US Virgin Islands January 2009

During a meal with some of my family during Thanksgiving weekend, my cousin mentioned they were planning a trip to the US Virgin Islands. As a fellow traveler I inquired about their plans. Within minutes, she said "You should come with us!" When we got back home, we researched the Islands and the accomodations.
The Virgin Islands are made up of three major islands: St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John. St. John is the smallest island, about 20 square miles. The Virgin Islands National Park makes up three-fourths of the island.
We would fly into the major airport on St. Thomas, take a taxi to the ferry and ferry to St. John where my cousin, Laura, and her husband, Roy, would pick us up in their rented Jeep. Laura and Roy, along with their kids Ian (2) and Caleb(1) were staying in a cottage at the Cinnamon Bay Campground. We reserved a campsite and brought our own tent and camping supplies.
When we got to St. John, we were in paradise. The weather and water were at perfect temperatures. The campground was quiet with lots of shade and beach. The bathrooms were all right, but the showers had only cold water, so that took time to get used to.
We spent 10 days in St. John. We expored most of the beaches and drove around the island in the rented Jeep. St. Johm has a bit of history, so we enjoyed going to the visitor center and visiting ruins of old sugar plantations. There are quite a bit of hiking trails on the island. We ate out for a few meals, but mostly bought groceries and kept them in a cooler at the campsite. Wayne, Caleb and I celebrated birthdays on the island so Laura bought us some treats.

The snorkeling in St. John was fabulous. We had thought that our snorkeling in Jamaica was good, but this couldn't compare. We saw hundreds of parrotfish and angelfish. Lots of stingrays, starfish, and conch. We even saw a baracuda, which some people are afraid of, but they arn't very dangerous. The highlight was seeing sea turtles. They were amazing.
We had a blast seeing the island with Roy and Laura. Ian and Caleb were very good natured, and we loved playing with them. Ian loved to go out in the water with Wayne.
We saw a bit of wildlife - mongooses skittered across the road, brown pelicans dived for minnows, and occationally an iguana would show its face. There were also hermit crabs, wild chickens, wild donkeys and deer.
On our last night, we decided to get a hotel near the airport since our flight left early. It was good to get a warm shower and relax in a bed!
I absolutely loved this trip. The warm weather in January really felt good. And the snorkeling really was excellent. Wayne wants to get an underwater camera for the next trip.
See More pics here
Reflections
Likes: Warm ocean, beautiful beaches, very safe, not crowded
Dislikes: Food and groceries are expensive.
Ease of travel on 1-10 scale (1=easy, 10=hard): 4 Transfering from airport to taxi to ferry....is a bit tiring.
Would we go back? y/n Yes - any chance we get!
Would be a good trip for: Families with children, groups, romance!

Websites
Cinnamon Bay Campground www.cinnamonbay.com
Virgin Islands National park www.nps.gov/viis