We just returned from 2 glorious weeks on St. John. In this segment I will review our rental car company and campground.

Who - 2 families of 5 - kids ages 4 - 13
Where - Cinnamon Bay Campground (tent sites)
When - 2/16 - 3/2
Where we're from - Massachusetts (North of Boston)
2006 - We'll be back at Cinnamon - already booked!

Cinnamon Bay Campground
My husband and I were a bit reluctant to stay here because we are NOT campers. Our friends camp frequently and convinced us to give it a try. What a GREAT decision. We had an excellent experience (although I can't say I would enjoy camping in New England...) The campground is beautiful! Lots of very pretty stone work and it is on the largest beach on St. John. After 2 weeks we felt like we had really experienced the natural beauty of this island.

The camp sites are not "on the beach." They are set back in a tropical forest with dirt walkways. We could not see the beach from our site but we could hear the ocean clearly - especially at night. It was a 2 minute walk from our site to the beach. The farthest site from the beach would not be more than 5 minutes. It took us about 2-3 minutes to walk to the parking lot from our tent. There are a few tent and cottage sites with a view of the beach.

Cinnamon offers cottages (we tried for one of these but they were sold out), fully equipped tents (includes propane stove, propane lamp, cots, linens, towels, basic pots, pans and silverware, plates, cups, cooler and food chest for dry goods) and bare sites. We got a fully equipped tent.

Tent was 10x14 - large enough for 5 cots with a bit of room to spare - but not much! Over the tent was a large tarp which extended about 14 feet beyond the tent to cover a picnic table, our lamp and stove. There was also a charcoal grill a few feet away. Cost was $131/night for 5 people. Prices drop considerabley in the off-season. Check their website for rates.

We shared a bathroom (there are no sites with private bath - even cottages) but never had to wait for showers etc... Showers were about 80 degrees (no hot water available). I usually set my shower at home to 100 degrees. It was cool but not cold. I bought a solar shower but never used it - even the kids didn't complain.

We got rain 3-4 mornings and the tent did not leak. We also didn't experience any bug problems at our site. The only time we were bothered by bugs is if we sat on the beach after sunset. We got 2 small spiders in our tent and saw 1 grasshopper. There was also one small lizard that snuck in one day but he left on his own (too crowded for him I guess.) Around our site (but not in our tent) we saw 3 cats, many hermit crabs, one large golden orb spider and lots of small lizards. A few nights we were bothered by mosquitos but bug spray took care of the problem. Most nights bug repellant was not necessary. This would probably been different if we got more rain. We didn't see any donkeys, tarantulas or scorpions at the campground (although I am sure they exist.) The only donkeys we saw in our 2 week period were in the Coral Bay area.

The beach was our favorite on the island. Beautiful long sandy beach that never felt crowded. We often walked to "Little Cinnamon" (about 10 minutes away by water or a rocky trail.) We ate coconuts on the beach and one day saw a magnificent 4 foot iguana! He was larger than my 4 y/o son! We often had Little Cinnamon beach to ourselves which was nice.

Out of the 2 weeks we saw surfers on the beach 2 days with very big swells (St. John standards, not Hawiian standards!) Very fun. It was a good beach for kids because the waves made it fun for playing. Snorkeling wasn't too good close to shore because of the big waves - although if you swam out to Cinnamon Cay it may have been better. I have read great snorkel reviews for this beach if you go when conditions are less windy (spring and summer.) We chose to snorkel on beaches that were more calm because of the kids. You could rent wind surfers, surf boards, kayaks, floats and chairs. There is also a small gift shop (t-shirts, bathing suits, sunscreen etc...) on the beach as well as a very small museum.

Near the parking lot - at the entrance to the campground - is a restaurant that did not get good reviews so we avoided it and a small camp store were you could buy ice, assorted food items, post cards... The store was expensive but okay if you really needed something. They also have an amphitheater with different programs throughout the week. The programs are free and open to all - not just campers. While we were there they had a star gazing discussion, short historical play and a wildlife talk. Unfortunately we did not partake in any of these because we were either busy or the kids were too tired. We will try next year!

We feel Cinnamon Bay Campground greatly enhanced our St. John experience because we were literally outside 24/7 for 2 weeks. The only time were were inside was to grocery shop or occasionally at a restaurant. We ate most meals on the beach or at our campsite.

Both families agreed that for a family vacation we wouldn't even consider staying anyplace other than Cinnamon for a 2 week trip. Our last trip to St. John was 12 years ago (before our children were born) and we stayed in a nice condo. We liked this better because of the beach location and easy access to Cruz Bay and Coral Bay.

Jeep - C&C Car Rental
Each family rented a jeep for the entire 2 week stay and it was worth the money! C&C was great. We got a 5-seat Vitara with 30k miles. Windows were a bit sticky and the jeep made a few funny noises but everything worked out great. Only disappointment was we didn't have a radio - only a cassette player. This may have been a blessing because we talked more and were able to really escape from the outside world.

We returned the jeep in good condition but with some sand and had no problems with C&C wanting to charge us extra (a common complaint with some other rental agencies we read about.)

Cost was $450/week. We will rent from C&C again.

The other family rented from Budget in St. Thomas and brought their SUV (I think it was an Explorer) over on the ferry. They had no problems. Their car had about 10k miles and looked and ran like it was brand new. They had a cd player and working radio. They did not have any problems getting a spot on the car barge.

Why rent a jeep? One day the other family split up and the party without the car had to take a taxi from Cruz Bay to Cinnamon. They jumped on an available taxi and waited for 40 minutes until the taxi was full (which took about 3 ferries.) I can't imagine how much time we would have spent waiting if we hadn't rented! Also - we loved having the freedom to visit any beach we wanted without having to worry about arranging rides. We used our jeep everyday.

I will post reviews of beaches, restaurants and the Wayward Sailor snorkel charter when I have another chance to get on the internet.

Thanks to all of you who helped us plan this perfect vacation!!!

~Cathy~