Things to do in St. Thomas
Things to do in St. Thomas fall into five groups here: beaches, the water, the hills, a day trip to Jost Van Dyke, and the history and shops of Charlotte Amalie. Most start with a car: Magens Bay is 14 minutes from Charlotte Amalie by our measurement. Below: the calendar to plan around, then each page by group.
Written by Virgin Islands Villas · Facts checked Oct 2026
Plan St. Thomas days around the cruise ships
On St. Thomas the cruise calendar decides which gates are open. The Skyride to Paradise Point runs on most cruise-ship days only, with hours set day by day and posted a month at a time, per the Skyride to Paradise Point as of October 2026.
Coral World Ocean Park at Coki Point keeps its own calendar: read on October 9, 2026, lists nine closed days in October; the ticket booth closes at 3 pm, per Coral World Ocean Park as of October 2026. Magens Bay is open 7 am to 5:30 pm daily, $7 for a visitor and free under 12, per the Magens Bay Authority as of October 2026.
So the order is ships first, closed days second, beach third.
St. Thomas excursions start from one of two harbors
Days here start from the two harbors of the south shore, Red Hook and Charlotte Amalie, 28 minutes apart by car, terminal to terminal, measured September 2026. One harbor makes a day.
Charlotte Amalie holds the town: Fort Christian on the waterfront, the shops between the two cruise piers, and the Skyride's base at Havensight. Magens Bay and the Discovery Nature Trail are over the hill on the north shore.
Red Hook is the East End's harbor. Coral World is about 9 minutes from the terminal by car on our measurement, October 2026, to the Coki Beach lot beside its gate. The boat to Jost Van Dyke leaves Red Hook at 7:30 am on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays and comes back from Great Harbour at 3:30 pm, one boat each way, per Inter Island Boat Services as of October 2026.
Evenings split the same way, and a car joins the two: we measured every St. Thomas area we list, and all 23 came out car required or recommended in September 2026.
Beaches
12 pages, each with a page of its own.
- Magens Bay
14 min by car from Charlotte Amalie
Cost $7 per person; residents $2; under 12 free (the Magens Bay Authority, as of October 2026)
- Sapphire Beach
23 min by car from Charlotte Amalie
Cost Free; a public beach, per the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (as of October 2026)
- Coki Beach
20 min by car from Charlotte Amalie
Cost Free
- Secret Harbour Beach
27 min by car from Charlotte Amalie
Cost Free; no day pass (the resort's own FAQ, as of October 2026)
- Lindquist Beach
21 min by car from Charlotte Amalie
Cost $7 per person for non-residents, $2 for residents with local ID, children under 12 free (the Magens Bay Authority, as of October 2026)
- Hull Bay
12 min by car from Charlotte Amalie
Cost Free; no public body posts a fee or hours, as of October 2026
- Bolongo Bay
14 min by car from Charlotte Amalie
Cost Free
- Brewers Bay
13 min by car from Charlotte Amalie
Cost Free
- Morningstar Beach
11 min by car from Charlotte Amalie
Cost Free; the resort publishes no day pass and the shoreline is public by law (as of October 2026)
- Honeymoon Beach, Water Island
9 min drive + 10 min ferry + 5 min walk
Cost Free; the ferry is $20 round trip for a visitor (Water Island Ferry fares, as of October 2026)
- Vessup Beach
27 min by car from Charlotte Amalie
Cost Free
- Limetree Beach
14 min by car from Charlotte Amalie
Cost Free; the resort publishes no entrance fee, as of October 2026
On the water
2 pages, each with a page of its own.
- Snorkeling on St. Thomas, USVI
Snorkeling on St. Thomas, USVI, splits in two: reefs you drive to and swim out to from the sand, and four stops only a boat reaches.
Cost Free, except Magens Bay and Lindquist at $7 a person
- St. Thomas scuba diving
The sites the territory names for St. Thomas scuba diving are reached by boat, on the East End: Cow and Calf Rocks, Christmas Cove, Cas Cay and Great Bay, inside the St. Thomas East End Reserves.
On land
2 pages, each with a page of its own.
- Hiking in St. Thomas from the Magens Bay trailhead
The Magens Bay trailhead at Canaan is the top of the Discovery Nature Trail, the one St. Thomas trail an authority describes.
Cost $7 a day for non-residents at the beach gate; $2 parking · Duration About 1 hour 20 minutes
- Skyride to Paradise Point
The Skyride to Paradise Point runs from Havensight, across the road from the cruise dock, to the hilltop in about seven minutes; its operator puts the top 700 feet over the harbor.
Cost $34.95 adult, $24.95 child · Duration About 7 minutes, up to 8 to a cabin
Day trips
One page, each with a page of its own.
History and culture
2 pages, each with a page of its own.
- Coral World Ocean Park
Coral World Ocean Park keeps its aquariums and dolphins on five acres of Coki Point, St. Thomas, next to Coki Beach.
Cost $29 from age 13, $17 from 3 to 12, under 3 free · Duration 2 to 3 hours; 3 to 5 with an encounter
- Duty-free shopping in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Duty-free shopping in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, is settled by the allowance you carry home, not by the sign on the shop: US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lets you bring back $1,600 of goods a person from the territory, as of October 2026.
Charters, tours and weddings
4 pages, each with a page of its own.
- St. Thomas boat charters from Red Hook and Compass Point
A private charter from St. Thomas starts at $325 for 90 minutes on a six-seat catamaran, and most full days for six run $1,100 to $1,600, per the operators' October 2026 rates, before fuel, tip and any BVI customs fee.
- Fishing charters on St. Thomas, from Red Hook to Frenchtown
A private fishing charter on St. Thomas costs $775 to $1,000 for four hours and $1,400 to $1,700 for eight, per boat for up to six people, on the rate cards four captains publish as of October 2026.
- St. Thomas snorkeling tours
St. Thomas snorkeling tours run from a $30 guided swim off Limetree Beach to a five-hour catamaran sail around Buck Island, on sale from $99 (list $159) in October 2026.
- St. Thomas wedding venues
St. Thomas wedding venues run from a $250 ceremony on the sand at Magens Bay, the Magens Bay Authority's fee, to a resort beach the Ritz-Carlton sets for 350, and most venues quote only on request, as of October 2026.
Questions about things to do on St. Thomas
- What to do in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands?
- Pick a harbor to start from, then one gate and one beach. In Charlotte Amalie: Fort Christian, the shops and the Skyride to Paradise Point at Havensight. On the north shore: Magens Bay, $7 a visitor per the Magens Bay Authority as of October 2026. On the East End: Coral World Ocean Park and the Red Hook boat to Jost Van Dyke.
- What to see and do in St. Thomas?
- To see: the harbor from Paradise Point, 700 feet up by the Skyride's own figure; Magens Bay from Drake's Seat, the roadside lookout on the ridge above town; Fort Christian on the waterfront. To do: snorkel from the beaches, walk the Discovery Nature Trail down to Magens Bay, about 1½ miles one way per the Magens Bay Authority.
- What to do in Charlotte Amalie?
- Ride the Skyride to Paradise Point from Havensight, $34.95 an adult round trip per the Skyride to Paradise Point as of October 2026, on a day it runs. Walk the waterfront to Fort Christian and shop the streets behind it. From the Crown Bay cruise pier, the center of town is a 40-minute walk on our measurement.
- What to do in St. Thomas for a day?
- One harbor and one gate. A north-shore day: Magens Bay from 7 am and the Discovery Nature Trail, out of the park by 5:30 pm, per the Magens Bay Authority as of October 2026. An East End day: Coral World Ocean Park on a day its calendar says open, then Coki Beach next door. A town day: the Skyride on a ship day, Fort Christian and the shops. Red Hook to Charlotte Amalie is 28 minutes by car.
Sources: the Skyride to Paradise Point (checked Oct 9, 2026) · Coral World Ocean Park (checked Oct 9, 2026) · the Magens Bay Authority (checked Oct 9, 2026) · Inter Island Boat Services (checked Oct 9, 2026)