Such a BEAUTIFUL BEACH - highly recommended beach... also with a gift shop with souvenirs and…read moresnacks and more   - - -   June, 2025 Visit   - - -   Short Review,   Cinnamon Bay Beach...   ... has an island you can swim / snorkel to... many fish to see closer to the island   ... has a view of Great Thatch, British Virgin Islands   ... has indoor facilities... gift shop, snack bar (indoors and outside), campsites   ... not crowded       - - - Additional information: - - -   My wonderful wife planned a relaxing trip for us to St. John's, US Virgin Islands (just east of Puerto Rico), in June, 2025; we had a great time... such a beautiful island!     We snorkeled two beaches on St. John, and we enjoyed them both.   Cinnamon Bay Beach stuns you with its beautiful colors... the beach has light tan sand, helping make the water is a light green-blue color... stunningly beautiful!!     - - - Why Cinnamon Bay Beach - - -   Most of St. John is a National Park and most of the northern part of the island provides a nearly continuous beach... nearly continuous because peninsulas that extend into the water separate each beach from the other.    We looked at the map and read the reviews and picked Hawksnest and Cinnamon Bay beaches  because they looked more likely to have slightly smaller crowds, as cruise ships apparently visit other beaches (at least when we visited).  When we visited we were not alone and it was also not crowded.   Both are within a couple miles of each other, so while they are similar in overall look and feel - similar color of the water and sand, similar plants, etc., they are unique in what you can see underwater when you're snorkeling, and unique in the views from the beach.     - - - Taxis to and from - - -   To get to and from Cinnamon Bay Beach, you can drive or take a taxi.  The taxis on St. John, at least the ones we saw, are all trucks, with the driver in the cab, and the passengers sitting, open air, in the back... on benches with a roof over our heads.  The taxis run all day and will stop at multiple beaches to drop off and pick up passengers along the way.      - - - Cell / Mobile service - - -   Cell phone service is present, but the signal is a bit weak - 1 to 2 bars of signal strength.      - - - The beach - - -   Even if you never get in the water, the scene is beautiful... the water color is such a beautiful shade of blue...   Enya's "Caribbean Blue" (from 1991 album "Shepherd Moons") was playing in our heads, and was surely inspired by waters like these...   The sand is light and soft   Beautiful green trees and plants along the beach.     - - - The view from the beach - - -   Cinnamon Bay Beach is a beautiful beach and view of the British Virgin Islands' (BVI's) Jost Van Dyke in the distance and Great Thatch island closer... both BVI; St. John's Whistling Cay is visible, closer to the left, and Mary Point, closer to the right; Cinnamon Brach curbs east, and out into the water to a point that becomes Maho Bay and we stayed within Cinnamon Cay..     - - - The water... snorkeling - - -   On any given day, the water quality and aquatic life are things you cannot control.  The day we visited water quality and aquatic life were both goo -  the water was so clear and we saw so many fish, especially as we snorkeled out toward the island... which is much closer than it looks.. 5-10 minutes of calm to quicker leg kicking should get you there.     - - - Snorkeling - what we saw - - -   While snorkeling we were blessed to see: ⁃            a stingray swam by right as we started out !! ⁃            many more parrotfish-like blue-green-purplish fish and others ⁃            on the way back in, two squid!!     - - - Back on the beach - - -   We enjoy laying back and relaxing... and taking photos of our feet as they point toward the sand + surf... and we captured another one here on Cinnamon Bay Beach.   What a great afternoon!     - - - The surf, the lack of on St. John - - -   We have been blessed to visit the Caribbean a couple times and have noticed that there is not much surf, not many waves. On an early trip someone explained that the Caribbean is just at a position in the ocean that the rides are not small; brief internet searches suggest the tide only varies a few inches to a foot or so... such small changes don't lead to many waves. You'll likely see and enjoy hearing waves "lapping at the shore," but you're not likely to do much body surfing... if you have a boogie board, while you could bring it on your flight, you'll likely be better off leaving it at home. - - - Gift Shop - t-shirts, hat pins and more - - - - - - Thank you - - - Thank you to all the park team members who maintain Cinnamon Bay Beach, and to the taxi drivers getting us visitors to and from the beach! ----- ----- -----

Full disclosure I didn't actually swim at this beach but I spent an hour or so here because it's…read moreactually a huge beach! The internet says it's one of the most famous ones and I can see why - the water is crystal clear, bright blue (as are most of the other national park beaches lol). It's spacious though, and in addition to the beach itself, there is a snack vendor area where you can buy lunch (like sandwiches and drinks), and a gear rental place for snorkeling etc. They also have a small restaurant adjacent to the campground cafeteria area which does breakfast and dinner (but not lunch). They have pretty clean bathrooms and showers too, and the most parking of all the beaches that I went to. They even had an info booth; the lady there was fairly knowledgeable about the park although I don't think she was an actual ranger (she wasn't in the ranger outfit). There's also a little area right at the entrance to the beach that is part of some ruins, it's a nice photo op spot. Overall this is a great beach! Def recommend.

Beautiful beach with crystal-clear, lovely water and breathtaking scenic views. The atmosphere is…read morepeaceful and perfect for relaxing or enjoying nature. However, the bathrooms were a bit scary and could definitely use improvement.

We tried Trunk Bay first but parking was a nightmare so we headed on down (up, down, up down) the…read moreroad to Maho Bay. We found a parking spot in a lot and only had a short walk to set up our camp in some nice sun/shade. There are a lot of kids and families here, so expect playing, screaming, etc. but eventually they have to eat something so you'll get some nice quiet. We snorkeled right in front of where we were sitting and saw sea turtles munching on the sea grass. So cool. The beach is not super wide but it's enough to plunk down a chair and have a little shade. Perfect. Water is calm. It's the first place we saw donkeys on the island. We loved it.

Kids (20 and 22) don't like lots of people. This place was worth the hour drive. It was on the…read morefurthest point on the island from where we are staying in Fish Bay. So worth it. We got there at 10, the drive was crazy. Steep, 350 degree turns, really crazy so we went slow. The beach is very private and not overly small. We rented a cabana for a day $20, and we got the last one. I think there are 4-5. Snorkeling was super great, people were quiet and there were just not many people there. You give a donation, too. Will def go back.

This place was worth the drive! It is definitely off the beaten path as you have to go to almost…read morethe eastern most part of St. John to get there. There is a large parking lot with a portable bathroom. The owner, yes, this is privately owned, will greet you and give you a lay of the land. It is all donation based to use the chairs, equipment, etc. The have all types of chairs, picnic tables, some cabanas, water sports like kayaks, etc. The beach itself was nice, a decent length, and there was a good view. Bring food as there is nowhere close and definitely not within walking distance. You can also no longer get to Lime Out from here as they only cater to paid charters now I was told. We spent half a day here and enjoyed ourselves.

Great place to snorkel.. Beautiful short little hike from the parking area to get to the perfect…read moresnorkeling area are you are you in your group... i'm so sorry I don't have any of the gorgeous pictures they are on our GoPro waterproof camera most of them were underwater pics! Saw turtles and probably 20 different types of beautiful colorful fish...

You'll need to park at the Annabelle plantation parking lot for this hike. We were trying to get to…read morethis hike but we accidentally went on the plantation hike, so be aware those are two different things. After parking, make a right and walk on the road and you'll see an opening to the beach. This is the beggining of Waterlemon hike. Although I didn't hike it, I did spend time at the entrance of the hike enjoying the views and water. It seems to be a low difficulty hike, and is maybe a mile to Waterlemon beach.

Saltwell Bottom Beach was recently opened to the public by a private family. If I heard the owner…read morecorrectly the land has been in the family for over 100 years. It is located on the less traveled east end of the island. They are very friendly people...welcoming and warm. The beach is beautifully untouched and the natural beauty is tranquil. The beach and parking is free. You can hang out and relax or enjoy swimming in the beautiful water. Another option is to rent a clear bottom kayak. They have a pretty big inventory and rent them for $15.00 an hour. We stopped by the beach to rent a kayak to use for Lime Out.

This was my first time to the Island and we rented a house nearby. It was great to find something…read moreso close to us to get into the ocean. Very relaxing

The beach was beautiful -- soft and clean sands perfect to spend the day. Clear and calm blue water…read morewith fish swimming around my feet. A few picnic benches and a porta potty. What else can you need when enjoying the magic of St John? Ok. I'm not going to lie. I would have loved a flushable toilet and sink. But, not enough to knock off a star

First time hitting this beach in all my years visiting STJ and this one could be the best. Very…read morecalm waters so perfect for families. Great for paddle boarding. Worth the drive out, plus you you can visit the Annaberg Ruins. They do have some picnic tables but get there early if you want one. If you want a break from the Maho chaos, just keep driving past and check out this gem.

If you want to see amazing coral and sea life, this is THE place on the island. It's not touristy…read moreat all. Beware, the beach is washed up coral and rocks so it can hurt walking barefoot on, so if you are looking for a sandy beach, this is not it. Advice: put your flippers on while in shallow water when you first step in and walk backwards into the water.

The website depicts the property very accurately. The house we rented, Turtle Watch, exceeded our…read moreexpectations. We had a 2 bedroom house with sleeping accommodations for 4 comfortably. The house was clean. Instructions on how to maintain things, keep animals out, and get around were greatly appreciated. Please Note, the mosquitos, or NO-See-Ums, are rampant! Please do yourself a favor and show up with bug spray for your own well being. We got eaten alive and even with bug spray covering my body at all times, I still came back with an insane amount of bites on my body. It is a beach house and beach bugs are all about. The house sits across the road from a small beach which is shared with the other 3 rental homes on the estate property. Honestly, we never saw the other home renters - and never shared beach time, so consider it very private. It is recommended to get a car. If you are not walker, get a car. We walked all over that island and found it refreshing, but there are wild animals, deer, sheep, goats, donkeys...that will follow you around, and it gets hot, so if you don't want to break a sweat walking 20 minutes to dinner, get a car. If you want to snorkle at any other beaches besides the sweet little spot across the road, get a car. There are no other beaches within walking distance where you can lay out, swim and snorkle. We hiked one day to Brown beach. The name suits the location. I do not know what the brown stuff is in the water that extends from the beach about 40 yards into the water, but no one was swimming in it. It is a great spot for a romantic getaway, or small families who can entertain themselves. It was quiet and perfect to get away from the hub bub of life. If you are looking for a fun getaway with other people and bars...stay in Cruz Bay. We never saw the person who runs the property. It would have been nice to be greeted when we arrived, but we are grownups and everything was handled in writing upon arrival. We were also to get any information we needed via email promptly. So, it's a very self service environment, which we have no problem with. Note(s): There is free wifi, but you have to sit on the porch to get it. The signal is weak. The kitchen is fully furnished. Don't forget water b/c the water is rain water and you probably do not want to drink it. Hint: bring your own soap, shampoo and conditioner.

We were very disappointed with the Turtle House that we rented. While the view was spectacular,…read moreyou will want to know that the house does not have AC, a dishwasher, washer/dryer, Or TV. The website says there is internet however, at best, we had service only about 2% of the time, literally. We had to request a change of towels about 5 days after our arrival and the property manager was very resistant when we did ask. She did not replace the beach towels, or replenish toilet paper, trash bags or dish soap. She finally did so but only after we walked next door to the office to ask the next day. She was rude and snarky. We found a laundramat on the other side of the island but we spent $120 to do laundry in filthy machines with no hot water at the premises. There was no way to lock the house and while there was a safe, it wasn't adequate enough to hold a laptop so we had to hide things under beds and in suitcases. I would never stay here again. You would be better off at a camp site.

While spending the day on St. John's we visited Maho Beach and then crossed the street to visit…read more Maho crossroads, what a fun place! The cocktails were great. Everything is colorful and bright. The staff is amazingly friendly and warm with a down to earth vibe.

We had a great time at Maho Beach on our recent trip to St. John. We hiked to Maho from Cinnamon…read moreBay--not a bad hike, despite what people say--and we went on Taco Tuesday (1/2/24) because... well, it was Taco Tuesday! But not everything goes according to plan on St. John, and there were NO TACOS! That's alright, we just went with the flow, and no complaints. Instead, I had a Cruz Bay Burger, and my wife had the Mahi Mahi Sandwich. We picked up a painkiller and a lime in d'coconut to wash them down. You'll see people complain about prices at the Crossroads, but not us. The food was hot, tasty, and the drinks were smooth, yet strong (which is why we only had one each). It's worth a couple bucks more to have your food at one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Maho Beach is one of the best places to see sea turtles, and we managed to see one, despite the cloudier-than-usual water, due to wave action. The other complaint you hear a lot is from folks who remember Maho from "back then," a quieter time, with no Crossroads. I get that, especially for folks who live on the island. But for the tourists, it's sure nice to be able to have a complete experience at Maho--amazing beach, food, recreational rentals, shirts, mugs, etc. We picked up a couple fun reusable pint cups with our drinks, and now use them back home. It's a happy memory, for sure.