---
title: "What to Wear in St. Thomas and What to Pack, USVI and BVI"
url: https://virginislandvilla.com/virgin-islands/what-to-pack
description: "What to wear in St. Thomas: light clothes all year, no night below 74°F. A packing list, the sunscreen law, and the passport the BVI asks for."
updated: 2026-10-21
source: https://virginislandvilla.com/virgin-islands/what-to-pack
---

[The Virgin Islands](https://virginislandvilla.com/virgin-islands) · Before you go

# What to wear in St. Thomas, and what to pack for the Virgin Islands

Written by Virgin Islands Villas·Updated Oct 2026

Light, loose clothes, a swimsuit and a hat are what to wear in St. Thomas in any month, with a thin long-sleeved shirt for the noon sun and the mosquitoes at dusk. Nights stay warm even in January. What to pack turns more on rules than weather: a sunscreen the law allows, a passport for the BVI.

*A leaning palm and shade trees on a white-sand beach on St. Croix under a blue sky*

At a glance · checked Oct 2026

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Daytime high | 84°F to 90°F January and February to July and August; NOAA 1991–2020 normals, Cyril E. King Airport, the station that serves St. Thomas and St. John. |
| Night low | 74°F to 80°F January to March at the low end, August and September at the top (NOAA normals, same station). |
| Wettest months | September to November 5.3 to 6.1 inches a month and 9 or 10 days with 0.10 inch or more (NOAA normals, same station). |
| Sunscreen | SPF 15 or higher And shade from 10 am to 4 pm, per the CDC's page for the US Virgin Islands, reviewed August 25, 2026. |
| Sunscreen law (USVI) | No oxybenzone, octinoxate or octocrylene Selling, using or possessing it in the territory is unlawful since March 30, 2020 (Act No. 8185, Legislature of the Virgin Islands). |
| Insect repellent | 20% DEET or more Dengue and Zika are spread by mosquitoes here, per the CDC (reviewed August 25, 2026). |
| Park beaches | No glass, no pets, no nudity Superintendent's Compendium, Virgin Islands National Park, last updated October 6, 2026. |
| BVI entry | Passport book or US passport card Valid for the length of the stay, per the Government of the Virgin Islands (release of March 20, 2025, read October 21, 2026). |
| Duty-free home | $1,600 a person Up to 5 liters of alcohol inside it, at least one made in the territory; no more than $800 of the $1,600 may be goods bought outside the US Virgin Islands, the BVI included (US Customs and Border Protection, page last modified March 6, 2024; 19 CFR 148.33). |

## What to wear in St. Thomas, month by month

The same clothes work all year; what changes is the rain. These are NOAA's 1991–2020 normals for Cyril E. King Airport, on the west end of St. Thomas, the one station with temperature normals for St. Thomas and St. John.

| Month | High | Low | Rain | Days with rain |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| January | 84°F | 74°F | 2.6 in | 6 |
| February | 84°F | 74°F | 1.9 in | 5 |
| March | 85°F | 74°F | 1.9 in | 4 |
| April | 86°F | 76°F | 2.2 in | 5 |
| May | 87°F | 78°F | 3.0 in | 6 |
| June | 89°F | 79°F | 2.4 in | 5 |
| July | 90°F | 79°F | 2.9 in | 7 |
| August | 90°F | 80°F | 4.4 in | 7 |
| September | 89°F | 80°F | 5.9 in | 9 |
| October | 88°F | 78°F | 5.3 in | 10 |
| November | 87°F | 77°F | 6.1 in | 10 |
| December | 85°F | 75°F | 2.9 in | 8 |

A day with rain here means 0.10 inch or more, not a day of it. February and March are the driest, with four or five such days. The tradeoff: September to November is the wettest stretch, with ten days of rain in October and November and nights that stay at 77°F to 80°F, so a light rain shell and repellent earn their space then. On St. John, the Coral Bay gauge runs wetter than the airport in the autumn, 6.3 inches in October and 7.2 in November. The sea, by the readings on our weather pages, runs from 80°F in February to 86°F in September and October, so nobody needs a wetsuit to snorkel.

## Clothes for the sun and the mosquitoes

Cover more than you would expect, and pack for it: a thin long-sleeved shirt, long pants in a light fabric and a brimmed hat do more than a bag of sunscreen. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on its page for the US Virgin Islands reviewed August 25, 2026, names exactly that kit, loose and lightweight clothes for the heat, long sleeves, long pants and a hat against mosquitoes, and adds clothing treated with permethrin and a repellent with 20% DEET or more.

That makes a long-sleeved shirt in a thin fabric the most useful thing in the case: it covers you on the boat at noon and on the terrace at dusk. A rash guard does the same job in the water, with less sunscreen to wash off onto the reef.

## Which sunscreen the law lets you bring

Mineral, and checked on the label rather than taken from it. The US Virgin Islands ban sunscreen made with oxybenzone, octinoxate or octocrylene under Act No. 8185, passed by the Legislature in 2019, and since March 30, 2020 the act makes it unlawful to use or possess one in the territory, not only to sell it. The spray packed at home is the bottle to check.

A sunscreen whose only active ingredients are zinc oxide or titanium dioxide is inside the law, and it is what the National Park Service asks for in Virgin Islands National Park, which covers much of St. John. The park's snorkeling page adds butylparaben and 4-methylbenzylidene camphor to the list to avoid, and warns that no regulation governs what a maker prints on the bottle, so a sunscreen sold as reef safe may still contain them.

Read the active ingredients before you pack it. Our [reef-safe sunscreen guide](https://virginislandvilla.com/usvi/reef-safe-sunscreen) sets out the act's dates, its fines and what to look for on the label.

## What to pack for the park beaches on St. John

A card or phone that pays, water shoes and no glass. The park's Superintendent's Compendium, last updated October 6, 2026, sets these rules for every beach in Virgin Islands National Park:

| Rule | As of October 2026 |
| --- | --- |
| Glass bottles or containers | Not allowed on any park beach |
| Pets | Not allowed on park beaches |
| Nudity | Not allowed on any park beach |
| Trunk Bay entry | $5 a person, 16 and over, card or phone only |

The Trunk Bay line is from the National Park Service's fees page, updated September 29, 2026: cash is no longer accepted at the Trunk Bay entrance from October 1, 2026, so bring a card or a phone that pays. The park also warns that sea urchins have long, brittle spines that break off in the skin, which is the case for shoes that can get wet on any rocky entry, and it asks hikers to bring plenty of water.

## What to ask the villa owner before you pack

What a house supplies is the owner's to say, and it differs from one house to the next. Each villa page here lists the amenities its owner entered; for anything it does not mention, ask before you pack, because the answer can save a bag.

The questions worth sending with your dates: beach towels, and whether they may leave the house; beach chairs and an umbrella; a cooler for the car; snorkel gear, and in which sizes; a washing machine, which halves the clothes you need; a crib or high chair if you travel with a baby. Anything the owner does not have, you bring or buy on the island.

## What changes when you cross to the BVI

The passport, mostly. The British Virgin Islands are a British territory, and the Government of the Virgin Islands, in a release of March 20, 2025, asks every visitor for a valid passport book, or for a US citizen a US passport card, for the length of the stay. A driver's license that flew you to St. Thomas will not get you onto Tortola, so pack the passport even for a day trip. The card is good for the ferry, not a flight: anyone flying in or out of Beef Island needs the passport book, since US Customs and Border Protection accepts the card only at land and sea crossings.

The crossing itself is an international one. You clear BVI customs and immigration at the dock you land at, and Smith's Ferry asks passengers to fill in the BVI government's online immigration and customs form on a phone before arrival; coming back, you clear US Customs and Border Protection. The [St. Thomas to Tortola ferry](https://virginislandvilla.com/virgin-islands/st-thomas-to-tortola-ferry) page has the docks and the check-in times, and [every Virgin Islands ferry route](https://virginislandvilla.com/virgin-islands/ferries) is on one page.

The rest travels with you unchanged. The BVI's currency is the US dollar, under its Legal Tender (Adoption of United States Currency) Act, so there is nothing to change. We found no sunscreen ban in the BVI as of October 2026, though its National Tourism Policy of February 2026 proposes one; the mineral sunscreen that is legal on St. John is the sensible tube for both.

## Packing for a charter boat in the BVI

Pack soft and pack small. A charter catamaran or monohull has little storage: by our read, a cabin's lockers hold a week of clothes for one, and a hard suitcase has nowhere to go once it is empty. A duffel that folds flat goes in a locker; a wheeled case sits on the berth all week.

What the charter base usually supplies, by our read of how bareboat and crewed charters are run, is bed linen, towels, snorkel gear and the dinghy, with provisioning ordered separately; ask your charter company for its own list before you pack. What it does not supply, and what earns its space on a boat:

- Shoes with soft, light soles for the deck, or none at all, and sandals that can get wet for the dinghy landings.

- A dry bag for the dinghy ride to shore, with the passports in it.

- A long-sleeved shirt and a hat that ties on, for days on deck with no shade.

- A headlamp for the cabin and the dinghy after dark.

- A seasickness remedy if anyone in the party needs one, taken before the first sail rather than during it.

The [seven-day BVI sailing itinerary](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/guides/bvi-sailing-itinerary) sets out the week those bags are for.

## The St. Thomas packing list, BVI days included

This is the list the sections above add up to, for a week in a villa on St. Thomas or St. John with a day or a week in the BVI:

| For | Pack |
| --- | --- |
| Clothes | Light, loose shirts and shorts; two or three swimsuits; a cover-up; a thin long-sleeved shirt; light long pants for the evenings |
| Sun | A brimmed hat, sunglasses, a rash guard, mineral sunscreen with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as the only actives |
| Bugs and rain | Repellent with 20% DEET or more; a light rain shell from September to November |
| Water | Water shoes for rocky entries; a mask that fits, if the villa has none in your size; a reusable bottle for hikes |
| Documents | The ID you fly with; for the BVI, a passport book, or a US passport card if you cross only by ferry; a card or phone that pays, for Trunk Bay |
| Boat days | A dry bag; soft-soled shoes; a soft duffel in place of a hard case on a charter |
| The villa | Whatever the owner does not supply: beach towels, chairs, a cooler, a crib |

What to leave at home: a sweater, glass bottles for the beach, and any sunscreen with oxybenzone, octinoxate or octocrylene in it.

## Leave room in the suitcase for duty-free

Coming home, the duty-free allowance is $1,600 a person, per US Customs and Border Protection, with up to 5 liters of alcohol inside it, at least one of them made in the territory. Goods bought in the BVI count inside the same $1,600, and federal customs regulations (19 CFR 148.33) let no more than $800 of it come from outside the US Virgin Islands, so keep the BVI receipts apart. Leave room in the case if you plan to use either.

The [passport and entry guide](https://virginislandvilla.com/usvi/passport-and-entry) has every ID the flight home asks for.

Photos

*A quiet sandy beach and turquoise water on St. Croix, sea grape trees behind*

## Questions about the Virgin Islands

### What to wear in St. Thomas?

Light, loose clothes, a swimsuit, a hat and a thin long-sleeved shirt. The normal high at Cyril E. King Airport is 84°F to 90°F through the year and the normal low never falls below 74°F, per NOAA's 1991–2020 normals. The CDC advises loose, lightweight clothing in the heat and long sleeves against mosquitoes, which spread dengue and Zika here.

### What to bring to St. John, USVI?

The St. Thomas list, plus what the national park asks: mineral sunscreen, with the ingredients read rather than the label trusted, and no glass bottles, since the park bans glass on every beach as of October 2026. Bring a card or a phone that pays for Trunk Bay, which stopped taking cash on October 1, 2026, and water for any hike.

### Does it get cold in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands?

No. The coolest month's normal low at Cyril E. King Airport is 74°F, in January, February and March, and the summer nights stay near 80°F, per NOAA's 1991–2020 normals. The sea, by the readings on our weather pages, runs from about 80°F in February to 86°F in the autumn. A long-sleeved shirt covers the evening; nobody needs a coat or a sweater.

### Do I need a passport to sail in the BVI?

Yes. The Government of the Virgin Islands asks every visitor for a valid passport book, or for a US citizen a US passport card, for the length of the stay, per its release of March 20, 2025. The card covers the ferry only: if the charter ends with a flight from Beef Island, bring the passport book, since US Customs and Border Protection does not accept the card for air travel. On the boat, keep the passports in a dry bag rather than at the bottom of a duffel.

### What should be on a Virgin Islands packing list?

Light clothes and two or three swimsuits, a thin long-sleeved shirt, a brimmed hat, a rash guard, mineral sunscreen without oxybenzone, octinoxate or octocrylene, which the USVI bans, repellent with 20% DEET or more, water shoes, and a card or phone that pays. Add a passport and a soft bag if the trip reaches the BVI, and a rain shell from September to November.

Facts checked against [NOAA](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/us-climate-normals/), [the CDC](https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/usvirgin-islands), [the National Park Service](https://www.nps.gov/viis/learn/management/compendium.htm), [US Customs and Border Protection](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/kbyg/types-exemptions) and [the Government of the Virgin Islands](https://gov.vg/index.php/news/valid-passport-required-enter-virgin-islands). Checked October 2026.

Related guides

- [USVI ferries and the last boat on every route](https://virginislandvilla.com/virgin-islands/ferries)

- [Ferry from St. Thomas to Tortola](https://virginislandvilla.com/virgin-islands/st-thomas-to-tortola-ferry)

- [All of The Virgin Islands](https://virginislandvilla.com/virgin-islands)

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