I'm headed to St. John in about a month. Is it worth bringing my board with me? Any recommendations on spots? Or forget surfing, just bring my snorkel and spf45?
Not Likely I went there about 18 months ago for my honeymoon. We were not looking to surf so I didn't really check out every nook and cranny on the island - but I'm sure there are spots to surf there...question is whether there will be surf at all. It would be rare that any swell actually reaches St. John while you are there...so even if there are spots to surf they probably won't be firing. I didn't see one surfboard or bodyboard on the island the entire time I was there. I will say however that the snorkeling there is spectacular! They also have great hiking trails. My advice is to rent a car and spend you time checking out all of the beautiful bays and hiking trails.
Not to sure about St John. Tortola (British Virgin Islands) can get really fun though. If your willing to take the ferry ride over i would say go for it.
Somewhere on here is a post with pictures of me surfing Cinnamon Bay St John. It was a huge north swell but the waves in the bay were only chest high +. Still fun and I got to surf for 2 days of a 6 day trip in paradise. Chances are, if there is anything it will be small unless you charter a boat and go to the outer reefs. One within eyesight of Cinnamon Bay was head high plus when I was there, I just couldn't get to it. There is also a ferry that will take you on a short ride over to Tortolla.
it is probably not worth it to bring a board. Reef bay on the south side of st john consistently gets swell but its super mushy and gets a steady crosswind because of the trades this time of year (its okay to learn on, not worth bring a board for) Cinnamon bay will get a wave once in a while which can be pretty fun but rarely breaks unless the swell is strong enough to wrap around the BVI. But if cinamon bay is working, you can rent a board there (they actually have a really good board selection)
tortola is definitely a surf destination, with good reason. However St. John, not so much... I would not bring a board. However, Tortola is very close and can be good with NW-N-NE swells, so maybe take a ferry and go for it.
sounds like I need to convince my friend and his girl to relocate to tortolla while i'm down there... proubably end up using my $$ on tourist things and beer rather than board fees and boat rides. thanks for the info!
I would say no. If there is a surf shop, rent one. If they don't have any to rent or there is no surf shop, there probably is no surf.
