Salomon Bay is a beautiful white sand turquoise water beach that it is ideal for nature lovers and people who seek quiet relaxation. It is not far from Cruz Bay, but it can only be reached by boat, foot or paddleboard. It’s unconventional access, keeps the number of visitors down if you are lucky you will have the whole beach to yourself.
For advanced or intermediate paddlers it is a relatively easy paddle from Cruz Bay, it should take about 10-20 minutes (depending on wind). The distance is not far, but the wind can be strong. The good news is that the winds most of the time come from NE or E, so you usually have an upwind paddle out and a downwind paddle back (expect some headwind when paddling back into Cruz Bay however).
Paddleboard to Salomon Bay, St. John
Start right in Cruz Bay, you can for example park your park at the beach bar. Paddle out a little and then towards the right. You will have to cross two boat lines (marked by red and green buoys) with your paddleboard. Think of it as if crossing a street as a pedestrian, look left and right, see that no boat is coming and then quickly make your way across.
Avoid the ferry traffic (STT ferry leaves on the hour and arrives around 15 or 20mins past the hour). Make a right turn around the reef (keep about 10 feet away from it, depending on tide level it can be shallow). Keep paddling to the right along the shore, you first pass a rocky beach (you might see rays) and the first sandy beach you see is already Salomon.
You might want to bring a drybag with a towel, sunscreen, water & snacks, and of course your camera, maybe even a book or magazine and snorkeling gear. Spend some time relaxing on the beach or go snorkeling, you will see a wide variety of colorful fish (French Grunts, Blue Runners, …) and corals in shallow water.
If you still have energy you can keep paddling to the right to honeymoon (they have a small shack with drinks and snacks as well as restrooms there) or even further to Caneel, where you can have some sushi until 3pm (in case you brought money and proper cover-up).
Why Salomon Bay (often misspelled Solomon)?
Salomon Bay was named after the brothers Jannis and Isack Salomon. They were Dutchmen from a prestigious family, who came to the Danish West Indies in the early 18th century. They dedicated the Salomon Bay property to the production of cotton.