Hawaii...or St. John?

lilsalty · Post by **lilsalty** » June 22, 2005 10:55 am

Here is my island dilemma: My husband and I are planning to either go to the Carribbean (Caneel Bay) for 5 nights or Maui for 7 nights. Since we're in NY, the flights are shorter & cheaper to go to St. John, but the hotel we want to stay at is more expensive than the hotel we'd stay at in Maui. Thus, for an extra $600 we could do 7 nights in Maui, but there'd be a lot of time on the plane & a few stop overs. What would you guys do? This is probably our last extravagant vacation before we start really saving $$$.... Any thoughts?

AlbatrossFlyer · Post by **AlbatrossFlyer** » June 22, 2005 11:00 am

if you take your passport, its a 20 min ferry ride from st. john to foxy's on jost van dyke

land_shark3 · Post by **land_shark3** » June 22, 2005 11:12 am

I've never been to St. Johns, but my soon to be in-law in-laws (does that work?) have 2 homes in St. Johns. Hopefully that trip won't be too far off for me.

What I remember from my trip to Hawaii is how expensive everything is. I don't know that that is the case on St. Johns.

ToplessRideFL · Post by **ToplessRideFL** » June 22, 2005 11:23 am

Here is my logic….. Hawaii because it is more expensive and farther away….. and you have a chance to go now where as St John is closer and less expensive and you may have the chance to zip down there for a shorter trip sometime soon… even while you are “saving”!

Hawaii is remarkable…awesome people, seanic views like no other, no humidity, no screens on the windows…. Everyone should see it once!.

lilsalty · Post by **lilsalty** » June 22, 2005 1:07 pm

It would be our 2nd trip to Hawaii together: we went last summer for our honeymoon and absolutely loved it...and we're the type of people who like to return to the places we love. But we do love trying new places as well! Right now, I'm leaning towards Hawaii... I don't mind the plane right and the stopovers. As to the comparative cost of things, I THINK St. John and Hawaii are equally expensive. Thanks for your input everyone!

12vmanRick · Post by **12vmanRick** » June 22, 2005 1:08 pm

Prepare to spend WAY more in Hawaii than you think you will.

lilsalty · Post by **lilsalty** » June 22, 2005 1:51 pm

O don't I know it...just went in August of last year. We definitely know that we will be spending mucho bucks...Our hotel bill for our honeymoon was mental!

I'm not going to worry so much about the cost as the quality of our trip. I've been to hawaii but not St. John and if we're going to spend a good chunk o' change either way, I want it to rock!

land_shark3 · Post by **land_shark3** » June 22, 2005 3:00 pm

ToplessRideFL wrote:Here is my logic….. Hawaii because it is farther away…..

See, I would have to disagree with that logic. Coming all the way from the east coast; count on some quality air time just to get there, then you're going to spend at least a day to adjust to the time, and then you lose a day to get home.

With St. Johns, you'll get to spend more time actually on vacation.

Then again, I'd go to the Cook Islands a couple times a year if I could and its further than Hawaii.

lilsalty · Post by **lilsalty** » June 22, 2005 3:48 pm

We'd basically have the same amount of "real" vacation time: 6 days in Hawaii (not counting the 2 travel days) and 6 days in St. John (counting the travel days).
Has anyone been to Caneel Bay?

jonesbeach10 · Post by **jonesbeach10** » June 22, 2005 5:00 pm

There are bargain hotels in Hawaii if you don't need the all-inclusive resort and are planning on doing things every day.

Where in Hawaii?

Liminone · Post by **Liminone** » June 22, 2005 5:24 pm

We've been going to St. Thomas and St. John for 10 years now and if you are looking to lay back and relax St. John is the place for you. Caneel has seven wonderful beaches on their property that are just waiting for you to pull up some white sand and enjoy. 2/3rds of the island is a national park and the other beaches and scenery are outstanding. Cruz bay....Downtown St John is laid back with some great restaurants and some really cool bars. Last time Jimmy played, at the Westin, his band spent some time at Woody's seafood bar. A good time for sure. Sorry if this comes across as a commercial for the island, It's not, we just love the place and want to share it with you all.
If you want to see some pics let me know. I'm kinda new here and don't know if you allow posting pictures.

On a side note, I went to my first Buffett concert Monday and all I can say is HOLY COW.

Liminone

Desdamona · Post by **Desdamona** » June 22, 2005 6:04 pm

Forget the hotels!
Visit St. John this way...

http://www.cyoacharters.com
FEATURED BOAT SPECIAL - MAINSHIP 390
Book a new Charter on the Mainship 390 Trawler, with AIR and Generator,
for ANY available dates between now and November 15th, 2005 and take a
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land_shark3 · Post by **land_shark3** » June 22, 2005 6:19 pm

Desdamona wrote:Forget the hotels!
Visit St. John this way...

Wow, I'd lose 40 pounds from being seasick for the whole week.

Desdamona · Post by **Desdamona** » June 23, 2005 3:13 am

land_shark3 wrote:
Desdamona wrote:Forget the hotels!
Visit St. John this way...

Wow, I'd lose 40 pounds from being seasick for the whole week.

I doubt it. We did I for 10 days once. I still don't
think we'll ever have a better vacation. I only felt
sick on our first reach from St. Thomas to St. John,
and the feel of the air rushing across my skin got me
over that real quick.

lilsalty · Post by **lilsalty** » June 23, 2005 8:32 am

My husband wants to go to St. John primarily because of the length of the ride there, and neither of us has ever been to the Carribbean! Now it looks like that's the way we're going to go. All we want to do is relax, eat, drink, drink, relax, eat, and relax, so St. John sounds perfect!

Thanks everyone!!
By the way: even the ferry ride over from St. Thomas will be adventuresome--my husband can't even go on a snorkeling boat without puking. Some sea legs he's got...so I think any extensive boating is out of the question. He ain't no

that's fo' sho'

land_shark3 · Post by **land_shark3** » June 23, 2005 9:43 am

lilsalty wrote:By the way: even the ferry ride over from St. Thomas will be adventuresome--my husband can't even go on a snorkeling boat without puking. Some sea legs he's got...so I think any extensive boating is out of the question. He ain't no that's fo' sho'

Go to your doctor and request a prescription for Transderm Scop (1.5 mg of Scopolamine).

Its a non-drowsy motion sickness patch. You put it behind your ear the night before or morning or your sea adventure. Each patch will last up to 3 days. I can get sea sick on a floating dock, so I have to wear the patch every time I go scuba diving.

The only thing I've found that works better is Quells. Unfortunately, you can only get it in Australia.

One of my business associates swears by those bracelets. He wears them on all car rides and plane flights.

MikeInNOLA · Post by **MikeInNOLA** » June 23, 2005 5:21 pm

lilsalty wrote:We'd basically have the same amount of "real" vacation time: 6 days in Hawaii (not counting the 2 travel days) and 6 days in St. John (counting the travel days).
Has anyone been to Caneel Bay?

I lived in St. Thomas for a few years...did alot of business with Caneel Bay....it is a TOP NOTCH resort. I have also spent some time in Hawaii.

I highly recommend Caneel Bay and St. John. Easy access to the BVI and St. Thomas shopping...or just kick back and enjoy a very low key Caribbean vacation!

MikeInNOLA · Post by **MikeInNOLA** » June 23, 2005 5:23 pm

lilsalty wrote:By the way: even the ferry ride over from St. Thomas will be adventuresome--my husband can't even go on a snorkeling boat without puking. Some sea legs he's got...so I think any extensive boating is out of the question. He ain't no that's fo' sho'

The ferry ride won't qualify as extensive...it is a moderate length ferry ride from downtown (Charlotte Amalie) or just a short 10-15 min ride from the East End. Even on the bad days, it is a very smooth ride!

Enjoy~~!

Virgin_(Island)_Girl · Post by **Virgin_(Island)_Girl** » June 23, 2005 10:48 pm

I've never been to Hawaii so I can't comment.

But I lived on St. Thomas for a few years back in the late 80's/early 90's

There are lots of beautiful beaches in the Virgin Islands. The water in the Caribbean is clear, warm and wonderful!

If you're not up for the plane ride and jet lag, I'd definitely go for the Virgin Islands. Adjusting to such time differences after a long flight can take day.

Whichever you decide, you'll no doubt have a great time!

FFishstick · Post by **FFishstick** » June 23, 2005 11:27 pm

I've been to both. I would take St. John anyday. Slower pace of life, great beaches, and cheap short ferry hops to places like Jost van dyke and St. Thomas. Hawaii is all about tourists, food and so so beaches. St. Johns hands down.