--- title: "Bordeaux, St. Thomas, USVI: Guide and Vacation Rentals" url: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/areas/bordeaux description: "Bordeaux, St. Thomas, is the steep west end from the university to Estate Bordeaux: 20 minutes to Charlotte Amalie, 49 to the Red Hook ferry, Brewers Bay close." source: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/areas/bordeaux --- [St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas) ยท [Areas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/areas) # Bordeaux, St. Thomas Bordeaux, St. Thomas, is the hill country of the island's west end, on our area map from the University of the Virgin Islands to Estate Bordeaux. It sits on the airport side, far from Red Hook, and suits guests who want Brewers Bay and town close. Charlotte Amalie is a 20-minute drive from the middle of the area. Car needed Steep roads Beach a short drive 49 min to Red Hook ferry 20 min to Charlotte Amalie ## Staying in Bordeaux Staying in Bordeaux is a choice about which half of St. Thomas you want near you. Our area map, built on the US Census Bureau's estate boundaries, files a run of west-end estates under the name: John Brewers beside the university, then Sorgenfri, Pearl, Santa Maria, Bonne Esperance and Hope on the slopes behind it, and Estate Bordeaux itself at the western end, with the Fortuna area beyond. The land near the middle of the area measures steep, so expect a hillside house rather than a room on the sand. What lies close is to the east and south: Brewers Bay, the airport and the capital. From Cyril E. King Airport, a taxi to Bordeaux is $17 for one person or $14 each for two or more on the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's 2022 tariff, the latest as of October 2026, plus $3 a bag. The far end of the island, where the boats leave for St. John, is a long drive. Every stay here runs on a rental car. Charlotte Amalie lies 20 minutes east by road and the Red Hook ferry terminal 49, both measured from the middle of the area, and none of the beaches this site covers is in walking distance. Ground this steep decides the rental, so put the question of which car suits the road to the house to the owner before you book. A day on St. John is a full commitment from here. The passenger ferry to Cruz Bay sails from Red Hook, the last boat back is 10 pm from Cruz Bay per the Department of Public Works as of September 2026, and the drive west comes after it. The boat from the Charlotte Amalie waterfront to Cruz Bay suits this side of the island: Transportation Services of St. John sails it twice a day each way as of October 2026, while Varlack Ventures' sailings on the route stop for the off-season, so check the schedule before you plan around it. Brewers Bay is the closest beach this site has a guide for, next to the University of the Virgin Islands and a drive of 8 minutes from the area's middle. Entry is free, parking runs along the beach road, and a public bathhouse with toilets and outdoor showers stands behind the trees. The university has tagged green and hawksbill turtles in the bay since 2014, and no current notice lists a lifeguard, so swim with someone. Over the ridge to the north, Hull Bay is 18 minutes away, free, and a working beach for the island's fishing boats. Morningstar Beach and Limetree Beach, on the south shore past town, are 32 and 34. Magens Bay is 32 minutes too; as of October 2026 its gate takes $7 a visitor and $2 for the car, the rates the Magens Bay Authority posts. The cost of the west end is paid on the road east. Sapphire Beach and Secret Harbour Beach, on the East End, are 44 and 47 minutes from the middle of the area. A St. John day opens with 49 minutes to Red Hook and can close with the same drive in the dark, so the ferry rides are the short part of it. The ground measures steep, which makes even a short errand a drive. Bordeaux makes sense for Brewers Bay, the airport and an evening in Charlotte Amalie. A trip planned around St. John's beaches belongs on the East End, beside the ferry. Suits travelers flying in and out of St. Thomas who want Brewers Bay and the capital near the house, and who will cross to St. John once rather than every day. ## Getting around Bordeaux needs a car: the ground measures steep, so ask the owner about the driveway, the nearest sand is 5 minutes by car and Charlotte Amalie is 20 minutes by road. | Drive to | Minutes | | --- | --- | | Red Hook ferry | 49 | | Cyril E. King airport | 19 | | Charlotte Amalie | 20 | | Bordeaux Beach | 5 | Measured on the island's roads. The west end of St. Thomas has no public water: the Water and Power Authority's 2022 plan for a Bordeaux line said residents and farmers here depend on rain caught on the roof and stored in a cistern, and that line was then unfunded. By our read, phones hold a signal on the ridge roads and weaken in the valleys running down to the sea, and a generator is worth asking the owner about. ## Beaches near Bordeaux - [Brewers Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/beaches/brewers-bay) about 8 min - [Hull Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/beaches/hull-bay) about 18 min - [Honeymoon Beach, Water Island](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/beaches/honeymoon-beach-water-island) about 24 min ## Questions about Bordeaux **Where is Bordeaux, St. Thomas?** Our area map, built on the US Census Bureau's estate boundaries, runs Bordeaux from Estate John Brewers, by the University of the Virgin Islands, to Estate Bordeaux. That puts it in the hills north and west of Cyril E. King Airport, on the west end of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, with the Fortuna area past its western edge. **Is Bordeaux on St. Thomas the same as Bordeaux Mountain on St. John?** No. Bordeaux Mountain is on St. John and has its own page here; this Bordeaux is a neighborhood on the west end of St. Thomas, a different island, with the ferry between them leaving from Red Hook. Some booking sites mix the two names, so check the island on any listing before you write to an owner. **Is there a beach at Bordeaux, St. Thomas?** Bordeaux Bay is on the west end, and its shoreline is public under the Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Act, per the Department of Planning and Natural Resources. We have no guide to it, so ask the owner which way their guests go down to the shore. Of the beaches this site covers, Brewers Bay is closest: 8 minutes by car and free to enter. **Do you need a car in Bordeaux, St. Thomas?** Every errand is a drive here: town is 20 minutes by road and no beach this site covers is within a walk. Hills are the other reason. Owners know the climb to their own gate better than any map, and their answer on clearance is the one to rent by. **How far is Bordeaux from the St. John ferry?** Forty-nine minutes by car is the price of a St. John day from here, each way, between the Red Hook terminal and the area's middle. The boat spends 20 minutes on the water, and the last one back is 10 pm from Cruz Bay per the Department of Public Works as of September 2026. Transportation Services of St. John runs the Charlotte Amalie boat to Cruz Bay twice a day each way as of October 2026; Varlack Ventures' extra sailings stop for the off-season, so read the schedule first. Written by Virgin Islands Villas. At a glance **Rentals listed here** None yet **Car** Car needed **Roads** Steep roads **Beach** Beach a short drive **Red Hook ferry** 49 min **Cyril E. King airport** 19 min **Charlotte Amalie** 20 min No owner-listed rentals in Bordeaux yet. [See every villa on St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/vacation-rentals?island=st-thomas), or [list yours](https://virginislandvilla.com/list-your-villa).