St. Croix, USVI
St. Croix, USVI – 200 Sq. Miles of Paradise
Caribbean at a discount?
Trip Overview:
Car Rental: Recommended, but optional depending on what you want to see
Places visited: Christiansted and Frederiksted
Activities: Sight Seeing, Food and Drink, Beaches, Festivals, SCBUBA diving, Quading
Month Visited: April
DAY 1 – 200 Sq. Miles of Paradise, Free Rum, and The Jump Up
Land in Christiansted and grab your rental car. As soon as you exit the airport the rental cars line the wall behind you with the lots straight ahead (no shuttle!).
You’ll want to plan your trip to St. Croix so you land early. The roads are windy and mountainous with tall grass growing along many of them. They also have several large speed bumps, pots holes, and areas of general disrepair so you’ll find them easier to navigate in the day the first time. Did I mention they drive on the other side of the road (assuming you normally drive on the right)? It’s not hard to do as the steering wheel is still located where you’re used to, just don’t forget to stay to the left after you make a turn. If it’s in your budget, an open top jeep rental is a popular option, but a car will get you just about everywhere you want to go. I rented with Avis, as it made the most sense for my perks/status, but I’ve heard good things about the local car rental company, Center Line Autos.
When booking your hotel, you probably want to find one located on the beach – you’re in the Caribbean after all. There is only one major branded hotel on the island as far as I know. This is the Renaissance Marriott. Originally, I had planned to stay here and even had a reservation. I later canceled because I found a much better deal at a local boutique hotel, The Palms at Pelican Cove, and I had an Expedia credit to burn (from my trip to Key West earlier in the year). Although the Marriot originally charged me when I cancelled my reservation, they reversed it after a quick email (I was still within the cancellation time frame).
I don’t normally go into much detail about my hotel selection since it varies widely depending on your individual status/points situation, but the resort I wound up at deserves mention. A second reason I switched my reservation is this hotel is located close to Christiansted. Although you may not think it’s that important where you stay as the entire island is only 22 miles long and 7 miles wide, the roads and speed limits make it take much longer to get places than you would think. Also, you’ll want to be closer to Christiansted as it is the nicer (in my opinion) of the two cities. If you do wind up in Frederiksted, check the cruise ship schedule since that is the port town and whether a ship is in port greatly changes the shop hours and number of people in the town. The Marriott property had the advantage of being more secluded; however, it is not as convenient if you are planning on enjoying the nightlife in the town. Speaking of nightlife, keep in mind being so close to the equator, St. Croix experiences a very early sunset year-round. Expect sunsets around 6-7 pm year round.
Just about every room at the property has an ocean view as they are all small buildings with only a few rooms each. The beach here has some rocks and coral, but there is a designated swimming area with some educational signs posted about the reef located close to shore. The resort was the first blue flag rated beach in St. Croix – a designation indicating the “property offers the highest standards regarding water quality, safety, environmental management and education.” It also has snorkeling gear you can check out at the front desk for free. Night time at the hotel is peaceful as it is nestled in a residential area; however, there is a highly rated restaurant and bar in the pool area. I did not have a chance to try the restaurant, but I did hang out by the pool/swimming area near the bar and it was a great atmosphere. It appeared that each room had a deck and sliding glass door with an ocean view. I was pleasantly surprised to see a voucher on the table when I walked in that I could trade in at the front desk for a free Coke/Coke Zero and small bottle of Cruzan rum (brewed on the island – more on this later).
As a side note, add St. Croix to your list of places where chickens roam free – you’ll see many of them around this resort. One of the locals told me the chickens were originally brought in as a form of bug control.
It’s Friday night and the place to be is Christiansted. There are a number of shops, restaurants, and bars here as well as a boardwalk along the waterfront. This is also where you’ll find many of the excursion options on the island, such as day trips to Buck Island and SCUBA experiences. If you get here early enough, you’ll be able to visit Christiansted National Historic Site (Fort Christiansvaern). I arrived later in the day after it had closed and had to admire it from the outside. If you time your trip correctly, you can be here during one of the four days each year they hold their annual Jump Up festival. This festival is described as a “carnival like cultural party held in the streets”. Here you’ll experience street vendors selling food, groups of school children playing their steel pans in the streets (think metal drums), and of course, the Mocko Jumbie! The Mocko Jumbie are brightly dressed, masked, stilt dancers and have become an important symbol of Virgin Island Culture. There is ample parking in lots downtown and you’ll also find parking at the start of the boardwalk near the SeaPlane building.
During the Jump Up I had the opportunity to try several island novelties and Caribbean dishes. These included fresh juiced sugar cane out of the back of a pickup truck, conch pate (think meat filled dough with your choice of meat), and a Roti wrap. If you’ve never had Roti it’s a delicious wrap filled with various fillings such as conch, goat, beef, vegetables, etc. They were probably introduced to the island via Trinidad. Make sure you’re getting one with an actual Roti wrap and not a flour tortilla – you aren’t looking for a burrito here… I chose conch for mine and I wasn’t disappointed. As the festival was winding down around 10pm I retired to the hotel and sat out on the deck for a bit listening to the sounds of the ocean. I had big plans the next day.
DAY 2 – First Time Diving
The next morning, I was up early and stopped at the cough… McDonalds… cough on my way to Christiansted (come on, it was on the way and too early for anything else). I booked a “discover scuba” class with St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures (SCUBA, duh). I met my dive instructors in their shop a block or so from the Christiansted boardwalk. They took me and the two other students to the adjacent hotel for a quick read through of basic SCUBA knowledge. Afterwards we donned our (provided) SCUBA gear and learned how to use it in the hotel’s pool. The pool lesson was about two hours. We then had about an hour to eat lunch and meet back for the afternoon ocean dives.
For lunch I found a nice little café located a few blocks from the shop. It was off the main road and I doubt you’d find it if you weren’t looking for it. I highly recommend a trip to Café Fresco if you are in the area. I had the Chivito (Uruguayan style steak sandwich).
Back at the shop we went to the boardwalk and boarded a small diving boat. The class included two dives. It was my first-time diving and it was amazing. It was like being inside a Discovery Channel documentary. There were colorful fish swimming all around, shrimp/lobster on the ocean floor, various coral and reef growth, and no sounds except the bubbles from my regulator. The second dive was much like the first, except we went slightly deeper and saw 3 large sea turtles. The whole experience was amazing and I can’t wait for my next dive.
After the dive, spend some time walking the Christiansted boardwalk and experience it in the day time. Checkout the cool looking windmill-turned-pizza shop. Stop by the Barefoot Pirate and grab a snowball with rum in it (I recommend root beer snowball with vanilla rum). It makes the perfect post diving snack.
As night fell, I went back to the hotel and did some swimming and lounging enjoying the sunset by the bar area. I also redeemed my rum and Coke voucher with the hotel. There was a wedding going on in the bar area so there was plenty of entertainment and live music.
DAY 3 – The “Other” Town, Surprising Breakfast, The Far East, and Getting Dirty
The next morning get up early. Very early, as in about 40 minutes before sunrise. You’re heading to the Eastern-most point of the United States (yes, you are in the Caribbean, but St. Croix is still considered part of the USA – side note, no passport needed). Point Udall was named after Stewart Udall, United States Secretary of the Interior under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. Interestingly, the Westernmost point in the United States is also named Point Udall after Stewart’s brother Morris. While I’ve piqued your interest in useless information – it’s also worth noting Christiansted is the Easternmost town in the United States.
When you arrive, you’ll be greeted by a parking area and an interesting statue. Here you can be the first person in the USA to see the sunrise. It’s a great vantage point and a scenic drive to get to and from the parking area, although the speed limit is low, and the streets are windy and lined with tall grass. You’ll also get a great view of Buck Island.
Bonus: If you have more time before your flight, there are several trails here you can hike down to the more secluded beach. I’ve heard it has great snorkeling if you have gear. I’ve also heard to take care not to leave valuables in your car in the parking lot while you are down at the beach, but that’s pretty much common sense anywhere you go.
After the sun has sufficiently risen for your taste and Instagram/Facebook needs it’s time to head off and see the only other city on the island, Frederiksted. We saved this until now because, well it just isn’t as nice in my opinion, but it’s near the airport so now is a good time to go. To be fair, there are some cool things about Frederiksted, but it does look more rundown than Christiansted and many of the business are either failing or have very strange hours. Frederiksted is a port town and occasionally receives visits from cruise ships. There was not a ship here when I was there and I couldn’t find a single restaurant open on Sunday morning … except one.
Enter the Los Angeles Café Bar and Restaurant run by one Jean Claude. I walked into this divey looking bar expecting the worst and hoping there would at least be something that could pass for breakfast food. What I found was a friendly bartender with an interesting story about how he wound up on the island running the café, a story of love lost, and just some all-around great conversation. Ohhh… right and the food part… well have a look for yourself. The steak and eggs not only tasted great, it was also very nicely presented. Jean Claude tells me back in LA he was a head chef for one of the catering companies for many of the major airlines. I’ll buy it.
After breakfast I had some time to kill so I walked a block or two over to the Frederiksted pier. When there isn’t a ship docked here you can walk all the way out to the end of the pier. I did and it’s worth doing. Along the pier you’ll see hundreds of colorful yellow and blue fish swimming near the surface in the islands crystal clear water. This is one of the more popular dive sites on the island and I’d love to come back and dive the pier one day. There is also a clock and some old battlements near the foot of the pier that are worth checking out.
After the pier, I headed over to the real reason I came to Frederiksted this morning. Gecko’s Island Adventures. Riding an ATV through the rain forest and up into the mountains to see abandoned sugar plantations? I’m in. During the two-hour tour we rode on the streets through the rain forest area, took dirt trails through the forest, climbed to the top of the mountains, and visited an abandoned sugar mill. There were some rest points along the way to take pictures at the top of the mountains. The dirt trails we were on most of the way were at least intermediate level and the guide adapted to our group, myself and one other ATV. Both being somewhat experienced we could go faster than most tours would (according to our guide) and it was one of the most challenging rides I’ve done as part of a group rental of anything. The trails were muddy, and it was almost impossible to not get some mud on your shoes and clothes. If there has been recent rain, you’ll want to dress appropriately.
When taking the tour, you’ll initially meet at Gecko’s shop in downtown Frederiksted, but will then drive about 2 miles down the road to the meeting point, Rhythms, located at Rainbow Beach. This may seem inconvenient, but it’s actually a great thing once the tour is over. The café is located on the beach and has outdoor games and seating. Rainbow Beach is one of the better beaches on the island and the water was crystal clear. I grabbed a lime/coconut frozen drink and walked down the beach a bit. This makes for a great post ATV activity.
If you have time after the beach and the season is right, I would suggest a trip over to the beach at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge. It is supposed to be one of the better beaches on the island and the beach itself is part of a nature preserve. For you movie buffs, it is also the place where the final scene of Shawshank Redemption was filmed (in the movie it is supposed to be Mexico of course). I’ll have to take everyone’s word for it as the beach was closed for turtle breeding season when I was there which runs approximately April – August.
Make your way back to the airport from here. Try not to dwell on the fact that the airport is small, cramped, and lacks just about any amenity you could want from an airport on the main land. At least you’ll get to see some cool propeller planes landing and taking off as you wait, and you’ll get one last chance to soak up the island air when you board your plane via the built-in stairs (no jetway ramps here).
Bonus:
If you happen to time your arrival on Friday and/or come at the right time of year, there are two distilleries you may be interested in checking out on the island. One is the Cruzan Rum distillery. The other is a little rum company you may have heard of called Captain Morgan. Check their websites for opening hours and more information, but I’ll warn you they are on island time, so hours are very limited, and crowds are large if a cruise ship is in port.
Not into Scuba Diving? Consider a tour to Buck Island Reef instead. Numerous tour companies operate daily trips to this national monument.
Traveling on a waxing or waning crescent (think the opposite of a full moon)? Lucky you – consider a kayak tour of the bio-luminescent bay. These can only be done when the light from the moon is weak or you won’t be able to see much bio-luminescent activity. It was almost a full moon when I was there, but I’ll be back for this.