Which U.S. Virgin Island should you visit?

The U.S. Virgin Islands are three islands, twenty miles apart, all different. People asking which one to visit usually mean: I have a week, I have never been, where do I go. The short answer is below. The longer answer is that the right island depends on what you came for, and the islands are different enough that the wrong pick is a real regret.

The short answer

First-time visitor with a week or less: St. Thomas as a base, with one or two day trips to St. John. Honeymooners and beach-first travelers: St. John. Repeat visitors, snorkelers, and anyone who wants a slower trip with fewer cruise crowds: St. Croix. If you want to see all three on one trip, plan eight days minimum and accept that you'll spend one of them on transit.

The three islands

Each island has its own room on this site. Walk into the one that sounds right and the rest of the trip-planning lives there.

• Port of entry

  St. Thomas

  Pick this if you want the easiest trip.

  Most flights to the USVI land at Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas. Every cruise ship calls here. Most hotels and the densest concentration of restaurants and bars are in or near Charlotte Amalie, the territory's small capital. If you have three or four days and you want beaches, dinner choices, and the option of running over to St. John for a day, stay on St. Thomas.

  It's the busiest of the three. Magens Bay can be cruise-ship loud; Sapphire and Lindquist on the east end stay quieter. You feel the traffic and the prices more here than on the other islands. In exchange you get convenience: short transfers, the ferry to St. John out of Red Hook, and the seaplane to St. Croix.

  Visit St. Thomas →
• National Park

  St. John

  Pick this if you came for the water.

  About 60% of St. John is Virgin Islands National Park. Trunk Bay, Maho, Cinnamon, Hawksnest, Salt Pond. The beaches that get put on top-ten Caribbean lists are mostly here. There's no airport, so you fly into St. Thomas and ferry over from Red Hook or Charlotte Amalie. Cruz Bay is the only real town; Coral Bay on the east end is even quieter.

  Trade-off: less to do at night, fewer rooms, more expensive nightly rates because almost all lodging is private homes and small inns. If you want a beach-and-trail trip and don't mind that the bar scene closes at 10, St. John is the answer. Honeymooners pick it for a reason.

  Visit St. John →
• The big island

  St. Croix

  Pick this if you want a slower, less-touristy trip.

  St. Croix is forty miles south of the other two and roughly the size of St. Thomas and St. John combined. It has its own airport with direct flights from the mainland, two distinct towns (Christiansted on the north coast, Frederiksted on the west), two rum distilleries, and Buck Island Reef National Monument off the east end. Flatter, drier, and far less crowded than the other islands.

  Christiansted is walkable Danish colonial old town with a small harbor; Frederiksted is sleepier with the cruise pier and the best sunsets on the island. People who pick St. Croix tend to come back. Repeat visitors, snorkelers who want Buck Island to themselves, and travelers who tried St. Thomas once and decided next time would be different.

  Visit St. Croix →

Getting between them

St. Thomas and St. John are connected by ferry. The Red Hook ferry runs about every hour, takes 20 minutes, and costs around $9 each way. There's also a less-frequent ferry from Charlotte Amalie that takes 45 minutes. You don't need to book; you show up. Cars can cross on the car barge but rates are steep and most visitors leave the rental on St. Thomas and pick up a Jeep on the St. John side.

St. Croix is the harder hop. Seaborne Airlines runs a seaplane between Charlotte Amalie harbor and Christiansted boardwalk: 20 minutes, no security line, beautiful flight. There are also small-plane connections from Cyril E. King to Henry E. Rohlsen. Either way you're looking at $150 to $250 round-trip and limited daily departures, so book ahead and don't plan a same-day side trip.

When to come

High season is December through April. Best weather, highest prices, hardest to find rooms. Shoulder season (May, early June, November) is the sweet spot: dry, warm, half the crowds, real discounts on lodging. Hurricane season is June through November, with the highest risk August through October. If you book a trip in September, buy the travel insurance.

The Carnival on St. Thomas runs in late April into early May. The Crucian Christmas Festival on St. Croix runs late December into early January. Both are worth timing a trip around if you want a working sense of the place; both will also fill rooms and push prices.

What the USVI is not

The USVI is not the BVI. The British Virgin Islands are a separate country with separate entry rules, separate cannabis law, and a different feel. Tourists routinely confuse the two and end up on the wrong forum or the wrong ferry. If you booked a flight to St. Thomas, you're going to the U.S. side.

The USVI is also not an all-inclusive-resort destination. There are very few mega-resorts. Lodging skews toward villas, mid-size hotels, and small inns. Travelers expecting a Cancun-style strip will be disappointed; travelers who want something more like the rest of the Caribbean before resorts will be happy.