St Croix, The Quiet Island of the US Virgin Islands

The following account of St Croix was written soon after we returned home from that vacation. We did some snorkeling at Buck Island National Monument. I'll soon share that side trip too.

My wife and I just returned from a week trip to St Croix. We treated ourselves there for our thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. Wouldn't you know it we met another Mid-Atlantic couple at the Buccaneer Hotel where we stayed that were also celebrating their thirty-fifth. Very Cool! Congrats Kathy and Frank!!

My wife and I have been to St Thomas and St John, the other two islands of the US Virgin islands twice and loved both, particularly St John. We thought it important to try the third main island of the US Virgin Islands to complete the triangle. We weren't disappointed, yet I'll note its a different kind of island than the other two. All three are quite different from each other.

Pops Reasons for Visiting St Croix

My main reasons for going to St Croix was to see some US National Parks destinations I have never seen before.

The most heralded is Buck Island Reef National Monument that is touted as having some of the best snorkeling in the Caribbean. A half hour or so power boat ride from the town Christiansted gets you there. Though I was disappointed, and that may have been more the fault of the particular tour guide we had or the system the National Parks holds them too, it is still a must trip when on the island. The underwater trail, that I felt might be a bit hokey, as is the one in Trunk Bay, St John, was quite magnificent in the coral structures. Unfortunately, due to hurricane Hugo a number of years back, it is no longer the extraordinary reef it once was and I wasn't impressed with fauna and flora there at all. The stop on the leeward side of the island did present one of the finest beaches, if not the finest I have ever been on. Most of the people on our tour missed it. Again, I'll explain much more in an upcoming review of the park and another of the tour company that took us out.

Another Historic place on my list was Salt River Bay National Historical Park. I happen to love history and besides this being a protected ecological preserve, it's also the place where Christopher Columbus landed on his 1493 voyage. It's also the first place where there was battle between Europeans and Native Americans.

The third official National Park destination was Christiansted National Historic District
. This is right in the downtown area and is full of history with several buildings including a fort, church, Danish Custom House, and the Danish West Indie & Guniea Company Warehouse and more. The interpretation was fair but let me tell you, go and see the woman(sorry I forgot her name) in the Visitors Center. She is a wealth of information. I could have stayed and talked with her for hours. I did talk an hour or so. She knew all there was about the islands history and also gave us some good snorkeling advice too.

For those who "collect" parks via the National Passport stamps you can get all three stamps at this center. There is no official center on Buck Island and the Salt River center was closed during the low season.

I was also quite interested in the many abandoned Sugar mills that dot the whole island. It's interesting to ride along in a car and see the buildings and imagine the plantations and the life at the turn of last century.

Mrs. Pops Reasons for Visiting St Croix

My wife has become our seeker of places to stay. After much research she decided we would be staying at the Buccaneer Hotel that has much history, quaint charm, modern facilities and a staff that is there to please their clients.

My wife chose this hotel because of the fine ratings it has received over the years being on the many-a-list as one of the top hotels in the world. We had a magnificent room with an unbeatable view as an upgrade. The beautiful palm tree lined beaches, off beach snorkeling (where we saw turtles and rays), dining opportunities, an included breakfast, and warm helpful staff make it hard to want to leave the premises.

Another reason she picked this hotel is because it's just a seven minute ride into Christiansted. My wife, the adventurous one, like to have shopping and alternative dining destinations nearby. This place became the perfect choice for us. I hope to have a review of the place in a week or so.

Rent a Car, Do Some Shopping and Dine on the Water

While a shuttle or a cab ride can get you in and out of town from where we stayed, we enjoy the freedom of having a car. We rented at the airport from Hertz when we landed. There are other companies too. The Buccaneer did have a package that gave a discount at Hertz. Anyways, we were able to either relax at the hotel or go off driving.

St Croix is not a late-night, night-life destination but there are some fun restaurants and bars in Christiansted that are right on the water. We enjoyed Fort Christian Brew Pub, on the water with live music (a great deal Thursday nights with a five dollar pitcher of their own brews Blackbeard Ale's a good one, five dollar wings and movies shown upstairs). Nearby is Rum Runners that was also on the water. Tarpon feeding too!

About a mile the opposite way of our hotel is Cheeseburgers in Paradise that at first glimpse may not look like much but once under the tents and having live music can be a very cool place to be. Unfortunately while it is open-air there aren't water views.

Now I'll tell you about one place we "discovered", thanks to the couple from Philly we met, was a place called the
Beachside Cafe way over on the western side of the island at a place by the name of Sandcastles by the Beach in Frederiksted. We thought this the best "find" on the island. The food was inspired and the atmosphere relaxed. Be sure to try their VIP Virgin Island Pale that is brewed by Maine's Shipyard Brewery and distributed in St John and St Croix. I'm sure there's some in St Thomas too.

Frederiksted itself is a sort of ghost town now that cruise ships have stopped making stops. It's a shame, the waterfront is gorgeous and you can see the efforts made to make this a good looking seaside town.

We did stop in on a newly started art facility that has art classes for local kids and adults. My wife, being an art teacher spent some time inside and picked up a little art work there. In our brief travels on St Croix there wasn't much local art that we found to have been produced on the island.

More Reason to Have a Car

Right nearby the Beachside cafe is Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge It's closed now due to turtle nesting season but we snorkeled out off the restaurant and did capture some pictures of turtles in the water. We saw rays there too. Sandy Point happens to be one of the many stops that can be taken by following the St Croix Heritage Trail

St Croix Heritage Trail

As taken for the St Croix web site...

This 72-mile driving tour connects our Caribbean island's historic sites and attractions and includes many significant natural areas. Historic marker road signs with the trail's brown and white sugar mill symbol guide visitors along the route which runs between Frederiksted and Christiansted, primarily along Centerline Road, extending north to Hamm's Bay in the west and Point Udall in the East. St Croix Heritage Trail.

First I'll mention that the island itself is just 28 miles long so you can get from end to end in about an hour. There are some hilly roads on each end. We did follow some of the trail going through the Rain forest, to museums, a couple of national park stops, and much more. My wife and I passed on the the Cruzan Rum Distillery. Ha, we already purchased our six bottles each to bring home from K mart. Yes, there is a large K-mart in the middle of the island. For those who may get homesick from dining on the water every day you can still find McDonalds, KFC and more on the island. Hey remember, this is part of the US of A.

We were particularly surprised by the views on the drier side of the island at Point Udall. This happens to be the eastern most point of the United States. They built a Millennium sculpture there and it's definitely worth the ride. I'm not sure if you need to be the first in the US to see the sun rise, but YOU can do it if you like. We slept.

On the way there, taking the northern rout, is a HUGE radar looking piece of equipment that is the Base Array Telescope. It too is listed on the Heritage Trail. It is a radio telescope searching the deep universe for something. I'm not sure what but, if I find out, I'll share the knowledge. It is pretty cool lookin'.

The road system is actually pretty easy to follow once you get your bearings and get used to driving on the left. We did have a problem on our first ride to the hotel though. More in a bit. The roads themselves are pretty well maintained, in fact they are much better than in St Thomas and St John. Except for a few mountainous areas, it's flatter too.

People on the Island, Snorkeling and Safety Too

The people on the island are overwhelmingly quite pleasant and helpful to tourists like us. On our first trek to the hotel from the airport, a half hour drive... Mmm, well...I a Mmm...OK I'll spit it out like someone at an AA Meeting. "Hello, My name is Pops, I'm a guy and I got lost"...I also asked for direction". Having said those words, I was quite impressed at how helpful all those I asked for direction were. They took their time and were exacting in giving landmarks and distances. No "Up the road a piece" advice.

The waitstaff and those at the Buccaneer were even more helpful friendly than I expected. The care for us was universal on premises and pretty much island through.

Now I read a bit about crime on the island. Fortunately we did not see or experience any problems. We were however constantly advised to be careful by those we met. "Use caution and stay were other people are", was what we heard most often. This is the same common sense I use anywhere I go, including my home town and nearby NYC. I'll leave it at that. There were a few people that we saw in town that we stayed clear of, as did the local Cruzans. I suppose there are those who "need help" in all societies.

I did notice that every time we asked for snorkeling locations we were always sent to places where other people were, whether near a hotel or restaurant or some like place. Now I have to say that, though we finally found some excellent snorkeling on the island, we were disappointed at some of the place we were sent too. Maybe because we are so experienced. New snorkelers should be very happy with most places on the island.

There are many out of the way beaches that we never tried. We stuck with the advice given, possibly to our 'St Croix, snorkeling-experience' detriment. All in all though we were happy with the snorkeling. There was some OK snorkeling right outside our beach-front rooms. That was a plus. We tried some snorkeling at Cane Bay that also has the "Wall" for divers. It too was OK. Nothing magnificent but worth a try.

Our best Snorkeling

Our quintessential experience on the island by far was at Tamarind Reef Hotel. This is just a five minute drive from the Buccaneer and also has a fine little beach-view, open-air restaurant. We talked to the guy at the "shack" and he gave us some very pointed direction of where to go and what to see. It made our 'snorkeling week' seeing fine colourful fans, a variety of soft coral and more fish there than anywhere else on the island. We were caught in a traffic jamb at one point with a huge spotted eagle ray going one way and a green turtle going the other. We snagged fine images of both with our underwater camera.

Finding the Unexpected

My wife and I happen to be practicing Catholics that are quite open to the Charismatic Renewal within the church. Before leaving from NY my wife spoke with a fellow Christian who has relatives on the island. She had a small gift she hoped we could bring to them. (No terrorist threats here for those wondering if we were carrying unopened sealed packages). When on the island we made arrangements to meet these people at their church for Sunday Mass. We got there just as the ceremony was beginning. I couldn't believe the sounds of the vibrant voices singing praise and backed up with drums, guitars, tambourines and a tuba. The music was uplifting and the greetings from the local people was heartfelt. It also happened to be a feast day and we happily participated in a procession around St Anne's church property that sits atop a high hill with commanding views.

Afterward we were given a tour of other buildings on the grounds and we were taken to beautiful chapel inside a sugar mill ruin. The small mill windows were done in stained glass and the feeling within brought prayerful peace to me.

Once again I'm talking about the warm fellowship and attitude of the people who live on the island, the Cruzans. We also noted that many, many US mainland people have picked up and moved to St. Croix for its laidback and friendly atmosphere.

In speaking to some local people we also found out that many go to mainland colleges and then return back home with skills. We met a charming woman, an orthodontist who did that very same thing. "Doc" also gave us some excellent advice for snorkeling and for a place to eat.

Last Thoughts

I won't mention how much I liked the people and the respect they gave us again. The couple we met did have a little trouble communicating with a cab driver one day but it wasn't a real problem.

I did notice that the visitors to this island a bit older than those at other places. There was still a healthy mix of younger too but it seemed to me that more seasoned travelers came here. We absolutely loved the Buccaneer Hotel and all it offered but to really get the most out of the island I believe being free to drive around is helpful. This means getting out with the people. If you are uncomfortable with that, then maybe this isn't your place to be, unless you want to be pampered at the Buccaneer. I would like to state that the island gives a comfort zone feeling somewhere in the large gap between a Bermuda and Jamaica, Much closer to Bermuda the way I see it.

Though the island does have it's share of troublemakers, we all do, the people for the most part are ready to share their island with us tourists. I just hope not too may people start to discover just how friendly this island can be.

My wife and I were able to see most of the island on this last visit. The one thing that will bring us back are the way we were treated by the people there, in and out of the resort.