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St. John

US Virgin Islands · Caribbean · northern hemisphere

SwimmingLakes & CoastlineHiking

St. John is at its best for swimming in January to April. Good but not prime in May, June, July and December.

JFMAMJJASOND
Swimming
90
89
91
91
68
68
66
46
33
38
51
67
Lakes & Coastline
89
89
91
90
68
68
66
46
35
38
49
66
Hiking
89
90
91
67
25
23
21
12
4
7
42
67

No reliable monthly crowd data for this destination — the proxy used elsewhere did not pass its checks here, so nothing is shown rather than a guess.

Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.

primegoodpossibleoff-seasoncrowds, on this place’s own scale

The short version

Nearly three-fifths of the island is national park, which is why it looks different from everywhere else in the Virgin Islands — no high-rises, and beaches that end in forest rather than concrete. January to March is the year’s best window

What the walking is like

Short shaded park trails, humid but easy. No guide needed.

When not to come

Mid-August to mid-October. This is the peak of hurricane season here, many places close outright, and it is the one stretch where a booked trip can simply not happen.

Busiest

Christmas and New Year, then steadily through to April, with March the peak

With children

Trunk and Cinnamon Bay are calm and shallow and about as easy as the Caribbean gets. Access is by ferry from St. Thomas, which adds a leg to every arrival.

Where to stay

Cruz Bay is where the ferry lands and where the prices are. Small villas up the hill or out toward Coral Bay cost less and put you nearer the quiet beaches.

What can go wrong

Hurricane season

September and October are the peak. Many places close outright, and this is the one stretch where a booked trip can simply not happen.Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov

Kept out of the score on purpose. Averaging a rare catastrophe into a monthly number would tell you something false; the warning is the honest form.

Dates that matter

  • St. John Carnival, the Festival (late Jun–early Jul)
  • Hurricane season (1 Jun–30 Nov), at its worst mid-Aug to mid-Oct
  • Calmest, clearest water (Jan–Mar)

Walks

  • Reef Bay Trail — downhill through forest to petroglyphs and a sugar mill ruin
  • Ram Head — an exposed walk to a headland above the sea, best early
  • Cinnamon Bay loop — short, shaded, and past the plantation ruins

The national park maintains the trails and they are genuinely good — short, humid, and mostly forested, which is a relief this far south.

See everything else at its best in Mar

Elsewhere in Caribbean

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