After our mini-vacation in Puerto Rico, we flew to Saint Thomas. I have never been to such a small airplane before, and I have never done island hopping either.
Saint Thomas is an island of the US Virgin Islands. The capital is Charlotte Amalie, with 52,000 inhabitants (similar to Hoogeveen where we live in the Netherlands), and that is where we stayed.
Hotel
Our hotel, the Emerald Beach Resort, was located on Lindbergh Bay Beach, a couple of hundred meters from the Airport, but far away from downtown Charlotte Amalie.
The hotel is a simple 3star hotel with a good location. The place is really outdated, the rooms are not too clean, and we had to wait for ages for breakfast even when the restaurant was not crowded. Maybe the best part was the beach and the cocktail bar on the beach. However, the view from the room was beautiful and we could enjoy a calm wave sound all day and night!
Getting around this scenic place was quite easy and cheap once we realized that we can travel like locals and use the local open taxi buses. The most affordable ones are the open-air safari buses with open sides and long benches for seating.
This is the best way to travel around the entire island. These vehicles can carry up to 26 passengers. You share the taxi with the riding public what made this experience even more attractive to us.
So what can you do at this honeymoon location?
The first evening we took the cable car to Paradise Point, where we could enjoy a picturesque view of the harbor bathed in the sunset.
In Charlotte Amalie, there is a big Cruise terminal where big ships bring curious tourists every day. Near the terminal, there is a huge shopping outlet serving the needs of passengers. Despite the many cruise ships, I didn’t see many tourists strolling the streets. I have found a nice walk up to Blackbeard’s Castle, which gave me a nice view. The steps were quite difficult to find, it was almost abandoned.
Snorkeling
If you are in the Caribbean then one thing you can not miss, and that is snorkeling. For this activity, we went to the other side of the island to Coki Beach, next to Coral World Ocean Park.
When we were there, there were only locals on the beach, but we have learned that it can be very busy because the cruise ships run excursions here.
On the beach, you have some food stalls offering freshly baked empanada’s and snorkel gear rentals. There was a kind of family atmosphere with roosters scurrying and some curious lizards.
The water was crystal clear and the snorkeling was great. The best was feeding the fish. They literally took the food off your hands.
On the way back to the hotel we had some terrific views of the Caribbean Sea.
Kayaking in St. Thomas’ Mangrove Lagoon
On our last day on the island, we went to do some kayaking in St. Thomas’ Mangrove Lagoon.
We did not have time for a guided tour so we just rented a kayak and did the kayaking on our own through Viecotours.
Eating in Saint Thomas
You will not be disappointed here about the food, of course, a place that serves millions of tourists must have many quality food places and restaurants. We have found a fantastic seafood restaurant, Hook Line & Sinker in the french quarter of St Thomas. They have fresh-caught seafood every day. The snow crab was superb. Along with the delicious food, the owners and employees were so nice and acclimating.
We had another favorite in downtown St Thomas for another reason. The Green House had a happy hour daily from 4.30 PM-7.00 PM. Food was also decent and much cheaper than the fish restaurant. I had a good wrap with shrimps, fried bananas, and coleslaw.
For one thing, I definitely envy this place and that is the spirit of life. We bumped into a small pub/bar one evening when we were heading back to the hotel. There was live music every single evening (we went back several evenings), people were dancing and chatting happily. There was an older lady she must have been around 80. She carried her knitting bag with her, most of the time she was just sitting on the bench knitting but when the Dj played her favorite music then she stood up and grabbed some younger guy for a dance.
Love the island vibe!
