The Virgin Islands map
The Virgin Islands lie just east of Puerto Rico in a line you can take in from one hilltop: St. Thomas first, then St. John across a sound about 2 miles wide, these two the US Virgin Islands with villas here, then the British islands stepping east toward Anegada. Two flags, one archipelago, and a border that runs through The Narrows, a strait a third of a mile wide by NOAA's Coast Pilot, so that from Mary Point on St. John you look across 2 miles of water at another country.
This map of the Virgin Islands is the one to plan a week by. It places every neighbourhood you might rent in, the beaches worth the drive, the two capitals and the ferries that stitch the islands together, and the line where a passport comes out. Tap an area to see its edges and open its guide; the St. Thomas and St. John maps go closer, down to the villas.
The practical part is short. Every flight lands on St. Thomas; St. John is a 20-minute ferry from Red Hook; and the British islands ask for a passport book, or a US passport card, valid for the length of the stay, per the Government of the Virgin Islands, March 2025.
By region
Between the islands
Ferry routes
- Red Hook to Cruz Bay
- Red Hook to West End and Road Town
- Charlotte Amalie to Road Town
- Cruz Bay to Jost Van Dyke
- Road Town to Spanish Town
- Spanish Town to Setting Point, Anegada
You clear customs and immigration on arrival, in either direction: the BVI Ports Authority lists them at the West End Jetty, and NOAA lists Charlotte Amalie and Cruz Bay as US ports of entry. The St. Thomas to St. John ferry has its own page with the schedule and fares.
Airports and docks
- AirportCyril E. King Airport (STT)
- AirportTerrance B. Lettsome International Airport (EIS), Beef Island
- AirportVirgin Gorda Airport
- AirportAnegada Airport
- DockCharlotte Amalie
- DockRed Hook
- DockCruz Bay
- DockWest End
- DockRoad Town
- DockGreat Harbour
- DockSpanish Town
- DockSetting Point, ferries within the BVI only
US islands and British islands, and the line between
The Virgin Islands are one chain under two flags, and the line between US and British waters is where one becomes the other. The Coast Pilot that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) publishes runs the boundary southeast between Hans Lollik and Little Tobago, through The Narrows between St. John and Tortola, then south through Flanagan Passage. West of it, St. Thomas and St. John are US territory; north and east, Tortola, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda and Anegada are British.
St. Croix, the largest US island, lies 32 miles south of St. Thomas and St. John, per NOAA, outside the frame. The villas on this site are on St. Thomas and St. John.
Pillsbury Sound, The Narrows and Sir Francis Drake Channel
Three stretches of water separate the islands, and each is a different crossing. Pillsbury Sound lies between St. Thomas and St. John, which NOAA puts about 2 miles apart; the crossing is domestic, inside US waters.
The Narrows, about 0.3 mile wide off St. John's north shore, carries the border. The tradeoff: Tortola's West End is about 2 miles from Mary Point on St. John, and still a customs hall away.
Sir Francis Drake Channel is the British islands' inner water, between Tortola, Virgin Gorda and the chain of small islands running back toward St. John. The map's ferry from Road Town to Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda runs along it, a crossing inside one territory.
Crossing the US Virgin Islands map by air and sea
Flights for St. Thomas and St. John land at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas, run by the Virgin Islands Port Authority; St. John has no airport. The British side's main airport is Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport on Beef Island, joined to Tortola by the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, per the BVI Airports Authority.
By sea, the boats for St. John and the British islands leave St. Thomas from two docks as of October 2026, both measured from the airport by car: the Edward Wilmoth Blyden IV Marine Terminal in Charlotte Amalie, 12 minutes, and Red Hook, 36. From Charlotte Amalie the run to Road Town takes 50 minutes by Road Town Fast Ferry's figure. From Red Hook the boats go to Cruz Bay, and on Road Town Fast Ferry to the West End Jetty at Soper's Hole, which the BVI Ports Authority lists with customs and immigration for traffic from the US islands. From Cruz Bay, Inter Island Boat Services sails to Jost Van Dyke three days a week as of October 2026.
Entering the British islands takes a passport book, or a US passport card, valid for the length of the stay, per the Government of the Virgin Islands in a release of March 20, 2025. Coming back, you clear US customs; NOAA lists Charlotte Amalie and Cruz Bay as customs ports of entry. The pins here open the areas to stay in each region, and the St. John and St. Thomas maps carry their beaches and owner-listed villas.
Questions about the Virgin Islands map
- Where are the Virgin Islands on a map?
- Just east of Puerto Rico. NOAA's Coast Pilot puts the US Virgin Islands across the 8-mile-wide Virgin Passage from the easternmost of Puerto Rico's islands, with the British Virgin Islands to their north and east. On this map St. Thomas is the western edge and Anegada the northeast corner.
- How far is St. Croix from St. Thomas?
- About 32 miles. NOAA puts St. Croix, the largest of the US Virgin Islands, 32 miles south of St. Thomas and St. John, which is why this map stops short of it. The villas listed here are on St. Thomas and St. John.
- How far apart are the US and British Virgin Islands?
- About 2 miles at the closest point. NOAA's Coast Pilot puts Tortola's West End about 2 miles from Mary Point on St. John, across The Narrows, where the border runs. Entering the British islands takes a passport book or a US passport card valid for the stay, per a Government of the Virgin Islands release of March 20, 2025.
- Where do you fly into for the US Virgin Islands?
- For St. Thomas and St. John, Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas. St. Croix has its own, Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, and both are run by the Virgin Islands Port Authority. St. John has no airport, so most trips there end with the ferry from Red Hook, 36 minutes from the airport by car on our measurement. The British islands' main airport is Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, on Beef Island off Tortola.
Facts checked against NOAA, the Virgin Islands Port Authority, the BVI Ports Authority, the BVI Airports Authority and the Government of the Virgin Islands. Checked October 2026.