St. Thomas, USVI

We woke up and realized that we had already reached St. Thomas.

Once we disembarked in Charlotte Amalie we took one of the local open busses. We took a scenic ride along Skyline Drive up to St. Thomas' highest peak, Mountain Top, where it offers breathtaking views of Charlotte Amalie Harbour, the Caribbean Sea, the British Virgin Islands and Magen’s Bay, rated by many travel magazines as one of the top ten beaches in the world. We stayed there by the crystalline waters for 2 hours of sun and fun.

We took the same local transportation back to the ship to begin our ship-booked tour to St. John, another one of the U.S. Virgin Islands. We boarded a smaller boat and began the narrated journey to St. John, a fascinating island. Over 60% of its territory is pristine national park and cannot be built on commercially. Though it is the smallest of the three U.S Virgin Islands, St. John's unspoiled beauty is perhaps the greatest found anywhere in the Caribbean. It took our breath away.

Upon arrival in the town of Cruz Bay we Hoppes off the boat and boarded a vehicle for a scenic drive to Trunk Bay. We made three photo stops along the way- these were some of the most incredible views we’ve ever seen. Think of a heavily edited postcard or professionally produced travel guide, only that it is real and right in front of you. We arrived at Trunk Bay and were blown away: it is without doubt the most beautiful beach we had ever been to or have been at since. Secluded and perfectly serene, over a quarter mile of beautiful powdery white sand, untouched vegetation, towering coconut palms and the kind of crystalline blue-green waters and set up I thought you’d rather find in south east Asia.

Snorkeling was part of the tour but we were so blown away by the beauty of Trunk Bay that we decided to skip it and just sit on the beach, play in the water and use the snorkeling equipment for ourselves rather than following the trail.

If you go to the USVI I strongly recommend that you visit St. John - it’s extraordinary and absolutely worth the extra effort to make the trip.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise - March 2015

Southern Caribbean Cruise - Jan 2015