All alcohol is duty-free here and is available at all supermarkets and grocery stores, as well as KMart.

There are lots of options for daysails on large and small charter boats which offer an open bar, snacks and/or lunch and all snorkeling gear and instruction at an all-inclusive price. If you go to "St Thomas" at the top of this page you can scroll down to find some daysail options.

St John is only a ten minute ferry ride from the East end of St Thomas and if you rent a car from anywhere but Hertz (which doesn't their cars to go to St John) you can take the car over on the car barge and explore that island's beautiful beaches on your own. You can go to the BVI either by ferry or private charter but remember that you MUST have passports to travel there now. There is a link to the inter-island ferry schedules under "Quick Links" top right of this page.

There is a parasailing operation out of Sapphire Beach on the East end.

Plenty of very good restaurants of all different kinds and in different price ranges. Places where locals hang out are all over. Would help to know where you're staying and whether or not you have a rental car. Hope this helps a little.

Thanks for the info. We are staying at the Marriott Frenchmen's Reef.

And are you renting a car? If not, you should reconsider as taxis charge PER PERSON and you'll spend a fortune getting out and about. Also under, "St Thomas" at the top of this page you can scroll down to the taxi rates to get an idea of the cost.

Not sure if we are renting but I will put that suggestion out to the group. So where are we located in relation to everything else?

Ladies..get ready for your best trip ever.

I have a timeshare at Frenchamn's Cove, so I go to St. Thomas on a reg.
Here is very helpful advice to make sure you and your girls have the best stay on the islands.

P.s. You will Have a freakin' blast!!

1. Rental: if you are stying on the island for more than 2 days, definitely get a rental jeep or suv. It has to be four-wheel drive to get up and down the cliffs. Islands have many hills. After a few hours, you get used to driving on the opposite side of the road and get comfy with the locals driving. Just watch the hairpin turns, go slow. It saves on cab fare and you can take your rental on the car barge to go to AMAZING St. John. In St. John, you can cruise around from one beach to the next. Get there early, so you can park next to beach. I love Cinnamon bay, trunk, most all of em. Excellent snorkeling. (Oh yea, Costco sells great snorkel combos that are great quality and cheap. Costo in the states not St. Thomas.) You can also park right there at Frenchamn's Reef and Cove for free. I usually pick up a rental at the airport. Just make sure you book now and its 4 wheel drive that you can take on car barge...important. Some rental companies refue to allow you to take to st. john via barge. Just FYI.

2. Food: I recommend either hitting up KMART in Charlotte Amalle for all you groceries, medicine, liqueur, beer, sun tan lotion, mixes, etc. Kmart is the best place because it has everything u need and way cheaper than anywhere else on the island. It's easily a no-brainer.
Also pick up a cooler if u can to take to beaches. I recommend freezing water bottles at night, so you have ice cold water to take with you the next morning at beaches.

3. Restaurant: Mofolie's (enough said). Our all-time favorite restaurant that serves food that wont make you sick, its fast...delicious, priced-well, and the BEST VIEW at the top of the Island. Has amazing drinks, great tasting food, we go there like every other night for dinner. You ladies must go to Mofolie's. Thank me later. P.s. Take pictures of you and the girls at Mofolie's overlooking the islands.
Don''t go to Cuzzins...the food is horrible and the wait is worse. It made a bunch of my firends ill, be careful beacuse a lot of people seem to go their for luch, but its not worth it at all. Trust me.

4. Bars/Nightlife: Marriott has good bars, love Coco Joes, Blue ___ (forgot) is amazing, also bars near Red Hook are good. Marriott has drink specials too. ( Happy Hour). St. John has fun bars as well.

5. A MUST for Booze Cruise: Go to http://www.usvisailing.com/sailboat.html, and book a sunset cruise on the Fury!! Captain Mike is the best in the Virgin Islands, highly recommend to us, and we highly recommend to you!! ...funny, excellent source of island info, always makes sure you have the most excellent time and his first mate makes the best drinks. I have been tore-up on his boat a many times and love it every time. I'm going on the fury the first week in July actually. Book online, you get a 5 dollar off discount and what you pay is sooo worth it! The Sunset cruise with Captain Mike is the main event every year before we leave the islands. You ladies will have a ball!!
Did I mention the drinks are amazing!! Plus they pass around lots of appatizers/snacks. The sunsets are breathtaking. Good music too.

** Get some Drememine Pills at the grocery store or before you leave. A box or two of pills, so you dont get sea sick on any cruises or ferries. Always helps in case.

I have more helpful info...

When you you going?

~ Derek

Just a couple of comments re Derek's post. First, you don't really NEED 4WD on STT. In a quarter century of living here I've owned many vehicles and only one was a 4WD and I never used the 4WD option. If you were staying on STJ a 4WD drive is recommended but for the average day trip to STJ you can get around fine with a 2WD. The only reason I mention this is because a 4WD vehicle is more expensive than a 2WD. As mentioned in my earlier post, the only rental company which does NOT allow their cars to be taken to STJ is Hertz but check before you rent if taking the car barge to STJ is going to be on your agenda.

KMart doesn't have the best deals on everything where groceries, etc. are concerned whether you shop at the "little KMart" which is a relatively short distance from the Marriott or the "big KMart" which is in the Tutu Park shopping mall complex. The KMarts carry a relatively small selection of liquors, wines and groceries (nothing fresh, canned goods only) and the best buys where selection and price are concerned are a toss-up between Cost U Less and Plaza Xtra, both of which have fresh produce and fresh and frozen meats.

The restaurant at Mafolie has had good reviews over the last year or so but also check out Banana Tree Grille for a special dinner. One of the reasons I've always recommended it to visitors looking for that "special dinner" is not only the wonderful view but the consistency of the food. The same excellent chef has been with the owners for 20 years now and that's a decided plus when so many restaurants go through different chefs from season to season, with some of them being not very good and thus leading to very varied reviews in general. And Banana Tree Grille's prices aren't outlandish while the ambience and service are always excellent.

I'm surprised at the negative critique of Cuzzins. Cuzzins has been a stalwart on the restaurant scene for many years and renown for its offerings of excellent "local" food. Sorry to disagree absolutely with Derek's dismissal of this restaurant but just wanted to counteract that negativism! If you'd like to try local fare, also check out Gladys's place downtown which also has a consistently great rep.

I realize of course that visitors have different ideas of what they expect from a vacation and their perspectives upon their return home vary enormously. Just speaking from a local stance and hope this helps. Cheers!

The Reef has great concierge services. They can set up all sorts of day sails for you, many will leave from the dock right at the property. You can also take the Reefer, a water taxi, to town for shopping and lunch at Cuzzin's.

Aside: I, too, am amazed at Derek's assessment of Cuzzin's. They have great local food. If they had to wait, it might be because it is so popular. As to getting sick, most "illness" in visitors is related to two things: a surfeit of sun and alcohol. Try the conch in butter sauce, the homemade soups, and some local drinks (either alcoholic or not.)

A day sail to the BVI is always fun. Search the archives here as everyone has their faves. Bring your passport.

You will need a car if you are going to get out and explore. For example, if you all decided to go to Magens for the day, taxi fare would be $9 per person each way. Kinda adds up in a flash...

On this map: https://www.vinow.com/stthomas/map_stthomas/ the Reef is just to the right of the "l" in "East Gregerie Channel."

Mafolie is a nice restaurant, but Cuzzins is also very good.

Thank you for correcting me STT Resident and sharing more helpful info. I'm glad to know that Cuzzins is actually a good restaurant and I just had a bad experience. I'm willing to give it another shot there.

I appreciate the info concerning the use of 2WD rentals. Would you really be ok with 4WD on St. John, or would you encounter problems on hills/turns?

Does anyone know good places to swim near sea turtles?

A fun night out is to go to Duffy's over in Red Hook.

I always see them at Maho

Turtles like turtle grass, so any bay that has it is possible turtle territory. I ALWAYS see them in Cowpet, but out in the middle of the bay. Rent a kayak and go looking...