Things to do in St. Thomas USVI

[ercchry]

so, flights are booked for 8 days here over x-mas... and thats about it.

we are currently looking for a condo to rent (around sapphire beach is what its looking like)

so what should we make sure we do while we are there?

im for sure renting an all-purpose bike and going to spend at least a day exploring st. john on it. besides that im not too sure.

what are good restaurants? bars?

is there any good surf spots? fishing? cool islands to rent a boat and cruise to?

[JZS_147]

get aids

[Mibz]

Originally posted by JZS_147
get aids

+1

[ercchry]

Originally posted by JZS_147
get aids

dont need to be jelly, i invited you

[OU812]

Originally posted by ercchry


dont need to be jelly, i invited you

Ferry over to St. Johns.

[ercchry]

Originally posted by OU812


Ferry over to St. Johns.

yeah, we are doing that for sure. sapphire is super close to red hook

[Godfuader]

Originally posted by ercchry


yeah, we are doing that for sure. sapphire is super close to red hook

Aim for St. John's early in the morning and on a non-cruise ship day. There is a K-Mart in town where you can probably get snorkeling gear (cheap/disposable) which you need to enjoy the reef at St. John's properly. Grab an underwater camera too. Watches are deeply discounted if shopping is on your list.

[davidI]

In for answers. I'll be there on Dec. 26th. My parents decided to go on a cruise for the holidays and once I found out I didn't have to work decided to join them and since I was paying for a double cabin no matter if I was on my own or with someone, I invited a girl from NYC to join me.

I'm not sure I'm much of a cruiser, but we'll see how it goes.

Are you a diver? I'm thinking about maybe diving there and it would be cool to have someone to go with.

Otherwise, from the leaflet I was sent for the cruise there is:

Magens Bay: One of the world's best beaches as selected by National Geographic magazine.

Blackbeard's Castle and Amber Museum.

St. Peter Great House

St. John Island

Sounds like it's a duty-free shopping mecca.

[ercchry]

i have gone diving once in fiji and was suppose to be sent a certificate saying that i took the course.... but that never happened

i'd love to go diving, but im a complete noob

[CapnCrunch]

Originally posted by ercchry
so, flights are booked for 8 days here over x-mas... and thats about it.

we are currently looking for a condo to rent (around sapphire beach is what its looking like)

so what should we make sure we do while we are there?

im for sure renting an all-purpose bike and going to spend at least a day exploring st. john on it. besides that im not too sure.

what are good restaurants? bars?

is there any good surf spots? fishing? cool islands to rent a boat and cruise to?

I've been with the wife a few times. The last time we stayed we rented a suite in a house. (http://www.vrbo.com/380897 - The view was amazing, you definitely need a car here)They had a tv on the patio so you could you could catch up on whatever and have a drink (or 10) while looking out over the town.

The first few times we stayed at Morningstar at the Marriott, but that's probably retardedly expensive over Christmas. It was worth it to walk out of your room in your trunks and be in the ocean in 15 seconds though.

Saphire beach is okay, but the condos near it seem kind of creepy. I'm sure they're nice inside.

Beach hoping and eating and drinking is what the wife and I do there. We just relax. Most days we just hop in the car, pickup lunch, pick a beach or 2 to try for the day, head home and clean up for supper.

Beaches - holy shit there's a lot of nice ones. Magens bay is my favorite (on non-cruise ship days). Morningstar beach is small but nice. Hawksnest on St. John is awesome. There are a bunch of smaller ones that the locals go to that are nice. Half the fun is picking a few of these and then driving around like a tourist trying to find them.

I'd recommend renting a car. Other than the town, there are almost no sidewalks, the roads are steep, there's no shoulders, and blind corners are everywhere. You can drive onto the ferry and take it over to St John for the day if you want to explore it.

Surfing is almost non-existent. The water around the island is calm and warm. Diving is good because of the water, and it's a great place to learn if you haven't. There's usually awesome visibility.

There are tons of boat rentals, charters, tours, etc. I've never done these so I can't comment on good ones.

There are lots of places to eat. Coco Blue is one of our favorites. Room with a view is a great place at sunset. For booze, there's a costco type place near the middle of the island. Head there the first day and load up. It's super cheap ($1.99 750ml smirnoff vodka lol) Yes, I said $1.99. Bars are scattered all over. The bigger ones are in the main town.

TLDR.

USVI is one of the most gorgeous places I've ever been to.

[ercchry]

awesome, thanks!

when you say town you mean charlotte amalie? i've heard after dark it can get... interesting. anywhere we should avoid?

[CapnCrunch]

Originally posted by ercchry
awesome, thanks!

when you say town you mean charlotte amalie? i've heard after dark it can get... interesting. anywhere we should avoid?

Yeah, sorry. That's the town. I haven't heard anything bad about the town at night, but I also didn't do much wandering around at night either.

Try to avoid anywhere the cruise ship passengers go. You can usually find a schedule of when the ships are in. I'm guessing during Christmas, you'll be screwed though, lol. Actually, here you go. http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/cr...p_schedule.php

As you can see, a day like Dec 26, you might want to find a secluded beach to spend the day, lol. FYI - Carnival cruises are filled with some of the trashiest people you will ever meet. Avoid these days at all costs.


Magens bay turns into a gong show, which sucks because we've been there many times and had the whole beach to ourselves (which is ridiculous to imagine when you see how huge the beach is). The whole down town gets crowded. All the tours are booked up. Traffic is horrible. There's a little shopping area set up near the main cruise ship dock that gets clogged up and overloaded with passengers. They also manage to get over to St. Johns on these days too, so that blows.

On the positive side, the whole island goes from being kind of sleepy, to really vibrant. Every little shop and fruit stand is open. People are everywhere enjoying themselves. It depends what you like really. Like I said before, we go to relax, so cruise ship days turn into tourist dodging days for us.

Try to find one of the "local" beaches on these days. The passengers usually have to be back on board by 5, so by supper time the island is back to normal.

Dammit, now you've got me looking at flights lol.

[davidI]

Originally posted by CapnCrunch

FYI - Carnival cruises are filled with some of the trashiest people you will ever meet.

Thank god I'm on Princess

[jdmakkord]

Originally posted by davidI


Thank god I'm on Princess

Then prepare to be surrounded by geriatrics.

[CapnCrunch]

Originally posted by davidI


Thank god I'm on Princess

Definitely a HUGE step up lol.

[davidI]

Originally posted by CapnCrunch


Definitely a HUGE step up lol.

Yea, not sure how I'll feel about cruising. Oh well, it's all about family over the holidays.

Thanks for posting that link about the cruise ships. It looks like we'll be arriving on the busiest day for cruise traffic. I e-mailed Admiralty divers so hopefully I can reserve a spot and get in a couple of dives!

[ercchry]

Originally posted by CapnCrunch

For booze, there's a costco type place near the middle of the island. Head there the first day and load up. It's super cheap ($1.99 750ml smirnoff vodka lol) Yes, I said $1.99.

so just to verify this would be the cost-u-less beside the galaxy cinema? and its better than the prices down by the docks at the duty free stores? do they carry good booze or just volume discount stuff?