St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands: More Than Just a Cruise Port

St. Thomas is one of the three principal islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands, along with St. Croix and St. John. For travelers coming from the mainland United States, visiting can feel surprisingly easy. English is widely spoken, the U.S. dollar is the currency, and U.S. citizens traveling directly between the mainland and the U.S. Virgin Islands generally do not need a passport. Depending on your carrier and plan, your cell phone may even work much like it does at home.

That familiarity makes St. Thomas particularly approachable for first-time Caribbean travelers. There is less of a learning curve than you might experience in some international destinations, but that does not mean the island feels like home. The moment you look across Charlotte Amalie Harbor toward the steep green hills surrounding it, there is no question that you have arrived somewhere very different.

St. Thomas spent centuries under Danish rule before the United States purchased the Danish West Indies in 1917. That history remains visible throughout the island, but especially in Charlotte Amalie. Historic warehouses, churches, narrow passages, old stonework and staircases climbing the hills all tell pieces of the story of a city that existed long before cruise ships began arriving in the harbor.

Most cruise passengers visiting St. Thomas will arrive at either Havensight or Crown Bay, both of which provide access to Charlotte Amalie. It can be tempting to immediately jump into a taxi and head for the beach, but I think the city deserves at least a little of your time.

Charlotte Amalie is famous for duty-free shopping, and there is certainly plenty of it. Jewelry, watches, perfume, liquor and luxury goods fill storefronts throughout the downtown area. Shopping has been part of the city's identity for generations, and for some travelers it remains a major part of visiting St. Thomas.

But look beyond the storefronts.

One of the most recognizable landmarks is Fort Christian, the red fort near the waterfront that dates to the late 1600s and is the oldest standing structure in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Nearby, Emancipation Garden commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the Danish West Indies in 1848. These aren't attractions that require your entire day, but they help put the destination into context.

Then there are the famous 99 Steps, which climb through the historic district into the hills above Charlotte Amalie. The staircase dates to the Danish colonial period and was constructed using bricks brought across the Atlantic as ballast aboard ships. Despite the name, there are actually more than 99 steps, so don't worry if your count starts getting confusing halfway up.

The stairs also reinforce something you will quickly learn about St. Thomas: this island is not flat. At all. Roads twist up hillsides, houses appear in places that make you wonder how anyone managed to build them there, and almost every 

That elevation is part of what makes St. Thomas so beautiful. As you move away from the waterfront and higher into the hills, the views seem to get better with every turn. Sometimes the best part Is the view.

There are overlooks throughout St. Thomas where the Caribbean seems to stretch forever. From one direction you may be looking toward neighboring islands scattered across the water. Turn another way and Magens Bay appears below, curving into the coastline between green hills.

Drake's Seat is one of the island's classic scenic stops and provides a beautiful perspective over Magens Bay. Mountain Top, high above the island, offers another sweeping view across St. Thomas and the surrounding Virgin Islands.

Closer to the cruise port, Paradise Point provides one of the easiest elevated experiences for cruise passengers, particularly when a ship is docked at Havensight. The Skyride carries visitors hundreds of feet above Charlotte Amalie Harbor, where the city, water and cruise ships spread out below.

There is something entertaining about looking down at a cruise ship from that height. These ships spend most of the week towering over everything around them, and then St. Thomas manages to make them look like toys sitting in the harbor.

The mountain roads themselves can become part of the experience. You'll round a corner and suddenly catch another glimpse of impossibly blue water between the hills. Then the road turns again and an entirely different view appears.

This is one of the reasons I wouldn't automatically spend an entire first visit to St. Thomas at the beach. The beaches are beautiful, but so is getting there. Sometimes the ride across St. Thomas is part of the excursion.

Of course, eventually we have to talk about Magens Bay. 

Search for things to do in St. Thomas and Magens Bay will appear almost immediately. It is one of the most photographed and recognizable beaches in the U.S. Virgin Islands, sitting along a protected bay on the north side of the island with green hills wrapping around the shoreline.

And yes, it really is beautiful. The water is generally calm, the sand is inviting and the surrounding scenery looks exactly like the Caribbean beach people picture while they're sitting at home counting down the days until vacation.

There is a reason it is popular. That popularity also means you should have realistic expectations. If several cruise ships are visiting St. Thomas on the same day, you probably aren't going to arrive at Magens Bay and discover an empty stretch of sand waiting exclusively for you. This is one of the island's signature attractions, and plenty of other people had the same idea.

I don't think that means you should skip it.

Some places are popular because they're convenient. Others are popular because they're genuinely special. Magens Bay happens to be both.

If your perfect Caribbean port day involves putting your feet in the sand, swimming in calm turquoise water and doing very little else for a few hours, it is an easy choice. You can spend an afternoon there without feeling any need to create an elaborate itinerary.

But Magens Bay isn't the only beach on St. Thomas, and depending on what you want from your day, it may not even be the best one for you.

For travelers who would rather spend their time in the water than simply looking at it, Coki Point Beach is worth considering. Located on the northeastern side of St. Thomas, Coki is known for snorkeling that is easily accessible from shore. It also sits right next to Coral World Ocean Park, making this part of the island especially convenient for families or groups who may not all have the same idea of a perfect Caribbean day. Someone can snorkel, someone else can relax on the beach, and families can spend some time exploring Coral World without having to travel all over the island.

That's something I think is worth remembering when choosing a cruise excursion. The excursion with the longest description or the most stops isn't automatically the best one. Sometimes the better choice is simply the one that matches how you actually want to spend your day.

And you don't necessarily need to spend the entire day at a beach. I love a good Caribbean beach day, but when an itinerary includes three or four tropical islands, moving from one beach chair to another can eventually start to feel a little repetitive. St. Thomas is a great place to mix things up because there is enough variety to experience several sides of the island without trying to cram everything into a few hours.

For a first visit, I like the idea of spending the morning seeing some of St. Thomas before heading to the beach. Drive up into the hills and stop at one of those incredible overlooks, then spend some time wandering through historic Charlotte Amalie. After lunch, head toward Magens Bay, put your feet in the sand and enjoy a couple of hours doing absolutely nothing productive.

That sounds like a pretty good vacation day to me.

Then give yourself plenty of time to make your way back toward the ship. You get the beautiful Caribbean beach everyone came for, but you also leave St. Thomas feeling like you actually saw a little of the island rather than simply seeing the view from one beach chair.

There is one more St. Thomas experience worth mentioning, although this one is served frozen and preferably with a Caribbean view.

The Bushwacker has become something of a signature drink throughout the Virgin Islands. It's cold, creamy and somewhere between a cocktail and dessert—which feels entirely appropriate when you're spending the day in the Caribbean. Recipes vary from place to place, but expect a rich frozen drink typically built around rum, coffee and chocolate flavors.

One of the most popular places to try one is Paradise Point, where you can enjoy it while looking out over Charlotte Amalie Harbor and, depending on the day, your cruise ship sitting far below. Do you need a Bushwacker to properly experience St. Thomas? Probably not.

But sitting above Charlotte Amalie with a frozen drink in hand and your ship in the distance certainly isn't a bad way to spend part of the afternoon. We'll just call it destination research.

There is one part of a St. Thomas port day that's easy to overlook: sailaway. When your ship prepares to leave Charlotte Amalie, find a spot outside and give yourself a few minutes to watch the island disappear behind you.

As the ship pulls away, the homes scattered across the hills become smaller, sailboats move through the harbor and the mountains slowly fade into the distance. If you spent part of the day at one of the island's overlooks, there's something especially fitting about the view. A few hours earlier, you were standing high above Charlotte Amalie looking down at your cruise ship. Now you're standing on that ship looking back toward the same hills.

It's also a good time to think about just how much St. Thomas can offer in a single day. Because it appears on so many Caribbean itineraries, it's easy to think of it as simply another cruise port—a little shopping, a few pictures and maybe an afternoon at the beach.

But St. Thomas can be whatever kind of day you want it to be. You can wander the historic streets of Charlotte Amalie, climb the 99 Steps, look out over the Caribbean from the mountains, float in the water at Magens Bay, snorkel at Coki Point, spend the day sailing or even use the island as your gateway to St. John.

Just don't feel like you have to do all of it. A great vacation isn't measured by how many things you manage to check off a list.

Sometimes it's one incredible view, a few hours floating in turquoise water or something you didn't expect to find in a destination you thought you already understood. And sometimes it's standing on the deck at the end of the day, watching St. Thomas fade into the distance and realizing that what looked like just another stop on the itinerary became one of your favorite days of the cruise.

That's what I like about St. Thomas. It can be relaxing, adventurous, historical or simply a really great beach day. You don't need to experience all of St. Thomas in one visit. You just need to make the time you have there yours.

And then, as always, Unleash Adventure.