I, Of course recommend St Croix. Beaches to relax on with nice Restaurants to lounge in. Snorkeling and Scuba is plentiful. StX has Buck Island tours that will do day sails to Buck Island for beach lounging, snorkeling along an underwater path, and Beach BBQ for lunch. You also have the option of going into C'sted and doing some afternoon exploring will you will find nice inexpensive restaurants, like Pleasants, for sitting and people watching.
There are also safari taxi tours that will take you around to the island tourist destinations. If you do this the first full day, it will give you an idea of where you want to go back to for more exploration. Like the Botanical Gardens or Salt River marsh area. Lots of exploring to do like a trip to Point Udall to view the eastern most point of the U.S. There is a small casino at the Divi resort, for a little night life. That beach is beautiful too...

St. Croix, I think is pretty laid back and if you remember your good mornings, afternoons and nights, the people are friendly and have interesting lifes to talk about.

I've reserved a small AVIS 4 door at STT 8/26-30/04 for $26 per day plus tax.
I made the reservation through cheapcaribbean.com . Can anyone suggest a better deal?

If you've never been to the VI before, and you can afford it, a villa on St. John would be my suggestion. The island is one big park and the beaches are unbelievable.

Looking for a less expensive alternative -- St. Croix is you island. Bigger, less park-like, it will give you a real feel for the USVI.

Of course I live here so I might be biased.

Honestly - you should go to a book stor and get a Frommars book on USVI. You can get good opinions from a small set of people here all with our favs. However - what you get at a book store will be way way better info.

Personally - I've never even considered StCroix and St.John is the only place I would go in the USVI. More expensive but . . . .HEY - it's a vacation and why not go to the most beautiful place in the world . . . .well . . almost.

Not much shopping, no nightlife, very few people on the beachs, ultra romantic. slighty more exensive then the other islands but they are expensive also so your only ramping up an already expensive vacation by . . .10%??

I was like you - SO MANY QUESTIONS - then we purchased 2 or 3 (well - 6 now lol) books that explained everything.

mid-august? I'd be watching for hurricains - I hear they get a little windy

I've never been to the islands before but decided on St. John - for the beaches and National Park!! If it wasn't for those things I think my fiance and I would have decided on St. Croix - we really don't like the night life scene or bar scene. Just give us a nearly deserted beach and we are happy!! Plus I have heard/read/been told that St. John is the most beautiful Island. I'm sure thats not entirely true - every Island is different in its own ways. 🙂

Mark:

Suggestion.....St. Thomas, East End, Point Pleasant Resort. www.pointpleasantresort.com
Suggest that you book directly, since they do give discounts on the rates.

We visited in April for a week...loved it...even bought a condo there (closed two weeks ago).

Point Pleasant is close to Red Hook.....for the ferry to St. John & Tortola. (Also, shopping and restaurants.) Ferry from St. Thomas to St. John, $3 each way.

A scuba & snorkling firm is right on Pineapple Beach (next door). You can also do a day sail. We used New Horizons out of Saphire Beach Marina. Capt Mike and first mate Abigale were great!

There are two restaurants on site, Agave (moderate to expensive) and Fungi's on the Beach (moderate).

Inexpensive restaurants? All depends what you mean by "inexpensive". We preferred staying in a condo, since we could prepare our own breakfast and snacks (you could prepare other meals, as well, to save on costs). Also, drinks from our balcony were enhanced by the spectacular views of St. John, Tortola & Jost Van Dyke.

We're from the New York metropolitan area so St. Thomas restaurant prices, for us, were "normal".

Car rental....Hertz for the week, mid size, $193. (including all taxes) with the AAA discount. Taxis are rather expensive if you must rely on them entirely.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

F.I.

St. Croix or St. John depending on what you're looking for. Their main features:
St. Croix offers a true "residential" island with emphasis on low-key action, beautiful beaches, wilderness and amenities. St. John offers the wilderness, beautiful beaches, and closer proximity to the BVIs and (yikes) St. Thomas. I think it'll be easier to get around, especially if you're relying on taxis for transportation, on St. Croix. Not having been to the Virgins before, I'm almost tempted to recommend St. John over St. Croix since it's easier to get a day-sail out to the BVIs. Your second trip, yes you'll be coming back for more, should most definitely be St. Croix thought.

Another thing you should consider is your trip's date. Check each island to see what the events are at that time. That may be another determinant of your destination.

I've been lucky enough to visit STT, STX, and STJ twice.

In my opinion, St John is one of the most beautiful places on earth (that I've been to). On some of the beaches and trails you can really get a feeling of being stranded on a deserted island, but within 10-20 minutes you can be back at your favorite restaurant or pub. As said before, it is a bit more expensive, but probably worth it just for the privacy and lack of pressure from anyone.

St Croix would be another suggestion for what it sounds like you're looking for. Pretty laid back, smaller towns, wide open spaces, and good beaches.

St Thomas is more metropolitan. Tons of shopping, traffic, and people. It still has some great beaches and things to do and I loved my stay there too. One plus is the quick ferry ride to St John (which if you decide on St John you'll have to go through STT anyway...two islands under your belt). 😉

My wife and I spent our honeymoon on St Thomas in '86 and did a one day trip to St John. We've returned to St John for our entire stay ever since, including the past 4 years in a row. Vacation for us is relaxation, quiet, and an occasional rum punch or two or three or......you get the picture. Spend the day at any of the beautiful beaches and then find one of the local watering holes and relax with some soon to be friends. There's nothing like it anywhere!!! We return again the end of July.

I live on St. John, so obviously you can read into my vote.
I will say that STJ gets a ton of people returning every year from maybe an excursion trip from a cruise or even staying on STT and then deciding to go with STJ instead. If you want beaches, you pick STJ. If you want hiking trails, you pick STJ. If you want snorkling, pick STJ. If you wanna get away from the hustle and bustle, STJ is your choice. If you come in AUGUST, make suer and get air conditioning. Its hot and sticky that time of the year.

Hello,

For help deciding on which island to stay on you may want to read through the guides for each island on this site. And then purchase some vacation planning books and material - check out the Planning Guide Section of www.vitraders.com there is a good selection of books and information there for ordering.

If you stay on St. Thomas, you can easily and inexpensively day trip to St. John and Water Island.

Taxi cost are per person and per destination, not metered. You can view taxi rates for each island under the Transportation Section of the island. So go to the top of this page and click on the buttons that say an island name and then a drop down menu will appear - select transportation. Then proceed to taxis.

Ferry schedules and cost for within the USVI and the USVI to BVI are on this site at:

https://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/interisland_ferry/

Rental car prices range from around $65-$95 a day on STT and STJ and around $38 to $70 for St. Croix. But specials happen and smaller cars are less $; also when you rent for a week the price is based on a weeks rental and work out to be less then the daily estimates given.

--Islander

I will be spending my honeymoon in ST.Thomas, any suggestions on where to stay that is nice with a waterfront view. price under 175 a night ? thanks

Hello! I'm visiting St John for a week, next week. Any suggestions on restaurants or nightlife? Also...we are staying in a villa, I wondered how accesible gorcery stores are (and are they more expensive than in the US?). My budget won't allow me to eat out every single meal. lol. Thanks for you help!

Hello Gary,

You might look into Emerald Beach Resort perhaps... its not a luxary place but nice property, beach front, nice beach - visit their web site at http://www.emeraldbeach.com

Hello Holly,

There are a few places to shop on St. John so definately buying your own groceries and making your own meals will save you $$ rather then eating out every meal. Here are some grocery store prices from one store on St. John, updated a few months ago to give you an idea of prices.

Granny Apples $1.75/lb
Kiwi $1 for 2
Red Seedless Grapes $2.95/lb
Iceberg Lettuce $1.95/a head
Cucumber $1.25 each
Tomatoes $1.75/lb
Green Peppers $2.65/lb
Dole Celery $1.95
Marlboro Cigarettes $20.95 a carton
Edy's Ice-cream $9.95/1.75 qts
2001 Robert Mondui Pinot Noir $16.25
Ocean Spray Fruit Juice $5.95/64floz
Motts Apple Juice $4.95/64floz
Minute Maid Berry Punch $5.25/10pk
Crushed Red Pepper $4.75
Oscar Meyer Jumbo Wieners $4.95/16oz
Oscar Meyer Variety Pack $5.95/16oz
English Muffins $3.49/6pk
Boneless Chicken $5.95/lb
Whole Chicken $1.45/lb
Steak - Angus Beef $13.95/lb
Ground Beef $3.85/lb
5 Italian Sausages $4.95
Honey Mustard Dressing $5.95/12floz
Ida Seasoned Fries $4.95/2lb
Green Giant Corn $7.95/12 half ears
Tostitos $2.29/8oz bag
Lipton Green Tea $3.95/20 bags
Carnation Evaporated Milk .95/a can
Aunt Jemima Original $2.75/12oz
Cottonelle 4 pack $2.45
Bounty $2.95 a roll
Rozoni Spaghetti $1.25/8oz
Dawn for Dishes $4.95/25floz
Ragu $3.45/1lb 10oz
Close Up $2.95/4oz
Kotex Tampons $7.55/18 pack
Campbell's Tomato Soup $1.55/10oz can
Huggies Diapers $14.95/18pack
Whiskas Cat Food $8.95/6.6lb
Pedigree Dog Food $1.45/22oz can
White Bread $2.09 a loaf
Tillamook Cheddar $5.75/8oz
Oscar Meyer Bologna $2.95/8oz
Tropicana Orange Juice $4.95/64floz
Milk 1/2 gal $2.95
Post Honey Bunches of Oats $4.95/13oz
Budweiser 6 pack Bottles $5.50

Have a great time.

--Islander

Where in St. John are you staying? I got married and honeymooned there last December, and my mother in law just moved there. I may be able to give you some pointers. Are you renting a car?

Gary:

We like Point Pleasant Resorts (in the East End). They have condo units which are very spacious and two great beaches. There are two restaurants on site, the Agave and Fungi's. Point Pleasant is also close to Red Hook for the Ferry to St John.
Red Hook has a varierty of restaurants, shops and the Marina Market.

Have a great time!

Future Islander

Thanks 4 your efforts in posting the info. Kudos! This is very helpful to all visitors and it's nice to see someone actually takes the time to post the info. Good job, man!

Holly
Access to best grocery stores depends upon location. If you are near Coral Bay, options are limited. Either way, I suggest you freeze steaks, chops, shrimp or any usually expensive main course and then supplement with fresh produce bought on the island. We did it that way and saved a great deal of money. Dry ice works best and if you put it all in a soft sided cooler ($15 at Walmart), it can be carried on with no problems. Then it works as a great extra case for vacation trinkets on the return.

Chris,

My wife and I are planning on spending our anniversary there 10/15-10-23. My first question is what is the weather typically like that time of year? Second, we are looking for a really nice villa preferably on the beach with a private pool etc. Because there are so many rental companies it is hard to decipher it all. Can you make any recommendations?

Thanks in advance. We are really looking forward to visiting St.John.

MD