One Week in St. John Itinerary

For one week in St. John you should pick a beach or two to do every day from beaches of St. John. On one or two days of the trip I’d pick a day trip or activity to do instead of the beach. A sample itinerary is as follows:

Day 1

Get to your Airbnb and spend the day by your pool or a beach that is close to town. Get dinner in town. End your night at Beach Bar and play cornhole in the sand. Drink your night away on Cruzan Rum! Per Jack Sparrow, “Why’s the rum always gone?”.

Day 2

Stock up at Dolphin Market for the week. Think sandwiches, easy lunches, snacks, spaghetti and other simple dinners. Buy ice, beer, rum, and juice to put in your cooler each day on the beach. You are in St. John after all! Rum is like water down in the islands. Spend your day in Trunk Bay and snorkel the underwater trail. Get a nice dinner in town. I’d suggest Morgan’s Mango.

Day 3

Start to explore a little further! Spend a morning at Francis Bay and the afternoon at Maho Bay. These are my two favorite beaches because of the sea turtles and stingrays and the calm water! You also have a good chance of having the beach to yourself! You can bring pool floaties and hang out in the water – yes that is how calm and blue the water it is, it’s literally a pool. Get lunch by Coral Bay as you are actually pretty close to it. Make dinner at home and enjoy the view and a night swim after a long day at the beach.

Day 4

Test your skills scuba diving! They have crash courses where you don’t need to have your scuba certification. I did this and had a blast. I’m not a strong swimmer and I was able to do this just fine! This was a highlight of my trip and I felt so empowered after overcoming my fear of not being able to breath underwater! Enjoy an early happy hour to celebrate your success! Woodys is a great local spot with a rowdy crowd.

Want to learn more about scuba diving? Read about my experience here.

Day 5

Go across the island to see Salt Pond Bay. The Bay is on a different side of the island and has a completely different look and feel. Another one of my favorite beaches. Enjoy lunch on this side of the island. Skinny legs is a delicious spot. Eat one more night in and play some card games on the balcony in the warm night air.

Day 6

Boat charter to Jost Van Dyke. This is an absolute must!! The highlight of your trip to to the Virgin Islands will be today. You can do a private charter or a charter boat with 10 or so people. I’ve done both. The private charter is obviously more tailored to what you want to do versus a set route. Make sure the charter does a snorkel stop at Watermelon Cay!! It is the best snorkeling I have seen in my entire life! The fish are so vibrant, colorful, and plentiful! Next you may stop at customs in the BVI’s on Tortola before heading to the national parks to do some more snorkeling. This does mean you need to have your passport with you and there is a customs fee. After a good workout and seeing the best snorkeling the Virgin Islands has to offer, end your day at the famous Jost Van Dyke and White Bay for a ‘painkiller’ (local drink) at Soggy Dollar Bar. It is a long day but make sure you make it out for one last night in town! I slept through my last night on one of my trips and I was very upset no one woke me up!

Day 7

This is your final day to get a few more rays by your pool and pick up any souvenirs in town before heading home. Take some last pictures as you will miss this place more than imaginable!

Alternatives

The first thing to do when picking an itinerary is to look at my Beach guide and pick a beach or two for the day depending on your activity level and go explore! You can also take day trips to nearby islands, boat charters, snorkel trips, dive, hike, kayak, and stand up paddle board.