Before starting this blog, I visited many places so I will post about my past travels as well. Summer is almost here in Chicago so I thought I'd post about a warm yet pretty place in the Caribbean - US Virgin Islands, particularly St. Thomas & St. John. I have yet to visit St. Croix. The Virgin Islands was my honeymoon destination so keep in mind this was a trip of pleasure, but not a group trip. My ex-husband and I narrowed our choices to USVI or Aruba...I came across one review online when trying to decide between the two - Aruba is more of a desert island, St. Thomas/St. John are not...they are beautiful and that was the deciding factor.
USUALLY I know SOMEONE whether it's a co-worker, friend, friend of a friend, etc. who has visited a place I have never visited so I can ask questions, get tips, etc. As for this place...I was on my own so I went out and purchased a book "The Best of St. Thomas and St. John Virgin Islands" by Pamela Acheson & Richard B. Myers 2nd Edition. This was extremely helpful and full of great tips!!! The next decision we had to make was a hotel. We booked our air and hotel separately through a travel agent (Liberty Travel). I again was torn between booking the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort and Marriott Frenchman's Cove
These two resorts are on opposite sides of the Island and both offered an all-inclusive plan. First I'll explain why we did NOT go the all inclusive route on this trip. The year before we went to Playa del Carmen Mexico and went the all inclusive route and it worked great. As for this trip we didn't plan on spending most of our time at the resort because we had a day trip to St. John planned, we wanted to spend time shopping in town, we visited Paradise Point, etc. not to mention there were some restaurants we wanted to check out so rather than keep heading back to our hotel for meals or having to worry about that we did not go that route. If you plan on spending the majority of your time at the hotel....definitely go that route, it IS worth it.
Because of the location of the Marriott and the water shuttle to downtown Charlotte Amalie where the shopping is, and consulting with our travel agent, we decided on the Frenchman's Cove. Ironically at the time we were there, I was informed of someone working in a store I was in on St. John that the Wyndham was having all kinds of water problems that week so luck was on our side.
Since this trip was six years ago I'll do my best to highlight some of the most memorable spots...
On a good day you can see all the way to Puerto Rico. Unfortunately it was rainy and cloudy the day we visited but still a good place to check out
It's not what you think, it's actually a pretty good bar & grill with neat souvenir cups. We visited the Red Hook location which is near the ferry that takes you over to St. John. I still have my monkey glass from my "funky monkey" drink!!! I also have a story I still tell to this day about the Bananas Foster we ordered for dessert...our waiter couldn't get the 151 to catch fire when he went to serve it to us so he kept throwing more and more and more rum into it. Rum & Ice Cream...ick.
For sure check out this scenic island. We booked a day trip with our hotel ... it was SO worth it!!! We had a great tour guide and lunch was included. This is a small island - around 6 miles wide so it doesn't take long to cover everything. This is also where the night life is so plan ahead and plan your partying here as downtown Charlotte Amalie closes early for a reason...the reason being it is unsafe at night so check out what St. John has to offer at night and there is a ferry that runs between Red Hook in St. Thomas till late. This island also has great snorkeling.
I heard about this place on the travel channel many times. Not only is it beautiful but there is a path you follow in the shape of a triangle that you snorkel along. Snorkel gear was provided with the day trip we booked. This place is a must see! Again...BEAUTIFUL!!!
Cars drive on the left side of the road there and just being in a cab there is scary enough so my suggestion is to take cabs - however, it IS costly so it's something to plan for. I think we spent more on transportation than food/drinks while we were there as cab fares are at a set rate from different locations and there is a cost per/person. For example - $15 from the Marriott to Red Hook per person (this is just an example) I'm pretty sure the rates are available online.
Cruzan Rum is made in St. Croix but you can buy it in St. Thomas. Back in 2006 we bought a bottle of rum from KMart of all places for $3 so that is the place to buy your booze!!!
You do NOT need a passport to visit here...if you want to go to the British Virgin Islands, definitely bring it otherwise it's not necessary for the USVI.
One of these years I'll make it back to the USVI...it truly is a wonderful gorgeous place to visit!!!
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