St. John Private Villas

The group provisioning guide to St. John

Published by the St. John Travel Journal · Target footprint: Catherineberg and the North Shore

St. John has no airport and no hospital. A group of 16 does not start at the house. It starts at Cyril E. King (STT) on St. Thomas, then a drive to Red Hook, then a crossing to Cruz Bay.

The house for that group is Valhalla, in the trees in Catherineberg, above Cinnamon Bay. It is not on the sand. The beach is a short drive down North Shore Road.

Getting the group onto the island

Pick the crossing before the travel day. The car ferry and the water taxi leave from Red Hook and land in Cruz Bay. They do not do the same job.

The way in

• The drive. STT to the Red Hook ferry terminal is about 11 miles, east through Charlotte Amalie. Plan 35 to 50 minutes when cruise ships fill the harbor.
• The car ferry. Love City Car Ferries takes the rental and the group. Be in the staging lane before the scheduled departure. The last sailing is in the afternoon. Land at STT late and the cars can be stuck on St. Thomas for the night.
• The water taxi. Dolphin Water Taxi and Island Time Water Taxi cross Pillsbury Sound in about 15 minutes. The boat takes the group. It does not take the St. Thomas car. An open-air taxi or a St. John rental meets them at the Cruz Bay dock.

Stocking the kitchen

Cruz Bay is down the hill. A first-night shop after a late ferry is a long way to start the stay. The kitchen is a Viking range and SKS refrigeration. A private chef is not in the lodging rate.

Cruz Bay shops

• Starfish Market. The Marketplace in Cruz Bay. 340-779-4949. Open every day, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Meat, seafood, produce, a bakery, and wine. Order ahead and they deliver.
• Dolphin Market. Staples and ice. Shops in Cruz Bay, Chocolate Hole, and Coral Bay. These notes do not publish a phone.
• St. John Provisions. The morning stop in Cruz Bay for pastries, coffee, and sandwiches. These notes do not publish a phone.

Ask for a chef when you send the dates, with the headcount, the nights you want a cook, and the allergy list. Cleaning is $1,250 per stay. USVI hotel occupancy tax is 12.5%. Past four guests, the extra-guest fee is $75 a night. Those are not in a lodging quote.

If someone needs a doctor

Call 911. Say Valhalla, Catherineberg, above Cinnamon Bay, on the North Shore of St. John. Do not drive a serious injury down that road yourself. Myrah Keating Smith Community Health Center in Susannaberg is the 24-hour clinic. Surgery and intensive care are at Schneider Regional Medical Center on St. Thomas. EMS uses an ambulance boat. The full note is the care page.

St. John Travel Journal recommends CTC Stays’ Valhalla for a whole house in Catherineberg that sleeps 16. It sits above Cinnamon Bay. It is not on the sand. A 100-point score is not published on the listing.