St. Thomas

[Bob Roberts]

The wife and I have booked a cruise for this summer aboard the Carnival Liberty and will be visiting St. Thomas on a Tuesday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. We've never been to any of the Virgin Islands before so we're hoping to hit all the high spots. Any suggestions?

[sonofabeach]

Megans Bay was nice and the cab ride over the mountain was like an amusement park ride.

[lilsalty]

You could ferry over to Jost Van Dyke...home of the best beach bars ever!! Soggy Dollar, One Love... Another option is to ferry over to St. John & hit Trunk Bay for great snorkeling & then the bars in Cruz Bay.
On St. Thomas, I second Magen's Bay; beautiful beach. I'd get out of Charlotte Amalie (where the ship will dock) unless you like immense crowds and shopping. Duffy's Love Shack and Molly Malone's in Red Hook are fun places.

[catsway]

We agree with Lilsalty about ferrying over to some of the out islands for some fun, but be careful not to miss the ship. Allow ample time to return and arrive on time. St. Thomas can get very crowded when several large ships are in port on the same day. Plus remember, the locals operate on island time, no hurries....

Having visited St. Thomas via cruise ship and by air many times, we always recommend Secret Harbor as a great beach destination. Any cab driver will get you there. Very close to Red Hook (Duffy's Love Shack and the Island Time Bar) Plus Secret Harbor has its own bar call the Blue Moon. Food is served also. Beach chairs and umbrellas are $10 for non-resort guests. Excellent snorkeling with many beautiful coral heads. There is an dive shop on sight if you need gear. Plus, there are no crowds. The iguanas love cheese crackers and the fish love dog biscuits. Have Phun!

[caly]

Or you could just come hang out at my house .........

oops upon reading more carefuly I see you mean St. Thomas USVI not St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada.

We have been there 4 times on cruise ships and anytime I have bought something that requires name/address info the first response is "you live here". One time I had to show my drivers lisc because they didn't believe me.

Secret Harbor was really beautiful but so is Megans Bay. I want to hop the ferry next time we are there and go to St. John.

Enjoy you lucky souls

[weirdo0521]

Bob,

Here is a good site to tell you what other ships are going to be in port. http://cruisett.com/ports.php

Hopefully you are not on port the same day as the Oasis of the Seas.

I'm a fan of Coki Beach

[nutmeg]

There is sooo much to see in that area. One day is not enough.

I would opt for St John if you have time, but I'd be concerned that you would be able to get back to the ship on time. That was one of the things about cruising that drove me crazy. There were so many neat places to go and no time for most of them. (And everywhere you went you took thousands of people with you )

If you enjoy snorkeling, a trip to Buck Island is worth it. The turtles were amazing.

Have fun!

[citcat]

You could ferry over to Jost Van Dyke...home of the best beach bars ever!! Soggy Dollar, One Love... Another option is to ferry over to St. John & hit Trunk Bay for great snorkeling & then the bars in Cruz Bay.
On St. Thomas, I second Magen's Bay; beautiful beach. I'd get out of Charlotte Amalie (where the ship will dock) unless you like immense crowds and shopping. Duffy's Love Shack and Molly Malone's in Red Hook are fun places.

EXCELLENT ideas.

[catsway]

Bob,

Here is a good site to tell you what other ships are going to be in port. http://cruisett.com/ports.php

Hopefully you are not on port the same day as the Oasis of the Seas.

I'm a fan of Coki Beach

Thanks for the link! Ever since cruisecal.com went "subscription", we've been looking for a sight that gives ship/port information.
And you're right about Coki Beach, great place to lay out, drink $2 ML's and snorkel.

[Bob Roberts]

Well, after reading reviews on other sites we booked a tour with Air Force One Island Tours. Our tour guide is Armitage "Papa Bear" Allembert, and is supposedly great. After about a 2 1/2 hour driving tour of the island, he will drop us of at Magen's Bay for a couple of hours. We finish at 2:00, but our ship doesn't sail until 6:00. We're hoping to do a little shopping around the port and in downtown. Any recommendations for places to eat or shop in those 2 areas?

[Summerlover]

I would love to hear as much as possible about places to see and do too. We had considered St Thomas for next year. We want to take our girls somewhere special and I think St Thomas would be great given St John is a ferry ride away. I also will have a year to look at all our options on where to stay etc. We would stay for a week so a condo is a must.

We just loved St Barts but with the euro/ dollar exchange with 4 of us I just can't justify it. St Thomas will be as close as we can get for an island feel using our dollars. Unless someone has other ideas.

Bob you will have to report back. Have a great time!!

[nutmeg]

I would love to hear as much as possible about places to see and do too. We had considered St Thomas for next year. We want to take our girls somewhere special and I think St Thomas would be great given St John is a ferry ride away. I also will have a year to look at all our options on where to stay etc. We would stay for a week so a condo is a must.

We just loved St Barts but with the euro/ dollar exchange with 4 of us I just can't justify it. St Thomas will be as close as we can get for an island feel using our dollars. Unless someone has other ideas.

Bob you will have to report back. Have a great time!!

We've stayed at Nail Bay on Virgin Gorda and loved it. I tend to like the BVI.

St John is wonderful too. St Thomas is just a little too "busy" for us, though we had a great time there last year.

[catsway]

Well, after reading reviews on other sites we booked a tour with Air Force One Island Tours. Our tour guide is Armitage "Papa Bear" Allembert, and is supposedly great. After about a 2 1/2 hour driving tour of the island, he will drop us of at Magen's Bay for a couple of hours. We finish at 2:00, but our ship doesn't sail until 6:00. We're hoping to do a little shopping around the port and in downtown. Any recommendations for places to eat or shop in those 2 areas?

After you return from your tour, and if your hungry and thirsty, try Shipwreck Bar in Havensight (the port area). They have the best burgers on the island and they used to have $2 Coors Light's all day as a special. Shipwreck is located right next to Cohen's which we think is the best place to buy your duty free liquor. Your allowed 5 bottles (Lt.) per person plus one extra bottle of any Virgin Island rum. Enjoy your cruise.

[SchoolGirlHeart]

So if I were to fly into St Thomas (my free ticket has to be used in the 48 contiguous states, Puerto Rico or the US Virgins), how hard is it to get to Jost, Tortola, or St John? Or maybe St Croix?

[nutmeg]

So if I were to fly into St Thomas (my free ticket has to be used in the 48 contiguous states, Puerto Rico or the US Virgins), how hard is it to get to Jost, Tortola, or St John? Or maybe St Croix?

St John is a very short ferry ride and totally worth it.

We also took what seemed like a pretty short ferry trip to Virgon Gorda when we were there on on honeymoon (25 years ago)

A few years back my in laws took a ferry from St Thomas to Tortola (they were ultimately heading to Cooper Island)

St Thomas is a very good jumping off point for all the Virgin Islands.

[SchoolGirlHeart]

So, expanding on Bob Roberts' question, if you had, say, three days and you were flying into St Thomas, where would you go? What would you do? I prefer quiet to cities and nightlife. Quiet place to stay, up early for sunrise. Need a good beach, beach bar a large plus. But a quiet beach. Think deserted windward side beach as opposed to Waikiki, Sandbridge or Outer Banks as opposed to Virginia Beach Boardwalk, etc. Suggestions??

[nutmeg]

So, expanding on Bob Roberts' question, if you had, say, three days and you were flying into St Thomas, where would you go? What would you do? I prefer quiet to cities and nightlife. Quiet place to stay, up early for sunrise. Need a good beach, beach bar a large plus. But a quiet beach. Think deserted windward side beach as opposed to Waikiki, Sandbridge or Outer Banks as opposed to Virginia Beach Boardwalk, etc. Suggestions??

When we were at Nail Bay on Virgin Gorda, we were the only two people on the beach every day but one when one other couple showed up. (they have several beaches) Usually one of the owners dogs followed us down and spent the day with us. Don't know if it has gotten a lot busier, but I kinda doubt it. They have a little bar/restaurant and not much else there.

If you are looking for a pretty beach with more action, Quito Rhymer's place on Cane Garden Bay is fun. He pays at his bar some evenings and he is really good. Lots of little bars/restaurants on that beach. However, I would not classify it as "quiet" There are no skyscrapers or big hotels however it is popular with boaters.

On St John, there are some cool tent camps.

[Lightning Bolt]

I plan to get back to St. Thomas soon for a week, and staying on the east shore, Sapphire Bay, made it easy to access a lot of other great destinations on the island.
Red Hook Bay is a great jumping-off point with the ferry able to take you to St. John so easily... I can't wait to experience it all again!

[SchoolGirlHeart]

So, expanding on Bob Roberts' question, if you had, say, three days and you were flying into St Thomas, where would you go? What would you do? I prefer quiet to cities and nightlife. Quiet place to stay, up early for sunrise. Need a good beach, beach bar a large plus. But a quiet beach. Think deserted windward side beach as opposed to Waikiki, Sandbridge or Outer Banks as opposed to Virginia Beach Boardwalk, etc. Suggestions??

When we were at Nail Bay on Virgin Gorda, we were the only two people on the beach every day but one when one other couple showed up. (they have several beaches) Usually one of the owners dogs followed us down and spent the day with us. Don't know if it has gotten a lot busier, but I kinda doubt it. They have a little bar/restaurant and not much else there.

If you are looking for a pretty beach with more action, Quito Rhymer's place on Cane Garden Bay is fun. He pays at his bar some evenings and he is really good. Lots of little bars/restaurants on that beach. However, I would not classify it as "quiet" There are no skyscrapers or big hotels however it is popular with boaters.

On St John, there are some cool tent camps.

That all sounds great Nancy! I was just looking at Jost Van Dyke, too. Ivan's Campground looks great. Beach, bar, hammock, and tire swing. Perfect.

[nutmeg]

By the way, when at Nail Bay we stayed at the Island Time Appartments not one of the Villas. They are up on the hill have a gorgeous view, but didn't require a week's stay and were a lot cheaper than the lovely villas located around the property.

The beach we loved was called Mountain Trunk Beach and the snorkeling there was SUPER.

We did a day trip to Anegada last time we were in the BVI and there was a pretty cool looking place there.