{"id":18149,"date":"2021-12-14T01:25:02","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T01:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carnival.com\/awaywego\/?p=18149"},"modified":"2021-12-14T01:25:02","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T01:25:02","slug":"return-travel-first-trip-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carnival.com\/awaywego\/travel\/return-travel-first-trip-back","title":{"rendered":"A Return To Travel: My First Trip Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two years is a long time to wait.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a long hiatus from travel, but many travelers are now taking big trips again. Christina is an avid adventurer who jumped at the opportunity to set off for St. John with her family, new baby daughter, and some friends to spend a week soaking up the beauty of the <\/span>U.S. Virgin Islands<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Christina is no stranger to traveling, but being her first vacation in two years, it felt different\u2014new. We caught up with her about her recent trip to paradise.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
St. John offers some truly beautiful beach views.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What made you pick St. John?<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been there four times before, just never with my baby, so it was a great chance to start making memories in a place I\u2019ve always loved.
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In 2019, we traveled a ton: <\/span>Paris<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Greece<\/span><\/a>, Montana. But all of the trips were really busy destination weddings. They were action packed, but not relaxing. We knew we wouldn\u2019t travel for a while when we had a baby, so were thrilled to make it back to St. John where we could relax.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Plus, it has the benefit of being part of the U.S. while feeling like another place completely.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Have you always been a big traveler?\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Oh yeah, we tried to get outside the country about twice a year! We often headed to new places to explore, eat, check out the city and coastline. We never usually just kicked back, but for this trip, we wanted a no pressure vacation to sit on the beach and drink rum.<\/span><\/p>\n

What were some of your favorite activities while in St. John?<\/b>
\n<\/b>For one, totally signing off of work. On past trips, this has been a little harder, but the island is so beautiful and we were able to be in the moment.<\/span><\/p>\n

It felt like there was something for everyone\u2014which was great for our group. You could go get tacos in town, have a drink near the beach, chill by the pool, or go on a hike. We thought about going to other islands, but ended up staying in St. John and were entertained all week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Hiking under a full moon is a unique way to explore the island.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Any favorite hikes?<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, I took a midnight hike with my dad up the Ram Head Trail. They do it once a month, but it also happened to be a full moon!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
You don’t need to venture far to see turtles!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And what about your beach time?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

We went to a few beaches that offered different vibes. Maho Bay is very chill and there\u2019s even a local shark that nobody is scared of. Then there\u2019s Cinnamon Bay, which has lots of watersports, and food and drinks nearby.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I tried a full-face snorkeling mask and you don\u2019t need to go far to see turtles, stingrays, and tropical fish. Taller people could probably even stand! It was my daughter\u2019s first time on the beach and first time seeing a fish, and I realized with the perfectly clear warm water that we set a high bar!<\/span><\/p>\n

What was the daily lifestyle like while you were on the island?<\/b><\/p>\n

Well to start, arriving on St. Thomas you feel like you\u2019re on vacation immediately. There was a welcome with music and dancers and drinks and people on stilts. My daughter immediately started dancing and the adults all had a rum punch.<\/span><\/p>\n

St. John has outdoor activities<\/span><\/a> since it\u2019s largely a national park and less built up than other places, much different than our home in New York City! That\u2019s part of why the U.S. Virgin Islands feel like they have a different culture and community.<\/span><\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t huge resorts there, so you have to go into town and shop at small local businesses that are for locals and visitors alike. My favorite was an modest little BBQ shack called Uncle Joe\u2019s that had some of the best BBQ chicken I\u2019ve ever tasted.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Much of St. John is protected forest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What did it feel like to have a trip booked on the horizon again?<\/b><\/p>\n

It gave me something to look forward to\u2014I had a 100-day countdown going! After spending so much time in the house with the same people, it was a much needed break and reminded us why we work so hard all the other days.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two years is a long time to wait. It\u2019s been a long hiatus from travel, but many travelers are now … read more<\/a>","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":18151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-caribbean","category-travel"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Return To Travel: My First Trip Back<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carnival.com\/awaywego\/travel\/return-travel-first-trip-back\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Return To Travel: My First Trip Back\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Two years is a long time to wait. 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