Scott and I decided to rent a dinghy for the day and explore the northern beaches of St. John, including Caneel Beach. The dinghy rentals were very affordable and you had the freedom to go where ever you chose (following their guidelines of course).
We started the morning having breakfast at The Landing, which was very busy. They also have a deli counter, so we purchased sandwiches for our journey.
Wharfside Watersports Dinghy Rentals
Surprisingly, we went on-line to Wharfside Watersports the night before and were able to book a 12′ dinghy for $249/full day. They also offered larger Zodiak inflatables, but they were around $750/day. If you want anything extra, like a cooler or snorkel gear, you can rent that too.
Once you arrive, they have you do an online registration about yourself and experience, which takes about 5 min.
From there they give you a map and recommended beaches. Since the beaches we could visit were on the northern end of the island, they did have a few cautions for us. We were allowed to go all the way to Maho Beach (where the turtles were abundant), but they warned us that the northern winds could easily make for rough seas and landing at the beach. More on that later.
Their shop also offers lots of gift items and beach accessories.
The staff was super helpful at the beach. They give you a quick rundown on the motor and then they push you off.
Scott and I left Cruz Bay and headed to what we thought was Hawksnest Beach. We pulled up and it was just a nice quiet sandy beach, with no one around.
The first beach we landed, was gorgeous, but it was ALL sand, so we knew the snorkeling wouldn’t have any marine life.
After checking things out, we decided to hop back into the dinghy and head east towards Maho. As we entered the channel, the seas were getting a bit rough and I was sitting on the bow. Within a few minutes cruising fast, the dinghy caught some air and we slammed down hard. This wreaked havoc on my already bad back. Great. I told Scott I didn’t feel comfortable cruising into large waves in a 12′ dinghy, so we headed to Caneel Beach instead.
Wharfide had recommended Caneel Beach, but now looking at Google, I wonder if we were at the wrong beach, yet again? Either way, we loved where we ended up for the day.
Caneel Beach
As we pulled up to the beach, we immediately saw the abandoned Caneel Bay Resort. Sadly the resort was destroyed by Hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017. The owners only have two years left on their lease, so they are waiting until then to find out if they will renew their lease before they invest money into rebuilding it. The restaurant (ZoZo’s) did survive and they only serve lunch. You can only access it by dinghy or small boat.
Walking around the property, it was pretty sad to see all of the abandoned buildings. It had to be an amazing resort. They did still have a security guard on the property, watching our every move.
Scott would normally have gotten some drone footage, but this resort was located inside the National Park, where drones are prohibited. I was amazed to how clear and blue the water was everywhere we went.
There was a good size anchorage in Caneel Bay with about twenty boats anchored. Notice the power cat below – that’s what we are chartering next February in the BVIs.
We had a small picnic lunch, then did some snorkeling (be sure to check out our YouTube video below) and then headed back to Cruz Bay after about four hours.
One thing I noticed during our entire trip, was this long line of clouds. It was really cool.
Finishing the Day
Before we returned the dinghy, we decided to head towards our resort at Gallows Bay and check out the Lagoon 77 that was anchored outside our room. It was gorgeous. It’s available for rent by Chillaxinaxin’ Charters.
For dinner, we decided to head into town towards Mongoose Junction. This is a small retail complex, about 4 blocks from the center of Cruz Bay. It was built of stone and surrounded by trees, so it reminded us of a treehouse.
Inside, there were a number of great restaurants and shops. After checking everything out, we had dinner at 1864, which was outstanding.
We did make dinner reservations the day we arrived, so we recommend doing that when you visit. Mongoose Junction offers so many cool places, so be sure to check it out when you visit St. John.
Tomorrow we tour St. John by land
Tune in next week, as we hire a taxi for the day (and that is a story!) and tour the island by safari-like taxi. As always, thank you for following our journey. Be sure to subscribe to our blog and vlog to stay updated on our adventures. Follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. Until next time!
Cheers, Scott and Ally
