The third Island – St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Island

If you know, we travelled to U.S. Virgin Islands in February for my birthday this year. We fell in love with St. Thomas and St. John’s the two islands that we visited. We didn’t plan well at that time and didn’t cover St. Croix. So, for my husband’s birthday we decided to book our tickets to St. Croix.

St. Croix is one of the three islands that make up U. S. Virgin Islands and is the largest of all three. St. Croix has warm topical climate with turquoise waters and a strong history. Just like other islands in USVI, St. Croix also has some amazing snorkeling or scuba diving to be desired to.

There are two famous known towns Christiansted and Frederiksted in St. Croix.

Frederiksted is second largest town and known as Freedom City as the proclamation abolishing slavery was read. It is known for snorkeling along the west end and has cute shops along the waterfront. The clock tower, the customs house and the waterfront park are places to explore. The airport is also located here.

Some of the things to check out here are :

Rum/Vodka Distillery – Cruzan Rum Distillery, Captain Morgan Distillery and Mutiny Vodka at Sion Farm.
Fort Frederik
Explore museums or historical places, plantations – Whim Estate – is a sugar plantation museum in the US Virgin Islands which still has slave quarters, a cookhouse, sugar mill. Museum Lawaetz, Caribbean Museum Center for Arts.
Frederiksted pier is known for its snorkeling and night diving. Also west end beaches stretches long enough for you to find a secluded spot on the beach.
St. George Botanical Garden
Water sports – Jet skis, kayaking, bioluminescent tours, fishing, paddle boarding, parasailing, etc.
Horseback riding, Golf courses, Scuba Diving – shipwrecks, Frederiksted pier etc.

Christiansted is another big town famous for lot of activities, history and restaurants. Places to check out:

Fort Christiansvaern
Hamilton House
The steeple building
Hotel on the Protestant Cay island
Moko Jumbies
Shopping for Crucian Gold or famous hook bracelet in downtown Christiansted.
Shopping Souvenirs

Other activities or things to explore:

The famous Cane bay wall at Cane Bay Beach – its an underwater wall accessed by scuba diving.
Point Udall – eastern most point of United States. Known for sunrise. Remember to stop by a giant telescope on your way back.
Salt River and Columbus Landing – Columbus had landed here, and salt river is famous for kayaking.
Annaly Tide pools or Monk’s bath – Annaly Tide pools are 2 miles each way, a difficult and steep hike with great views and great tide pools. Wear comfortable hiking/ walking shoes. You can access them from Carambola Resort.
Montpellier Domino Club for world famous beer drinking pigs.
Driving through the rainforests– Mahogany Road.

Buck Island Reef National Monument

Unforgettable, untouched, and pristine are the words that come to my mind when talking about Buck Island. It is one of the places you cannot miss out visiting. There is Turtle bay on the west side with one of the best spots for snorkeling and protected underwater coral reef life. There is an underwater trail, and you can explore plaques underneath while snorkeling that gives information of marine life. It is one of the best memories from our trip.

St. Croix is the diving heaven; you can shore dive or boat dive. You can dive and see a shipwreck, wall, reef and pier.

I want to share what we did on our trip. Some places were either closed or we didn’t feel like doing.

Day 1 –

Traveling to St. Croix
Airport car rental pick up
Stop at ‘The Market’ store for groceries/wine
Check in at our airbnb at Frigate view
Chilled, snacked and enjoyed the views at our rental
Dinner at home

Day 2 –

Tea/Breakfast at home
Relaxed on Rainbow Beach – Frederiksted
Lunch at Rhythms at Rainbow – Veggie Burger and Jerk Chicken sandwich
Fort Frederik and explored the pier, shops etc.
Drive through west end beaches and stop
Drove to Sandy point – closed due to Turtle watch.
Stopped by ‘The Market’
Dinner at home

Day 3 –

Tea/Breakfast at home
Ham’s Bluff Hike and Light house – 20-30 minutes steep hike (very doable with incredible views)
Rainforest Drive – Pretty drive through (you come across Domino Club (beer drinking pigs)
Stop at Daniel’s Bakery – (Tried raisin cake and simple cake)
Cane Bay Beach – Our favorite beach
Lunch at ‘Off the wall’ – Painkiller, Nachos and Calzone, Mango Rum Cake (delicious)
Snorkeled on the beach
Dinner to go – Veggie Burger from ‘Off the Wall’
Enjoyed Hot tub with some wine and snacks

Day 4 –

Woke up at 4.30 AM and drove to Point Udall
Watched Sunrise at 5.45 am at Point Udall
Hiked to Jack and Isaac Bay – Favorite & very easy hike with absolute gorgeous views right next to point Udall (good for picnic)
Breakfast at Al Fresco Cafe – Omlette and toast, Blueberry pancakes
La Reine Farmers Market – picked up some watermelon and mangoes, others stuff (only open on Wednesdays)
Stopped by Salt River Bay/ Columbus Landing
Back to Cane Bay Beach for snorkeling
Scenic Road Drive – not great road but incredible views
Early Dinner at the ‘Landings at the Leatherback’- Black Bean Burger and Falafel Burger
Enjoyed Hot tub

Day 5 –

Tea/Breakfast
Explored Christiansted Fort Christiansvaern, boardwalk, shops and boutiques. Bought our lunch at Singh’s – Doubles
Bought ring from Crucian gold shop – apparently hook bracelets are very famous to buy
Bought Souvenirs
Buck Island tour with Big Beard company – snorkeled the beautiful reef
Stopped for Ice Cream – What’s The Scoop
Dinner Egg Bhurji and garlic bread

Day 6 –

Tea/Breakfast at home
We explored The Grotto beach at The Buccaneer, Chenay Bay, Shoy’s and finally picked up our lunch from Christiansted and came back to Cane Bay.
Pick up from Fat Boyz for dinner, Hot Tub.

Day 7-

Tea/Breakfast Egg Johnny Cakes
Farmer’s Market – Department of Agriculture (open only on Saturday)
Airport

We took our own snorkeling gear, but most tours offer them or at some beaches you can rent them too. We used beach chairs from our rental place. If you don’t feel comfortable snorkeling, I highly recommend buying the masks style of snorkel gear. We also carried our beach shoes. They were so useful. Highly recommend it. In U.S. Virgin Islands, they are very protective of saving the reef and we should also support that. We bought reef protected sunscreen lotion with us. It’s easily available online.

We rented a jeep this time, and highly suggest you do so. It’s helpful off roading or with bad roads.

Slow down and relax. Be patient with the slower pace you will experience on the island.

If you made it this far, you are a superstar. I hope you like everything I suggested here. Let me know any questions you have in the comments. For more follow me or check out my instagram page in story highlights.

Read about St. Thomas and St. John Island here !