You won't believe you don't need a passport to visit this glorious little island!
Hey, y’all! It’s Travel Tuesday, get excited for your life! Travel Tuesday posts are some of my favorite because I get to relive some of the incredible adventures I have been able to experience. Recently I shared with you some of my favorite Caribbean destinations. In that post, I mentioned a fabulous little island called St. John.
I had the opportunity to visit St. John a few years back and I am so glad that I did. This place is absolutely incredible, y’all. Imagine a gorgeous hilly volcanic island covered with a lush green canopy and swaying palm trees. Picture vibrant turquoise blue water crashing against the white sand beaches. That, my friends is St. John. It’s truly a little piece of heaven.
St. John is part of the US Virgin Islands, which means Americans don’t need a passport in order to visit. Cha-ching! Even, better, about 60% island is part of the US National Park system so it is largely unspoiled. The remaining 40% is occupied by absolutely gorgeous resorts and homes of the rich and famous.
During our visit, we spent some time driving around the island and stumbled upon the stunning ruins of Annaberg Sugar Plantation. This plantation dates back to around 1870 and features some absolutely incredible views of the island. It was really cool to walk around and imagine what this place must have been like over 200 years ago. My favorite structure was the remnants of an old windmill.
Afterwards, we headed down to Trunk Bay where we did some snorkeling. The park system has installed underwater plaques that give you information on the coral reef and the fish and wildlife that are indigenous to the area. The reef was beautiful and in great condition.
Not only is their wildlife and scenery gorgeous but my Lord there are some good looking people on that island! At the time of our visit, I was relatively new to snorkeling and did not have my mask secured on properly. I was taking in water from my mask and my snorkel- I was in pretty bad shape. A ridiculously good-looking, God-like lifeguard paddled out to the reef on his surf board and fixed my mask for me. He explained that since my hair was pulled up, my mask wasn’t able to get a good suction on it and water was able to seep in. He then hung out nearby to make sure I was good to go before helping someone else out. I was really impressed by how attentive the lifeguards were there. Heck, now that I’ve traveled throughout the Caribbean, I even more impressed by the fact that they actually had lifeguards on duty!
St. John is easily accessible by a short 4 mile water taxi ride from St. Thomas. If you ever get the opportunity to visit the USVI, I truly hope you get a chance to spend some time in St. John. The island is drop dead gorgeous and a nice change of pace from its crowded neighbor, St. Thomas.
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