I love love love Maho Bay, and have stayed there about 7 times. It is the type of resort that has annual repeat guests. But you have to be of a certain type to like it.

I hate camping, I hate communal bathrooms that I have to walk to in the middle of the night, I hate all sorts of roughing it, but all of these key points about Maho pale in comparison to the tent-cottages. It's a dream little treehouse with deck, a place that you can truly relax (although now that there is cell phone coverage, this could change.)

Each tent is a small canvas and screen cottage with 1/4 of it a deck. You have a small hotplate area to make food, coffee, etc, or you can go eat all your meals at the nice and healthy restaurant that has glorious views.

Don't even bother asking for a cottage with a view, a repeat guest who is down there already will book the view cottages when still there, and there are only a handful anyways. But ask for one that is private or airy. Then you may get one that is along the perimeter or that has nice breezes and thinner foilage. Almost all of them provide some type of privacy even with the shades open. The only bad tent I ever had was very close to the parking lot, so it was louder with whiffs of exhaust.

Here's a money-saving trick with St. John. You can rent cars on St. Thomas (Try Dependable - they actually live up to the name in a place that is notoriously bad for promised rental cars). Then you can take the car on a ferry (not all agencies let you, so check - or again use Dependable) and drive it there. There are a few spots where it might be hard to navigate the car, instead of a 4-wheel drive, but you'll save a lot of money. Either way, getting a 4-wheeler or 2 on St. Thomas removes the cost of 4 total cab rides.

Maho Bay is truly a different experience. The tent cabins are described in lots of other reviews. I just want to add that we were very comfortable. You get the "close to nature" experience without quite all the inconvenience of camping. Our tent cabin was near the beach, although there was no view it was nice hearing the waves at night. The tree frogs added a sound track at night and each morning the crowing of wild roosters woke us up.
The walk to the bathrooms ranges from short to long. If stairs or a long trek to the bathroom are an issue, be sure to pay attention to the location of your tent. Ours was quite a distance which seems even longer first thing in the morning!
The food is good and seemed like a much better choice than cooking. We like to eat out and drive around so we rented a jeep. Driving on the left was a challenge and when you add the narrow, mountainous, winding roads (with wild donkeys occasionally crossing or just stopping in the road) it makes you rethink each trip in or out. Just the potholed, dirt road into the camp cut down on our random comings and goings. But it all added to the fun! Definitely rent a jeep if you want the freedom to come and go (there is a open-air taxi shuttle that would work also).
A few tips -
1. Take the Reef Hike by the National Park Service. It's a mostly downhill hike through the old sugar plantation which ends at a beach. They will pick you up by boat and take you back to the visitor center. Bring a lunch.
2. I was a bit concerned about bug bites and rain in the tent cabin. Neither were an issue. Mosquitos were minimal and after a day and night of fairly strong rain, not a drop in the tent.
3. The Big Maho beach is worth the short walk on the goat trail. We shared our place on the beach with 3 visiting donkeys. We must have picked their usual spot. It was a bit odd, but they just sat near us and enjoyed the sun! You can also drive to Big Maho,
but if you're going to drive, go to Trunk Bay at least once.
4, Stop by Starfish Market while you are in Cruz Bay if you want to stock up on soda, fruit or other necessities and want a selection. The camp has a store which sells all the basics.
5. Pack light! You don't need much, swim suits, shorts, flip flops, tee shirts, beach towels and sunscreen is about all you'll need.

My husband and I stayed at Maho Bay Campground on April 3 & 4 before a sailing trip in the BVIs. We met up with Mr. Fritt (he runs a regularly scheduled shuttle between Cruz Bay and Maho) as we got off the ferry from Red Hook. There were 2 Maho Bay employees on the shuttle going back to the campground, they were very enthusiastic about working there and gave us some of the ins and outs of staying there such as taking a shower in the afternoon rather than early in the morning.

Our check in was very smooth as were the directions to our cabin A4. The cabin was very clean and everything was in order. Either pack lightly or have wheeled luggage, there really are a lot of steps on the walkways. I did not find the steps problematic at all. The restaurant serves breakfast and dinner and usually has 4 entrée choices for dinner and a salad bar. You order your entrée at the counter, then get your beverage (wine & beer or soft drinks, etc) and head to the salad bar. They accept cash or it can be charged to your cabin. They call your name when your entrée is ready. The view is beautiful from the dining pavilion especially at sunset. There was a professor (University of the Virgin Islands) that gave a presentation and slide show about the USVIs after dinner our first night on the dining pavilion. It was an excellent presentation, I learned a lot and really was able to look at the Virgin Islands a bit differently. Breakfast was equally good and set up in much the same manner as dinner. The food was expensive but definitely in line with prices on the islands. We weren’t staying long enough to warrant shopping/cooking in our cabin. The breakfast and dinner were plenty and there was no need for lunch so I can’t comment on lunch at the beach.

The main beach at the campground is Little Maho Bay; it is about 130 (or so) steps down from the main part of the campground. The water is calm, warm and clear, but the beach there isn’t very wide. It is very nice to swim though. There is a goat trail from the campground to Big Maho Beach (5 minute walk), it’s a short jaunt but worth the effort. The beach is equally calm but much wider. They rent beach chairs (at Little Maho) either for the day, or travel chairs that are several dollars more, but can be kept for your whole stay. They also have straps and a storage compartment so you can carry them like a backpack. It was quite windy while we were there, but both of the Maho beaches were calm. We visited Cinnamon Bay and it was terribly windy with blowing sand. The only comfortable spot was at the far right end of the beach past the rocks. We also heard that Trunk Bay was also very windy. Getting around the island was easy; we just had to time when we left the campground with Fritt’s shuttle. He will take you wherever you want to go.

Check out is fairly simple and consists of turning in linens and towels, sweeping out the cabin, doing any dishes you’ve used, etc. They did not inspect our cabin before we left, but they tell you they inspect before you get your deposit back. We checked out at 11:00 but hung around at the beach until mid afternoon, took a shower, then headed back to Cruz Bay for the ferry to Tortola. They will keep your luggage for you after check out.

Some things to bring:
-Definitely bring a flashlight – you really only need a very small one; I had an LED flashlight that worked great and was the size of a lighter.
-Beach towels, they provide shower towels. We use those travel size vacuum bags, really cuts down on bulk.
-Pad lock for your door. All of the doors have a pad lock bracket; there is also a box inside your cabin where you can lock valuables. The office will also keep wallets, passports, cash, etc.
-Bug spray, although we didn’t need any because we had a steady breeze
-You really don’t need much in the way of clothing, Maho Bay is very casual. Pack what you think you may need then take half of it out and you’ll still probably have more than you need.

Relax, enjoy yourself, listen to the quiet and the sounds of nature, look at the stars. Maho Bay is amazing. If you’re looking for a posh, luxurious vacation you may want to stay somewhere else, but if you are interested in something a bit new and different with lots of fresh air, you’ll probably love it.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

My husband and I stayed here from March 30 - April 5, 2008 and are very glad that we went. In fact, If you like nature, even if you don't care for camping you will probably be very happy here, and it will not matter that there are shared bath houses. If you are very fussy about lodging and need to stay in 4 and 5-star hotels, don't bother coming here.

The Maho Campground is an amazing place. Our tent-cottage had a gorgeous view of the beach, the boats and the bay. Little geckos and tiny treefrogs, etc. came inside to visit each day. It was fun to see who the next "visitor" would be. They do not bother you at all, they are just looking for insects to eat. They must be doing their jobs, too, because even though it rained two evenings and part of another day, we did not see mosquitoes.

Huge iguanas sunned themselves in the trees around our deck. We had 3 calm beaches just below the tents that were full of fish. Two of these beaches were within easy walking distance. The third can be reached easily by swimming and has a lot of turtles.

Each cabin had two decent mattresses, linens, a camp stove, a deck, table and chairs, a cooler, sofa, kitchen utensils, roll-up shades, a crude mirror and a storage area that can be locked up. You can also bring a lock for your cabin. Grills are positioned throughout the campground. Bath houses are clean, not funky. From my bed I could see the stars and hear the surf! Very nice for sleeping.

We enjoyed stopping by the exchange area to see what other campers had donated when they left. The number of jars of peanut butter kept growing daily till someone either grabbed them all or threw them out.

There was a different program every evening, a naturalist would come with a presentation on coral or wildlife, one evening was a stargazing walk but it was cloudy and it had to be canceled. Another evening a reggae band played and they were quite good. There were glass blowers doing their thing every evening (they recycle the glass from the restaurant/store); the one fellow was from Cornell and really knew his stuff.

Even though we rented a jeep from Varlack, we ate most of our meals right there in the spacious multi-level dining pavilion that faced the bay. Tiny yellow banana quits (birds) will line up along the rails to amuse you while you dine. Most dinners were from $15 - 20, and portions were so huge that my husband and I shared one most evenings. I would rate the food as very good; my husband had the prime rib one night and really enjoyed it. Also very good was the seafood bouillabaisse. There were four entrees to choose from each evening; one option was vegetarian. Breakfast was also very good. The one thing we would avoid is the lunch served from the hut by the beach, overpriced and enjoyed more by the birds that got most of it on the beach.

We found the help to be very friendly and accommodating.

Shuttles provided by the campground are very reasonable and are only $8 to Cruz Bay. You can also go to several other beaches using the shuttle. My only complaint is that the shuttle does not run often enough. It's usually every two hours, would be better if it ran hourly. But considering most Jeep rentals are around $80 a day, it may save you some money if you do not want to drive the steep roads.

I would highly recommend this place for anyone who truly loves the outdoors; it really is like a summer camp for adults - we're in our 50s and were totally enthralled. But I think it's even better for kids, because it was obvious how much the kids staying here were enjoying themselves. It's a great experience for kids to get outdoors and forget about electronics for awhile (note: there is electricity, but the kids we saw were enjoying the outdoors). And there are a lot of activities here so kids do not get bored.

The only other caveat I would have is that there are a lot of steps, and I do mean a lot, but unless you're truly incapacitated, I think the joy of being here will make the steps seem insignificant. But I wanted to mention it in case a lot of stairs are a physical problem for you. You can always ask to be moved to a tent-cottage with fewer steps, too, if extras are available.