The US Virgin Islands by boat, by jeep and after dark.
Which catamaran stops long enough to actually swim. What the ferry across to Cruz Bay leaves you time for. Whether the zipline beats a fourth beach. Reviews of every tour you can book on the three islands.
A catamaran, a crossing to St John, a night paddle and a walk through town.
The four days most first trips get built around. What each one costs and how long it takes.
01The boat dayTurtle Cove Catamaran Snorkel and Sail at Little Buck Island STTOut to Little Buck Island for the turtles, back on the dock by mid afternoon.
02The ferry daySnorkel St. John Tour from Sapphire and MargaritavilleLeaves Sapphire Beach, runs over Pillsbury Sound and snorkels the St John side.
03After darkNight Kayak Tour St. Thomas – Westin Frenchman’s ReefClear kayaks lit from under the hull, launching off Frenchman’s Reef once the sun goes.
04The town walkFlavors of St Thomas Walking Food TourCharlotte Amalie on foot with the food stops built in. Pick a day with no ship in.
St Thomas runs the boats. St John keeps the beaches. St Croix is the quiet one.
Twenty minutes of ferry separates the first two. The third is a seaplane hop south and a different pace entirely. Pick where you are staying, then book around the dock times.
Four kinds of boat day, and what it costs to get on board.
Nearly every good day here starts at a dock before nine. The choice is really about who else is on the boat and how far it goes.
St Thomas: the docks before nine, the ridge road after lunch.
Everything on St Thomas →
Boats leave from Red Hook, Sapphire and the Charlotte Amalie waterfront, and the island is forty minutes end to end behind them. Magens Bay sits on the north shore, Coki Point holds the reef, and Paradise Point looks down on whatever is tied up in the harbour.
Sand you drive to, or sand you sail to
Magens Bay is a taxi ride and a small entry fee, calm enough for anyone. The bays worth a boat are the ones on the far side of the cays, where the crowd is whoever else anchored.
Coki Point, the park and the helmet walk
The park sits on the reef at Coki, so the snorkeling is over the fence from the tanks. The Sea Trek helmet walk runs to a timetable and the general ticket does not hold you a place on it.
Skyride, Drake’s Seat and the road over the top
An open jeep gets up to the ridge, along to Drake’s Seat for the look down at Magens, and back through Frenchtown. The half day version usually finishes at a beach.
The most popular days out in the US Virgin Islands.
Every USVI review →More travellers take these than anything else on the three islands. What earns each one the slot is underneath it.
1
Turtle Cove Catamaran Snorkel and Sail at Little Buck Island STT
Review of the Turtle Cove Catamaran Snorkel in St. Thomas, with turtles, reef fish, drinks, practical tips, pricing, and honest drawbacks.
From · $119
Read our review →
2
Snorkel St. John Tour from Sapphire and Margaritaville
from $180
3
Night Kayak Tour St. Thomas – Westin Frenchman’s Reef
from $69
4
Tree Limin’ Extreme Zipline
from $155
5
Afternoon Snorkel, Pizza & Sunset Tour departing from St. Thomas & St. John
from $120
6
Parasail Experience in St Thomas
from $146
7
Sunset & Harbor Lights Dinner Sail from the Marriott’s Frenchman’s Cove
from $119
8
Night Kayak Tour St. John – Westin Resort
from $69
The water does not shut at sunset.
Clear kayaks lit from below off Frenchman’s Reef, dinner sails past the harbour lights, and Frenchtown once the last ship has pulled out for the night.
Turtles at Buck Island, fish at Coki, a marked trail off Trunk Bay.
Green turtles graze the seagrass off Little Buck Island most mornings, which is why half the catamarans point that way. Coki Point has fish two strokes off the sand. Trunk Bay has an underwater trail you can swim in twenty minutes.
What a day out in the US Virgin Islands actually costs.
Every tour on the site sorted by the price of one head. A fair number of the good ones cost less than the taxi across St Thomas.
Park entry, the Skyride, town walks and the short hops straight off the dock.
The standard half day: turtle catamarans, sunset sails, open jeeps, night kayaks.
Full days under sail, the Jost Van Dyke run, dive trips and private boats.
- 1Snorkel St. John Tour from Sapphire and Margaritavillefrom $180
- 2Tree Limin’ Extreme Ziplinefrom $155
- 3Snorkel Cat All Inclusive Adventurefrom $175
Three things that only happen in these islands.
Catamarans and warm water are everywhere in the Caribbean. A pizza boat at anchor, a walk on the seabed in a helmet and a bar you have to swim to are not.
The Pizza Pi boat
A converted sailboat sits at anchor in Christmas Cove off Great St James, taking orders over VHF and handing pies down over the rail. Boats out of Red Hook build a lunch stop around it, so you eat on your own deck with the engine off and the snorkel gear still dripping.
- 1Afternoon Snorkel, Pizza & Sunset Tour departing from St. Thomas & St. John★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,498 reviews
- 2Turtles, Pizza Pi & Sunset trip★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 410 reviews
- 3St. John PiZZA Pi Snorkel Sail with Beach Stop, Lunch & Open Bar – Westin★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 139 reviews
The Sea Trek helmet walk
You go down a ladder at Coral World with a clear helmet on your shoulders and air fed from the surface, then walk the seabed at about fifteen feet. Nothing goes on your face, glasses stay on, and the fish come in close because this reef has been fed for years.
- 1Sea Trek Helmet Dive at Coral World Ocean Park★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 992 reviews
- 2Coral World Ocean Park General Admission Ticket★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 442 reviews
- 3Snuba Adventure at Coral World Ocean Park★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 114 reviews
Soggy Dollar and Jost Van Dyke
Jost Van Dyke is British territory, so the day begins with customs and a passport. The Soggy Dollar has no dock at all: the boat anchors off White Bay and you swim in, which is how the bar got its name and why nobody there minds wet money.
- 1St. John Jost Van Dyke & Soggy Dollar Snorkel Sail with Breakfast – Westin★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 176 reviews
- 2Jost Van Dyke Funday & Willy T (Foxy’s, Soggy Dollar, Willy-T)★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 173 reviews
- 3Catamaran Sail to Jost Van Dyke (Soggy Dollar Bar)★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 139 reviews
Four bookings here that will not wait until you land.
Most of a week in these islands can be sorted over breakfast. These four run on boat capacity, customs paperwork and a fixed timetable that takes no interest in your flight.
- 01St. John Jost Van Dyke & Soggy Dollar Snorkel Sail with Breakfast – WestinIt crosses into British territory, so every passenger clears customs with a passport. The catamarans out of Red Hook fill days ahead in season.
- 02Turtles, Pizza Pi & Sunset tripThe pizza boat only holds so many at anchor, and the trips that stop there sell the lunch slot with the seat.
- 03Night Kayak Tour St. Thomas – Westin Frenchman’s ReefThey launch on moonlight and weather with a fixed number of boats. A blown out night pushes everybody onto the following one.
- 04Sea Trek Helmet Dive at Coral World Ocean ParkDive slots run to a clock at Coral World in small groups, and the park admission ticket does not hold you one.
When four ships are in, get out of town.
Charlotte Amalie takes several thousand extra people on a heavy dock day and Main Street stops moving by ten. The answer never changes: be on the water early, or take the ridge road out and come back at four.
By island
Two islands, one ferry, and a day boat over the line to the BVI.
The latest reviews from St Thomas, St John and St Croix.
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