The popular travel website TripAdvisor ranked St. John number two on its list of top islands in the world in its Travelers’ Choice Islands Survey, the website recently announced._%20used%201_2913.jpg "Cinnamon Bay (Lynda Lohr photo).")
“It’s good publicity for St. John and the Virgin Islands as a whole,” said Tourism Department spokesman Allegra Kean-Moorehead.
Calling TripAdvisor a credible source, Kean-Moorhead said it was great to be recognized by a website depended on by so many travelers.
In TripAdvisor’s world-wide category, St. John came in second to Ambergris Caye in Belize.
St. John was followed respectively by Bora Bora in French Polynesia, San Juan Island in Washington, Santorini in Greece, Isla Mujeres in Mexico, Moorea in French Polynesia, Koh Tao in Thailand, Easter Island in Chile and Nosy Be in Madagascar.
“Whether you’re looking for idyllic palm-lined islands, or islands that offer a more cultural experience, you’ll find inspiration in these lists,” said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor, in a press release.
“From the world famous to the hidden gems, what unifies every award winner is the fantastic feedback from travelers across the globe,” Messing said.
When it comes to the United States, San Juan Island in Washington was first with Kauai in Hawaii coming second. Marco Island in Florida, Anna Maria Island in Florida, Maui in Hawaii, Sanibel Island in Florida, Chincoteague Island in Virginia, the Island of Hawaii in Hawaii, Amelia Island in Florida, and Key West in Florida rounded out the list.
The TripAdvisor accolade is the latest for the Virgin Islands. The Tourism Department sent out a recap Monday that indicated the news and culture-based website www.Gayot.com listed Caneel Bay, St. John, among its Top 10 Caribbean Resorts. 
The website www.CNN.com placed St. John’s Trunk Bay ahead of the pack on its round-up feature of 17 Beaches We’d Like to be Lounging On, thanks to one reader’s photo submission.
“We are very proud to receive these recent accolades which help to keep the destination top-of-mind among travel professionals and the traveling public,” Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson Doty said in a press release.
“We appreciate the confidence both travelers and the media have placed in our territory and, along with our partners, will continue striving to create memorable vacation experiences for our visitors to enjoy.
Other recent honors include Travel + Leisure magazine’s 2013 Best Beaches Survey that named Turtle Beach on Buck Island, St. Croix, as best for seclusion; Magens Bay, St. Thomas, as best for families; and Trunk Bay, St. John, as best for wildlife viewing.
Condé Nast Traveler Reader’s Choice Awards 2012 named St. John among the top 10 Islands in the Caribbean and Atlantic for its natural beauty, emerald green beaches and exotic native fauna and flora.
Travel publisher Arthur Frommer named St. John on his list of his list of 10 Favorite Travel Spots for 2012.
The travel guidebook publishing company ranked the U.S. Virgin Islands as the top choice for an American getaway in its Top 10 U.S. Travel Destinations for 2012.
Travel + Leisure’s Best Secret Beaches on Earth 2012 included Lameshur Bay Beach, St. John, for its proximity to rental villas, eco-tents and the luxuries of Caneel Bay while offering travelers a hidden beach experience with stunning vistas.
Yes, this is wonderful news as we who live here know how beautiful the Island of St. John is!
AND…there is a bigger question here that needs to be answered…must be answered in fact.
How can we continue to allow the chaos to continue at the Cruz Bay PA Ferry dock…year after year…and not remedy this obviously critical Public Safety issue; exasperating to both Villa Management Businesses and those attempting to Welcome and orientate arrivals(do we not KNOW that this is St. John’s biggest Tourism Industry?) and Guests alike?
We constantly hear how important first impressions are! The firsat impression of Cruz Bay is “Chaos and confusion”. Many of us-for many years now have attempted to remedy this situation…even come up with solutuions to no avail or Leadership from those supposedly in charge of our Island.
What kind of chaos does one see at the peak season arrivals boat times from 3 pm…to 6 pm.?
A parked line of cars in the right hand lane waiting to meet those on the ferry and help wiuth their luggage…and constant confusion about “the right way to adhere to the rules here”.
Often numerous taxi Cab parking spots vacated…yet IF one pulls in here for a few minutes…to get to the ferry with a Villa Meet sign….a good chance of being loudly and rudely yelled at.
Horns honking; gridlock; flared tempers; taxi Drivers in the mix trying to get out with their new Fares; people on the streets walking both ways with luggage ensuring that it is only amatter of time until someone is seriously hurt; Police officers obviously frustrated with the how’s of his situation and enforcing laws here that do not seem to apply (sometimes resulting in yelling at Tourists who have no idea of where to go or what to do)….you get the picture? This choas lasts about a high-blood pressure 20 minutes then it begins again when the next ferry reaches.
So what kind of negative impact does this have?
NOT a good one. I regularly hear new Arrivals going to Coral Bay where I manage Villas comment that the have every intention of “staying out of Cruz Bay”….
Is this what we want? Does this business Community not contribute 5 % to our gov. GTR coffers? Wher eis the support to esnure that first impressions are in tact and Guests want to open their wallet and spend money in our main town?
Finally, the parking situation is resolved (how many years did that take?) however until this cruz Bay port of Entry is properly organized-we will NOT be “showing our Best”…as new Guests arrive to our Island.
Anybody out there listening??
While consdering this issue…how about someone work on a proper mooring area for day sails to bring Guests in for the day to explore Cruz bay again to open their wallets…St. John is one of the only Island anywhere in the Caribbean that does NOT make these opportunities for businesses.
Remember….our Gov. is broke…why are we not fixing what COULD increase Gov. revenues? Where is the leadership on St. John by those in power?
What does it take to get some positive changes made to make St. John even better? Or will ther ehave to be a serious accident at our ferry dock area before anything is done? I certainly hope not.
Bonny Corbeil, St. John.