Red Hook, St. Thomas
Red Hook, St. Thomas, is the harbor at the East End where the St. John ferry and the car barge leave, with American Yacht Harbor on the same waterfront. From the middle of Red Hook, Charlotte Amalie is 23 minutes by car. It suits a stay built around St. John, or a night either side of the crossing.
Staying in Red Hook
Red Hook is where St. Thomas hands you to St. John. The Urman Victor Fredericks Marine Terminal sits on the harbor with ferry ticket counters, restrooms, a bar, small restaurants, shops and a paid parking garage, per the Virgin Islands Port Authority as of October 2026, and its boats run to St. John and the British Virgin Islands. On the same waterfront is American Yacht Harbor, on IGY Marinas' list, where fishing charters to the North Drop are booked. The villas are on the hillsides above the harbor and along the coast toward Sapphire and Secret Harbour, with St. John across Pillsbury Sound. A week here keeps the ferry at the bottom of the hill, so the North Shore of St. John is a day trip rather than a move.
Rent a car. Red Hook's hillsides measure steep, so ask the owner whether the driveway wants four-wheel drive before you choose one. From the middle of the area, Charlotte Amalie is 23 minutes by car and Cyril E. King Airport 38. A shared taxi from the airport to Red Hook is $23 for one person or $17 each for two or more, and a taxi to yourselves is $135 for up to four, plus $3 a bag, on the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's tariff in force since October 2022. The passenger ferry to Cruz Bay leaves the terminal hourly from 5:30 am and takes 20 minutes at $8.15 an adult plus $4 a bag, and the last boat back is 10 pm from Cruz Bay, per the Department of Public Works as of September 2026; the operator, Transportation Services of St. John, keeps a separate off-season timetable from late July, most years until the end of October, so check its current schedule for the week you travel. A car crosses on the barge from the Port Authority's Noel 'Breeze' Boynes Car Ferry Dock in Red Hook at $65 a car one way on the Big Red Barge and Love City Car Ferries rates pages, and the last barges leave Red Hook between 6 and 7:30 pm depending on the company, per the Virgin Islands Port Authority's schedule as of October 2026. The terminal garage charges to park; the Port Authority prints no rate.
No beach is on foot from the middle of Red Hook, but four are within five minutes by car by our measurement from the same point. Lindquist Beach, 3 minutes away, is the one to ring before you set out. The St. Thomas Source reported on July 8, 2026 that sargassum was closing Smith Bay Park, its official name, and the Magens Bay Authority kept it shut from July 9 until further notice; we found no reopening notice as of October 8, 2026. When the gate is open, visitors pay $7 a person and $2 to park, per the Authority as of October 2026, and its number is 340-777-6300. Sapphire Beach is 4 minutes, and Secret Harbour Beach and Vessup Beach are 5 each, the last with no restroom or food on the sand. Coki Beach is 8 minutes, and Magens Bay, on the north shore, 23. Each beach has its own page with the parking and what is on the sand.
The tradeoff: everything but the ferry is a drive. Every beach and Charlotte Amalie mean the car, the hills make the driveway a real question, and the airport is 38 minutes away at the other end of the island, which sets the hour you leave on the last morning. What Red Hook gives in return is the crossing on your doorstep, and that matters most to a guest who wants St. John for its beaches but a house on St. Thomas. Before you plan dinner in Cruz Bay, check the last ferry back.
Suits a stay built around day trips to St. John, and a first or last night either side of the ferry.
Getting around
Plan on a car in Red Hook: the ground measures steep, so ask the owner about the driveway, the nearest sand is 5 minutes by car and Charlotte Amalie is 23 minutes by road.
| Drive to | Minutes |
|---|---|
| Cyril E. King airport | 38 |
| Charlotte Amalie | 23 |
| Muller Bay Beach | 5 |
Measured on the island's roads.
Red Hook is on the public water main fed from the Donoe tank, near the end of the line by our read, so it is among the first places to lose pressure when a main breaks downtown, and a house with its own cistern rides that out. The ferry waterfront holds a good phone signal, and the 2026 rotating outages reached the East End too, so ask about a generator for a stay of more than a night.
Beaches near Red Hook
- Lindquist Beachabout 3 min
- Sapphire Beachabout 4 min
- Vessup Beachabout 5 min
Questions about Red Hook
- What is Red Hook in St. Thomas?
- Red Hook is the harbor on the East End of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, and the island's ferry port for St. John. The Virgin Islands Port Authority's Urman Victor Fredericks Marine Terminal serves passengers to St. John and the British Virgin Islands, and American Yacht Harbor, the marina, shares the waterfront. The villas sit on the hillsides around it.
- Where is Red Hook, St. Thomas?
- At the eastern end of St. Thomas, facing St. John across Pillsbury Sound. From the middle of Red Hook, Charlotte Amalie is 23 minutes by car and Cyril E. King Airport 38, by our measurement. Sapphire Beach and Secret Harbour Beach are the neighboring bays, 4 and 5 minutes away by car.
- How far is Red Hook from Charlotte Amalie?
- 23 minutes by car from the middle of Red Hook to Charlotte Amalie, measured on the road network. Cyril E. King Airport is 38 minutes, on the far side of town, so a morning flight means leaving Red Hook earlier than the distance on the map suggests.
- What is Red Hook Marina?
- The marina on Red Hook's waterfront is American Yacht Harbor, on IGY Marinas' list, where fishing charters to the North Drop are booked as of October 2026. The ferry terminal on the same harbor is a separate dock, run by the Virgin Islands Port Authority, with ticket counters, restrooms and a paid parking garage.
Written by Virgin Islands Villas.
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