Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 340-776-6330, 800-539-9998;
www.cinnamonbay.com
; campsites/equipped tents
$32/93,cottages$126-163; closedSep)
About 6 miles east of Cruz Bay on North Shore
Rd, Cinnamon Bay Campground has close to 130 campsites in the national park. The set-
ting is a mile-long crescent of sand at the base of forested hills. This operation is really a
campers' village with a general store, snack bar and a restaurant. But the grounds are so
expansive, and the vegetation so thick, that you have more privacy than you might expect
at a place that often has 400 to 500 guests.
There are three accommodation options at Cinnamon Bay:
»
Cottages
are 15ft by 15ft concrete shelters with two screened sides, electric lights, a pro-
pane stove, cooking and eating utensils, a water container, ice chest and ceiling fan. Outside
is a picnic table and charcoal grill. The cottages have four twin beds and may be equipped
with two extra cots or a crib. You can get a beachfront, water view or forest location.
»
Equipped tents
are all 10ft by 14ft on a solid wood platform. Each tent comes with
four cots, a propane lantern, propane stove, ice chest, water container, cooking and eating
utensils. A charcoal grill and picnic table are outdoors. You get a change of bed linens here
twice a week, just as you do with a cottage rental.
»
Baresites
, for those who have their own equipment and want to rough it, fit one large tent
or two small ones. Each spot has a picnic table and charcoal grill.
The best bets are using your own tent or the cottages; the equipped tents are a bit gloomy.
All guests use the public toilet facilities and cold-water showers.
Caneel Bay Resort
HOTEL $$$
( 340-776-6111,888-767-3966;
www.caneelbay.com
;rfrom$550; )
For
a sense of old-school casual elegance, Caneel Bay is still the reigning queen of USVI ac-
commodations. Built in 1955 around the ruins of an old sugar plantation, the resort covers
170 acres of national park land. It's where folks such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt come
when they need seven beaches, 11 tennis courts and five restaurants, along with landscaped
rolling hills, miles of hiking and jogging trails, forests and rocky promontories. Cars are
restricted to a satellite parking lot, and guests travel by foot or golf cart. Only 166 guest
quarters are spread around the property in units that are masked by the surrounding trees.
Rooms are elegant with plantation-style furnishings from Indonesia, but without TVs or
cooking facilities. It's a favorite of honeymooners and well-heeled families. Parking costs
$10. Located 2 miles northeast of Cruz Bay via North Shore Rd.
