Long Bay Beach Villa in Coral Bay — Online Webcam

Coral Bay: The Other Side of St. John

At the eastern end of St. John, away from the tourist bustle of Cruz Bay, lies Coral Bay — a place where the Caribbean Sea looks as if it has never been touched by crowds of travelers. This webcam, installed at the Long Bay Beach Villa, broadcasts a view of the shoreline and the bay's waters in real time. There are no high-rise hotels or busy waterfronts here — just small restaurants, shops, and vacation rentals along the single road.

Coral Bay has retained the character of a former fishing village, and it shows in everything from the parked pickup trucks to the local bars where divers and sailors gather in the evening. If Cruz Bay is the island's gateway with its ferries and shops, then Coral Bay is its quiet harbor for those who came for nature, not infrastructure.

Wind, Waves, and Neighboring Islands

The bay is open to direct trade winds from the Caribbean Sea, creating ideal conditions for windsurfing and kitesurfing. Unlike the protected beaches of the north shore — the ones that make lists of the world's best beaches — the water surface here is rarely completely calm. That is exactly why sailing sports enthusiasts value this spot: the steady trade wind blows here for most of the year.

On the horizon, if the weather is clear, the silhouettes of neighboring islands are visible. The British Tortola and Jost Van Dyke rise from the water to the north, and toward St. Thomas, on the small islets of Pigeon Island and Carvel Rock, white dots of yachts can often be spotted. These same views are visible from the Long Bay Beach Villa camera, which faces the bay.

Lovango Cay: A Private Island with a Single Pier

Directly offshore from Long Bay, about a mile and a half to the north, sits Lovango Cay — a small private island with no airstrip and no roads. Its only connection to the outside world is the pier, which is what the online camera captures. This is where ferries from Coral Bay and Cruz Bay arrive, as well as private yachts cruising between St. John and St. Thomas.

The island is home to the Lovango Resort & Beach Club, an eco-resort that runs entirely on solar power. It is one of the few resorts in the region with an eco-sustainability certification: water consumption is minimized, solar panels are used, and a rainwater collection system is in place. The pier serves as a dock for resort guests and simultaneously as the supply point for the entire island.

St. John: A Nature Reserve Island

What makes St. John unique among Caribbean islands is the scale of its protected areas. More than 60% of the island is occupied by the Virgin Islands National Park, established in 1956 with financial support from Laurance Rockefeller. Under the park's protection are not only beaches and mangrove thickets but also underwater coral reefs and archaeological sites.

One of the island's main nature and history trails is the Reef Bay Trail, which descends from a hilltop to the coast. Along the way, you can see the ruins of an 18th-century sugar plantation and ancient Taíno petroglyphs carved into the rocks near a waterfall. These rock drawings are one of the few material traces of the island's pre-Columbian population, and they remain a subject of archaeological research.

Long Bay Beach Villa: Location and Surroundings

The villa sits on the rocky north coast of St. John, in the Long Bay area, which was historically used as a sugarcane plantation. Today it is a modern private vacation home with panoramic views of the Caribbean Sea. The main feature of the location is its exclusive position on a headland overlooking the bay and its proximity to the Caneel Bay reserve, where underwater snorkeling eco-trails are laid out.

The north coast of St. John is a different side of the island from the southern beaches. Here you'll find rocky shores, strong currents, and wild nature. Tropical vegetation comes right to the water's edge: in the foreground of the camera, dense shrubs and trees typical of the island's arid slopes are visible.

Things to Do Around Coral Bay

Coral Bay is a base for day hikes along the National Park trails. Routes start here to Lime Tree Bay with its underwater snorkeling trail, to the Annaberg Plantation ruins, and to Salt Pond Bay, which can only be reached on foot or by boat. Snorkeling gear rental is available right in the bay — several small shops rent out masks, fins, and wetsuits.

For divers, the main attraction is the underwater reefs around Lovango Cay. There are several dive sites here with visibility up to 30 meters, where sea turtles, stingrays, and tropical fish can be found. Local dive shops organize trips to the reefs by speedboat — the journey from the pier takes about 20 minutes.

Climate and Weather on St. John

St. John has a tropical marine climate with two distinct seasons. The dry season lasts from December to April, when air temperatures hover around 26–29°C and rainfall is minimal. From May to November, the wet season begins: hotter, more humid, and short tropical downpours are common. The water temperature never drops below 26°C year-round, making swimming comfortable in any month.

The hurricane season officially runs from June through November, peaking in September. However, St. John is less frequently hit by direct hurricane strikes than the mainland Caribbean islands. The webcam at Long Bay Beach Villa allows you to assess the current weather in real time — wind direction, sea conditions, and cloud cover over the bay.

How to Get to Coral Bay

There is no airport on St. John — visitors arrive by ferry from St. Thomas. International flights land at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas, from which regular ferries run to Cruz Bay — the main port of St. John. The drive from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay takes about 20 minutes by car or taxi along the island's single ring road.

Renting a car on St. John is practically a necessity if you plan to explore the island. Traffic drives on the left (a legacy of the Danish period), the roads are narrow and winding, and parking at popular spots is limited. Long Bay Beach Villa has parking for guests, and from there it is convenient to reach the National Park trails and the south shore beaches.

What the Camera Shows

The camera is installed on the grounds of Long Bay Beach Villa and faces toward Coral Bay. In the foreground is dense tropical vegetation: shrubs, cacti, and low trees typical of St. John's arid coastline. Beyond the green strip, a view opens onto the pebble-and-sand shoreline, and farther out — the bay's waters with their usually calm turquoise surface.

On the horizon, the opposite shore of the bay is visible with its hilly terrain, and in clear weather — the silhouettes of Tortola and Jost Van Dyke islands. In the upper right corner of the stream, a current weather widget displays temperature, humidity, and wind speed. The online camera operates in real time, allowing you to observe sea conditions, approaching storms, or conversely, windless weather that is perfect for snorkeling on the Lovango Cay reefs.