US Virgin Islands bachelorette party

St. Thomas or St. John for a bachelorette weekend?

St. Thomas is the simpler island for a group, and St. John asks for one more leg. The airport for St. John is on St. Thomas, and so are both evening clusters of the two islands. St. John is a taxi and a ferry beyond it.

The figures are our own measurements of every area, September 2026. Read the table as the trade: St. Thomas keeps the transfers short for a group with a lot of bags, and St. John adds the ferry and the steeper driveways in return for its own island. The same holds for a US Virgin Islands bachelor party.

What to ask the owner before you book

Ask the owner five things before anyone pays, and get the answers in writing.

How many the house sleeps in beds, not on sofas, and how the bedrooms divide. A house that sleeps ten in five equal rooms is a different weekend from one with a main suite and bunks.

The whole total for your dates: the rate, the cleaning fee, and the territory's hotel room tax. The Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue sets that tax at 12.5% of the gross room rate on any stay under 90 days, homes included, and counts charges such as an energy surcharge in the base; the owner collects it, as of October 2026.

The house rules on parties, noise, visitors who are not staying, and music outside. A group that plans a dinner on the terrace should say so before booking, not on arrival.

The road and the driveway, and whether a rental sedan climbs it. And how many cars the house can park.

Getting a group of ten from the airport

By taxi van. Many taxis on St. Thomas carry 8 to 12 passengers, and only these multi-destination vans serve the airport, per the Virgin Islands Port Authority. Each guest pays a fare: on the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's tariff, in force since October 2022, a party of two or more pays $9 each to Charlotte Amalie and $17 each to Red Hook, plus $3 a bag, and a van to yourselves from the airport to Red Hook is $135 for the first four and $23 for each guest after, $273 for ten. Look for the dome light and TP on the plate, which mark an official taxi, as of October 2026.

If the house is on St. John, the van goes to Red Hook, 36 minutes from Cyril E. King Airport as we measured it, and the group crosses on the passenger ferry to Cruz Bay; the St. John ferry page has the fares and the timetable. Arrive on as few flights as you can: the lower fare is for two or more traveling together, and a guest who lands alone pays the one-rider fare, $23 to Red Hook.

Cars, steep roads and who drives at night

Plan on cars, and on someone who is not drinking. Our measurements found a car needed or recommended in every area on both islands except Estate Contant beside Cruz Bay, and more than half the areas on each island measure steep. Traffic keeps left.

The CDC is plain on both points: "Avoid driving at night; street lighting in certain parts of the U.S. Virgin Islands may be poor", and "Do not drive after drinking alcohol or ride with someone who has been drinking." For a group of ten that means two cars and two drivers who stay sober that evening, or a licensed taxi booked both ways with the fare agreed first.

St. Thomas bachelorette nights: where evenings gather

On St. Thomas, in two places: the marina town of Red Hook, where the St. John ferry leaves, and the capital's waterfront, Frenchtown through Yacht Haven Grande. They are about 28 minutes apart by car, measured between the Charlotte Amalie and Red Hook ferry terminals, so a group picks one for the night rather than crossing between them; the St. Thomas nightlife guide covers both. Choose the house nearer the end you want, and the taxi home stays short.

The drinking age is 18. A notice from the Virgin Islands Police Department's St. Thomas and St. John district, published by the Virgin Islands Department of Health on April 27, 2021, reminds bar owners that "the legal drinking age is 18 years old". If the party includes anyone under 21, the law here allows them a drink their home state would not; the group decides beforehand how it handles that. The CDC's advice applies to everyone: "Limit alcohol consumption. People take more risks when intoxicated."

Planning the boat day, and the BVI crossing

Ask the operator how many guests the boat takes and whether your whole group fits on one, who captains it, what is aboard for lunch and snorkeling, and how many life jackets it carries.

Ask where the day goes. A day into the British Virgin Islands, to Jost Van Dyke or Virgin Gorda, crosses a border: "persons must present a passport to enter and depart" by sea, per the BVI Tourist Board as of October 2026. Everyone in the group brings one, or the boat stays in US waters.

The CDC's rule on the water matches the one on the road: "do not drink alcohol if driving a boat, and always wear a life jacket." Settle passports and the head count with the operator before the deposit, and the rest of the weekend follows from the house.