Which USVI is Proper for You?

No passport? No drawback with our household’s evaluations of the U.S. Virgin Islands that can assist you determine which of America’s Caribbean isles is correct for your loved ones seashore trip.

American household searching for a hassle-free Caribbean trip? It’s a no brainer: the U.S. Virgin Islands. No want for passports or international foreign money, everyone speaks English, and your hair dryer works with out voltage attachments. Jumbo jets fly to the principle airport and puddle jumpers make it simple to get from island to island. Simply get used to driving on the unsuitable aspect of the highway.

Island Paradise Showdown: St. John, St. Thomas, or St. Croix?

The actual query is: St. John, St. Thomas, or St. Croix? Though every is crammed with beautiful seashores, superior snorkeling, terrific mountaineering trails, and resorts starting from luxurious to eco-camping, every Saint has a definite character. My 10-year-old son Jamie and I lately found the variations.

St. John: Leisure and Pure Magnificence

The smallest and least populated, St. John primarily is a protected nationwide parkland donated by Laurence Rockefeller 51 years in the past. The rest of the island is fortunately not closely developed. That is seashore lover nirvana — attractive white sand seashores separating clear turquoise waters from lush mountains crammed with tropical flora. Its unspoiled magnificence and laidback vibe, even in quaint Cruz Bay, stuffed with artwork galleries, retailers, and eating places, made it our hands-down favourite Virgin and one in every of our all-time Caribbean favorites.

St. John Underwater Household Adventures

Like many others, we performed on St. John’s Trunk Bay seashore (well-known for its 225-yard underwater path marked by descriptor plaques) whereas mustering up the braveness to fulfill our SNUBA teacher. Thank goodness we didn’t rooster out. The shallow-water dive system requires no certification, prolonged coaching, or heavy gear, making it excellent for adventuresome youngsters (ages 8 and up) and their skittish mothers.

Household-Pleasant Resorts of St. John

VI Snuba proprietor Tammi Cummings patiently oriented us to the right underwater etiquette. We discovered about diving indicators, respiration equipment, and buoyancy belts earlier than main just a few shallow-water drills. Then, she dove in with us for forty-five minutes. Jamie liked his first SNUBA expertise. He noticed a small octopus, numerous faculties of colourful fish, and a great deal of coral, all of the whereas giving his nervous-nelly mother the thumbs-up signal.

The 2 full-service resorts on St. John are fantastic: the Tony Caneel Bay and the Westin St. John. Each are kid-friendly, however I give the Westin St. John a slight edge for households from a worth standpoint. Jamie actually loved the night youngsters program the place he received the hermit crab races, watched the resort’s iguanas get their nightly feeding, and caught a dive-in film on a raft on the lodge pool.

Eating in Cruz Bay

Within the meantime, I had a memorable dinner in downtown Cruz Bay at La Tapa. The hip little open-air restaurant had a decidedly city really feel. We liked the lovable little beatnik guitar participant who sang like Jewel as we dined on top-notch Mediterranean meals.

Replace: The Caneel Bay resort was severely broken by hurricanes in 2017 and has not but reopened.

Native Information: St. John Model

For common details about the USVI, head to USVI Tourism, St. John.

St. Thomas: Buying and Nightlife

St. Thomas lies three miles and a twenty-minute water taxi trip from St. John, nevertheless it feels worlds away. The island is house to the U.S. VI’s capital Charlotte Amalie, the busiest cruise ship harbor and one of many busiest purchasing hubs within the Caribbean.

Charlotte Amalie: Buying Hub and Cruise Ship Harbor

Charlotte Amalie’s streets and alleys are lined with retailer after retailer. Store right here for electronics, jewellery, cameras, fragrance, and liquor at duty-free costs. (U.S. residents can deliver again $1,600 value of products, duty-free — 3 times the norm — a bonus for the die-hard shopper within the household, however not my major cause for touring.) The city will get crowded when the cruise ships are in port. Some say that Fridays are much less crowded however we discovered rush hour a bear day-after-day.

Coral World: A Marine Park with a View

Past chaotic Charlotte Amalie lie the island’s family-oriented diversions. Like most guests to St. Thomas, we checked out Coral World, a five-acre marine park with a three-story underwater remark tower situated 100 ft offshore. We ogled the sponges, the huge number of fish, deep-sea flowers, and coral of their pure state. Jamie was fascinated with the shark and stingray swimming pools and the ocean turtles (reminiscences of his current journey to the Galapagos?) Coral World’s admission payment consists of limitless entry to the small, adjoining Coki Seashore, a stunning and widespread (reportedly usually crowded) spot for snorkeling with one other VI Snuba outpost.

Virgin Island Eco Excursions: Exploring Cas Cay

The guides at Virgin Island Eco Excursions escorted us on an inflatable dinghy to the pristine, offshore island of Cas Cay, the place we hiked by means of a mangrove forest to a hermit crab village for crab races (shaded, fortunately). We continued mountaineering previous a geological blowhole, tidal pool, coral and shell seashore, and cave with “pirates’ treasure” (gold cash and eye patches planted by our guides) for the children to find earlier than our group snorkeled within the protected mangrove lagoon.

Sugar Bay Resort: Our All-Inclusive Residence on St. Thomas

Our short-term house on St. Thomas was the 300-room, sprawling Sugar Bay Membership Suites & Lodge. It was a Wyndham Resort at our go to and is now one in every of many independently run lodges. Not a giant fan of enormous, all-inclusives, we nonetheless loved our temporary keep and spent most of our restricted on-property time within the three giant interconnecting swimming pools, taking part in water basketball with different company as an alternative of taking part in on the small seashore.

St. Thomas: Native Information

For common details about the USVI, head to USVI Tourism, St. Thomas, or name 800/372-USVI.

The united statesV.I’s Quiet, Dignified St. Croix

Although ferries are available, we traveled from St. Thomas to St. Croix by seaplane, a scenic, clean however noisy mode of transportation. In 20 minutes, we have been in beautiful, historic Christiansted, able to discover our third island.

The Great thing about St. Croix

The biggest of the sister islands, St. Croix has two distinct landscapes — tall, inexperienced forest on one finish and dry, windswept scrub and grasslands on the opposite. As soon as house to a couple of hundred sugar mills, decaying plantation homes and windmills dot the panorama. Whereas St. Croix provides loads of duty-free purchasing, golf, historic landmarks, stunning seashores, and eco-opportunities, the island will get far much less consideration than glitzy St. Thomas and laid-back St. John. It feels nearly like a secret.

A Memorable Hike

Mountaineering is massive on all three islands, however we’ll always remember Ras Lumumba. He was the spry, ageing Rastafarian proprietor of Ay-Ay Ecotours on St. Croix. He led a protracted, scorching hike by means of attractive forests, steep hillsides, open fields, thick brush (taller than Jamie at instances), and colonial ruins. Ras Lumumba saved each the adults and children in our group spellbound. His data of native natural world, the colonial historical past of St. Croix and Caribbean bush medication was fascinating.

At instances Ras would cease dramatically to whack away at some plant in our path. He made us style its scrumptious innards, even when it smelled god-awful. He created a sturdy rope from one other plant in a matter of minutes and reported that others have been as efficient as modern-day Cialis. At one level we ran headlong into the trail of a bull that was trying to rumble. We have been, nonetheless, in good palms. Ras merely brandished his machete and stared down the bull. Phew!

Underwater Adventures Off St. Croix

Mark Mile Watersports took us on a stunning half-day sail to Buck Island, America’s first underwater Nationwide Monument and St. Croix’s hottest attraction, famend for snorkeling. After recognizing an eagle ray, sea turtles, and dolphins en route, we anchored offshore to snorkel within the crystal clear water above stunning coral reefs, typically in reasonably deep water. The Mark Mile crew labored carefully with the snorkel-shy youngsters onboard, together with Jamie. Very quickly, Jamie was snorkeling comfortably twenty ft above sea urchins and fireplace coral. We then performed on the island’s stunning white sand seashore amid scads of gorgeous fish (and quite a few different boats) whereas on the unsuccessful lookout for Sammy, the affable stingray who usually joins the swimmers.

Kayaking Underneath the Moonlight

One night we ventured off on a moonlit kayaking tour of Salt River Nationwide Historic Park & Ecological Protect. Do you know it’s the one place Christopher Columbus landed on (now) U.S. soil? Our information and fellow kayakers fortunately have been affected person as Jamie and I struggled to propel our two-person kayak. We floundered below star-lit skies by means of the calm, bioluminescent bays amid protected mangrove forests. In the meantime, our information regaled us with St. Croix folks tales, pirate legends, and some native ghost tales. We stopped splashing our paddles usually to brush our palms by means of the waters. This motion magically reveals the blue and white glow from the phosphorous within the water. Jamie and I totally loved ourselves however have been fairly weary (and moist) after two hours of paddling.

The Buccaneer: Our Residence Away from Residence

There are just a few full-service resorts and several other small, quaint accommodations on St. Croix. Our house was The Buccaneer, a 132-room family-owned property that has warmly welcomed its company for greater than 50 years. Age and sweetness are properly maintained, incomes the lodge 4th place among the many USAToday 10 Greatest “High 10 Caribbean Resorts” in 2024.

Probably the most upscale property on the island, The Buccaneer is arguably the only option for households. It may also be a great worth (the year-round youngsters camp is included). Select your room perched up excessive in the principle constructing with its beautiful, panoramic open-air foyer, terrace, and restaurant. Alternatively, some households want the extraordinarily roomy household cottages or doubloons that overlook the ocean. Apart from the 2 swimming pools and three seashores, there’s a well-regarded tennis program (eight lighted courts) and 18 holes of golf on-site.

A Historic Stroll By way of Christiansted

We took a historic strolling tour of downtown Christiansted, which as soon as served because the capital of your entire Danish colony. Fort Christiansvaern is an imposing, yellow-brick construction constructed to push back pirates. Ensure the children know that it additionally imprisoned those that have been caught plundering the island’s ports. Go to the stately Authorities Home constructed when ‘sugar was king’ within the West Indies. We ambled previous colourful retailers and eating places housed in outdated Danish colonial constructions.

Regardless of the fascinating tales and structure, the stroll was a bit too scorching and informative for Jamie, who wound up taking photos of stray chickens (digital digital camera courtesy of duty-free St. Thomas) to move the time.

Native Information: St. Croix Smarts

For common details about the USVI, head to USVI Tourism, St. Croix.

Three Instances Extra Enjoyable on 3 Virgin Islands

The U.S. Virgin Islands are like three good associates. All of them share one thing in frequent with you. But, their variations make you wish to spend time alone with one another.

So when you like associates who’re into mountaineering, swimming, snorkeling, diving, seashores, eating, and luxurious, you may have come to the fitting place. And you may select to hang around with the one who likes to buy and get together, St. Thomas… or the one with the Bohemian streak, St. John… or the quieter one with the mysterious previous, St. Croix. All of them are right here.

Selecting the Excellent US Virgin Island: Elements to Take into account

When dreaming of a US Virgin Islands getaway, the largest query turns into: St. John, St. Thomas, or St. Croix? To make the only option, let’s break down some important elements that set every island aside:

Climate and Seasonality

The US Virgin Islands take pleasure in a tropical local weather with persistently heat temperatures. Nonetheless, there are refined variations:

1. Temperature: Count on averages within the 80s (Fahrenheit) year-round, with slight dips in winter.
2. Wet Season: The rainiest months are September by means of November, however showers are usually temporary.
3. Greatest Instances: The best climate and decrease crowds are discovered within the shoulder seasons (spring and fall).
4. Peak season (December-April) means larger costs.

Virgin Islands’ Price range Concerns

The price of your journey will differ relying in your decisions:

1. Flights and Lodging: St. Thomas tends to have probably the most inexpensive choices, whereas St. John is taken into account extra upscale.
2. Actions and Eating: Costs are related throughout the islands however with a greater diversity on St. Thomas.
3. Offers and Reductions: Search for package deal offers or journey in the course of the low season for the very best worth.
   Journey Model

Take into account what sort of USVI expertise you’re searching for:

1. Leisure vs. Journey: St. John is the haven of leisure, whereas St. Thomas provides extra actions and nightlife. St. Croix blends each worlds.
2. Household-Pleasant vs. {Couples} Retreat: All islands are family-friendly, although St. John’s deal with nature might attraction extra to adults.
3. Pursuits: If watersports are key, St. John and St. Croix excel. Historical past buffs will adore St. Croix, whereas shopaholics ought to head to St. Thomas.

By contemplating these elements, alongside your private preferences, you’ll be capable to select the US Virgin Islands that greatest aligns together with your splendid trip.

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