St. Croix is the largest and least-traveled of the Virgin Islands. It also offers the greatest variety to its visitors, including outstanding historical sites and untouched natural areas. But you may enjoy the St. Croix sensibility—which prizes authenticity—most of all.
A sunny day at Christiansted Harbor on St. Croix island. Photo © Erik Larson, licensed Creative Commons Attribution No-Derivatives.
Fly to St. Croix and check into a hotel near Frederiksted. Spend a few hours on Sprat Beach before dinner at the jazzy Blue Moon.
Take a day trip to Buck Island. Snorkel the reef, hike the peak, and sun on the beach. Stroll the Christiansted boardwalk before dinner and sample a few microbrews at the Fort Christian Brew Pub before heading to a romantic dinner at Savant.
Christiansted
Spend the morning sightseeing around Christiansted National Historic Site. Tour the fort, browse the shops and look for Alexander Hamilton’s boyhood home. Choose between French cuisine at Cafe Christine or West Indian specialties at Harvey’s for lunch. Eat an early dinner and then paddle the bioluminescent bay at Salt River just after sunset.
Go horseback riding through the Caldonia Rainforest and then fuel up on spicy St. Croix-style barbecue at the La Reine Chicken Shack for lunch. Head west to Frederiksted for a stand-up paddleboard lesson at Frederiksted Beach. Watch the sun set and eat tapas at the Pink Spot.
Frederiksted
Tour the great house and admire the old windmills at Whim Plantation Museum and then study the history of slavery and freedom at Fort Frederik Museum. Your midday pit stop is Rastafarian-style vegetarian food at UCA’s Kitchen in Frederiksted. In the afternoon look for frogfish while snorkeling the Ann Abramson Pier and round out your day with a farm-to-table dinner aboard the Bon Bagay.
Go for a guided hike through St. Croix’s wilderness with Ay-Ay Eco Hike and Tours. Choose between the lush, tropical rainforest, outstanding views at Maroon Ridge, or exquisite beaches at Jack and Isaac Bays Preserve. Stroll along Cane Bay beach at sunset and then have dinner at eat @ cane bay.
Stop for a tour of the Cruzan Rum Distillery on your way to the airport for your flight home.
Excerpted from the Sixth Edition of Moon U.S. & British Virgin Islands.
