Santa Should Bring You a St John Villa Trip for Christmas

No Reindeer required to get Santa to St John

We hope Santa brings you a trip to St John 

Play Santa yourself and give as a present to thoseyou love a vacation at Great Expectations. Take a look at our calendar and let us know when we can host you next!  We have only one week still available (April 8 - April 16, 2016) between now and August so plan now for a 2017 holiday on St John (Christmas, New Years, Presidents week, 4th of July Carnival are all still available). It is 85 degrees year round on St John so no time is a bad time to come for a visit!

December St John news flashes & fun St John clips:

• Caribbean Journal highlights the '9 Best Beaches on St John' listing Maho Bay, Trunk Bay, Oppenheimer, Denis, Hawksnest, Cinnamon, Francis, Salt Pond, and Lameshur as their picks.

• Some of these beaches offer great snorkeling opportunities, but since they are all within the National Park where shell and coral collecting is prohibited, if shell and coral collecting is your thing you might want to head over to Hart Bay beach. Hart Bay is on the western most side of Rendezvous Bay and is accessed only by a couple of trails (one being only a 5 minute walk from Great Expectations). The other day our son-in-law found this beauty while taking a walk along the Hart Bay beach.

• Ready to retire to someplace warm and laid back? Here is an article for you: The 10 Coolest Places to Retire in the Caribbean. The #1 spot went to St John: A haven for artists, creative types, beach lovers and sailors, St John is an eclectic place with beautiful beaches, a massive national park system and a very artsy, funky vibe. It’s also in the US, meaning Americans simply have to buy a plane ticket and find a house. It’s not cheap, but you’re paying to be a part of a very unique community.

• Now that TSA and the airlines are requiring people to be at the airport 2 - 3 hours before departure (American is requiring people checking bags to check in at least 90 minutes before departure), there is something to do other than mill around, buy liquor or perfume, or have one more west indian meal and that is to take advantage of free WiFi at the St Thomas airport! This is thanks to the US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism. All you have to do to log on to the free WiFi is to complete a short survey about your stay in the Virgin Islands.

• Contact us directly and we will help make your vacation a trip to remember!

Put your dancing shoes on to support a great St John organization

The Friends of the National Park is hosting its 8th annual Gala.  This event always proves to be a fabulous evening and best of all you can help a St John organization that is a critical partner to our wonderful National Park.

Catch a bit of theater on St John - January 27 - Broadway comes to St John (again)!

St John School for the Arts (SJSA) is sponsoring, for the second year in a row, a musical production (under the rubric 'Broadway comes to St John'.  If this year's production entitled, World of Dreams, is anything like last year's production the audience will be in for a true treat!  Fourth graders from Guy Benjamin, Gifft Hill, and Julius Sprauve Schools will be featured.  NYC theater professionals - singers, dancers and choreographers -  work with the young students for several weeks prior to the production which should prove a special experience for both groups.  This production is one of SJSA's fundraiser's so there is a part for you to play as well!  SJSA will sell tickets for the first show for $200 each.  This will include a champagne reception and dinner at one of St John's wonderful restaurants (e.g. Fatty Crabs, Lime Inn, or our personal favorite LaTapa and several others).  The second show, at 8 PM, is free and open to all, although contributions will be gladly accepted!  Call the SJSA (340 779-4322) for more info. Get your tickets early, you and the kids of St John will be the better for it.

Santa arrives on St John!

Santa Visits St. John
St John Source reports....

The Battery was decked in its Christmas finery, Santa wore his plushest suit, and more than 100 excited kindergarten through third grade children lined up to sit on his lap as St. John welcomed the holiday season Monday with the annual Governor’s Christmas Party.

“I want a gift. I want a Christmas phone,” Nia Lewis, 5, said as she waited for Santa to arrive.
Alas, she had to make do with a plush teddy bear, while the boys received Hovensa trucks. All the kids received a copy of “The Lesson Box,” a children’s book written by St. Thomas resident Tregenza Roach and illustrated by St. John resident Karen Samuel.

Both were on hand to autograph the books for the students.

“I was very fortunate to have parents and grandparents to read to me,” Roach said, speaking about the desire to pass this habit along to a younger generation.

Taking a minute out from signing copies of his book, he said it’s a Caribbean story about how children learn the “laws of life,” including how things may be different than they appear.

Samuel said the text of the book inspired her illustrations.

First lady Cecile deJongh, on hand to shepherd the children onto Santa’s lap, said distributing books for Christmas fits in with Government House’s literacy campaign.

And, for the rest of the story