With no passport required for U.S. citizens and easily reachable via a direct flight from many cities along the eastern seaboard, the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) are a dreamy Caribbean destination. Snorkeling and outdoor enthusiasts will be in heaven, but there’s also plenty of history, culture, and amazing food to satisfy most travelers.
The USVI are comprised of three main islands: St. Thomas (home to the capital of Charlotte Amalie), St. Croix, and St. John (most of which is the Virgin Islands National Park).
We visited St. Thomas and St. John for a week of snorkeling and hiking in February. Here are the details of our day-by-day itinerary along with some recommendations based on what we learned along the way.
USVI Map
Below is a map of our trip including points of interest, activities, and restaurants. Toggle the sidebar for details.
Getting There
Our nonstop flight from the East Coast of the U.S. landed at Cyril E. King Airport (STT) on St. Thomas. Note if St. Croix is on your itinerary, you could fly directly to Henry E. Rohlsen International Airport (STX) instead.
Upon arrival, take a deep breath and remind yourself you’re on island time now. Upon departing the plane we were greeted by colorfully dressed dancers, loud music, and hoards of people. Baggage was very slow to arrive to the carousel (nearly an hour) and waiting in line for our rental car and actually getting the rental car took just over an hour too. If you have two or more adults in your party, we recommend dividing and conquering baggage and car rental.
Things to Pack You Might Not Normally Consider
Snorkel Gear: For a previous trip, we bought a mask, fin, and snorkel set on Amazon for about $30. This was one of our best investments and easily pays for itself if you snorkel two times at a place where you need to rent gear. Our sets came in a mesh bag and were easily packable in our checked luggage. Having our own gear not only ensured a good fit, but gave us the freedom to snorkel wherever we liked. For a germaphobe like me, it gave me peace of mind too. Only my lips had touched the snorkel!
Mask Defog: This will be necessary to keep your mask crystal clear so you can see all the marine life. It is cheaper to buy at home.
Global Entry Card (for Global Entry participants): Upon departure at the St. Thomas airport you will likely face insane lines. The first line is through “customs” where you are asked about the agricultural products, if any, you are bringing back to the mainland. If you have Global Entry AND you have your global entry card, you can essentially go through a fast track line. Don’t wait in the line, instead walk up to an agent at the door and ask about it. We have Global Entry but never travel in the US with our physical cards, so we missed out. Lesson learned! Note once you get through the first line, you then go through security where you can still take advantage of TSA Precheck, but only at that point.
Car Rental | To Jeep or Not to Jeep
I researched this ad nauseam before our trip and read a lot of debating opinions. Some people were adamant a jeep was necessary to get around the islands and others not. This is because many of the roads, especially on St. John are very, very steep. With very few exceptions all roads are paved, but in the rain they can be slippery. In the end, we booked our February trip fairly late (in October) given the popularity of travel during this month and there were absolutely zero jeeps to rent on the island. So if you’d feel more comfortable driving a jeep, or just want to because it’s fun, book early! We rented an Economy class car from AVIS which ended up being a small Nissan Kicks and it was fine nearly the entire time.
This itinerary assumes you will have a car the entire seven days. While you could probably get away without one on St. Thomas, on St. John one would be absolutely necessary.
A final note: In the USVI, you will drive on the left-hand side of the road! Not to worry, the adjustment is easier than you would think and the speed limit on the islands is 35-mph or below nearly everywhere, so you can take it nice and easy.
Where We Stayed | St. Thomas
We stayed at Flamboyan on the Bay Resort & Villas in a one-bedroom suite. We had a really good experience at this hotel which was just a 20-minute drive from the airport, with free parking offered. Our room was spacious and included a balcony and the hotel had an on-site pool, bar, restaurant, and coffee shop.
On our first night, we arrived rather late in the day so there was only time to settle in to our hotel room and then head back out to dinner at Stone House Cafe located right in Charlotte Amalie. We really enjoyed the mahi mahi sandwich and fries on offer. A note on logistics: We made reservations in advance on the restaurant website, but even on a Saturday night they didn’t seem required. We were also able to easily find free street parking just around the block.
Day 1 | St. Thomas Viewpoints & Magens Bay Beach
At 13 miles long and 4 miles wide, nearly everything on St. Thomas is within 20 minutes of each other, making it a very drivable island. Today is a day spent easing into vacation and soaking up the best views from above, plus the first beach visit!
We began with coffee and breakfast from Northside Grind. We loved this coffee shop next to our hotel so much that we ate there every morning, which is pretty unusual for us.
Paradise Point
There are three ways to get to the top: take the Skyride Gondola, drive up a very steep, unmarked road, or walk up that same road. At $25/pp and only running when cruise ships were in port, we opted to make the drive instead of taking the gondola and were very happy with our choice. The steep, winding road was the first true test of our car but it did just fine. As we went up, we passed many people out for their morning exercise sweating their way up the road! It wasn’t totally clear where to park at the top, but we pulled into a dirt lot and as it was a Sunday at 8:30am, there was absolutely no one else around. We were treated to sweeping views of the St. Thomas Harbor below and there was a nice promontory in the form of a deck to walk out on to. Note there are shops, a restaurant, and cafe at the top but none were open that early in the morning, so we wandered around for a few minutes and then headed down.
Charlotte Amalie Overlook
Next we headed back toward our hotel to a ridge line with several viewpoints and worthy stops. These next few stops are all pretty much in a line and within 10 minutes of each other.
The first was the Charlotte Amalie Overlook. Here we were still overlooking the southern side of the island, but from a different vantage point. There were plenty of parking spaces right outside the viewpoint.
Drake’s Seat Overlook
Drake’s Seat overlooks the northern side of St. Thomas and has views of Magens Bay, the same body of water we could see from our hotel, but from a higher vantage point. This viewpoint was a little chaotic as it is located along a small pullout along the road. There were lots of small tour buses stopping and cars zooming by. Just be careful pulling back out into traffic!
Phantasea Tropical Botanical Garden
We stopped at Phantasea Tropical Botanical Garden, most notable for its blooming orchids. We spent nearly an hour wandering around the small space, marveling not only at the orchids but beautiful air plants, red-footed tortoise, and colorful tropical birds such as the yellow bananaquit, the Virgin Islands state bird.
Need to Know
- Hours: Open 9am-4pm Wednesday – Sunday. Hours may change seasonally so be sure to check the website for current opening times.
- Fees: $12/adult.
- Parking: There is a small parking area directly in front of the gardens.
Mountain Top
Our last stop was at Mountain Top, the tallest point on St. Thomas and home of the most famous banana daiquiri. Of course we had to get one to share! There are more great views of Magens Bay here and a huge gift shop. Sure, it’s touristy and the daiquiri is expensive, but we still think it’s worth a stop. Be sure to check their website for current hours.
Magens Bay Beach
Magens Bay Beach is located on the north coast of St. Thomas and is very popular with both locals and tourists. Currently non-resident visitors must pay a fee of $7/pp to enter the area, payable at a manned booth before you enter the parking lot. When we arrived on a Sunday afternoon it was crowded, but parking was plentiful and we easily found a spot.
Although we brought our snorkel gear, we found this to be a more swimming-friendly beach. Note there is a cafe onsite with food and drinks, and you can also rent kayaks and paddleboards. We had stopped at a grocery store earlier in the day for lunch provisions and just ate PB&J sandwiches to save money. We spent a few hours swimming and walking along the white, sandy shores. The sun was intense though, so we packed up in late afternoon.
Dinner @ PRIME at Paradise Point
Frequently cited as one of the top-rated restaurants on St. Thomas, PRIME serves up mouthwatering steak alongside superb views. This is because it is located at Paradise Point! Remember that steep road I drove up in the morning? Now we had to make our way back up at night! If you don’t feel comfortable or plan to drink, take one of the ubiquitous taxis or “safari buses” that roam the island.
Pro Tip: Time your reservation to coincide with the sunset! We did this and had an unforgettable meal. As the sun dipped below the horizon, nearly everyone in the restaurant stepped out onto the deck for pictures. The waitstaff kindly indulged the interruption, even offering to take many pictures for us. Our food including the lobster taco appetizer and our steaks were wonderful. It was one of our favorite meals of the whole trip.
Day 2 | Secret Harbor Beach & Buck Island
Secret Harbor Beach
Secret Harbor Beach is our favorite snorkeling spot on St. Thomas. Situated on the east side of the island near Red Hook, this beach is a world away from the crowds of Magens Bay. Cruise ship excursions don’t make it over here, so the beach is practically deserted!
Some tips to help you enjoy your day:
- Parking: Unless you are a resort guest, or are dining at the onsite Sunset Grille (parking limit of 2 hours), you will need to drive past those reserved spots and up a short, but very steep hill to the public parking lot. It’s not well-marked, but you’ll know you’re in the right place as it’s next to a tennis court. We recommend getting here early as there are only a handful of spots.
- Beach: There are lounge chairs set up for resort guests, but you can opt to sit off to either side either on the sand, or rent chairs from the onsite dive shop for a nominal fee.
- Dive Shop: The onsite dive shop rents chairs, kayaks, paddleboards, and snorkel equipment. Although we didn’t need to rent anything, we did pop in and ask about snorkeling conditions. The clerk helpfully pointed out the best areas to us.
- Where to Snorkel: We did two separate snorkels along each side of the calm, protected harbor. We saw a TON of tropical fish and colorful coral. Our first snorkeling experience in St. Thomas did not disappoint. With nice weather, it would be easy to spend all day at this beach.
Buck Island | Turtle Cove Catamaran Snorkel & Sail Adventure
Two miles south of St. Thomas, Buck Island is a wildlife refuge, particularly for migratory birds. The Buck Island Light Station, erected in 1913, is still visible high atop a hill. We joined a tour on The VI Cat, designed to showcase the area’s Green Sea Turtles. The 3-hour tour departed the Marriott’s Frenchman’s Cove Dock aboard a catamaran. We motored out, snorkeled for about an hour, and then headed back to St. Thomas under sail power with the painkillers freely flowing! The boat ride was fun and we did see turtles and a vibrant coral reef abundant with tropical fish.
The catamaran had a capacity of 80 people and it was nearly full, which was fine on the boat but wasn’t our style once in the water. The guide, once a turtle was found, called all the snorkelers over. The indiscriminate kicking and splashing and rush of people led us to head off on our own (within the designated area). We were able to find plenty of fish and turtles on our own, with no one else around, so consider this route if you feel the same way we do about crowds.
Need to Know
- Tours: In addition to our snorkel adventure, The VI Cat offers a variety of other tours including a sunset sail. Check their website and pick one that meets your interests! Snorkel gear was included on our tour but we brought our own.
- Parking: You are able to park, for free, in the parking lot of the Marriott’s Frenchman’s Cove. Simply tell the guard at the manned booth that you are on the snorkel tour and they will give you a parking pass. We found it a bit tricky to find our way to the dock as you have to walk through the resort property, so give yourself some extra time!
Dinner
We were pretty tired from the day’s activities, so we opted to eat dinner at our hotel’s onsite restaurant called RooT 42 Bar And Grill. We snagged a table on their outdoor patio and enjoyed a beer and split wings and sandwiches with fries for dinner.
Day 3 | Water Island Day Trip
Just a short boat ride away from St. Thomas lies Water Island, a 500-acre island with less than 200 residents. It is another perfect place to escape the crowds and have the sights and the beautiful beach nearly all to yourselves.
Getting There
Water Island is accessible by parking in the paid lot at the Crown Point Marina and taking a water taxi. When we went we paid $15 to park for the day and $15/pp for roundtrip ferry tickets. The ferry fare is paid to the captain in cash. After parking, walk to D Dock located just outside Tickles Dockside Pub. The Dock will have the Water Island Ferry schedule posted, but you can also search online for current crossings ahead of time. No reservations are taken and it is first come, first served. When we went, ferries generally departed St. Thomas every hour on the hour between 8am and 6pm. We caught the 9am ferry and the ride was about 15 minutes. There were just a handful of other people on the boat.
Things to Do
Visit Fort Segarra: An underground fort part of US defense strategies during WWII. An observation deck on the roof of the fort provided great views and we did a bit of exploring in the tunnels, underground rooms, and gun emplacements (not too much though as the entire structure is dark and relatively unstable).
To get here, you will want to rent a golf cart. We elected to rent from Rachael’s Rentals. Rachael herself met us at the ferry dock and took us up the road to her rental shop. We were given operating instructions along with a handy map that shows you points of interest on the island. We had a great experience, but only used the golf cart for about an hour to see the fort and another beach. If we did this again, a less expensive option would be to walk to Dinghy’s at Honeymoon Beach and rent a golf cart there. Their hourly rate was much cheaper than what we paid for the day.
Limestone Beach: Heading down a steep hill from the fort, we parked the golf cart across from a campsite to check out Limestone Beach. We needed to navigate an uneven and overgrown trail to reach this long, shallow, rocky beach. It wasn’t a good spot to hang out, due to the rocky nature of the beach, but we enjoyed picking our way through all the coral remnants on the beach. To our surprise, we even saw spotted eagle rays in the water right offshore so keep your eyes peeled!
Honeymoon Beach: In our opinion, this was the best part of the day on Water Island! Honeymoon Beach is a beautiful white sand beach lined with palm trees. Dinghy’s Beach Bar on site has bathrooms, food and drink, and also rents lounge chairs and even golf carts.
We rented lounge chairs, ordered two painkillers from the bar, and proceeded to relax, hoping the sun would come out soon. We enjoyed snorkeling on the reef, shared mahi tacos, and another painkiller before returning our rental golf cart and catching the 3pm water taxi back to St. Thomas. Note on the way back there was a line, so you may want to arrive at the dock 10-15 minutes before you want to leave to ensure you don’t have to wait for the next boat.
Spend the Late Afternoon and Evening Exploring St. Thomas
Take your pick from shopping, more sightseeing, or drinking and eating like we did!
Frenchtown Brewing: Only open during the week with a handful of hours can make a stop here tricky, but it worked with our plans in the late afternoon. We tried very light, drinkable IPA in their “Octopus Lounge” which was great!
Oceana Restaurant & Bistro: We had dinner at Ocean’s beautiful waterside location in their open-air dining room. We shared a tuna tartare appetizer and both got their fish special of the day which was grouper with an amazing garlic puree and sautéed broccolini. It was the perfect way to end our time on St. Thomas.
Day 4|Travel to St. John, Watermelon Bay & Trunk Bay
Ferry to St. John
We had a great time on St. Thomas but we suspected the less developed and mostly-a-national-park island of St. John was more our style. There are less attractions and more just being in nature. There were great hiking trails and countless snorkeling spots. Wanting to make the most of our time there, we took a 7am car ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay on St. John. Once onboard, hop out of your car and head to the top deck for some great views on the top deck.
Need to Know
- Tickets: It is recommended to purchase ferry tickets and make a reservation ahead of time for your desired time slot as they can sell out. We booked roundtrip tickets with Love City Ferries about a month in advance.
- Arrive Early at the Dock: It is suggested to arrive to the dock at least 30 minutes prior to your ferry’s departure. The docks are run by the Virgin Islands Port Authority and you must pay (in cash) a port fee. We paid $3 when we traveled. You are then directed to line up and await your ferry’s arrival.
- Boarding: Dock workers will direct cars onto the ferry. Interesting note – you have to back on!! It was a bit nervewracking but with the help of a backup camera and taking it slow, it was fine. We watched in awe as all manner of vehicles boarded including delivery trucks and even a cement mixer!
If you arrive in the morning, on a weekday, the absolute best recommendation we can give is to make a beeline to St. John Provisions. They have the BEST coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and pastries on the island. I still dream about their dulce de leche donuts. We started every morning of our trip here because it was just that good. You know you’re in the right place when you see all the locals cycling through on their way to work.
Where We Stayed | St. John
We stayed at the Coconut Coast Villas in the waterfront studio Poinsettia Suite and had a fantastic experience. The room itself had a fully-equipped small kitchenette, king sized bed, and A/C. The real star of the show was the gorgeous covered patio with serene views of the impossibly blue Caribbean sea. The property had a plethora of beach chairs and coolers for guest use. And, a very reasonably priced honor system fridge filled with soft drinks and beer. The property was also just a 15-minute walk to town, but note it does require a portion of the walk along an easy, non-paved trail lining a small salt pond.
Note: There are two ways to drive to the Coconut Coast Villas. One, while a shorter route, requires a drive up a VERY steep hill. We did this the first time and never did it again! The second route is just a little bit longer but involves all flat roads and is much less hair-raising. The lodging’s website has more information on this under their Directions/Maps page.
Waterlemon Bay
St. John is the smallest of the Virgin Islands at just 9 miles long and 5 miles wide. It is home to Virgin Islands National Park which covers nearly two-thirds of the island along with the coral reefs in the surroundings waters. Our original plan was to start the day at Trunk Bay, but even at 9am during a weekday the small parking area was completely full. Instead, we continued along the main road until we got to the parking area outside the Annaberg Sugar Plantation.
The really special thing about getting to Waterlemon Bay is that it involves a hike along the flat, but rocky milelong Leinster Bay Trail. After finding a place to drop our stuff on the narrow beach, we headed out for our first snorkel and were not disappointed. Within minutes of getting into the water we saw a huge sea turtle, and then another and another. Overall we saw 15+ sea turtles grazing in the grass and at one point I saw three surrounding me. It was very impressive! The coral on the west side of the bay and the variety of tropical fish was great. Already this beat any place we had gone snorkeling on St. Thomas. On the way back to the beach I also spotted a large starfish and a long-spined sea urchin “walking” across the ocean floor.
If you want a break from snorkeling, you can walk up a short way up the Johnny Horn Trail located on the east side of the Bay to the ruins of the Murphy Great House for great views.
Need to Know
- Fees: No fee for trail use. An entrance pass is not required to access Virgin Islands National Park.
- Parking: There is a fairly large, free parking area outside the Annaberg Sugar Plantation.
- Put your phone on airplane mode: This area of the island will put you VERY close to the British Virgin Islands. While at this beach our phones charged us for an international day plan! This was the only location where this occurred during our trip.
- Bring a hard-sided cooler!: We got a taste for how remote and wild St. John is when we got back to our towel after snorkeling and learned that a mongoose had gotten into our bag!! It stole and ate our trail mix and took a bite out of one of our PB&J sandwiches. Mongoose are found all over the island, so it’s best to keep your food and belongings tucked safely inside something like a hard-sided cooler they cannot access.
Before leaving the area, we recommend a walk from the parking lot up the boardwalk stairs to the Annaberg Sugar Plantation. The ruins consisted of enslaved peoples’ quarters, a windmill, and the sugar factory itself. You also have the chance to learn about the sugar market and its role in slavery and colonialism in the Virgin Islands. High atop a hill, the ruins also provided another great view of Waterlemon Bay.
Trunk Bay
We headed back to Trunk Bay and had much better luck finding a parking space with the afternoon turnover of beachgoers leaving. Trunk Bay has a reputation for being one of the most beautiful beaches on St. John. It has an underwater snorkel trail and a ton of amenities: beach chair rental, food, bar, and bathrooms. Since a mongoose had eaten half our lunch, we indulged in nachos with cheese and pulled pork which were quite delicious. We didn’t care much for the underwater snorkel trail. The water had low visibility and the placards were hard to read. Instead, we snorkeled the reef hugging a large rock and spent our time walking the length of the soft, white-sand beach. Overall, we’re glad we visited Trunk Bay but it was probably our least favorite beach on St. John.
Need to Know
- Fees: Trunk Bay charges an Expanded Amenity Fee of $5.00/pp for ages 16+ from sunrise to sunset. An entrance pass is not required to access Virgin Islands National Park.
- Parking: There is a free parking lot directly outside of Trunk Bay, but it fills fast. Get here early if Trunk Bay is an important visit for you.
Dinner & Drinks
There are many choices for dinner in downtown St. John. For our first night, we opted for the super casual restaurant The Beach Bar. Aptly named, the open-air bar is right on the water and we loved watching the sun dip below the horizon as we sipped our drinks. I had my first Bushwacker (think adult milkshake) and we devoured our cheeseburgers. Most nights, they also have live music!
Day 5|Circumnavigation of St. John
No matter how you do it, we highly recommend getting out on the water during your stay on St. John for a different perspective of the island. We splurged on a 7-hour day charter with Voodoo and had an amazing, luxurious experience. The boat takes a maximum of 40 passengers, but on our trip there were only 14 of us! The boat was extremely well-maintained and an open bar was available the whole trip, complete with insulated tumblers for each of us.
Departing from the dock in town near the national park visitor center, we stopped at four different locations on our circumnavigation of the island.
First we dropped anchor off Maho Bay, a place known for turtle sightings. After our time the day before in Waterlemon Bay, this was SO disappointing – we saw NOTHING. The next few stops were much better though.
We stopped at a reef near Hansen Bay, and our favorite stop of the day was the last, at a place called the Tektites, in Lameshur Bay. The topography of the reef here was very diverse and we saw so many interesting fish and even an octopus.
In between all our snorkeling, we had lunch from the floating taco bar, Lime Out. The staff of Lime Out delivered us amazing ceviche, shrimp, and short rib tacos which we ate aboard the boat. They also have floating lily pads you can swim over to, but we opted to keep dry. This was one of the best days of our trip and we loved every minute, enjoying music and a few beers on the way back to to the dock.
Dinner
We decided to keep dinner simple and split takeout pizzas from Lovango Rum Bar on our patio. They were great!
Day 6|Ram Head Point & Salt Pond Bay Beach
The trailhead for Ram Head Point lies about a 35-minute drive east of Cruz Bay. We began our morning there at 8am when there were just a handful of cars in the small parking lot. The initial portion of the trail hugs the coastline and then turns inland and upward as you approach Ram Head Point.
As we made our way along the trail we passed multiple clusters of red-topped Turks Head Cacti. Once at the top it was windy! The 360-degree views were amazing and well worth the 1.5-mile climb to the top.
On the way back, we detoured onto the adjacent trail that would take us to Drunk Bay. We passed by Salt Pond and to our surprise, there was a flock of flamingos in the water. While I had read there might be flamingo present, apparently it was a rare sighting to see even just one. We met a woman who said that in her nine years of living nearby she’s never seen a flamingo, let alone the flamboyance that was there that day. How lucky! We continued on to the coast and Drunk Bay where people had lots of fun setting up rock art. There were turtles, crabs, even a mermaid!
Salt Pond Bay was supposed to have good snorkeling, so we passed by the beach to go back to the car and get our bathing suits, snorkel, and beach gear.
We began by snorkeling the west side of the bay and it was like an aquarium. Stunning fish and all kinds of coral. We had originally planned to move to another beach in the afternoon but we were enjoying ourselves so much we ended up staying at Salt Pond all day and doing TWO more snorkels. This is a really great place, without crowds, to spend the day.
Need to Know
- Fees: No fee for trail use. An entrance pass is not required to access Virgin Islands National Park.
- Parking: The parking lot is free, but fairly small and tends to fill up because people spend a long time at this location. Be aware that it is a 1/4-mile walk to the beach from the parking lot and it’s uphill back to the car!
- Bring a hard-sided cooler: This area is pretty remote and there are no cafes or amenities other than a bathroom. Bring your cooler to protect from mongoose, and pack enough food to stay all day. You’ll want to!
The Windmill Bar
The Windmill Bar claims to have the best sunset view in the Virgin Islands and we don’t doubt it. We stopped in for pre-sunset painkillers, pulling up at coveted railing seats overlooking the gorgeous Caribbean waters below. This was a great spot to unwind at the end of a long day in the sun.
Need to Know
- Parking: You do need to pay cash just for parking at The Windmill Bar. We paid $5 when we visited.
- Go early for sunset: We got there at about 3:30pm, a good 3 hours before sunset, and had no problem getting seats right at the bar railing with a view. By the time we left an hour later, however, people were practically salivating to snatch them up!
- Wave to the webcam: There is a webcam overlooking the patio. Tell your friends and family to tune in, and give them a wave!
Dinner & Dessert
We had dinner in town at Greengo’s Caribbean Cantina. Our pints of beer and fish tacos really hit the spot. We finished the night with ice cream from St. John Scoops, located just around the corner in Mongoose Junction. Yum!
Day 7|Reef Bay Trail & Hansen Bay Beach
Reef Bay Trail
Located near Coral Bay, the Reef Bay Trail was the most strenuous of our trip. The out-and-back hike descends close to 1,200 feet over 2.2 miles, and then you have to climb up! The hike was beautiful and very different than any other place we visited on the islands. We went past some of the oldest and tallest trees on the island, even seeing deer at one point!
Near the end of the trail there are the remains of a Danish sugar plantation which was fun to explore. The trail officially ends on Reef Bay Beach. If it’s hot you may want to bring a bathing suit and take a dip. The beach is fairly rocky though, so we didn’t see it as a great place to hang out. We did see lots of huge hermit crabs along the path though, which was very neat. On our way back up the trail, we took the short, marked detour to ancient rock carvings left behind by the pre-Colombian Taino. There is also a waterfall that is supposed to be spectacular in the rainy season, but was not running when we visited in the dry season.
Need to Know
- Fees: No fee for trail use. An entrance pass is not required to access Virgin Islands National Park.
- Parking: Parking was available in pullouts along the highway VI 10.
- Be prepared: This was the most strenuous hike we did in the USVI. Wear proper footwear (the trail can be slippery even when dry) and bring lots of water. It’s a hot one!
Hansen Bay Beach
Hansen Bay Beach is located nearly as far east as you can drive on the island. So it’s definitely a haul, but one that’s worth it in our opinion. Since it’s a far drive, it’s not crowded. It’s also privately owned and not located within the national park, making it off most people’s radar.
It absolutely poured rain as we were driving to the beach, but upon arrival the skies cleared up enough for us to set up our beach chairs. The snorkeling here was SO great and was close to a location we had snorkeled at on our Voodoo charter a few days prior. We saw fish, sea turtles, a ray, and more. If we had known about this beach sooner, we would have spent a whole day out here, it was that good.
Need to Know
- Fees: As this beach is privately owned, a donation is suggested. We felt unsure about this going in, but there was simply a donation box left out with no pressure or expectation. As we only stayed about 2 hours, we left $10.
- Location: One of the best things about the beach is that it’s away from everything else. That also means you should come prepared with your own beach supplies and food, water, and drinks. We wished we would have filled our cooler with a few refreshing beers!
- The Drive: The beach is located (literally) at the end of the paved East End Road. The road is crazy hilly and winding and this was the one time the entire trip I was worried our car would not make it up the hill. I had the accelerator to the floor and we were just barely crawling along. We overheard someone at the beach, with a jeep, who had the same problem. So just be aware!
U.S. National Park Sign
We make a point to try and get our picture at the sign of every national park we visit. The Virgin Island National Park sign we found away from the one near the Cruz Bay Visitor Center isn’t that great and it’s hard to find. But if this is important to you, it is located right along Rte 10 when traveling from The Windmill Bar (or anything else out east) towards Cruz Bay.
Dinner
We’d like to think we left our best dinner for last! We headed into town for a 4-course prix fixe meal at The Lime Inn. We shared plates of tartare, prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella, crab tempura, ribs, seared tuna, and key lime pie and brownie ala mode to top things off. This was the best meal of our trip. Be sure to make a reservation online.
Travel Home
In order to fly out of the USVI, you’ll need to take the ferry back to St. Thomas. With an afternoon flight, we decided to make the most of our last morning. We took an early ferry and popped over to the Sunset Grille at Secret Harbor Bay to sit with an ocean view and enjoy a cocktail.
We then drove to nearby Duffy’s Love Shack, a quirky restaurant located in a hut in the middle of a parking lot. We chowed down on mahi mahi tacos and a painkiller.
Before heading to the airport, consider picking up food from a deli, but make sure they don’t include pork products as you will not be able to take them through customs. And be sure to read my tip at the beginning of the post if you are a Global Entry member.
We hope you enjoyed reading about our experiences in the USVI and that they gave you inspiration to spend your own week snorkeling and exploring the islands!
