STJ on a Budget
/Being an affordable option on St. John (and dreaming of my own future vacation) got me thinking about vacationing on a budget. So, I decided to get into the nitty gritty of a budget trip to STJ.....I know, I know, St. John IS expensive, but it doesn’t have to be THAT expensive.
I decided to go with an example of 2 guests enjoying a 5 night stay (as sometimes a week just isn’t in the books if you have to get back to work) during off-season. Flight and Ferry are not included as variations apply to both. I’ll cover lodging, transportation, food and beverage, and an excursion.
Lodging:
I’m going to go with the obvious here and select Bogie’s Villa for our stay! In this hypothetical vacation of mine I chose the unit Tektite because we plan to get out and explore most of the day.
5 night stay (including all fees/taxes) = $725
For those that know “tiny living” is not for them:
5 nights in Calf Rock = $946.88
5 nights in Cow Rock = $1,168.75
5 nights in French Cap = $1225
*Totals for 2 guests/1 bedroom
Transportation:
We love exploring, more specifically exploring on our own time, so we opted for a 3 day Jeep rental, we will use taxis and our legs the other times. We chose St. John Car Rental for our Jeep rental, even though we’re on a budget we really wanted the “flip top” option....and at $5/day extra we went for it!
Photo courtesy of St. John Car Rental
3 day Jeep rental = $266.25
We will need a taxi on our last morning, and to get home on the day we drop the Jeep off. Taxi rates from Cruz Bay to Gifft Hill are $6/person (2 or more, $8 for single), luggage $2-4/person. We have an excursion planned on our last day, if we eliminated that we would also need a taxi to the beach and back on our last day, that rate would be determined by which beach we chose. Taxi rates can be found at VINow.
Taxi from Cruz Bay to Gifft Hill, 2 passengers, no luggage = $17 w/ tip
Taxi from Gifft Hill to Cruz Bay, 2 passengers, 1 piece of luggage = $20 w/ tip
Food and Beverage:
We love to eat out, and we love to experience local cuisine when we travel. Luckily on STJ some of the most affordable eats are the local eats. That being said, we’re working on a budget so some of our meals will be cooked at “home,” largely grilling on the pool deck. We will be picking up groceries from Starfish, using their curbside option.
= $232.98 (with the 10% shopping fee)
Made at home meals:
Grilled shrimp w/ black beans and rice, and salad
Grilled steak kabobs w/ french fries and salad
Grilled chicken with rice and broccoli
Egg sandwiches + banana for breakfasts
Sub sandwiches w/ Boar’s Head + apples + chips for beach lunches
Ice cream for desserts
This leaves 2 dinners, 3 lunches, and last morning breakfast out.
Stew chicken with rice and plantains at Hillside Terrace.
Dinners:
Morgan’s Mango, 1 salad, 1 soup, 1 paella shared, 1 dessert shared, 2 drinks or glasses of wine + tip = $115
Island Breeze, 2 plates with protein and sides, 2 beers + tip = $40
Lunches:
Skinny Legs, 2 sandwiches, 2 House Special drinks + tip = $35
Hillside Terrace, 2 stew chicken plates with side, 2 beers + tip = $35
3rd lunch included with excursion.
Treat: 2 Irie Pops (or vegan soft serve) + tip = $15
Breakfast on last day:
Hercules Pate Delights, 2 johnny cakes, 2 pate + tip = $15 (but you should probably take a few more pate with you, so ... ) $25
*All of these totals are approximate*
Total food and beverage = $498
Now for our budget adventure plan! My original thought was not to pick up a rental Jeep the first night, but who wants to wait around on the first morning of vacation for their vehicle?
1/5: Arrive STT, taxi/ferry, arrive on STJ! Pick up Jeep, pick up groceries “curbside” at Starfish, drive to Bogie’s and hop in the pool with a cold beer. Grill and dine poolside, followed by a solid sleep!
2/5: Pack our lunches after breakfast, and cruise Northshore Road (with the top back) all the way to Annaberg. Hike Leinster out to Waterlemon, drop off our snorkel gear and hike up to the Murphy House on the Johnny Horn trail. Snorkel, hike back. Cruise back down Northshore and stop where there’s an open parking spot to lunch and snorkel at whatever beach that may be.... Home, and off to Morgan’s Mango for dinner.
Waterlemon Cay
3/5: Wake early, maybe even take our breakfast sandwiches with us. Drive centerline to Coral Bay and on to Salt Pond. Hike down to the beach, drop off our snorkel gear, and hike up Ram Head. Back to the beach for a cool off snorkel, and then to lunch at Skinny’s. After lunch, maybe explore further out towards the East End and have a beach/snorkel stop at Hansen or Saltwell Bottom. On the way home we’ll stop at Island Breeze for take out and head up to see sunset from Susannaberg.
Ram Head views
4/5: This is our last morning with the Jeep, so again we want to wake up early to drive out to Maho and do some snorkeling with the turtles. After we drop off the Jeep, we’ll wander around town and head over for lunch at Hillside Terrace, followed by a (likely slow) hike to Honeymoon on the Lind Point trail. Hike back to town, and pop into Irie Pops for a treat before we taxi home to grill our kabobs!
5/5 Last full day, we saved this adventure for our only full day without a car. We are going kayaking with Virgin Islands Expedition Company!!! We selected the East End full day kayak and snorkel adventure. The cost is $150/person (let’s say $400 for 2 people with tip) which includes transportation, kayak, lunch, and an awesome guide. After this tiring day, we’ll grill and chill on the pool deck again :)
VI Expeditions at Pelican Rock, photo courtesy of Virgin Islands Expedition Company
6/5: Time to head home :( We’ll pack and relax until the taxi takes us to town where we’ll pick up breakfast at Hercules Pate Delights (and a few extra for our journey) before boarding the ferry.
Photo courtesy of Great Expectations.
There you have it, 5 nights on St. John for 2 adventurous visitors all under $2,000!