St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

• Things to do in St. ThomasSt. Thomas is the busiest of the US Virgin Islands and the most varied: a Danish harbor town with its fort and a sand-floored synagogue, beaches on both coasts, and boats to Water Island and St. John.
• Blackbeard's Castle, St. ThomasBlackbeard's Castle is the round stone tower on the hill above Charlotte Amalie, built by the Danes in 1679 to guard the harbor, and the pirate it is named for was never known to have come to St. Thomas.
• Coral World Ocean Park, St. ThomasCoral World Ocean Park is the marine park on Coki Point, St. Thomas: aquariums, an underwater observatory and pools for dolphins, sea lions and young sharks.
• Duty-free shopping in St. Thomas, Virgin IslandsThe real draw of duty-free shopping in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, is not the sign on the shop but the allowance you carry home: $1,600 of goods a person, twice what most trips abroad allow, with five liters of alcohol inside it if one bottle is made on the islands.
• Hiking in St. Thomas from the Magens Bay trailheadThe Magens Bay trailhead at Canaan, high above the north shore, is the top of the Discovery Nature Trail, the one St. Thomas trail its owner maps and describes.
• How to get to Jost Van Dyke from St. ThomasThe easiest way to get to Jost Van Dyke from St. Thomas is the direct boat from Red Hook, which runs three mornings a week and comes back mid-afternoon, one boat each way.
• How to get to Virgin Gorda from St. ThomasThe easiest way to get to Virgin Gorda from St. Thomas for the day is the Thursday boat from Red Hook: Spanish Town by mid-morning, back at three.
• Kayaking and paddleboarding on St. ThomasThe best kayaking on St. Thomas is on the quiet southeast side, in the Mangrove Lagoon, a protected maze of red mangroves and small cays where the water stays flat when the open coast is choppy.
• Mahogany Run golf course on St. ThomasThe Fazio-designed 18 on the north side of St. Thomas has sat idle since Hurricanes Irma and Maria: Mahogany Run golf course has not reopened, and nothing points to a return this season.
• Skyride to Paradise PointThe Skyride to Paradise Point is the cable car from Havensight, across the road from the St. Thomas cruise dock, to a hilltop bar high over Charlotte Amalie harbor and the ships.
• Snorkeling on St. Thomas, USVIThere are two kinds of snorkeling on St. Thomas, USVI: reefs you swim out to from a beach, free and a short drive from town, and four stops only a boat reaches.
• St. Thomas scuba diving in the East End reservesSt. Thomas scuba diving mostly starts on a boat.
• Where to see sea turtles on St. ThomasThe turtle beach of St. Thomas has a runway at one end, and the turtles do not mind.
• Margaritaville St. Thomas or a villa?Margaritaville St. Thomas is a Wyndham vacation-ownership resort on Water Bay at the East End, with suites, a pool, a beach and a restaurant downstairs.
• St. Thomas all-inclusive resorts, or a villa?Of the St. Thomas all-inclusive resorts that turn up in searches, only one sells a true plan: Bolongo Bay Beach Resort, on the south shore, with three meals and drinks in the rate.
• St. Thomas Carnival 2026 and the year's eventsSt. Thomas Carnival 2026 filled the last week of April in Charlotte Amalie, with J'ouvert at daybreak on the waterfront, the parades through town and the food fair.

• St. Thomas boat charters from Red Hook and Compass PointMost St. Thomas boat charters are a day on a private powerboat or catamaran for six to twelve, leaving from Red Hook or Compass Point on the East End.
• Fishing charters on St. Thomas, from Red Hook to FrenchtownA fishing charter on St. Thomas is a private boat for up to six, and the price is for the boat, so two anglers pay what six do.
• St. Thomas photographers for family, proposal and beach shootsA St. Thomas photographer who lives on the island will meet you on a beach or at the villa, and most charge between $450 and $700 for a family or proposal session.
• Private chefs and catering on St. ThomasA private chef in St. Thomas arrives with the groceries, cooks in the villa kitchen and leaves it clean, and the ones who print a price charge anywhere from $60 to $295 a person for dinner, plus a service fee at most of them.
• St. Thomas snorkeling toursMost St. Thomas snorkeling tours are a shared boat from Red Hook or the south shore, from a $30 guided swim off Limetree Beach to a five-hour catamaran sail out to Buck Island.
• St. Thomas water sports: jet ski rental, parasailing and gearJet ski rental in St. Thomas leaves from four places: Lindbergh Bay near the airport, the Westin at Frenchman's Reef, and Compass Point and Sapphire marinas on the East End, at $125 to $190 a ski for the hour.
• St. Thomas wedding venuesA wedding here can be the sand at Magens Bay, for a $250 park fee, or a Ritz-Carlton beach set for 350, and the St. Thomas wedding venues in between include a Hull Bay estate and a catamaran.

• Flights to St. Thomas: who flies nonstop, and whenFlights to St. Thomas land at Cyril E. King Airport (STT), and the easiest come nonstop from Miami, New York and Houston, which each have a flight every day.
• How to get around St. ThomasThe easiest way to get around St. Thomas is a rental car.
• St. Thomas airport: Cyril E. King (STT)Everyone bound for St. Thomas or St. John lands at Cyril E. King Airport (STT), the St. Thomas airport two miles west of Charlotte Amalie; St. John has no airport of its own.
• St. Thomas cruise port: Havensight and Crown BayThe St. Thomas cruise port is really two piers on either side of Charlotte Amalie harbor: Havensight on the east, run by the West Indian Company, and the Port Authority's Crown Bay terminal on the west, with ships at anchor when both are full.
• St. Thomas mapSt. Thomas is the westernmost of the three main US Virgin Islands, east of Puerto Rico, and the island every flight to St. John lands on.
• St. Thomas to St. Croix: ferry, seaplane or a flightThe fastest way from St. Thomas to St. Croix is the seaplane: twenty-five minutes from the Charlotte Amalie waterfront to Christiansted harbor, with flights through the day.
• St. Thomas weather by monthSt. Thomas weather is warm in every month, so the best time to visit is a question of rain, ships and storms.

• A St. Thomas honeymoon, planned from where you stayA St. Thomas honeymoon turns on where you sleep, because the island rarely puts sand outside the door and dinner close by in the same place.
• A St. Thomas sailing itinerary, from a house on landA St. Thomas sailing itinerary works as well from a house as from a boat: three days on the water, four on land, the boat days picked by the weather.
• Fort Christian, St. ThomasFort Christian is the Danish fort on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront in St. Thomas, built between 1672 and 1680 and in turn the colony's seat of government, the territory's police station and prison, and now the Fort Christian Museum.
• Mountain Top, St. Thomas, and the sunset overlooksMountain Top, St. Thomas, is the island's best-known overlook: a deck high on St. Peter Mountain looking east over Magens Bay to St. John and the British Virgin Islands.
• St. Thomas nightlifeSt. Thomas nightlife gathers in two places: Red Hook on the East End, and the Charlotte Amalie harbor from Frenchtown to Yacht Haven Grande.
• Things to do in St. Thomas with kidsThree places carry most family days on St. Thomas: Coral World Ocean Park at Coki Point, the Skyride to Paradise Point, and Magens Bay, whose calm, shallow water and free entry for children under 12 make it the easy beach.
• All St. Thomas guidesEvery beach, activity and planning page on the island, in one list

Both US islands

• The US Virgin Islands, the factsThe flag, the governor, the clock and the paperwork, in quick answers
• Vacation rentals on both US islandsEvery owner-listed villa on St. John and St. Thomas, at the owner’s rate
• The Virgin Islands: every planning guideWhere the islands lie, whose they are, and the guides for each
• The Painkiller drink: the Virgin Islands recipe, two waysThe Painkiller drink is the Virgin Islands cocktail: dark rum, pineapple juice, orange juice and cream of coconut over ice, nutmeg grated on top.
• Driving in St. Thomas and St. John, US Virgin IslandsDriving in St. Thomas, USVI, and on St. John means keeping left on steep, winding hill roads that run slower than the map suggests.
• US Virgin Islands vs Puerto Rico: which suits your weekChoosing between the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico is choosing how big a week you want.
• The US Caribbean islands, and where you can go without a passportOnly two flags in the Caribbean are American, so the US Caribbean islands are a short list: Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands of St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix, a domestic flight for a US citizen, no passport, same dollar, same phone.
• St. Thomas time zone: the one clock the US Virgin Islands keepSt. Thomas and the rest of the US Virgin Islands keep Atlantic Standard Time, four hours behind UTC, and the clocks are left alone all year, so the St. Thomas time zone matches New York through the summer and runs an hour ahead of it in winter.
• The US Virgin Islands flag, and what it meansThe US Virgin Islands flag is a white field with a yellow eagle between a blue V and I, the eagle carrying the shield of the United States, laurel in one talon and three arrows in the other.
• Virgin Islands wildlife and where to see itThe Virgin Islands wildlife you meet first is the kind that does not hide: an iguana the length of your arm on a stone wall in Charlotte Amalie, a donkey standing in the road over Coral Bay, a pelican folding into the water beside your towel.
• Planning a Virgin Islands weddingTwo decisions make a Virgin Islands wedding: which side of the border, and how big.
• The US Virgin Islands short-term rental license and room taxRenting a villa by the week in the US Virgin Islands takes a short-term rental license from the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs and a room tax account with the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
• Wheelchair accessible travel on St. Thomas and St. JohnSt. Thomas and St. John are steep islands, wheelchair accessible in part, and a week here turns on three things: a villa with a step-free way from the car to a bedroom, a ferry you can roll onto, and the few beaches with mats or paths to the water.
• What to wear in St. Thomas, and what to pack for the Virgin IslandsLight, loose clothes, a swimsuit and a hat are what to wear in St. Thomas in any month, with a thin long-sleeved shirt for the noon sun and the mosquitoes at dusk.
• Reef-safe sunscreen in the USVI and what the law bansThe US Virgin Islands ban sunscreen with three common chemical filters, in your beach bag as well as on the shelf.
• USVI ferries and the last boat on every routeThe USVI ferry most visitors take is the short hop from Red Hook on St. Thomas to Cruz Bay on St. John, hourly and inexpensive until late at night.
• Ferry from St. Thomas to TortolaThe ferry from St. Thomas to Tortola leaves from two docks, and the house you are going to picks one.
• The US and British Virgin Islands mapOn a US Virgin Islands map, St. Thomas and St. John sit at the western end of a chain that runs east from Puerto Rico, and most of what lies beyond them flies another flag.
• US Virgin Islands bachelorette partyA US Virgin Islands bachelorette party usually means eight to twelve friends in one rented house, and the real planning is getting everyone around.
• Christmas in the Virgin Islands, and the holiday weeks around itChristmas in the Virgin Islands arrives with the dry season: December is warm and far drier than November.
• US Virgin Islands family vacationFor a US Virgin Islands family vacation, St. Thomas is the easier island with small children: the plane lands there, a few neighborhoods are flat enough for a stroller, and Magens Bay lists lifeguards.
• US Virgin Islands history: the Danish Virgin Islands, 1672 to 1917The US Virgin Islands were Danish for nearly 250 years.
• The best Virgin Island to visit, by the week you wantThe best Virgin Island to visit on a first trip is St. John or St. Thomas, and the real difference is a ferry.
• Do you need a passport for St. Thomas and the US Virgin Islands?You do not need a passport for St. Thomas as a US citizen from the mainland: the US Virgin Islands are part of the United States, so St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix are a domestic flight.
• Is St. Thomas safe? Safety in the US Virgin IslandsIs St. Thomas safe?
• US Virgin Islands weather by monthUS Virgin Islands weather barely changes in temperature from month to month; rain and storms are what decide the trip.
• Hurricane season in the US Virgin IslandsUS Virgin Islands hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, and about ten weeks of it carry most of the risk.
• Virgin Islands webcamsThe beaches and harbors live, on the cameras their owners run

• St. Thomas restaurants and bars, by areaSt. Thomas restaurants fall into a few clusters, and the right one is the one nearest the house.
• Charlotte Amalie restaurants and barsCharlotte Amalie restaurants keep two shifts.
• Frenchtown, St. Thomas restaurantsFrenchtown's restaurants on St. Thomas are a short list: four kitchens on Honduras street at the west end of the Charlotte Amalie harbor, five minutes from town, from Oceana at Villa Olga to a brick-oven pizza place.
• Red Hook restaurants and barsThe Red Hook restaurants on St. Thomas share one waterfront, around American Yacht Harbor and the St. John ferry terminal, with Red Hook Plaza across the road.

• Services on St. Thomas, from hospitals to a private chefThe U.S.
• Car rental on St. ThomasMost visitors collect a car at the Cyril E. King Airport counters or have a local firm bring one to them.
• Groceries and villa delivery on St. ThomasGrocery stores on St. Thomas run from a warehouse club to small gourmet markets by the marinas, and three services will have the food waiting at the villa.
• Is there Uber in St. Thomas? How the taxis workWe found no Uber or Lyft on St. Thomas in October 2026, so a ride without a car means a licensed taxi.