U.S. Virgin Islands, Caribbean
An Excellent Entry to the Caribbean
If you’re ready to leave home and venture to the Caribbean but don’t know where to begin, perhaps you should start at home. The U.S. Virgin Islands are an excellent entry to the Caribbean without leaving the comfort and security of home. Sure you’ll actually leave the United States mainland, so it feels as if you’ve left the country, but language, currency, drivers license, banking are all the same so you won’t have to feel out of your element. You don’t even have to have a passport to travel to the USVI!
The US Virgin Islands are comprised of three magnificent islands: St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John. They are all uniquely different and are located close enough together so that which ever island you make your home base, you can easily take a day trip to the others via high speed ferries or catamaran.
All three of the USVI have a good choice of accommodations available; all-inclusive resorts, grand hotels, condos, villas, private guests houses to small inns are options for your choosing. Camping is even an option on St. John.
A tiny bit of the British influence still remains and driving is on the left side of the road, with the driver’s seat on the right side of the vehicle. There are of course taxis and buses for those not wanting to drive.
St. Thomas is known as the shopping capital of the Caribbean with a heavy concentration of duty free shops. Don’t miss the opportunity to go to Fort Christian, the oldest standing building in the Virgin Islands and home to a great museum of the island’s multicultural history; and Blackbeard’s Castle, which is now a restaurant and hotel.
St. Croix, the largest of the three US Virgin Islands, is a little more tranquil than St. Thomas although the capital city of Christiansted does offer good shopping. The real attraction of St. Croix is Buck Island National Park. Several tour operators offer day trips to this protected underwater national monument, which has excellent underwater trails for snorkelers filled with brightly colored corals and marine life.
St. John, the smallest of the three, is really the most beautiful and least developed. Two thirds of St. John is a national park with guided trails and a third of the park is underwater. Due to eco-friendly provisions made early on, this land remains protected from any future development. St. John is a peaceful, non-commercialized natural wonder with postcard perfect beaches and views.
Accessible only by boat, there are no cruise ship ports, airports or high-rise buildings; just a simple, natural, beautiful island. There are a couple of 5-star resorts.
If you’re traveling with children, visit the Virgin Islands National Park Visitor Center. To help protect the natural and cultural resources of St. John, pick upa Junior Ranger workbook complete with an “interview” with trees, word searches, games and a nature hike. At the end, you return to the Visitor Center and you are awarded with a Junior Ranger program certificate, Smokey Bear hat, Junior Ranger badge, and pencil
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