We’re planning a week-long vacation in mid-March and are looking for the Straight Dope on the USVI, St Croix in particular. Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks!
It was years ago, but I remember we took a catamaran boat trip to Buck Island Reef – great snorkling.
St. Croix is like a second home to me. It is beautiful but it is a working island rather just a tourist destination like St. Thomas and St. John. What do you want to know specifically?
You need a car to enjoy the island first of all because it is fairly big and there is a lot of spread out stuff to see. They drive on the left there so be prepared for that.
You can have beaches to yourself or almost by yourself any time you want. Take the Buck Island snorkeling tour. The town of Christiansted is a lot nicer than Frederiksted but there are some beaches near Frederiksted that are worth visiting. The Buccaneer resort is a good place to go even if you don’t stay there. They have one of the nicest bars on the island with entertainment some nights, a golf course, and you pay buy a beach pass for the day to use their equipment. Cheeseburger in Paradise is a cool place for food/drinks as well. There is a casino on the island but I have never been there and don’t think it is a good way to spend time in such a beautiful place. Point Udal is the easternmost point in the U.S. and is very pretty (and remote). It makes a good morning trip. There is one outstanding beach that I will try that I found a few years ago that really stood out among many. I will try yto find the name of it for you.
I can tell you a lot more if you want. Where are you staying?
There are beaches everywhere but the one I was thinking of is Sandy Point. You have to drive to get there but it is worth it. It is usually just as quiet as it looks in the photos so bring whatever you need with you.
Check out Sonofa beach.
Really.
Snorkeling near Buck island is great.
My husband’s parents lived on St. Thomas for five years (before I met him, unfortunately) and we have been there for vacation. We did a one-day cruise to the BVI while we were there.
I know that St. John is the expensive ritzy island and St. Thomas is comparatively down-market, but has famous beaches including Magen’s Bay. The scuba diving isn’t so great. They drive on the left-hand side, but in American-style cars with the driver also on the left hand. That plus the crazy hills makes driving there… interesting.
If you visit St. Thomas I recommend dinner at Havana Blue. The food is pretty nice and the atmosphere is outstanding, especially at sunset.
We love St. Croix.
Our family spends a week to 10 days there every spring. St. Thomas is nice, has a lot of shopping, but is crowded a lot of the time. When a cruise ship stops by, they’ll pour 4 to 5 thousand people into this small town. Sometimes there are 2 or 3 ships in port, making the island tip and rock a little with all those tourists.
St. John is small, and there’s very little to do if you just want to relax all week.
St. Croix is a large-ish island, with two major towns. You’ll want to stay in or around Christiansted. Buck Island is just off the Northern coast of St. Croix and you can take a boat tour or scuba or snorkling tour there for a half or full day.
There’s alwayssomething to do!
And make sure take some time to pass on good family valuesto the kids.
There are a few shops in Christiansted for your touristy needs, but the best part of the week is the restaurants. There are so many to choose from; we try a different one for lunch and dinner every day, but keep coming back to our favorites. Here at a tiny joint on the beach we can have a dipand watch the sunset
The people? Very friendly everywhere you go. I filled up the Jeep one day at a small station just out of town, and reached for my wallet. Not there! I explained to the owner that I could be back with cash inside of 20 minutes, and he said no problem.
I expected cops, leaving my wife as collateral, and just general trouble. No, he just said “I’ll be here until 8 tonight.” It was 2pm!
I love just driving around and exploring; it’s not that big an island, and you can learn it quickly. There’s a casino hotel on the south side away from everything, or you can stay in town for convenience. We like renting a house, but there are plenty of condos and hotels that are nice - just depends on what you like. We like Pyramid Pointbecause it has a virtually private beach in a gated community right next to thegolf course.
It’s a great location and very private. The kids love having their own pooloverlooking the beach…
There’s a company withclear kayaksthat will take you on a tour through the mangroves and over the reefs a little. You just look down and see everything!
It’s Merica, so’s you don’t need no passport, and the currency is the U.S. dollar!
I can’t recommend St. Croix enough. Mrs. Duc wants to retire there eventually.
You want specifics, just ask me.
Until then, check out their website http://www.gotostcroix.com/
They used to have more camerasto see, but this is by my daughter’s favorite lunch spot, Rum Runnners. Looks a little cloudy today, but you stand outside, call your friends at the office, and wave to them!
Great advice so far and I love the pics, too.
It’s our honeymoon but I don’t want to tell the travel agent that. I’m afraid that, like caterers and florists, the price goes up when the magic phrase is used.
We haven’t chosen a place to stay yet. I’ve recently learned about FlipKey and we are looking into that option.
Here are some more specific concerns we have:
Is it hard to get used to driving on the left?
Neither of us drives a stick shift, is that a problem?
I’ve always wanted to go SCUBA diving but I’m not certified. How long does that take? I’m currently in PA so I have no beaches nearby for practice.
How likely is a hurricane?
How much Spanish do we need to learn, if any? Or is it French?
Thanks, again!
It is all English speaking in the U.S. Virgin Islands and they use American dollars too. The U.S. Virgins are majority black and they speak with a Caribbean accent but nothing too strong or hard to understand. It really is part of the U.S. and that is one of the biggest advantages.
Driving only the left isn’t that difficult but you have to remember to pay attention. I once drove about 5 miles down a dark road at night before I suddenly realized that I had been driving on the wrong side the whole time and that freaked me out. Rental cars there are just regular models and the vast majority will have automatic transmissions. Off-road capabilities aren’t really needed but it can be useful if you want to drive up to some of the more isolated beaches. Some of those can only be accessed by rough and sandy roads but you don’t have to go far on them.
Hurricanes can happen but the risk is the same as someplace like coastal Florida. It happens every few years but it isn’t a common thing. The main season is late summer to early fall.
Snorkeling is more popular than scuba diving in St. Croix because you can see a lot in fairly shallow water. Buck Island snorkeling is especially good for snorkeling. However, there is SCUBA diving for those that want to do it. The most popular spot is Salt River Bay and has a shelf that drops from shallow water straight down to 6000 feet of ocean. Lots of people SCUBA dive there and they have instructors.
You can contact them ahead of time to find out more specifics.
http://www.anchordivestcroix.com/about.htm
Don’t worry. This is not a Thing in Travel Agent World. Your budget is your budget, and they’ll give you proper choices.
Not bad. Try TripAdvisor as well. There is some overlap there.
Since it’s a honeymoon, I might suggest a resort over a condo or rental house, especially on your first trip there. They’ll treat you well, restaurants on property, they can hook you up with scuba lessons, sailing, and anything you want. I would recommend the Buccaneer, although it’s a bit pricey.
No biggie. it’s actually kind of fun.
Nope. All the car rental agencies have automatics available.
IIRC, only Budget and Hertz have a desk at the airport. Everyone else will send someone to pick you up, or bring you a car to the airport. It’s not a big deal. It’s not a big airport!
A resort course takes a few hours at the pool, then takes you to the ocean. It will get you an open water dive or two, but you’re not fully certified. There’s a dive shop near you. You take lessons there, and bring your paperwork to STX. You’ll need to take an open water test with an instructor there, they sign off on your paperwork, and Viola! You’re certifed. It’s really easy, and your local dive shop can fill in the details.
In March? Not likely at all.
This ain’t PR, or the DR baby! It’s America! All English, All Day!
Merican dollars, US Post Office, US welfare office, McDonalds, Kmart, Wendy’s,
and a very nice hospital. Don’t ask me how I know.
I would recommend the Buccaneer too. It is the nicest full-service resort on the island. To the OP, the Buccaneer has everything and is very nice but don’t expect something like Club Med or a Hedonism resort. It is much quieter and more classy than that. All of St. Croix is fairly quiet most of the time so don’t expect huge crowds of people. They have plenty of tourists but it isn’t like the whole island is overrun with them even at the most popular spots.
If money is an issue, you can stay anywhere near Christansted and still use the Buccaneer beach, bar, restaurant, golf course etc. just by paying a small entrance fee. You will need to drive around to do stuff anyway so don’t look for the type of all-inclusive resort that you never leave because there aren’t any.