Sorry this is a little late but here is our report from our trip to the VIs June 8-June 15 2005 . . .

DAY ONE:

We left San Diego around 11:00 PM on Tuesday June 7th for our first trip to the Virgin Islands. After one stop in North Carolina we arrived to a sunny STT on June 8th around 2:00 PM. We took the very short walk from the plane to the baggage claim area and retrieved our luggage in no time at all. Right behind the baggage claim in the same building was the Budget desk where we rented a Jeep Liberty for the week. The walk from the Budget desk to the car is not too far however the steps up to the lot can be a bit much when you have some heavy luggage and are still trying to get used to the heat and humidity. Someone did suggest on this board for someone to wait with the luggage while someone retrieves the car but we wanted to go together . . . so we did. The car was a bit dirty inside and out but we got over that rather quickly. We paid an exorbitant amount ($700) for the week but that is because we took the insurance. The extra $35 a day to have zero responsibility for the car (totaled, stolen, etc., we would just walk away) was worth it to us rather than have to possibly tarnish our own insurance record at home for a one week vacation. Crazy? Maybe, but no worries is worth the money to us. I chose to be the passenger but my boyfriend had no trouble at all getting used to driving on the left. I read many posts here and elsewhere that driving on the left, windy roads, etc can be scary. It really wasn’t a problem for us. I also read about some of the tailgaters and honking that takes place. We drove everyday either in STT, STJ or STX (rented another car there) and really had no problems with driving. People were very gracious in letting you go if you were waiting to turn out of a parking lot or elsewhere. No one honked at us to drive faster or get out of the way. I think two people drove around us but that was no big deal. We feel renting a car is worth it, go where you want, when you want is ideal for us.

Anyway, we left the airport and found our way to the Ritz Carlton on the other end of the island. Only took us about one half hour or so to get there. Someone noted at one point that driving to the hotel you go through the “slums”. I was quite worried about this. But I am happy to say that we felt it is not that big of a deal. Yes some of the areas we drove through are not places we would choose to live and are run down but it was fine . . . not scary at all.

We arrived at the Ritz and were immediately greeted and escorted to the reception desk. Everyone at the resort is friendly and helpful. We were given a brief tour of the resort and taken to the Club Room where we waited a bit until our room was ready. If you stay at the Club Level you have access to the Club Room which has 5 meal presentations each day, all the drinks you want, and most of all a gorgeous view of Great Bay and St John. We then went to our room. We were on the third floor of the Gardenia Building in a Suite on the end. The room was beautiful . . . nicely appointed and very clean. I am a neat freak and absolutely do not like bugs. I was worried about the talk of all the bugs in rooms here and elsewhere. They were not a problem. I read about bugs (specifically worms) in the rooms at the Ritz by one poster and I am happy to say we saw no worms all week. We fought off and killed one cockroach and a couple silver fish type bugs but the sighting of three bugs in 8 days is not bad. The couple negatives about the room/resort that I can mention are: the carpet had a couple stains; the shower water could be hotter; the grounds are a bit too dark in the evening; we had a huge balcony but with no lighting at all for the evening time; wireless internet access (which you have to pay a daily fee for) was very spotty . . . only worked in a couple spots in the room; and the room service selection for dinner was limited. But these were certainly minor and nothing that caused any major problems.

We walked around the grounds of the resort and were more than pleased. Everything, from the pools to the restaurants to the plant life is meticulously maintained. BEAUTIFUL PROPERTY! I can’t recommend this resort enough. Yes, you pay for this beauty but it is worth it!

We had a long flight over and were beat so we ordered room service for dinner, grabbed some desert from the Club Room and called it a day.

DAY TWO:

We awoke to a beautiful, sunny day and started the morning by having breakfast in the Club Room at the resort. We sat outside on the balcony and took in the yummy scenery. Around 9 AM or so we picked up our car from the valet (who were always prompt—never had to wait for the car). We decided on our first day we would experience Charlotte Amalie and take in some of the historic STT sights. We actually did the walking tour of Charlotte Amalie that the Frommers Virgin Islands book suggests. We specifically chose a day to do this when there were not any cruise ships. But that has its pluses and minuses. Yes, it is not crowded which is nice but some of the more “touristy” historic things are closed when there are no cruise ships. Things such as the Haagensen House and a couple other places. But despite the few closures we continued on. We copied the walking tour from the book so we could read about the history of the buildings/places we saw. Starting at the VI Legislature building, then over to Fort Christian which we found out is closed for some sort of construction, strolled past Emancipation Park, saw the Central Post Office, then on to the Frederik Lutheran Church, the Government House, the Seven Arches Museum (absolutely FABULOUS—the owner of this 2 century old home gives you a private tour for a small fee), then on to Hotel 1829, trudged up and back down the 99 Steps, and then strolled through the many shops toward Market Square. After reaching Market Square we found out from some locals it has been closed for a couple years because the roof fell down after a motorist ran in to it. The locals we ran into were more than willing to help the tourists. A couple times we must have looked pitiful and locals would stop and ask us if we needed help and provided advice. It is probably best to do this walking tour on a cloudy day if you can. It can be grueling when the sun is beating on you as you walk up and down those 99+ steps!

We had lunch in town at the Green House restaurant. The service and location were great. The food was so so. We then drove our car up to the Great House and Botanical Garden. Again because there weren’t any cruise ships in port they were closed. We decided we would try it another day. We drove around and explored a bit. We stopped at Drake’s Seat and then had yummy chocolate shakes from Udder Delight. Around 4 PM or so we came back to the resort, walked along the beach/lounged in the chaise lounges and then retreated to our room. We ordered dinner in and got ready for our early morning flight to STX.

After hearing about some of the recent crime activity we kind of half jokingly made a pact that we have to be in before dark (yes we know crime happens anytime of the day but it seems most of the recent muggings, etc were at night). We are not much for the “night life” anyway so we stuck to our pact. Mostly because we were beat by the end of the day but honestly some of the reason was to try to avoid being victims of crime.

DAY THREE:

The clouds were out in full force today and it was a little drizzly. But at 6:30 am we were off to the airport to catch an 8:00 am flight to St. Croix. We had a breakfast to go bag delivered to us through room service that we ate at the airport. The parking situation is great at the airport. We pulled in, found a spot and then walked about one hundred feet to the Cape Air check in. To park for 24 hours it is only $5. What a bargain!

Check in with Cape Air was simple and quick. They ask your weight to help determine where you will sit in the plane. Kind of funny. We then waited in the terminal for our plane to arrive. And when it did, wow, it was tiny. We had never been in a 9-passenger plane before. We walked up to the plane with our stuff (only going for the day so we had just my purse and another small bag) and they take it from you and put it in the wing. The fella collecting the stuff then checks you out and based on your size decides where you will sit in the plane. A little nerve racking that the weight must be carefully distributed to ensure a smooth trip. I had asked if I could hold on to my purse and he said, “Oh no, we need as much weight as we can get at the nose of the plane.” I was thinking to myself, oh my goodness, my 2 lb. purse is going to possibly be the determining factor if the plane crashes or not . . .oh my gosh what are we doing! Anyway, the flight and landing into STX was smooth and fun. We saw wonderful cloud formations on the way over.

After arriving at the airport we headed on over to the Budget car rental desk and picked up our 4x4 Suzuki Vitara. Definitely a good idea to get a 4x4 when it is raining and you plan on driving through (and getting lost in) the rain forest like we did . . . more on that later.

Our original game plan was to follow the Heritage Trail using a map that the St Croix Landmarks Society provides. After the advice received here and elsewhere we decided to scale down our goals and pick just a few places to visit on STX. As mentioned by another poster the Heritage Trail signs along the road are few and far between thus making it difficult to follow. But with a few maps and the trail guide handy we found our way . . . most of the time. The roads are not marked well in areas so it can be quite difficult to navigate at times but it does definitely add to the adventure. So our game plan included St. George’s Botanical Garden, Whim Plantation, Lawaetz Museum, drive through Frederiksted, a stop at a few of the more well preserved ruins, and then finally over to Christiansted. However, we had a minor change in plans since it was a slightly rainy day.

Our first stop was St. George’s Botanical Garden. Absolutely lovely. Not the best to visit in flip-flops after a rain but still absolutely lovely. Many beautiful plants and fabulous ruins with signs describing what you are looking at. In our opinion, this is a must see. Since the rain started to come down pretty hard my boyfriend went to grab the car. While waiting I started chatting with some taxi drivers who were waiting to pick up some folks (it wouldn’t be the last we saw of them . . .). Next we were off to Whim Plantation. At this point the rain really started coming down. We took the tour of the main house but the rain kept us from seeing as much of the grounds as we would have liked and delayed us a little trying to wait out the rains. A bit of a bummer but still very interesting. One improvement that I would appreciate is a docent that is more versed in what they are showing and telling us about. Our docent, although sweet as can be, just wasn’t a real history buff or fully versed in the history of the property. She seemed to be more trained and just told what to say. She wasn’t able to answer too many questions. But all in all another must see. Since we were a tad behind in time and definitely wanted to see Christiansted we reluctantly decided to skip Lawaetz. We drove through Frederiksted and honestly were not very impressed. Very run down. To its credit though we didn’t drive on all the streets so maybe we just chose a couple of bad ones. We opted to take Route 58 (not sure if the Crucians call these roads Routes—but that is what I will call them) to Christiansted with the hope of seeing some ruins along the way and to experience a drive through the “rain forest.” Didn’t see any ruins but fun nonetheless. Wonderful experience. You feel like no one else is around (which may have been the case). We were driving along when all of a sudden we passed the Lawaetz museum. We looked at each other and were looking at the map saying but Lawaetz in on Route 76 and we are on Route 58 . . . or so we thought. Somehow we made a big circle. But since we passed Lawaetz I noticed that it was actually closed so I didn’t feel quite as bad for not having enough time to visit. We did specifically choose a Friday because according to literature/books all of what we wanted to see was open on Fridays, we thought. Definitely call ahead to check on times if there is something you don’t want to miss.

As I mentioned above the roads are not always marked clearly. A funny example was we needed to turn on Route 72 but we had not seen any signs for it and it seemed like we went too far. I looked at the Heritage Trail map which showed a picture of a cow right at the turn for 72. I said, “You know we passed some cows earlier, maybe that is where we needed to turn.” So we turned around, drove back to the cows and low and behold that ended up being Route 72. St. Croix is not the easiest to navigate for first timers but I loved the experience and the memories we have about finding our way/being lost. After a little time we did however eventually find our way to Christiansted.

The sun came out and it was just perfect. We really loved the feel of this town. We visited all the historic sites—the Fort, Customs House, Scale House, and Warehouse. As we walked toward the Government House all of a sudden I hear, “Hey I know you.” It was Ettiene, one of the taxi drivers I met at St George’s. Now mind you it took us a lot longer to arrive at Christiansted than it would take someone who was familiar with the drive, but Christiansted and St George’s are not right next to each other so it was funny to see him again. We talked awhile. We asked for a suggestion on a quick place to grab a bite to eat. He suggested Coral Café. We didn’t quite get where he was telling us to go so he walked us there. As we were walking I saw the other taxi driver that I talked to at St George’s and we exchanged waves. We would highly recommend Coral Café in Christiansted for a quick bite. We just had quesadillas but they were some of the best we ever had (and we are from San Diego where Mexican food is everywhere). Albeit our entire experience with the Crucians were a few taxi drivers (funny since we never rode in any taxis), the workers at the museums and some folks where we had lunch but they all made us feel so welcome.

After walking along the boardwalk (a suggestion made by Ettiene) and doing a little shopping we began our drive back to the airport. We returned our car to Budget and checked in with Cape Air for our flight. It was a little delayed so we arrived back in STT a little later than expected—around 7:30 PM. Very long day but also very worth it.

DAY FOUR:

We awoke to a partly cloudy day. Had breakfast in the Club Room and then we were off to catch the 8:30 AM car barge to St. John. There was quite a bit of construction going on so it didn’t look like what I had in mind but it went much smoother than some experiences I had read about on this and other forums. A little confusing at first trying to figure out what we were to do (i.e., back up onto the barge, etc.) since we were the first in line. But once you figure it out, it is actually quite organized. On this day we paid $35.00 for a round trip ticket through Republic Barge Service. We confirmed the latest return time with the workers on the boat to make sure we didn’t miss the last ferry back.

We arrived on STJ around 9:00. We stopped at Mongoose Junction. Since we arrived pretty early parking was easy. It must have rained earlier because it was a bit damp. We loved Mongoose Junction and loved the way the dampness from the rain added to its character. There are some nice boutiques to wonder through and pick up a few goodies.

We drove along the North Shore and stopped at all the overlooks to take in the wonderful scenery and to take pictures. Eventually we found our way to the Annaberg School ruins. We stopped and walked up the trail. I was so excited by what we saw. Yes, the ruins were fascinating but my excitement was over seeing our first wild donkey. She was on top of one of the overlooks at the school and just starred at us as we walked closer toward the ruins. We respectfully kept our distance but were sure to snap many a photo. Fabulous!

We continued on to the Annaberg Sugar Plantation ruins. We did the self-guided tour. The ruins are quite well preserved and worth the visit. Highly recommend.

It was about lunchtime so we headed to Shipwreck Landing for lunch. People were friendly and service was good. Food was just okay. Would go back though and just try something different next time.

After lunch we thought we would try our first snorkeling on the VIs. We headed to Trunk Bay. The beach is beautiful. We had quite a bit of trouble with our masks leaking water (we have masks that have a screw-on front and we think they may have loosened on the flight). So our experience at Trunk as far as snorkeling goes wasn’t the best but we still had a good time.

We headed back to the car barge and found our way back to the resort. Sticking to our “pact” and being quite tired we ordered room service. Maybe the reason we thought the room service menu was limited was because we ordered room service too much 🙂 ????

DAY FIVE:

We left the resort around 7 AM and headed over to the Sapphire Marina for a trip on the New Horizons II. Parking was easy and close to the boats. I guess this trip can have as many as 16 people but on the day we went there was only the two of us and three other parties of two. It would be awfully tight on the boat with 16 people—8 was just right. The day started off rather cloudy however despite my desire for the sun it was probably a good thing that we were not sitting out in the burning sun all day. It was still plenty warm though.

We left the marina around 7:30 AM and headed to the Baths at Virgin Gorda. On the way to the Baths muffins and juice are provided. Upon arrival you do have to swim in but they have noodles and boogie boards that you can use if you like. We received a nice tour of the Baths by Daniella (herself and Captain John were our hosts for the day). We are rather small people and found some of the spaces we crawled or walked through to be rather tight. Not too sure how people that are too much larger fit through some of these tiny spaces. Maybe she modifies her tour based on the “size” of her group. After the tour we had one half hour or so to just hang out. Then we were off to Pussers on Marina Cay. Very cute restaurant with lovely scenery. The sun had come out by that time so the water looked fabulous. After we enjoyed our meals it was off to Guana Island for some snorkeling. We opted to use a noodle just to make it a little easier to float. As soon as we got in the water we saw jellyfish. We did out best to avoid them not knowing if they were harmful or not. We saw lots of wonderful sea life including a turtle. That was great! After about an hour we were called back to the boat courtesy of a Conch Shell by Daniella. The swim back to the boat was a little grueling. We had ventured pretty far from the boat so had quite a ways to swim to get back. Next we were off to Jost Van Dyke and the Soggy Dollar bar. The water was beautiful and bright turquoise. We sat on the beach and took in the breathtaking views for the short time that we had available. After about an hour we headed to St John to go through customs. We pulled into the Sapphire Marina around 4:30 PM. We had a very nice time and definitely recommend the experience. Please note that I believe the hosts on the boat rely on tips for their income so bring some extra cash for this purpose.

Just like every other day, we were exhausted at the end of the day. We headed back to the Ritz and ordered in for dinner.

DAY SIX:

We had breakfast in the Club Room and then we were off. I saw a Pottery Shop near our hotel that we stopped at. I really wanted to purchase some things that were made by the locals. We picked up a couple pieces to add to our souvenir collection. Today there were to be a few cruise ships so we thought we would hit some of the places that were closed on our first day trip on STT. We first went to Mountain Top and then over to the Great House. In our opinion, both of these are overrated. There are some wonderful views and beautiful plants but with all there is to see and do on the islands I don’t think these two are worth the time.

After about an hour or so at the Great House and Mountain Top we came back down the hill to Charlotte Amalie and visited the Haagensen House, Nottman House, and Britannia House. To us, these were much more interesting and worthwhile. We did a self-guided tour however if might be nice to go on a tour with a guide if possible. There is a lot of history about these homes and I would have enjoyed hearing about it. We saw one tour going on but we were not offered a tour guide so I am not sure if this was an independent person or what the situation was.

We then headed over to Coral World. This is a must see for people with children. Although we are childless and we still had a nice time. We had lunch there—which is your typical amusement park fare. To see lots of iguanas this is the place to go. They were everywhere.

It was a hot and sunny day and we were ready to hit the water. Some folks we met on the NH II said the snorkeling in Great Bay at the Ritz was good so we thought we would try it out. We swam out and saw tons of fish and we also saw a white spotted sting ray. That was fun! We enjoyed the rest of the day and early evening at the beach.

As usual we ordered in for dinner. Surprise, surprise :).

DAY SEVEN:

On out last full day in the VIs we took the car barge over to STJ. We stopped by Mongoose Junction again to pick up a few more souvenirs and grabbed some sandwiches from the Deli Grotto. We headed over to Hawksnest to have our lunch and enjoy the beautiful water.

We scheduled a kayak trip through Arawak Expeditions. We chose the half-day trip since we had never been kayaking before. We met our tour guide, Hans, on Cruz Bay around 2 PM. After a brief lesson in kayaking, one other couple and ourselves were off. We first kayaked over to Honeymoon Beach where we swam and rested for a bit. Then we kayaked over to Henley Cay to do some snorkeling. The snorkeling was wonderful and so peaceful. Henley is uninhabited so the deserted island feel real came into play which was fun. After an hour or so snorkeling we headed back to St. John. The views were magnificent. Us in this tiny little kayak in the middle of the Caribbean was so much fun. We highly recommend this trip! I wouldn’t of minded even doing the full day it was that much fun. Again bring tip money for your tour guide, they deserve it.

We walked around Wharfside Village afterwards and browsed through some of the shops. Very quaint. If you like to look around in shops this is a must see in addition to Mongoose Junction. We headed back to our car around 6:00 PM so as not to miss the last car ferry back to STT.

And you guessed it, we had room service for dinner.

DAY EIGHT:

So sad, our last day. We wanted to get in one last snorkeling trip. We quickly ate breakfast in the Club Room and then went down to Great Bay. I am so glad we did this. We were the only ones in the water around 9:00 AM. We swam out to all the coral and just saw hundreds of beautiful fish. It was magnificent. Absolutely beautiful!

We only had an hour or so to snorkel because we had to get back to the room to shower and pack before we headed to the airport.

We checked out around noon. We headed back to the airport, returned our car, and off we were back to San Diego. We love San Diego but we were so sad our vacation on the Virgin Islands had ended!

FEW FINAL THOUGHTS:

Before we left, I spent many hours researching and reading about our trip. There was a lot of talk about crime, the locals being rude, and scary driving conditions that made me nervous. I began doubting the choice of our vacation destination. However, I am happy to say we experienced none of these negatives. As far as crime goes we took a lot of precautions such as not wearing any of our jewelry, not going out at night and being very aware of our surroundings (which we know doesn’t always help but it is better than not being aware at all). On two occasions, once on our hotel grounds in the evening and once walking around in Charlotte Amalie we saw a person that we just didn’t feel comfortable walking past. So we just turned around and went the other way. We did our best to avoid being victims.

As far as the locals being rude, all I can say is this in nonsense. Sure there are the not so friendly folks here and there but the vast majority we came into contact with was absolutely wonderful!

And as far as scary driving conditions, we really had none. Driving on the left isn’t bad. Just keep your mind on what you are doing and you will be fine. There are some steep and windy roads but they are really not that much of a problem. Just slow down and take your time if you feel apprehensive.

We had a wonderful time and would encourage anyone to go.