Our Arrival Guide
Welcome to the US Virgin Islands!
St. Thomas Airport
Most likely your first stop in the US Virgin Islands. Most flights arrive mid afternoon. Once you get off your flight, you will walk outside on the tarmac to the baggage claim area. Grab a cold drink, wait for any checked bags, then proceed outside to the taxi dispatch.
Ferry to St. John
Red Hook or Crown Bay?
Besides private water taxi or helicopter, there are 2 main ways to get from the St. Thomas Airport: Inter Island Boat Services Crown Bay Ferry or the Red Hook people Ferry.
Crown Bay
If the timing is right, you can tell STT airport taxi outside baggage you’d like to go to Crown Bay. Enjoy a short 3 minute cab ride to Crown Bay Marina. If you are early, there is a coffee/ice cream stand and Tickles Dockside Pub to get something to eat and drink while you wait. Once you load up on the ferry, enjoy a 35-40 min ride across the south shore of St. Thomas straight into the customs dock in Cruz Bay on St. John.
Red Hook
Tell the dispatcher “Red Hook” and load into a taxi van for a 20-35 minute ride across St. Thomas to the Red Hook Ferry Terminal.
Optional Private Taxi
If you’d like to be in a taxi with only your party, contact us for some recommendatons.
Car Ferry: Car Rental on St. Thomas
If you have rented a car on St. Thomas, then simply proceed to Red Hook Ferry Terminal and take the right into the Car Barge parking lot just past the people ferry entrance. Get in line and wait for the next boat. We do NOT recommend pre-buying one-way or round-trip tickets as the car ferry services has 3 companies that do not honor others’ tickets.
Getting to Calichi
Ok, you’ve made it to St. John - welcome!!
Nearly all arrivals come into Cruz Bay. Either you’ve got you car from St. Thomas and you took the car ferry, or you caught a people ferry from from St. Thomas and need to get into your rental car on St. John.
Leaving Cruz Bay, you’ll head east and up hill on Centerline Road (Route 10) most likely through the circle (our one and only rotary).
Proceed up and over St. John for approximately 5 miles until you come to a hairpin left hand turn with a fork off to the right (Route 108) where Chateau Bordeaux used to sit. You will see a large set of silver mailboxes on the right. Take this smooth, winding road over Bordeax Mountain until you slowly curve to the right and see the entrance to Calichi.
Welcome to Calichi at Picture Point!
You should have a gate code in your pre-arrival email details. Enter it for the upper (Royal Palm, Orchid, Tower, Guava) or lower driveways (Bougainvillea and Papaya) and proceed to your villa(s).
Unload your bags, sit back, and relax.
While on St. John
Dress Codes Informal: islanders wear cotton or lightweight clothing with sandals or sneakers. Away from the beach, swimsuits must be covered up and men must wear shirts. Bring hats and plenty of sunscreen to protect you from the Caribbean sun! Most restaurants are casual. For upscale restaurants, lightweight shirts and shorts or slacks are recommended for the gentlemen and sundresses or shorts outfits for the ladies. Whatever you pack will likely be too much, pack lightly!
Local Customs – Caribbean manners are important! In the West Indian culture, you show respect for others by saying, “Good Morning,” “Good Afternoon,” “Good Evening” before anything else ! West Indians take pride in this tradition and are appreciative when visitors make the effort to understand the ways of the islands.
Food – St. John has several markets offering fresh produce, meats & seafood. Your Greeter can give you directions if you ask or can swing by the market WITH you so you can grab a few items. In this situation, a tip for taking time out of the day and going that extra mile is always appreciated, but never expected. Keep in mind our greeters are paid a flat fee and aren’t formally compensated for such kind help.
If you are considering packing foods in your luggage, consider – lost luggage may mean food is unusable!
Check-in is at 4PM and Check-out is at 10AM sharp –Exceptions for early check-ins or late check-outs are occasionally possible but rare due to the usually short time to clean the home between guests. You will be assigned a greeting time and location prior to your arrival to meet your greeter. Variances to these times require prior permission.
Telephone Calls – All local calls are free. Bring a calling card with an 800-access number for long distance use. Cell phones usually work here and we have a direct line of site to the cell tower on Bordeaux, but call your service provider and ask if they service the Virgin Islands and if they have additional roaming charges (Typically AT&T and Sprint are the only carriers that work reliably).
ALSO BEWARE OF ROAMING CHARGES ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE ISLAND IN THE NATIONAL PARK! Since it is a National Park, there are no towers and your cell phone will likely roam into LIME or CCT Boat Phone; these are British Virgin Islands cell providers who charge an arm and a leg for a call or data transfer. Check your phone for the carrier before you accept or make a call! Also, if you do get hit with these charges after you return, your carrier should give you a credit. Just tell them you where on a neighboring island and were not in the BVI at that time. I’ve never had a problem getting credit.
Early Check-ins/Late Departures- It is only occasionally possible to do an early check-in or a late departure because your housekeeping/maintenance team has only a few hours to ready (or turn over) your villa between guests. We ask for your understanding in this matter. If you need assistance with what to do with your luggage, or what to do with extra time before/after flights, just ask us and we’ll give you some ideas.
Furnishings- Calichi at Picture Point is fully furnished and equipped with linens, beach towels, beach chairs, coolers, kitchen cookware and utensils, etc. We kindly ask that you not rearrange the furniture.
Garbage Removal- There is a garbage can located outside of each villa. Be sure to cinch closed each bag and we will remove it for you each day.
Insects – We have constant trade winds that normally keep the mosquitoes away, but if they come around, use your favorite insect repellent and keep the screens closed. Be nice to the little island lizards as they eat the mosquitoes! We cannot turn off the tree frogs or the crickets at night, relax and enjoy the chorus!
Travel Documents- A United States passport is not required to travel to the US Virgin Islands. The passport requirement does NOT apply to U.S. citizens traveling to or returning directly from a U.S. territory. U.S. citizens returning directly from a U.S. territory are not considered to have left the United States and do not need to present a passport. Visit the U.S. Passport office for more information and up to the minute changes. Please verify boarding requirements with your airline.\
U. S. Currency, Postage and Packages – Most places accept major credit cards and ATM’s are pretty reliable these days. Express Mail via the US Postal Service is the quickest way to receive/send important packages. To mail a package to St. John in advance of your arrival, call Connections at 340-776-6922. The friendly folks there will give you mailing instructions, so your box will be at their office when you arrive. Note: Priority Mail packages take, on average, about 1.5 weeks
Greeters- Our greeters are terrific and truly want to ensure that you have a wonderful time on St. John. They will be your main point of contact for any needs you have on island! So save their phone number! If you feel she/he has done a great job, tipping is appropriate and greatly appreciated, but never ever required or expected.
Car/Jeep Rentals – It is highly recommended to rent a vehicle for your stay. It is encouraged to book as soon as possible, as vehicles can be limited. You must keep your vehicle tops on at all times! The car rental company’s get really bent out of shape about that.
Driving on St. John is fun and exciting- we drive American vehicles on the left side of the road. A 4-wheel drive vehicle is a MUST! Remember to bring your driver’s license and proof of insurance!
Courtesy is one of my favorites. They will meet you at the ferry dock so you can put your luggage directly into your car. Also, they’ll let me pick up a key for you if you arrive after 6pm. You must make arrangements for me to pick up a key beforehand though…
Courtesy Car Rental – (340) 776-6650
St John Car Rental is also another favorite. They’re only a few minutes from the ferry dock and will also let me pick up a key for you. You must make arrangements for me to pick up a key beforehand though…
St. John Car Rental – 340-776-6103
If those two rental agencies are full, you can also try L&L and C&C.
L & L Jeep Rental – 340-776-1120
C&C Car Rental – 340-693-8164
Under the age of 25? Budget Rent a Car on St. Thomas may be able to help. Be sure to ask for the internet rate. Phone numbers are 1-800-626-4516 and 340-776-5774.
Car Seats: U.S.V.I. law requires all children under 5 years old to be in a child-restraint car seat (or, if a child is 3 to 5 years old, they may wear a regular seat belt IF they are in a rear seat). Car seats are available from your rental car agency. Please order one when you book your rental car; there may be a small charge.