Anyone ever been to Virgin Islands?

[xtac]

St Thomas Specifically, headed there next week if anyone has any suggestions post them up.

[SCHMOUPE]

yup went there 2-3 months ago. Pretty boring island. Geared towards families and older people. Given the cost, would not go back there.

[Mr Tonka]

Suggestion, go to St. Croix. Facts posted above.

[smyles]

"Chuck Norris once visited the Virgin Islands..."

[Sam335ix]

I have been to St. Thomas and St. Johns... St. Thomas, stay at the Ritz and its worth every penny. People drive like maniacs and the cabs will rip you off unless you negotiate before hand. I suggest to charter a sail boat from St. Thomas and island hop and go to St. Johns, just an amazing experience.

[ThEnder]

My parents have a place on the east end of the island so I have spent a lot of time there...please feel free to PM if you have any questions.

I'd +1 the vote to stay at the Ritz, they have one of the best locations on the island but if you are headed out next week I imagine your hotel is already booked.

I strongly recommend renting a car, a Jeep Wrangler is best. Taxi's are expensive and sometimes hard to get depending on where you are/where you want to go. Driving on the island is easy once you get the hang of driving on the left and knowing that any traffic laws that might exist are not enforced.

Here are a few suggestions on things to do:

-Hang out at the beach and drink (best option, really)

-Shop in Charlotte Amalie: wait until there is only 1 cruise ship in port so crowds are down. It's important that a ship be there or else a lot of stores will not open. AH Rise has a great selection of duty free liquor, lots of places to buy jewelry. Do not pay asking price for anything, it's all negotiable. Cuzzin's is a pretty neat restaurant located downtown and a good spot for lunch. Bella Blue in Frenchtown is another good lunch stop downtown.

-Take the ferry over to St. John and rent a jeep (ALT: rent the jeep in St. Thomas and take the car ferry to St. John): lots of good hiking trails, snorkel opportunities, cool island roads and scenery. St. John is more chill than St. Thomas and worth a day or two to explore. Eat dinner at Morgan's Mango in Cruz Bay before returning home. Skip the old sugar plantation - it's hot as hell this time of year and not that interesting.

-Go on some scuba dives. The dive outfit at the Ritz is my favorite - it's run by an old former French navy diver who will take you wherever you want to go with no BS. His stories are great too. If you are not scuba certified, try a resort dive. Snorkeling is no comparison.

-Charter a boat and visit the BVI. You can charter a sail boat but it will take you forever to get anywhere, so charter a power boat instead. Sea and Ski runs a great charter service and you can get a boat either with or without a captain. I'd recommend getting the captain so you don't have to worry about navigation - they also handle customs upon entering the BVI while you are off sigh seeing. Highly recommend going to the Baths at Virgin Gorda (top of the baths is where Jimmy Buffet wrote cheese burger in paradise). Soggy Dollar is another great charter stop.

Restaurants to try:
-Blue Moon Cafe (East End)
-Schnitzel House (East End)
-Off the Hook (Red Hook)
-Bella Blue (French Town)
-Cuzzins (Charlotte Amalia)

[woosh]

Originally Posted by ThEnder

My parents have a place on the east end of the island so I have spent a lot of time there...please feel free to PM if you have any questions.

I'd +1 the vote to stay at the Ritz, they have one of the best locations on the island but if you are headed out next week I imagine your hotel is already booked.

I strongly recommend renting a car, a Jeep Wrangler is best. Taxi's are expensive and sometimes hard to get depending on where you are/where you want to go. Driving on the island is easy once you get the hang of driving on the left and knowing that any traffic laws that might exist are not enforced.

Here are a few suggestions on things to do:

-Hang out at the beach and drink (best option, really)

-Shop in Charlotte Amalie: wait until there is only 1 cruise ship in port so crowds are down. It's important that a ship be there or else a lot of stores will not open. AH Rise has a great selection of duty free liquor, lots of places to buy jewelry. Do not pay asking price for anything, it's all negotiable. Cuzzin's is a pretty neat restaurant located downtown and a good spot for lunch. Bella Blue in Frenchtown is another good lunch stop downtown.

-Take the ferry over to St. John and rent a jeep (ALT: rent the jeep in St. Thomas and take the car ferry to St. John): lots of good hiking trails, snorkel opportunities, cool island roads and scenery. St. John is more chill than St. Thomas and worth a day or two to explore. Eat dinner at Morgan's Mango in Cruz Bay before returning home. Skip the old sugar plantation - it's hot as hell this time of year and not that interesting.

-Go on some scuba dives. The dive outfit at the Ritz is my favorite - it's run by an old former French navy diver who will take you wherever you want to go with no BS. His stories are great too. If you are not scuba certified, try a resort dive. Snorkeling is no comparison.

-Charter a boat and visit the BVI. You can charter a sail boat but it will take you forever to get anywhere, so charter a power boat instead. Sea and Ski runs a great charter service and you can get a boat either with or without a captain. I'd recommend getting the captain so you don't have to worry about navigation - they also handle customs upon entering the BVI while you are off sigh seeing. Highly recommend going to the Baths at Virgin Gorda (top of the baths is where Jimmy Buffet wrote cheese burger in paradise). Soggy Dollar is another great charter stop.

Restaurants to try:
-Blue Moon Cafe (East End)
-Schnitzel House (East End)
-Off the Hook (Red Hook)
-Bella Blue (French Town)
-Cuzzins (Charlotte Amalia)

Good info!

[upstatedoc]

Originally Posted by smyles

"Chuck Norris once visited the Virgin Islands..."

i like where this is going...

[xtac]

Thanks guys. Landed here this morning.
Was to late to book ritz but we are at the marriot. I would book at ritz next time but this place has amazing views. I rented a Toyota yaris lol. A wrangler would come in handy plenty of hills.

So far it's not as "resorty" as I thought. Anyhow going to make the most of it.
Parking at the hotel is nuts and driving on the left but wheel being normal is odd but I'm already used to it. I will take a trip to St. John or island hop and see the best option for me

If anyone can list a must see near the marriot let me know. But basically my first impression is similar to what the previous poster replied its a boring island.
Hopefully I'm liven this place up.

The island so far though is beautiful

[NAV8TT]

Had my honeymoon in St. John 1 yr ago and just came from a 2nd time visit last month. Its beautiful and we love every single beach in it. The fun thing really is the easy access to jost van dike in the british virgin islands, take a sail boat there and visit soggy dollar bar (called that coz u ve to swim there as there is no dock so ur money will get soggy) and try their official drink "painkiller" its amazing, had 10 of them in an hour last time i visited (be careful coz u might drown as u r basically drunk swimming back to your boat... Fact....). been to st Thomas twice on cruises, nothing special.

[Vic311]

Originally Posted by smyles

"Chuck Norris once visited the Virgin Islands..."

Haven't been to the Virgin Islands but I've deflowered a few at home.

[luckysnafu]

Hit up St. John at least for a day, longer if you have the time. My wife and I are headed there for the third consecutive year in December. All the beaches are spectacular. Trunk Bay is the most popular one with amenities but try some of the off the path beaches and you won't be disappointed. Our favorites include Salt Pond Bay, Solmon/Honeymoon (usually not crowded due to the short hike), and Francis Bay. Most beaches have good snorkeling. Rent some snorkeling gear in Cruz Bay before heading to the beaches though.

Lots of restaurants close during the late summer/fall season so check online for a list of closings - http://stjohnspice.com/stjohnrestaurants.htm
Hit up The Tap Room for some good St. John Brewer's Beer. Sam and Jack's deli has some of the best food in Cruz Bay. We think La Tapa is one of the best restaurants in Cruz Bay but it will be closed when you are there next week.

Last year we went on a day boating trip to the British VIs and had a blast. We went on the Bad Kitty - http://www.calypsovi.com/bad_kitty.html
Great crew, open bar, snorkeling, great lunch stop, just a great way to spend a day. Must have a passport for this though, keep that in mind.

Have a great time and let us know where you ended up going!