Port locations: Cruise ships dock at the West Indian Company Dock on the eastern side of Charlotte Amalie Harbor and the Crown Bay Dock on the harbor’s western side. Destinations: San Juan, Puerto Rico; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Basseterre, St. Kitts; St. John’s, Antigua; Roseau, Dominica; Fort-de-France, Martinique; Castries, St. Lucia; Bridgetown, Barbados; St. George’s, Grenada; and more Cruise lines: Carnival, Celebrity, Cunard, Holland America, MSC, Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean, and others |
Red rooftops on the public buildings and private homes in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas’s only town, are a signature sight for those who cruise into its harbor. There’s no missing the colorful architecture, backed by green hills—boats navigate a water-filled crater of a long-dormant volcano which creates an amphitheater effect that puts the hip-roofed structures on full display.
The exact shade is “Danish red.” It’s the same as the red in Denmark’s flag, the Dannebrog, which flew over St. Thomas from 1672 until 1917 when the United States purchased the islands and hoisted the Stars and Stripes. No other Caribbean island—except St. Thomas’s siblings, the other two main U.S. Virgins, St. John and St. Croix—has a Danish history that is still very much part of the port today, such as street names written in Danish and driving on the left side of the road. But don’t expect a museum-like port town or island.
“The vibe of St. Thomas is upbeat with a lot of activity, especially in Charlotte Amalie. A myriad of activities are available for the adventurous, from a historical hike in town to scuba diving, sailing, and sport fishing excursions,” says Luana Wheatley. Born and raised on the island, Wheatley worked for years in the tourism and hospitality industry; today, she is the executive director of the St. Thomas Historical Trust.
Coki Beach is known for its snorkeling, clear water, and white sand.
Photo by Sandra Foyt/Shutterstock
Charlotte Amalie and St. Thomas in a day
Surf-and-turf style is the most popular way to spend a day in port. That is, spend half the day in the town of Charlotte Amalie shopping and seeing the historic sights and the other half exploring the island’s landmarks and beaches. The crowds explore the town in the morning and a beach in the afternoon, so choose the opposite for a quieter experience at each destination.
Charlotte Amalie is a shopper’s paradise, with double the duty-free allowance of other Caribbean islands: $1,600 per person. Main Street, also called Dronningens Gade (“Queen’s Street”) in Danish, is lined with shops selling gold and diamonds as jewelry and timepieces. Duty-free electronics, perfume, and designer clothing are sold here and in shops along alleyways connecting Main Street to the waterfront. You can also find works of local artists, such as W.B. Thompson’s colorful mixed-media island-scapes that blend the real with surreal and Ama Dennis’s black-and-white photographs that capture the old-time essence of Virgin Islands culture. Many stores have locations at the town’s two cruise ship ports: Havensight Mall and Crown Bay Center.
Shops and historic sights are together within a one-mile stretch in town. Fort Christian, near the head of Main Street, is more than 300 years old and the oldest structure on St. Thomas. The museum inside traces the island’s habitation history from the Taino people, whose roots here reach back more than a millennium, to the Danes’ use of the fort as a governor’s residence, a church, and later a jail. In Emancipation Garden, adjacent to the pastel-painted huts of Vendor’s Plaza, there’s a life-size bronze bust of a freed person blowing a conch shell, commemorating emancipation in 1848.
Food trucks here sell pates, fried turnovers filled with savory beef, chicken, salt fish, or conch, a Virgin Islands street food favorite. A short walk up the hill leads to the famous “99 steps” step street, a moderately steep brick-built stairway to the street above, which the Danes used to get around town, and a red-painted guard house at the entrance to Government House, the USVI Governor’s official office on St. Thomas. The St. Thomas Historical Trust offers a self-guided audio tour for $10.
Take an island tour to quickly see most of St. Thomas; Mountain Top is one iconic stop. At 1,500-foot elevation, sip a banana daiquiri while scanning the panoramic view, gazing to the north at St. Thomas’s uninhabited island, then to the east at the British Virgin Islands. Then it’s time to hit the beach.
“When visitors ask me what’s the best beach to visit, I ask them what they’re looking for,” says Joseph Penn of Joe’s Island Tours. “If they want to sit and relax, Magens Bay is great. If they want to snorkel, I take them to Coki, Sapphire, Secret Harbor, or Brewers.”
The National Park Services says that the Annaberg Plantation “tells a complex history of the violent displacement of Indigenous people, European settlement, and the enslavement of Africans”.
Photo by Jennifer Stanford/Shutterstock
If you have two days . . . visit two islands
Devote a day to visiting St. John, home of the Virgin Islands National Park (VINP), which spans 60 percent of the island, including beaches, historic ruins, and more than 20 hiking trails. Passenger ferries depart and return on the hour between Red Hook, St. Thomas, and Cruz Bay, St. John. Once there, take an island tour ending at a beach. Or rent a jeep to explore the Annaberg Sugar Plantation ruins and Coral Bay to the east. Or walk around Cruz Bay, visiting shops, beachfront cafés, and the VINP visitor center. The one-mile, one-way Lind Point Trail, which starts behind the visitor center, is a walkable way to reach Honeymoon Bay. Another option: hike the steep, 2.2-mile Reef Bay Trail.
“This hike isn’t just about the unforgettable scenery; it’s a journey through St. John’s rich history,” says La’Nae Charles, the VINP’s community volunteer ambassador. “The trail takes you through an untouched tropical forest, past storied plantation ruins, and leads to the famous petroglyphs—ancient rock carvings left by the Taino people who were Native inhabits of the island. The park offers guided hikes with a park ranger on Mondays and Tuesdays, giving you expert insight into the area’s history, ecology, and cultural significance. On the boat ride back, you’ll see the Coral Reef Monument from a new perspective.”
Small tour boats offer snorkeling and fishing trips.
Photo by Solarisys/Shutterstock
Stay longer: island-hop ‘til you drop
St. Thomas is surrounded by several islands that make appealing half- or full-day trips. Take a 10-minute ferry ride from the Crown Bay Marina to Water Island. It’s a short hike over the hill to Honeymoon Beach, with a food truck, beach bar, and swim platform in the bay.
Stay to watch the sunset as Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchette did when they filmed a scene here in 2007 for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Water Island is a stone’s throw from Hassel Island, where the St. Thomas Historical Trust provides guided walking tours to remnants of 18th- and 19th-century military fortifications and boat transportation.
Back on St. Thomas, stay at the Westin Beach Resort & Spa at Frenchman’s Reef to the east of Charlotte Amalie Harbor and take its catamaran for a day sail to Buck Island. Or book a luxury villa or tree house or glamp at the Lovango Resort & Beach Club, a private island resort with its ferry from Red Hook, St. Thomas. Lastly, take a three-hour kayak tour with VI-Eco Tours in St. Thomas’s Mangrove Lagoon. Stop for a hike to see the blowhole on Cas Cay, a 50-acre uninhabited island named by the Danes long ago.