My favorite port to visit in the Caribbean is St. Thomas. In fact, even though I have visited on cruises many times, I’ve flown down to St. Thomas on three other occasions to stay on the island for a week each time.
It’s such an easy island to get around on. When staying on the island, we always rent a car, and even though you have to drive on the left side of the road, the roads aren’t busy like they are in the states. Some roads are twisty and go up steep hills, but you’re only doing 15-20 mph so no worries.
The capital of St. Thomas is Charlotte Amalie. It is famous for it’s duty free shopping. In fact, St. Thomas has it’s own more generous custom allowances than other places, so you can shop til you drop! It’s fun to walk up and down the shop lined streets and passageways, among the old buildings once used by pirates to store their goods. There are tons of jewelry stores in St. Thomas, so men beware! But there are also shops with souvenirs and fun items that won’t cost more than your vacation!
If you are visiting the island on a ship and time is limited, you may not want to head into Charlotte Amalie. You can stay close to the ship and shop nearby. Most ships (though not all) dock at Havensight Mall. Many of the same shops that you would find in town are right there in the shopping village by the ship. This is particularly helpful when you want to shop but also spend time seeing the island. It’s tough to get it all in when you’re there just for a day! You may decide to take a half day tour and visit Magens Bay. Or you might like to do what I love to do: take a short ferry trip over to St. John!
St. John is AMAZING! It’s beaches are unreal – in such natural settings. The whole island is what you would imagine a tropical island to look like. It’s not all built up like other places. When I stay on the island of St. Thomas for a week, I like to take the car on the car ferry from Red Hook, St. Thomas, and go over to St. John. We bring a picnic lunch and just beach hop all the beaches between Cruz Bay and the sugar mill ruins. There are maps available in the tourist information centers. If you visit as part of a shore excursion off a ship, most likely you will go to Trunk Bay. It’s a famous beach that you have probably seen in pictures but maybe never knew where it was. At Trunk Bay, there is a bit of the beach that sticks out in the center, so I always sit there. That way when I catch sight of a picture of Trunk Bay, I can point to that spot and say, “I was right there!”
Another very convenient aspect of visiting St. Thomas and St. John, is that you can travel there without a passport since they are part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. There are only a few all-inclusive resorts, but in St. Thomas, you don’t really need all-inclusive because you can venture anywhere on the island in a rental car. You’re not confined to a resort. You’ll find many of the same chain restaurants as the states. There are plenty of pizza places, pubs, as well as restaurants where you would need reservations in advance. There’s something for everyone. There are supermarkets on the island if you want to grab some things to enjoy in your room.
St. Thomas and St. John are tropical all year, unlike the Bahamas. So aside from being mindful of hurricane season, there really isn’t a bad time of year to visit.
Now if you are staying on the island and you do have your passport, you can easily hop on a ferry over to the nearby British Virgin Islands and visit Tortola and then onto Virgin Gorda to swim in the world famous Baths. It’s such a fun experience for young and old swimmers to wade through these huge boulders toppled against each other. There’s great snorkeling there as well.
So if I had clients visiting St. Thomas on a cruise for a day, I would suggest they take a morning excursion over to the beaches in St. John. Then freshen up, grab some lunch on the ship, and get in some duty free shopping right there by the ship at Havensight Mall.
If I had clients flying and staying on the island of St. Thomas. I would encourage them to rent a car to explore the island: head to Mountain Top for beautiful views and a banana daiquiri, and then onto Magens Bay to enjoy the tranquil beach under the sea grape trees. I would highly recommend taking the car onto the car ferry to St. John and take on the task of deciding which beach is the nicest – it’s not easy! And of course there is always the option of visiting the British Virgin Islands on a day trip. There’s also Blackbeard’s Castle and Bluebeard’s Castle to explore. There’s Coral World where you can visit an aquarium and then snorkel nearby. When you combine these activities with all the duty free shopping, you’ll never be bored! You can drive up to Paradise Point and watch the cruise ships sail away, relieved that you have more time in St. Thomas than those on the ship!
If you have any questions about St. Thomas, the resorts on the island, or want to know what ships visit St. Thomas, just ask! I’m always happy to send people to my favorite places!
Happy Travels! ~Laurie
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Laurie at Five Star Travel Group 