you who are looking for a bit more privacy, you can opt for the beach hideaway option. Nestled between beautiful tropical foliage is a private daybed with unobstructed views. Guests who choose the beach hideaway also have two chairs on the sand where they can enjoy a bite to eat, a drink or two, or simply put their toes in the sand. The cost of the beach hideaway option is $235 per person with a two person minimum/maximum. A bottle of Prosecco is included as well.

These private daybeds are located directly below the pool.

Poolside Cabana

Looking for a day of luxury? Then this is for you! The poolside cabanas are located exactly where you’d expect them to be – poolside! 🙂 There are five cabanas in total, and each comes with a very comfortable living room-type set up inside and private daybeds outside on the pool deck. The cabanas each come with a bottle of Prosecco, sparkling water and still water. The cost of a poolside cabana is $245 per person with a four-person minimum. The cabanas can accommodate up to six guests.

Being at Lovango truly felt like being on vacation…

Regardless of which option you choose, you are welcome to relax poolside or on the beach. The beach area, however, does not have direct water access. Guests who looking to snorkel – there are a couple of great snorkeling spots around Lovango Cay – can opt to enter the water near the western edge of the property or on the north side of the property. Guests who choose to snorkel on the north side of the property (in the channel between Lovango and Congo cays) have to hike up to the ridge and then back down to the other side. Transportation is not provided. Most guests opt to snorkel on the western edge of the property near the beach club and waterfront restaurant. That’s just a quick walk down the boardwalk to the property’s third dock.

There is great snorkeling in front of Lovango Cay.

And speaking of the other side of the resort, that is where the luxury treehouses and glamping tents are located. I took a quick ride over there, and I have to say, they look pretty incredible.

The accommodations look north toward Congo Cay.

I would absolutely love to spend a few nights over here.

Back at the Beach Club, there are a few options when it comes to food and beverage. The Sandpit – a new addition this season – is described as being fresh, fast and casual. It is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Sandpit offers an array of bites, bowls and flatbreads. Take a peek:

And as I mentioned, there is also a waterfront restaurant on property in addition to a cute little bar. The waterfront restaurant is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and for dinner from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Now I know what some of you might be thinking… Why would I spend that amount of money when I could visit one of St. John’s beautiful beaches? Well I can tell you firsthand, that Lovango is different. There is something magical about that little island. There isn’t a rush to find a parking space or a spot in the shade. It’s never too crowded or too loud. It’s very calm, very laidback. The service is impeccable, and the food was delicious. Every time I have visited Lovango, I have felt like I’ve been transported to some exotic faraway place. I never felt that I was 10 minutes from home. If I could go to Lovango once a week to recharge, I would do so in an absolute heartbeat. If I can provide one tip for your next vacation, it would be to check this place out. I promise you will not regret it.

For more information on the Lovango Resort & Beach Club, please visit their website at www.LovangoVi.com.

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Island Update: The Latest & Greatest from St. John

Jenn Manes January 16, 2023 1 Comment

Hello everyone, and happy Monday! I apologize for not posting a ton last week. I was having a bit of a staycation, and you know what? It was lovely! So I figured now that I am nice and refreshed that I would give you a little island update.

Let’s start with the island itself. It is definitely getting busier, but it is not too busy where it isn’t fun. We seem to have just the right amount of people on island in my opinion. It’s pretty easy to find parking at the beaches in the morning and a spot at most restaurants at night. In fact, I was sitting at the Windmill Bar the other day around 2 p.m., and the couple next to me was able to make a dinner reservation for 6:15 p.m. that night at a pretty fancy restaurant here on island. (Just to compare: You would have had to make a reservation two weeks out at this same restaurant last year.) Parking is relatively easy to come by in town, as well. You will likely have to pay, but at least there are spots to find.

(Want to know where all of our parking is located in Cruz Bay? Click here to check out Island Tidbits’ Logistics map. It shows everything from parking to restrooms to grocery stores and more.)

I mentioned to you earlier this month how there are a ton of great airfare deals happening right now. They are more so for dates within the next couple of months, rather than summer dates, for example, but there are deals to be had. And because this is a much slower season (so far) compared to the last two years, lots of villas are on discount too. Most are for last-minute trips like Mystical Mermaid, for example. It’s one of my favorite villas on St. John and they are offering 25 percent off for all new bookings on stays through January 29th. It’s a beautiful, private two bedroom villa with a pool and a hot tub. Click this link to check it out.

I’m sure you’re thinking, but what about a last minute car rental… I have seen some availability for that as well, but admittedly, that could be a tad trickier. You do have a pretty amazing alternative though – Book an island tour with me! (Shameless plug, I know! haha) But seriously, please consider taking an Explore STJ island tour. I promise it will be the best day of your vacation. Click here to learn more.

Oh my goodness, can we talk about the rainbows? I honestly have lost count of how many rainbows I have seen one the past week. It’s been amazing! We’ve been getting quick little bursts of rain here and there, and then it’s been rainbows galore! Check out a couple of pics I took:

Gorgeous, right?!

And I know I mentioned this last week, but it’s worth mentioning again. The humpback whales have made their annual debut! Whales have been spotted a handful of times in the waters around the islands this month, and more are likely to arrive in the upcoming weeks. So be sure to keep your eyes open when you’re near the water. And if you’re able to capture any pics or video, please share them with me. I absolutely love when the whales are here!

Ok, so let’s recap what we’ve covered in this post – quiet island, discounted airfare & villas, rainbows and whales. It doesn’t get much better than that now does it folks?!

I think I will end this post here. As always, if there is anything you would like to know about, please email me your thoughts and/or suggestions at jenn@explorestj.com. I would love to hear them.

Thank you so much, and have a wonderful day everyone.

Escape to St. John: Take a Ride to the East End

Jenn Manes January 13, 2023 3 Comments

Hello everyone, and happy Friday! I apologize that I have been absent for a couple of days. I was out and about enjoying island life. But I’m back today, and I have something good to share!

The island really looks fantastic right now. Can’t be here to see it in person? No worries! I can bring the island to you!

I strapped the good ‘ole GoPro to the Jeep last week, and filmed the ride from Hurricane Hole along Route 10 to the end of the road on St. John’s East End. This GoPro is pretty amazing, and it even films in 4k as you will see in the video below. If you’d like to purchase one, here’s the link on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Chf9Wy

Crank the heat. Turn on some Kenny Chesney. And enjoy the ride.

Want to see more of our GoPro videos? We have several, plus beach videos and more. Click here to visit Island Tidbits’ Videos page.

Prefer to see St. John live? Click here to view more than 20 live streaming webcams on Island Tidbits’ Webcams page.

The Whales are Here!

Jenn Manes January 10, 2023 2 Comments

Steve Simonsen captured this amazing image a few years ago off of St. Thomas.

This is my absolute favorite time of year on St. John. It’s whale season, and they’ve made their annual debut!

I was perusing Facebook the other day when I saw a few conversations about possible whale sightings in the area. Naturally, I got very excited. I checked in with a couple of boat captain friends who confirmed that whales have been spotted in our waters recently. How exciting is that?! And even better? One even shared a few videos with me. They’re quick, but you can see that they are here. I had to pull the sound because they were pretty excited when they saw the whales, and this is a family friendly blog. 🙂 Check it out:

The whales seen in the video we’re spotted near Dog Island, which is located southwest of St. John and beside Little St. James. Here’s a little map:

The whales in the video were spotted near Dog Island.

A big thanks to the folks on Maverick for sharing those videos with me!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this annual occurrence, humpback whales routinely visit our waters each year. They are typically here between January and March, although they have been spotted as late as April over the years. The humpback whales migrate through the Caribbean to our warm waters in the winter months to mate and give birth to their calves. We often see mothers and babies frolicking around St. John. It’s a pretty amazing sight to see!

Another great image taken a few years ago by Steve Simonsen Photography

The whales have been spotted all over, so there isn’t a specific spot to look for them. If you are on a beach or a boat, or even casually sitting at your villa, keep an eye out. I have seen them playing off of Honeymoon Beach. I saw one breach near Tektite on the island’s south side. I even saw a few playing off of the car barge several years back. They can literally be spotted anywhere.

We do not have whale watch cruises here like some spots up north, but if you happen to be on a boat trip over the next couple of months, you may get lucky and see some. And if you do, please email the pics to me! My email is jenn@explorestj.com. Thank you in advance!

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Island Tidbits would like to welcome our newest advertiser Seagate Villa.

Seagate Villa is a spacious, five bedroom villa that boats six bathrooms. It’s a modern, recently updated villa that is located in Chocolate Hole. Guests renting this luxury villa are treated to a delicious first breakfast made by a private chef. There is ocean access, so you can snorkel right outside of the property. It’s furnished beautifully, and it is located close to Cruz Bay. You will definitely want to check this one out!

Please click here to learn more about Seagate Villa and to see additional pictures.

Tag: whales St. John

Cruz Bay Business Lists For Sale

Jenn Manes January 9, 2023 0 Comments

Hello everyone, and happy Monday! Who wants to own a business in paradise? Well a brand new one just listed for sale over the weekend, and I have all of the details!

St. John Provisions is a successful bakery in Cruz Bay. It’s located just beyond the roundabout and beside the Inn at Tamarind Court. St. John Provisions is open for breakfast and lunch from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. It serves everything from freshly baked doughnuts, muffins and quiche to fresh-pressed juices, coffees and full lunch offerings. Check out a few pics:

It’s super cute, isn’t it?

St. John Provisions is listed for $615,000. The sale comes with a full professional kitchen, a transferrable long-term lease, a LLC, recipes and more. St. John Provisions is listed for sale with Holiday Homes. Click here to visit Holiday Homes’ website where you can see more about this listing.

Want to know exactly where St. John Provisions is located? Click here to view Island Tidbits’ Restaurant Map. This map shows the location of more than 70 restaurants and bars on island.

Want to know what other businesses are listed for sale on St. John? Click this link to read a story I posted last month that gives details on several other businesses that are currently listed for sale on St. John.