Which U.S. Virgin Island should you visit?

Have you decided that you want to visit a U.S. Virgin Island, but aren’t sure which island? I can help you out!

My favorite U.S. Virgin Island is St. John, closely followed by St. Croix, with St. Thomas in a distant third. But it totally depends what type of vacation you want to have! It is easy enough to travel between the islands, you could even mix and match!

St. Thomas

St. Thomas is the most developed in terms of tourism, with multiple cruise ships a day visiting. The island itself is lush and hilly with beautiful beaches. There is snorkeling but it pales in comparison to neighbors St. John and St. Croix. Additionally, the beaches might compare in beauty to St. John but the beauty is lost when the beaches are so crowded.

That said, there is an international airport on St. Thomas, the most restaurants, big brand name resorts, and the easiest access to neighbor islands. You can take a ferry directly to St. John, St. Croix (or a 20 minute seaplane), Water Island, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, and Anegada. St. Thomas had some of the best restaurants out of the three islands and my favorite dive bar! This is definitely the liveliest island if you are looking to party or anything open late.

St. Thomas is for you if you like big resorts, want an easy trip, have a shorter trip, want more nightlife / things to do besides the beach, or want to do day trips to other islands. In sum, St. Thomas has a little bit of everything including boasting the most stunning beach, looking at you Magens Bay!

St. John

St. John is the small neighbor of St. Thomas. There is no direct flight, rather you must fly into St. Thomas and take a 20 minute ferry over. Like St. Thomas, St. John is lush and hilly. Unlike St. Thomas, St. John is 2/3rds national park so most of the island is untouched beauty. There are two towns on each end of the island with little in between in terms of amenities and restaurants. There is one resort on the island but otherwise it is all private condos and villas. There are no cruise ships, although some people on cruise ships to St. Thomas take the ferry over to St. John for the day, mostly Trunk Bay.

The beaches here are exquisite, often times having long stretches of sand all to yourself. For beach beauty, St. John wins hands down, perhaps in all of the Caribbean. The water is calm at each beach due to most being in a protected bay, also making the snorkeling excellent. There is one road that goes around the island and one road that goes through the middle, with a grand total of one round about and no traffic lights.

An itinerary here looks a lot like picking a beach to visit each day and getting dinner in town. You can still do tours to BVIs from here. St. John is for you if you want a laid back beach vacation, don’t feel much like planning an itinerary, and want to get away from it all.

St. Croix

St. Croix is the furthest island. While either St. Thomas or St. John are a quick sail away from the BVIs, St. Croix is largely on its own making day trips less possible (although there is a 20 minute seaplane to St. Thomas). St. Croix has the most authentic feel to it, without the over tourism felt on St. Thomas or the rich mainland visitors turned permanent residents of St. John. When on the island, it feels more like a community with other industries than just tourism. There is even a highway with a 60mph speed limit!

In comparison to hilly and lush St. Thomas and St. John, St. Croix is flat and even has some what looks like farm country in the middle! St. Croix feels the largest with end to end being an hour apart. The island has many different feels to it depending on the part – the east side beaches are white sand, blue water classic Caribbean beaches, the north east is lush and looks like Oahu, the north has the main town of Christiansted with the most restaurants, the east is dry and hot, resembling more of the deserts beaches of Baja California, and the middle has a rainforest.

The main differentiator of St. Croix is the underwater activities and sheer amount of activities. St. Croix by far has the best diving and the best snorkel spot at the Frederiksted pier, although snorkeling is more hit and miss than St. John beaches as the Christmas winds in the winter can turn up the water towards the east beaches. Activities are endless with kayaking tours, horseback riding, fishing, and more. St. Croix is for you if you want a jam packed week of activities,are a diver, or you enjoy exploring the different sides of the island.

Summary

In sum, you can’t go wrong with any one of these islands. Each has something special and unique about it. Most importantly, each has amazing beaches! My favorite is St. John because of the easy going vibe and the prettiest beaches of the three. St. Croix is a very close second because of the diving, snorkeling, and variety of activities. St. Thomas is a distant third because I don’t like crowded beaches or large resorts. That said, everyone is unique and has unique interests.

To summarize the draw of each island:

St. Thomas: lush island with large resorts and lots of amenities.

St. John: laidback little brother of St. Thomas that has beautiful beaches without all the people.

St. Croix: authentic experience with most underwater and land based activities.

For itineraries, I have a blog post on itineraries for a few days in St. Thomas and a week in St. John, or St. Croix. If you are doing a week long trip you can even mix and match islands. St. John is just a quick 20 minute ferry from St. Thomas and likewise, St. Croix is only a 20 minute seaplane to St. Thomas. For the ultimate USVI itinerary that includes the highlights of all three islands, check out my blog post here.