It's no different in the USVI than it is in 95% of other Caribbean islands. I don't walk around downtown at night. If I were staying at Secret Harbour, I'd walk the beach at night. I've lived on STT since the 80's & have never been robbed/mugged/burglarized. I can't think of any friends who have, either.

Yes, there is crime. There is also crime down-island & I know for a fact how it's hushed up because I lived down-island & knew of several major instances that never made the happy-happy paper that tourists saw. Don't go out & get drunk & disorderly or you're setting yourself up as a target. That goes for everywhere. You can't be assured of being 100% safe anywhere you go.

You will find that crime in the Virgin Islands it is a very sensitive subject here on message boards.

The Virgin Islands economy depends very much on tourism and can't afford to be labeled as high crime areas.

The VIPD is under staffed, under funded, and highly under educated. There are high hopes by many for improvements with the newly elected governor and his administration.

When traveling to the USVI or anywhere else in the world you should take precautions against crime because tourist generally make for an easy target. Nothing at all wrong with your questions and you should be looking out for your family.
I would say staying at Secret Harbor you and your family would be safe. You could walk the beach all night long and go down to Red Hook for the night life and be safe. If you want the gated security and still want to stay on the East End then the Ritz Carlton, Elysian, Sapphire and Wyndham would all be fine. I was sitting on the beach last night in front of Roberts at the Elysian drinking a beer with my family listening to the waves and enjoying the cool breeze and the thought of crime did not even enter my mind.

As stated again and again 99% of the crime involves locals and not tourist. You could look at a place like Romanos for example. It is right across the street from drug activity and known criminals. I have eaten at Romanos dozens of times and it is a favorite of Ritz Carlton guest. I have never heard of any incident with a tourist or guest of Romanos being the victim of crime.
Some criminals will go after the low hanging fruit which is what I would call a tourist stumbling around drunk at 2:00 am in the morning.
If you choose to vacation here in the USVI there are plenty of safe places to enjoy in both the daytime and the nighttime. It is easier to find out the hand full of places to avoid in the evenings.

I have to agree with all of the above post's. We stay at the Elysian every year and venture out at night to places like....Red Hook, Bolongo Bay, Paradise Point, Mim's, Blue Moon Cafe (SH), Ship Wreck, Bottoms Up, et. with absolutely no problems. Stay on the "Beaten Path" and you should have no problems.

Enjoy!!!!

Can anyone tell us then, what are the places or areas to avoid in the evening? Or even better, where are the places you recommend to go to party?

Well it sounds like I can let go of some of my worries then. Having never been there, we just didn't know what to expect. I understand that anywhere in the world you cannot be guaranteed not to not run into a bad person. I just didn't want to be naive and ignore the load of information that had been put in front of me without asking the questions and performing my due diligence.
I don't want to compromise our safety just to see some beautiful scenery and great snorkeling. Sounds like I can rest easier and dismiss some of this as just media hype of local crimes.

The other thing to keep in mind when reading statistics on crime in small locales is that the smallness of the sample magnifies the results. For example, I live in a small town of 300 inhabitants. A single crime, even if perpetrated by someone from a neighboring town shows up as same "per capita" crime rate as 10 incidents in a town of 3,000, or 100 in a town of 30,000, etc. All it takes is one individual to create a statistical "crime wave" if your population is small enough, and the island populations tend to be small.

Forgive me those of you who've heard me say this before, but I think it bears periodically repeating: the islands - beautiful and idyllic as they may be - are not Caribbean World in Orlando, but are real places inhabited by real people with real problems and all the usual behaviors associated with those problems. Stuff therefore happens. It's certainly no reason not to visit, but it does warrant taking the same care that you would if you were visiting any other destination where you clearly are a visitor. Be careful, be smart, and have great time!

"You will find that crime in the Virgin Islands it is a very sensitive subject here on message boards.

The Virgin Islands economy depends very much on tourism and can't afford to be labeled as high crime areas.

The VIPD is under staffed, under funded, and highly under educated"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, of course it's a sensitive subject. Nobody here has said there was no crime but MOST happens with druggies or people who are stumbling around way too late having so much fun they wouldn't remember ithe next morning. Not that it couldn't happen to anyone at any time just as it can happen to you in your home town. And the VIPD is no worse than most other police departments on other islands.

I see tourists every day & some of what I see is appalling. I actually saw some gal in a thong bikini at Havensight at 4:00 in the afternoon. She was also drunk. Naturally some men were making some remarks to & about her. This is her party place but this is our HOME so I hope you will be, as most tourists are, sensible & show some respect. Those who do, usually have a safe & fun time.

Park in well-lighted, busy areas at night. Don't wander around downtown at night & if you go to a restaurant there, park nearby if driving or have a taxi drop you off in front. Don't go to deserted beaches at night. Nude sunbathing is illegal here & I wouldn't recommend doing that in a secluded setting.

If I'm remembering the posts correctly, it seems as though most of those crimes involved tourists staying in villas on St John. Most villas are a little more secluded/private than a hotel/resort like Secret Harbor, so you should feel very secure at Secret Harbor, as almost everybody has mentioned.

Secret Harbor is a short drive along a very main road to most of the nightlife on the island. The Red Hook area has a number of restaurants, bars, dance clubs, wine bar, etc, where people will be hanging out at night. The East End taxi stand is in the area, as well as the ferry to St John, so only a complete idiot would dare do something untoward in that area. You might hear an occasional loud argument due to some traffic issue, but that's about it.

Some places are actually safer for tourists now than a few years ago. Blackbeard's Hill/99 Steps is one. They hired a private security guard, and implemented other measures to ensure the security of visitors to the historic property.

The only place to definitely avoid (with the exception of secluded beaches at night) is Main Street and any street downtown after dark (and it gets dark early here - 6:30) with the exception of the Waterfront where you can go to the Greenhouse, Tavern on the Waterfront, etc. Just park close by or take a cab.

Coki Beach can look a little disconcerting, but even it's fine during the day. You may smell some odd smoke, but that's probably expected in most parts of the Caribbean sooner or later. Some of the "regulars" have been known to be a little rude sometimes, but hey, everybody has their off day.

Here's hoping you enjoy your stay....

Okay, I'll probably start a big verbal brawl saying this but i think it is severly misleading to make it sound like "most" of the crime is in the villas on St John! I would feel a million times more safe walking around Cruz Bay at 10 pm than i would the streets near Charlotte Amalie! Personally, I was much more nervous while on St Thomas than while on St John but I definitely wouldn't be out walking around very late in either place and certainly not in a group of just two. Be careful in either place but St John is not the one where "most" of the crime is by a long shot.

CruzBay, how you would feel is one thing - But, the villa crime has been centered on STJ - not STT......facts are facts. Sure, Cruz Bay, at night, is likely to be safer than Charlotte Amalie at night. Each island has a give and take. I can make STJ sound pretty bad if I focus on certain things. I can make STT sound just as bad by focusing on certain things. STJ just ahd a shoot-out between bad guys and police - when was it - last week? STJ is no longer immune. I, personally, would not feel any safer on STJ than STT - overall. I can explain all of the reasons why. But, this thread is not about one islands versus another - it is about overall safety.

I'm no expert on crime, but I've followed what goes on in the VI for quite a few years. Yes, there is a problem. But, I believe it is the same problem that exists on other Caribbean islands - and maybe to a lesser extent in the VI. The biggest factor seems to be that crimes don't get solved and aren't punished with any severity. If anyone says it is no big deal, or it is just like anywhere else, that's nonsense. It is very different. Only when people stop accepting it and acting like it is normal will it be resolved.

Every visitor deserves to understand the history and how to be safe. It really isn't bad, as long as you understand. I wouldn't take my young child if I thought it was bad.

Seems that things that happen are often in clusters - not as random as they appear. I think it was 2 years ago that the resorts were being targeted. There were problems on STT at Sapphire, Bolongo and Secret Harbour (that I know of - maybe more). It got pretty serious - tourists were targeted - someone was shot (he lived - a tourist at Bolongo). Another group was held-up at gunpoint at Secret Harbour on the beach - in daylight. Those events were written about here on this forum as the victims told their stories to us. It was very scary to read.

I think it was last summer that STJ was having problems in the villas - I don't recall how many. STJ then started having racial tension issues, but I don't know if any tourists were impacted - it seemed to be more of a local on local issue....other than the guy who got beat up while walking on the road AT NIGHT last summer or fall.

In both instances, the crimes happened in a cluster - and then stopped. I don't know if anyone was ever caught in any of the instances.

There are no real gated resorts. There are several that have "guards" at the entry with one of those arms that has to lift to let a car through, but the criminal element probably isn't entering by car. I don't think any have gates around them....so there are many ways to enter undetected, if one is so inclined.

I know that all of the resorts involved in the STT events beefed up security - which was evident on my visits. When I visited SH last August, a uniformed guard was standing at the entry to the beach area and greeted me as I walked up. He seemed very alert and aware of who was around and what was going on. That made an impression in my mind.

The villa situation is a little more concerning because I think it is harder to secure a villa and guests are responsible for taking action to secure themselves. Last Aug, I arrived really feeling afraid. I wrote about it in my trip report. Several nights before leaving Philly, I didn't even want to go - feeling that I might be putting my family in danger. I had been reading too much and focusing on it too much.

The first night in the villa, I could hardly seep. I checked and re-checked the window and door locks. I left lights on. I woke up and watched out of the window to see if anyone was moving in the trees. Seriously, I was feeling traumatized. I live in Philadelphia (in the actual city - so I am not insulated from crime)

As time went on, I began to relax. I still locked up, but didn't get up 5x a night to check everything. I didn't have any bad experiences on the island - during a 15 night stay. We went out at night and during the day - no problems.

Aside from the cluster events - I think you can protect yourself from random crime by:
1. Do not go into Charlotte Amalie on foot after dark (unless you can park just in front of where you are going)
2. Do not visit the beaches at night (other than that in front of a resort, if you must)....drugs come ashore at night on the non-resort beaches via drop boats since the VI is an entry from South America to the US for drug trafficking- it is not romantic to be out there and be in the way of that kind of operation.
3. When walking around (day or night) look over your shoulder and know what is going on around you.
4. Do not leave things on the beach and take a swim or snorkel and expect them to be there when you return.
5. Do not leave things on the seat of your car and expect them to be there when you return
6. Do not walk around STJ at night like it is Paradise. Take a taxi. Do not hitch-hike at night or try to walk distances at night .
7. In villas, lock all doors and windows at night. This will require AC in the bedrooms. Yes, I am saying to get AC in the bedrooms so you can lock up.
8. If you are intoxicated and walking around, do not let on. Don't howl at the moon and stagger around. Put your game face on and look like you mean business and know where you are going.
9. Do not engage in any fights or arguments. There are no "fair ones" in the VI - the rules are very different - things go too far, too soon - there is very little, if any, restraint. Leave the ego at home.
10. Remeber, this is not a stateside government. What seems "fair" at home is not normal here. YOU, Mr. Visitor, will not win.

Excuse me, I didn't realize that I couldn't say how I felt.... I thought I was giving MY opinion on a public forum. I WOULD feel safer walking around Cruz Bay and home to Gallow's point in the evenings than I would walking around most of St Thomas. Actually, Blu's post even said do not go into Charlotte Amalie on foot after dark and that is definitely not the case in Cruz Bay, it's common to walk through the streets after dark there along with everyone else so I repeat, I would FEEL safer there in the evenings walking to restaurants. Not late night but certainly before 10pm. I didn't say St Thomas was worse than St John, so no need to get all aflutter, I was just saying that for ms411 to make it sound like "most" of the crime was on St John and therefore St Thomas sound like it's so much safer is misleading. They both have serious concerns that have to be addressed equally, in my opinion. That's my opinion. Which I hope is still accepted on this message board...

Cruz, no offense, but I think people are really concerned about their upcoming trips and are looking for a historic perspective based on actual events. I'm sure that opinions and feelings are welcomed, and appreciated. I'm also sure that a collection of real-life events and perspective is valued.

We're all in love with the islands...and just trying to help the visitors stay safe. I don't live there, nor make my living there. I visit, as such, I share ways in which I keep myself safe after 38 years of visits (since I was bornand then moved there 3 months later - and lived there twice).

Dare I say - villas on STT have been historically more safe than villas on STJ. Strolling through downtown at night on STJ has been historically more safe than on STT. I am willing to tell it like it is. I have no interest, either way. Both islands have serious issues that need to be addressed. Both islands are dangerous places, to the uneducated. C'mon, I am not trying to belittle your opinion. I am in favor of the visitor - being forthright about the issues and experience. It isn't fair to report anything otherwise.

What about Red Hook at night? We're taking our first trip to St. Thomas next week and we had planned on going to some of the bars and restaurants in Red Hook in the evenings. After reading some of these posts I'm starting to get the feeling that we should stay locked in our condo at night. Some of these comments make it sound like we'll be vacationing in a war zone.

I work and walk around at night in downtown Detroit all the time without problems. I've also done the same in many major cities throughout the U.S. and Europe. Should I really be that concerned about my wife and I frequenting bars and restaurants at night in Red Hook. If so, I'd rather stay home.

-pk

I've been ok in Red Hook at night and I've not heard of problems - other than that outlined below. My son, now almos 20, has often gone out to Red Hook at night on more occasions than I care to recall- no problems. I can say that I did leave Molly Malone's one night in 2005 (summer) and went to the Parking Lot in American Yacht Harbor in Red Hoook. A guy, who had been sitting on the wall inside the lot, decided to "walk" me to my car. He approached as I looked over my shoulder (something I recommend doing). I began to walk backwards, warning him that I needed him to back up. he kept coming - pretty fast. As I got to my car, my daughter entered through the passenger side and I through the driver's side (using keychain remote control locks). The guy was zipping from side to side......carrying a big cup of red liquid....and seemed drunk. We got in and locked up before he could decide what to do....and I'm sure he was so smashed that I could have whacked him in the head with my bag and knocked him down. But, it unnerved my daughter - which pissed me off. We were leaving Molly Malone's from dinner. As we pulled off, he ran alongside the car. I wish I'd had some pepper-spray or mace. I'm not sure what his intention was. He was surely aggressive - but could have done more if he had wanted to. I had my game face on and cursed him out like I was in Time Square. This is why I tell everyone to look over the shoulder,.

I've probably logged 15 trips in the last 9 years. All had Red Hook visits in the evening. This was the only incident. I feel very safe in Red Hook. I talk to many, many visitors and none have had problems.

There is no need to be in downtown Charlotte Amalie late at night. People are always asking where to avoid & that's it. Other than the main restaurants where the taxi drops you off & picks you up right outside or where you can park nearby why would you WANT to wander around there? I don't want to & I live here. And if there aren't areas in Detroit you avoid, I'll eat my straw fedora. LOL

Just went to STT & STJ in Dec. Went to Red Hook most nights on ST. No problem, lots of people. Also Bolongo Bay & Iggies is a nice safe place to hang at night. Cruz Bay was very busy ( for STJ) at night & we felt very safe there at all times.

This whole topic is really making new visitors feel scared to go to STJ or STT. Let's try to compare them to Jamaica..not even close where people already know that it's not a good idea to leave the compound of the hotel.

My first experience with St. Thomas a good one. We went to Red Hook 4 nights out of 7. Didn't have a problem, in fact, had some great experiences talking with locals. When we went to St John it was a beautiful ride over, had dinner, shopped around and went back on the ferry. Never felt threatened.

I think what everyone is saying is don't be lulled into a false sense of security. The islands are beautiful and you're relaxed, but you need to remain aware.