Caribbean islands when it rains.

November 21, 2007 8:18 PM

What to do in St. John or St. Thomas in the rain?

I'm taking my sister to St. John for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, it's supposed to rain every day we're there. Any suggestions for what to do that don't involve Scrabble? We're both in our twenties and fairly adventurous.

posted by crookedneighbor to travel & transportation (7 comments total)

i have spent many thanksgivings there. don't worry about the rain--it rarely lasts more than an hour. maybe a whole afternoon if there's a storm brewing.

that said, there isn't a whole lot to do inside. there's a movie theater and some indoor shopping on st. thomas, not sure what's available on st. john besides the shopping centers in cruz bay.

i would just check the weather before you head out, bring an umbrella, and plan to take refuge in a bar till the rain passes. have fun!
posted by thinkingwoman at 8:27 PM on November 21, 2007

Go snorkeling. Unless it's a major storm that's seriously kicking up the water it won't make that much difference to the experience, and you'll be wet anyway.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:26 PM on November 21, 2007

Cards, rum, and conversation.
posted by asuprenant at 9:36 PM on November 21, 2007

Yeah, just go to the other side of the island that it is not raining on, or just be patient. Unless there is a major tropical storm, the rain ends quickly.

Go snorkeling or fishing. (If you can on thanksgiving??)

There is a great covered beach bar at Megan's Bay on STT. I also really enjoy Cinnamon Bay on STJ.

2 drinks not miss while you are there:

1. BBC
2. Bushwacker
posted by Slenny at 12:17 AM on November 22, 2007

When I was in St. Lucia for my honeymoon, it rained the first 1.5 days. We when for a guided hike in a rain forest the first day. the canopy blocked the wind, and it was so humid you could barely tell it was raining. I imagine St. John or St. Thomas have similar climes.
posted by jrishel at 4:12 PM on November 22, 2007

Try hiking the Reef Bay Trail on St. John—get an island taxi to drop you off at the top in the morning and pick you up again at the bottom in the afternoon. As jrishel says, the air is so humid anyway that there's not that much difference between hiking in the rain and hiking when it's not raining.

If you're at a beach and get caught in the rain, I recommend staying in the water. If you try to shelter under the trees and bushes far back from the waterline, you will get bitten all over by sand fleas.

And as thinkingwoman says, the rain there usually doesn't last very long; I doubt you're headed for days of solid downpour. Once when I was staying at Maho Bay I went to the front office and asked about the weather forecast. They regarded me with great perplexity. Conditions in St. John are fairly constant. Practically every day in the winter, it will be about eightyish and humid, and it will rain some amount but not cats and dogs, and the sun will rise at sixish and set at sixish, and the tides will be negligible. (Same in the summer, but hotter and humider, I gather.) So just go out and do whatever you were going to do anyway, and take a $5 drugstore poncho, and line your backpack with a garbage bag.
posted by Orinda at 5:03 PM on November 22, 2007

Thanks all for the advice. Cinnamon Bay was beautiful, my sister loved the BBC cocktail, and in the end, it barely rained at all.
posted by crookedneighbor at 7:52 PM on November 26, 2007