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Are you looking for a glamorous island experience, without sacrificing the feeling of a remote tropical getaway? Then head straight to the Lovango Resort and Beach Club in the US Virgin Islands. Located on Lovango Cay, a day trip to this resort delivers luxury amenities within the beauty of rugged, untouched surroundings.
This day trip can easily be done if you are staying on nearby St. John or St. Thomas. All you have to do is book your experience and then take the ten-minute ferry ride to Lovango Cay.
After years of staring longingly at this tiny island from St. John’s North Shore beaches, I was thrilled to finally have the chance to visit Lovango Cay. While a day at the Lovango Resort and Beach Club is pricey, it delivers stunning views from waterfront beach chairs and offers stylish high-end amenities. Below I am spilling all the details from my visit to this beach club, and whether I think it’s worth it.
Note: This post was originally published in July 2021, and was last updated in December 2022.
The Perfect Lovango Resort and Beach Club Day Trip
The Lovango Resort and Beach Club delivers luxurious amenities that do not come cheap. However, their attentive staff will make sure that your every need is met, and that you have the best time possible. Here is everything you need to know to have the perfect day on Lovango.
How to Reach the Lovango Resort and Beach Club
Step 1: Book a ticket & departure time
To reach the Lovango Resort and Beach Club you will need to grab the ferry from St. John or St. Thomas. The ferry ride is included in the cost of your day pass. Book tickets in advance here in order to snag your departure time:
From St. John:
- 10:45am to 4pm or 5:30pm
- 11:15am to 5:30pm or 6pm
- 12:45pm to 6pm or 8:45pm
From St. Thomas:
- 10am to 1:30pm, 3pm, or 4:30pm
- 12pm to 4:30pm, 6:30pm, or 7:45pm
Only choose the 12:45pm to 8:45pm (or 12pm to 7:45pm) option if you want to have dinner on Lovango. Additionally, if you aren’t into snorkeling, you might want to choose a shorter time duration because you’ll run out of things to do.
Step 2: Catch the Ferry
From St. John you will leave from the Creek Ferry Terminal, located between the main ferry dock and Cruz Bay Visitor Center. The ride itself is an easy ten minutes, but parking for the ferry can be tricky to find. There are limited free spots near the Cruz Bay Visitor Center and paid lots, such as Slim Man’s Parking on Strand Street.
You can also reach Lovango direct from St. Thomas via Red Hook, which also takes about ten minutes. There is a paid parking garage right next to the Red Hook ferry dock.
Upon arrival on Lovango, there will be staff waiting to guide you to your reserved beach spot for the day.
Cost of a Day Trip to the Lovango Resort and Beach Club
Here are the prices as currently stated on their website for a daily beach club membership:
- Basic Package with Chaise Lounge: $135
- Upgrade to a Cabana: $490 (must be booked for 2 at $245pp)
- 4+ Person Cabana: $980 ($245pp)
All prices include access to the infinity pool, hiking trails, snorkeling, and beach games like large chess and cornhole. However, meals at the Lovango Resort and Beach Club are not included.
Things to do on Lovango Cay
The price of your ticket comes with many fun amenities to enjoy on Lovango. While food and drink is not included (and you cannot bring food in), the upscale menu is worth the extra cost.
Relax on the Water
A beach club pass comes with your own reserved beach chair, day bed, or cabana for the day. Your spot is marked with an adorable personalized rock that you can take home.
The resort offers WiFi, but it wasn’t working with my phone, nor was I getting any other cell service. Therefore, I was off the grid for the duration of my stay.
That enabled me to focus on the lovely views of St. John and St. Thomas in the distance. The air was pretty breezy during my visit, but this felt nice with summer temps being in the mid 80’s F.
Infinity Pool
The resort has a gorgeous infinity pool that looks out over the sea. It even has a few built in benches where you can cool off with a drink in your hand.
If you upgrade to a cabana, you’ll have the extra perk of being located right behind the pool.
Beach Service
As soon as you arrive, an individual comes over to give you a full overview of the resort. After that, you can order food and drinks from the resort’s attentive servers throughout the day.
I particularly enjoyed the strawberry margarita and poke bowl, and found them to be worthy splurges. On the other hand, early in my visit a server offered me water to purchase, and I naively bought some. It ended up being ridiculously expensive Voss water, and I soon realized the resort had free water stations.
Hike
There are a few different hiking trails on Lovango to check out. Some of them can be done in one big loop, with amazing views out to St. John and the British Virgin Islands.
From this main loop, you can access another loop that will take you down to the secluded North Beach for impressive snorkeling. If you don’t want to hike, you can also get a lift in a golf cart to Lovango’s North Beach.
During my visit, the waters were rough, so snorkeling at the North Beach was not allowed. Therefore, I did not hike the North Beach loop. The main loop alone took me a half hour to complete.
Remember to wear closed-toed shoes for your hike. Parts of the trails get pretty rough and have small, low-lying cacti along the ground. Also wear a hat and sunscreen, since most of the trail is exposed.
Snorkel
While Lovango’s North and South Beaches aren’t great for swimming, they are excellent for snorkeling. The crystal clear waters allow you to see plenty of sea life, including corals and colorful fish.
I initially skipped snorkeling during my Lovango day trip, but what a mistake that was! Thankfully, I ended up snorkeling here later during a boat trip with Bad Kitty and saw my first jellyfish, which did not pose a threat a few yards away. Trust me – the snorkeling is absolutely gorgeous.
Play Games
The resort offers several beach games for your entertainment, including cornhole, big chess, and table tennis.
Waterfront Dining
Book the late departure to finish off your day with dinner at the Lovango Resort and Beach Club’s stylish restaurant. Afterwards, you can catch the 8:45pm ferry back to St. John or 7:45pm to St. Thomas.
Don’t worry about being sandy from your day at the beach club. Your pass also includes access to showers.
After rinsing off, enjoy seating right on the water, while you consume high quality and deliciously fresh seafood dishes. Of course, you can also visit the restaurant for lunch if you don’t want to eat in your beach chair.
Is a Day Trip to Lovango Worth It?
The Lovango Resort and Beach Club might not be for everyone. The beach club has a trendy feel, with modern furnishings and house music thumping in the background. This scene has the potential to attract a superficial crowd; I even witnessed a girl posing and dancing around for a drone in the middle of the games area.
Lovango hasn’t always been this flashy. I ran into a woman who was still getting used to the volume of people on the island since the resort showed up. Before then, she’d see the same fifteen or so people each year.
The party crowd seemed to congregate near the infinity pool, which became livelier throughout the day. There was both a 30th birthday and bachelorette party that had rented cabanas near the pool.
If the glamorous beach club scene isn’t your thing, I recommend exploring beyond the resort or choosing an earlier departure time. The hiking and snorkeling truly is beautiful, and gives you something new to explore beyond St. John and St. Thomas.
All in all, the staff are very attentive and will treat you like royalty. They were really nice to me, even having traveled by myself and likely having spent the least amount of money of anyone there that day.
What to Bring
Below are some items you’ll be glad to have during a visit to Lovango. Note that the resort provides towels and snorkel gear, and you are not allowed to bring in outside food and beverages.
- Beach Bag
- Cash/credit card to purchase food and drink
- Reef safe sunscreen (here’s my favorite)
- Hat
- Bug Spray
- Close-toed shoes for hiking
- Socks, shorts, and shirt for hiking
- Swimsuit
- Sandals for walking around (ground can be hot)
- Water bottle
- Beach reads
- Camera/GoPro
• • •
A visit to Lovango Resort and Beach Club offers the perfect luxury escape, even if just for a day. While I wasn’t staying anywhere nearly as luxurious at this, a day pass allowed me to experience chic high-end amenities without having to drain my savings on a pricey hotel room.
Lovango Cay is gorgeous in and of itself, so be sure to explore beyond the resort for worthwhile hiking and snorkeling.
