St Thomas

[hogwild6700]

After going back and forth-I've decided to take my soon to be wife to St Thomas for our honeymoon. What can you world travelers tell me about it based on personal experience?

[sowmonella]

Take the time to ferry over to St. Johns for the day (Trunk Bay) and also The British Virgins (Gorda). These are the prettiest beaches on the planet. Have fun.

[Hogfaniam]

After going back and forth-I've decided to take my soon to be wife to St Thomas for our honeymoon. What can you world travelers tell me about it based on personal experience?

Trip Advisor is pretty spot on.  Some good advice on what to avoid.

Did the St. John excursion, diamond market, Blackbeards, took an island tour.  We only had 2 full days.

[Uncle_dad]

I worked for Royal Caribbean and was visited there every week. Beautiful place. Definitely go to St. John. It has the prettiest beaches I have seen in my life. You can rent a jeep there, but they drive on the left hand side of the road. There isn't much traffic, though. If you are adventurous I would recommend this over a cab. Those little fury things that run across the road are mongooses (or is it mongeese)? I also had a Herschel Walker sighting one day when I was there.

You can also take a ferry to Tortola or Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. You will need a passport, though. One could pick up a Cuban cigar or Cuban bottle of rum there if so inclined. I would consume it there, though. I knew a guy who got caught with Cuban cigars in customs once and they made him tear them all up and throw them away.

As for St. Thomas, there is a lot of beauty and great shopping. I always took a cab to the beach at Coki Point. Great snorkeling and diving there. There was also an underwater observatory called Coral World. I'm not sure if it is still there or not. It wasn't great- I wouldn't recommend if it is pricey, but I would check it out if it is cheap. It was free for me since I worked for RCCL.

The easiest way to get around is by taxi. They can be a bit expensive, though. Always negotiate your price up front. He shouldn't charge you for extra people. I would find people at your resort wanting to do the same stuff and share a cab. They are almost always vans, so they can hold plenty of people. On this note, if you are in a group of one or two, you can expect your cabby to give a lift to any locals walking down the road on your dime. It is really irritating, but I would recommend keeping your mouth shut and dealing with it. I never witnessed any crime or civil unrest, but occasionally I would hear talk of some locals who were fed up with wealthy tourists being disrespectful to them. Mind you, it is not like Kingston or anything. I just heard some tiny discontent among the locals.

[TechHog]

Do a day trip with the Lion in da sun (private 28' boat charter).   Think they live on St Thomas.  Hit Willy T's in the late afternoon.  Also the Soggy Dollar bar on Jost Van Dyke.  Have a great time!

[Ragnar Hogbrok]

You can pick up some good deals in downtown Kingston if you're shopping.  Just use normal caution. 

Coral World was pretty cool.  My wife and I did the helmet dive and enjoyed that.  The beaches are pristine.  It will ruin any beach you go to in the states afterwards.

Have a great time. 

[Uncle_dad]

You can pick up some good deals in downtown Kingston if you're shopping.  Just use normal caution. 

Coral World was pretty cool.  My wife and I did the helmet dive and enjoyed that.  The beaches are pristine.  It will ruin any beach you go to in the states afterwards.

Have a great time. 

I think you meant Charlotte Amalie for the town on St. Thomas. Yes, the prices are much better than the duty free shops by where the cruise ships land.

Glad to hear that Coral World was enjoyable.

Also, you can bring back an extra bottle of duty free rum if it was distilled in the US Virgin Islands. I would take advantage of this.

Will your flight take you through Puerto Rico? Old San Juan is worth an afternoon stroll (especially if you are in to history) if you can manage a long layover.

[Atlhogfan1]

I prefer to stay on St. John.  Most of the island is a US national park.  But it depends on what you want from the vacation.  If you want more bustle and shopping in addition to the beach, then St. Thomas is fine. 

[Ragnar Hogbrok]

I think you meant Charlotte Amalie for the town on St. Thomas. Yes, the prices are much better than the duty free shops by where the cruise ships land.

Glad to hear that Coral World was enjoyable.

Also, you can bring back an extra bottle of duty free rum if it was distilled in the US Virgin Islands. I would take advantage of this.

Will your flight take you through Puerto Rico? Old San Juan is worth an afternoon stroll (especially if you are in to history) if you can manage a long layover.

I stand corrected.  Don't know why I typed that. 

Does anyone remember the limit on the duty free?  It's like $600 in St. Thomas or something like that.  Got a nice Citizen watch while I was there.

[Uncle_dad]

Wow. $1600! Things have changed in the 20 years since I was there. http://www.visitusvi.com/stthomas/shopping

[Uncle_dad]

Plus six bottles of liquor, as long as one is made in the USVI.

[Jeremy T]

Not sure how long you are planning to stay. We were there only 4 nights since we got delayed in San Juan. Dang underwater volcanoes.  It wasn't long enough to do everything. We took the ferry to St. John's too, and the island is amazing. Plenty of fish to look at if you like snorkeling.

[trippigs]

St John might be the most beautiful place I have ever seen. My wife and I spent a week @ Concordia EcoResort (was Echo Bay back then) and it was great. Stayed @ Hotel 1829 in St Thomas on front and back end of travel....fun quirky place but probably not recommended for a honeymoon. Go and have a memorable time.

[ur]

We went last august and we are going again in May. We are staying on St. John this time. We weren't that comfortable with St Thomas at night unless we were at our resort. We were only there for a day but St John seems to offer a lot and is much safer. That's why we are staying there this time.  Rent a jeep. It's not that hard to drive on the left and it gives you a lot of freedom to see all the beaches. We took this trip to the BVIs and it is worth it to get a lot of it in, in one day. I'll give you some links to the places we went to and would recommend. Def. take the ferry to St. John for a day. If you rent a jeep, take the car ferry so you can use it over there. Get you a Frommers guide for the USVI and BVI and read it on the plane trip.
http://www.newhorizonscharters.com/
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sttfr-frenchmans-reef-and-morning-star-marriott-beach-resort/
http://www.fat-turtle.com/
http://www.ticklesdocksidepub.com/
http://www.woodysseafood.com/
http://www.mountaintopvi.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/famous-delite-st-thomas
http://www.skinnylegsvi.com/
http://www.soggydollar.com/soggy-dollar-bar/
https://www.pussers.com/t-marina-cay.aspx
http://topofthebaths.com/
Have fun and congrats!

[jabberjawls]

I just got back.   If you haven't already booked it, I would definitely stay on St. John instead of St. Thomas.  Also a day trip to the Baths at Virgin Gorda is highly recommended if you can swing it.

[Pulled(PP)pork]

Take the time to ferry over to St. Johns for the day (Trunk Bay) and also The British Virgins (Gorda). These are the prettiest beaches on the planet. Have fun.

wait, Im wasting my money on Cozumel and the Grand Cayman??


PP

[McKdaddy]

Take the time to ferry over to St. Johns for the day (Trunk Bay) and also The British Virgins (Gorda). These are the prettiest beaches on the planet. Have fun.

Agreed

[McKdaddy]

St John might be the most beautiful place I have ever seen.

Also, agreed.

[hogwild6700]

Thanks for all the information fellas. Good stuff!