A St. Thomas Honeymoon from The World's Greatest Honeymoons

St. Thomas is blessed with great natural beauty: emerald-colored bays limned with powdery white sands, stunning mountaintop vistas, breathtaking beaches, rolling green hills, a riot of blazing-colored flowers everywhere you look, and fascinating getaways to nearby islands. The water is so clean and filled with such dazzling sea life that you’ll have to drag yourselves away at day’s end.

If you’re sports enthusiasts, you’ll find more than enough to keep yourselves happy—superior sport fishing, golfing, horseback riding, scuba, snorkeling, kayaking, biking, hiking, parasailing, and on and on. Into nightlife? St. Thomas rocks into the wee hours with excellent restaurants, nightclubs, and discos.

And here’s an added plus: with no sales tax, and a generous $1600 duty-free allowance for US citizens—twice that of any other island in the Caribbean—you’ll find bargains galore on items big (cameras, china, crystal, designer fashions, watches, perfume) and small (sunglasses, liquor, crafts, CDs and DVDs, casual clothing, etc.).

One caution: Charlotte Amalie is the busiest cruise harbor in the Caribbean, so it's often overrun with ship passengers. If you hanker to browse shops in the ultra-charming area around Waterfront & Main Streets—they're housed in warehouses dating back to the 1700s—try to go when a cruise ship isn't in port.

Also See: Caribbean Index | Antigua & Barbuda | Aruba | Bahamas | Barbados | Bermuda | Caymans | Curaçao | Grenada | Jamaica | Martinique | Puerto Rico | St. Croix | St. John | St. Lucia | Turks & Caicos | Virgin Gorda/BVI

St. Thomas Honeymoon Ideas

Magens Bay: Frequently appearing on lists of the world's most beautiful beaches, heart-shaped Magens Bay is renowned for its calm turquoise waters, plentiful palms, and salt-white sands that seem to stretch to infinity (in reality it's nearly a mile). In this lovely spot, protected by rock outcroppings and rustling trees, you can snorkel, swim, and kayak—or just grab a mai-tai at the beach bar and curl up on a palm-shaded chaise lounge. Restrooms, showers, chair and umbrella rentals, and dressing areas make this beach extra-convenient. For a more secluded feel, walk to the western end of the beach (snorkeling's better here, too). You'll find Magens Bay on the island's north or Atlantic side, near the end of Route 35. ~ Nearby is six-acre Magens Bay Arboretum, which contains extremely rare native plants.

Old Charlotte Amalie: With the sun glinting on its white buildings and red-tile roofs, backdropped by ever-present water views, Charlotte Amalie is one of the Caribbean’s cheeriest and prettiest towns. Visit the Seven Arches Museum. Originally built in the 1700s as a private home, it's been restored and furnished with period West Indian furniture, and the arches that give the museum its name seem to be everywhere. A detached brick oven kitchen is interesting, the small garden is peaceful and fragrant, and the views of Charlotte Amalie's harbor are excellent. ~ The first two floors of Government House, which holds the territorial governor's offices, are open to the public. You'll not only get a look at the handiwork of this handsome mansion dating back to 1865, but you can see paintings by local artists. Among their number is Camille Pissaro, who was born in St. Thomas in 1830, moved to Paris to study painting, and became one of the leading Impressionist painters.

Fort Christian: Built by the Danes in the 17th century to withstand pirates and attacks by European nations, Fort Christian was named after Danish King Christian V. The picturesque, walled, red-brick fort is now the oldest structure in the Virgin Islands and a National Historic Landmark. A museum housed in the former dungeon contains ancient maps, period furniture, historical documents, and colorful artifacts revealing the island's history from the Stone Age to the present day. A climb to the upper story rewards you with memorable harbor views. ~ Just outside the Fort is Vendors' Plaza, a colorful outdoor market selling handbags, crafts, and clothing; it's a fun place to shop, but beware of fake brand names.

The Shopping Scene: US citizens can make joint declarations when traveling here with family members. So, since you’ll be traveling with your new spouse, your total exemptions would be $1600 x 2—or $3200! The restored 17th-century warehouses on Waterfront and Main Streets—originally filled with rum, spices, and other trade goods—offer prices up to 40% less than in the US. A new mall near the cruise ship docks is convenient for ship passengers. Many resort hotels have their own shops, ranging from high-end clothing boutiques to inexpensive souvenir stands.

Coral World: This superbly-designed aquatic center is filled with treasures: an 80,000-gallon coral reef tank holding scary predators like sharks and moray eels; hands-on displays that let you pet a baby nurse shark or hand-feed a stingray; and up-close looks at rare green sea turtles. The Undersea Observatory Tower lets you remain dry while descending 15 feet below the water to observe life on an actual coral reef. Visitors to Coral World can don an air-fed diver's helmet and take a half-hour underwater stroll while a scuba-clad guide finds unusual sea creatures for you to marvel over—a fabulous experience! Or try Snuba, a cross between snorkeling and scuba; a guide will brief you on how to use the equipment and lead your underwater trek.

St. John’s Island: The smallest and least-developed of the USVI’s three major islands, lovely St. John is a scenic 20-minute ferry ride from St. Thomas. Two-thirds of this gem is given over to the Virgin Islands National Park, with hiking trails leading right from the harbor, past exotic flora and fauna, to quiet white-powder beaches with views that stretch on forever. Or just hire an inexpensive taxi when you get off the ferry and head to beautiful Trunk Bay Beach to try out the underwater snorkeling trail. Before the return ferry, relax in the harbor area; it's packed with outdoor cafés and shops.

Mangrove Lagoon Marine Sanctuary: Explore the vitally important and beautiful world of mangrove swamps with a guided kayak tour from VI Ecotours. The trip takes about 2-½ hours (if you don’t know how to kayak, they’ll teach you), with stops along the way to learn about the wonders of the delicate mangrove ecosystem. At an isolated, seashell-strewn white coral beach you'll snorkel and catch sight of the unusual upside-down jellyfish, eagle rays, octopus, grape algae, mangrove crabs and thousands of bright-colored fish.

Water Island: Indulge your shipwreck fantasies with an 8-minute ferry trek from Charlotte Amalie to blissfully quiet, 491-acre Water Island. While it's the 4th largest island in the USVI, it's still plenty small enough to explore by bike or on foot without getting lost. Start your adventure right at the ferry dock, following the traffic-free road until you reach an intersection; turn right, and you'll soon arrive at pretty, white-sand Honeymoon Beach (perfect for the two of you, right?). Enjoy lunch at a café overlooking the secluded lagoon, or nap in a palm frond hut on pretty. Or, instead of turning right at the intersection, go left until you see a dirt road going off to the left—follow it to reach the ruins of ancient Carolina Point Plantation. »»Ferry Schedule

Honeymoon splurge: The U. S. Virgin Islands (and its neighbor, the British Virgin Islands) are famed for fabulous sailing. That's why the area is an easy place to charter a fully-crewed yacht (always a captain, often a cook as well, and more crew if it's a big, expensive boat). You work out the itinerary with the captain, decide how you want the galley stocked, and then you'll just relax as you glide across the sea with halyards clinking and the mainsail filled with wind. You'll anchor in out-of-the-way coves or lively harbor towns, sleep in a comfy cabin, thrive in the sun and salt air. This kind of trip is a dream, really—one you'll always remember. BTW, if you already know how to sail, bareboat charters are easily available. »»Read about other honeymoon splurges around the world

Paradise Point Tramway & Blackbeard's Castle: One of the best views around is all yours from atop 700-foot-high Flag Hill, a short tramway ride from the harbor. Grab superb photos of Charlotte Amalie and the harbor dotted with graceful sailboats, cruise ships, and neighboring islands stretching into the distance. If you time it right, you'll be on Paradise Point in time for one of the twice-daily tropical bird shows (10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.)...one of those things you have to see to believe. ~ Blackbeard’s Castle, sometimes referred to as Blackbeard's Tower or Skytsborg, is a National Historic Landmark. Built in 1679, it was one in a series of defensive fortifications intended to protect St. Thomas from attacks by pirates and others. It's the only unmodified 17th century fortified tower in the Caribbean.

Drake’s Seat: Take a morning drive along Route 40 to the lookout point where Sir Francis Drake once spied on Spanish ships back in the 1500s...a view encompassing the meeting of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Then it’s off to Mountain Top—at 1542 feet, it's the island’s highest point, with a stunning view of Magens Bay and countless islands meandering into the distance. Mountain top is a lovely spot for lunch, and the banana daiquiris sold here have quite a rep. If you'll be sampling them, or if driving windy roads makes you nervous, consider coming via an inexpensive Safari wagon, a canopy-covered, open-air vehicle with comfortable bench seating and a knowledgeable guide at the wheel.

More Info: U. S. Virgin Islands Tourism Department

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All written material ©WGH ~ Photos: ©Suzanne Rodriguez (Fort Christian); VI Ecotours (kayakers); Coral World underwater camera; all others, compliments of USVI Tourism.