The Most Beautiful Beaches on St. John, USVI

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Trunk Bay - one of the most beautiful things to see on St. John

The Most Beautiful Beaches on St. John, USVI

A few words about Virgin Islands National Park

The most beautiful beaches on St. John, USVI are located within the Virgin Islands National Park. The park encompasses about 70% of the island and protects the the beaches, the coral reefs, the verdant forests, as well as the remnants of many sugar cane plantations. Virgin Island National Park was established in 1956 after Laurence Rockefeller donated most of the land to the national park service. Over the years, the park was enlarged by the the nearby waters and the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument.

The most beautiful beaches on St. John

The beaches on St. John are fantastic. The turquoise waters, white sands, and lush vegetation make the scenery absolutely lovely.  It’s no surprise that so many people consider the area a tropical paradise. I must say that you can’t really go wrong with any of the beaches you visit on St. John. They are all magnificent. We did go to some of the more and less popular ones and here is a list of my favorite ones.

Trunk Bay

Trunk Bay is often considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It is renowned for its paradise-like beauty and crystal clear waters. It was also my favorite beach. The scenery and combination of colors was simply breathtaking. There is an underwater snorkeling trail here, although according to my husband, snorkeling itself was not that great. It might be better to the left side of the beach but we didn’t check it out. Parking ($5) is limited, so keep that in mind. We arrived early, around 8 am, and were basically the only ones around. Trunk Bay facilities include showers, snorkel and chair rentals, as well as two snack bars.

Maho Bay

Maho Beach is a gorgeous white sand beach fringed by sea grape trees and an occasional palm tree. It’s narrower than many of the other beaches on the island, so it does get crowded quickly. I loved everything about this beach. The water was lovely, there was a good amount of shade, and the snorkeling was great as well. Green turtles frequent Maho Bay regularly, so you’re almost guaranteed to see one. Also, the fish were colorful and plentiful even in shallow waters, which was nice as I’m not a good swimmer and don’t go out far. Another great thing about Maho Bay is that there is a lively bar and a couple of food trucks right by the parking lot. They’re all in a lush, tropical setting, so why not enjoy a delicious painkiller while you’re here.

Cinnamon Bay

This was another picturesque beach, long and wide, and fringed by lovely sea grape trees. The white sand, in a certain light, gives you a hint of cinnamon-like color, hence the name. The Caribbean turquoise water was so beautiful that it was actually hard to  stay out of it. We were visited by a couple of donkeys, who apparently frequent the left side of the beach. Snorkeling was so-so in terms of the coral and fish. My husband swam out to the little island near the shore but it wasn’t as great as he was hoping for. Nevertheless, we really enjoyed this beach and spent several hours relaxing in the shade of a sea grape tree.

Honeymoon Beach

Honeymoon beach is in my opinion one of the most beautiful beaches on St. John. It is located in Solomon Bay and is one of the closest beaches to Cruz Bay. The beach is lovely with great snorkeling and does not get busy till 10 am -11 am. While close to Cruz Bay, Honeymoon Beach is not easy to get to. In order to reach it, you will need to either hike, park in Caneel Bay and take a shuttle ($10), or get there by boat. If you decide to hike, take the Lind Point Trail from behind the National Park’s Visitor Center and hike for about a mile. Wear sturdy shoes as the trail is rocky. Another option, rarely mentioned, is to drive west on highway 20 and try to find a parking spot in the little parking lot right by the Virgin Islands National Park sign. From there, you would only need to hike 0.3 miles to the beach. That’s exactly what we did, which was a good move. Honeymoon beach has a bar which sells drinks and food, and we definitely did not say ‘no’ to a refreshing painkiller on the beach.

Hawksnest Beach

Hawksnest Beach is a great choice if you can’t find parking at Trunk Bay. Similarly to the other beaches within the national park, this is a charming beach, with good snorkeling. We spent about two hours on this beach, enjoying the Caribbean white sands and gorgeous views.

Francis Bay

Francis Bay is a long beach, known for spotting turtles (no luck for us). This was actually one of my least favorite beaches on St. John, although such terms aren’t quite applicable to the Caribbean. It was still very pretty but the water color was just not as spectacular as at the other beaches.

Leinster Bay

If you stop to explore Anneberg Sugar Mill Ruins, you are going to overlook Leinster Bay. While we didn’t take the trail down to the beach, we definitely enjoyed the gorgeous views of the bay from above. Next time we visit St. John, we will definitely want to explore Watermelon Cay in Leinster Bay. Apparently, snorkeling is wonderful here, and the pictures look beautiful.

Haulover Bay

Haulover Bay Beach is located on the eastern side of the island, just when you’re about to exit the national park. The beach has great snorkeling with a variety of coral very close to the shore. My husband loved the underwater ecosystem here, and rated it even better than snorkeling  around Captain Cook Monument on the Big Island of Hawaii. While this is not a white sand beach, the water has the lovely turquoise color and the views from the beach are quite scenic. Right in front of you is Tortola, an island belonging to the British Virgin Islands. The beach is also secluded and hardly has any visitors. If you want to get away from the crowds, do some great snorkeling, and don’t mind the rocky beach, this may be a good location to spend a couple of hours.

Salt Point Bay

This was the only beach on the south side of St. John that we visited. To be truthful, we didn’t even stay here. After spending time on the spectacular north-end beaches, this beach did not appeal to us as much. The beach was much more open and there was basically no shade. As much as we like the beach scene, we typically stay in the shade, so we didn’t mind hiking back to the parking lot. Just know that this spot does get busy and you’ll most likely need to park along the road. The trail to the beach takes about 10 minutes. It is not even, so wear good shoes.

Tired of visitng beaches?

At some point, you may get tired even of the most beautiful beaches on St. John. If that happens, check out some other ideas on what else you can do on the island:

You may also want to spend some time on St. Thomas. If so, read this post:

  • How to spend 5 days on St. Thomas, USVI

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Cameron Craig June 3, 2022

    I have actually visited St. John in the USVI while I was living in Montserrat in the British West Indies when I was a teenager. 1971ish. I have 3 daughters and 3 grandsons. Good afternoon to my family and friends all over the world 👪😊🇨🇦

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