Where most Virgin Islands trips begin: the territory's main airport, one of the Caribbean's busiest cruise ports, and the capital, Charlotte Amalie, on a deep harbour under steep green hills. About 32 square miles — Magens Bay on the north shore, the old Danish town on the south, and Red Hook in the east, where the ferries leave for St. John and the BVI.
Live schedules, official fares, today's beach and weather reads, cameras and maps — each one opens the full page.
St. Thomas drawn from the U.S. Census shoreline, with the roads the taxis drive and the sand of the main beaches. Hassel Island, in Charlotte Amalie harbour, is shaded green: most of it is Virgin Islands National Park, from the National Park Service's own boundary. Tap a pin for its page.
St. Thomas is where most Virgin Islands trips start. Cyril E. King Airport (STT), on the south-west shore, takes the nonstop jets from the U.S. mainland and the short hops from San Juan; the cruise ships tie up at Havensight and Crown Bay, either side of Charlotte Amalie harbour, and taxis wait at the airport and both docks.
From here the boats fan out. The St. John ferries leave Red Hook on the east end (a few a day also run from Crown Bay); the international ferries to Tortola, Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda leave Red Hook and the downtown waterfront; the little Water Island ferry leaves Crown Bay Marina; and the car barge crosses from Red Hook to St. John.
From the airport: a taxi from Airport (STT) to Red Hook is $23 for one rider, $17 each for two or more, about 30–40 minutes — see the fare.
| Route | Crossing | Adult one way | Resident / senior | Boats a day now | Operators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallows Bay, St. Croix ↔ Charlotte Amalie | 2 hr 10 min | $85 | — | 1 | QE IV Ferry, Native Son Inc. |
| Phillips Landing, Water Island ↔ Crown Bay Marina | 15 min | $10 | $6 | 12 | Water Island Ferry |
| Cruz Bay, St. John ↔ Red Hook | 20 min | $8.15 | $6 | 18 | Varlack Ventures, Transportation Services of St. John |
| Cruz Bay, St. John ↔ Crown Bay | 35 min | $20 | $15 | 2 | Inter Island Boat Services |
| Cruz Bay, St. John ↔ Charlotte Amalie | 45 min | $13 | $12 | Paused · back Nov 1 | Varlack Ventures, Transportation Services of St. John |
Fastest: Gallows Bay, St. Croix ↔ Charlotte Amalie, 2 hr 10 min. Children and bag fees vary by route — each timetable page has the full fare table and booking links.
International ferries leave Red Hook and the downtown Charlotte Amalie waterfront for Tortola, Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda. A passport is required, and you clear BVI customs and pay entry fees on arrival.
STT airport wait times · Flying to the Virgin Islands · STT → St. John, step by step · Every ferry today
Most visitors get around by taxi. Vans and open-air safaris wait at the airport, both cruise docks, the downtown waterfront and Red Hook, and charge an official fixed fare per person — the table below has the fare from Charlotte Amalie to the beaches, the docks and the east end, straight from the VI Taxicab Commission schedule. Two or more riders usually pay a lower rate each.
A rental car pays off for a longer stay or for the north side and the quiet west end. Driving is on the left, the hills are steep and the roads twist, and downtown and the road to Red Hook crawl when several ships are in. Local safari buses also run the main road between Charlotte Amalie and Red Hook for a small flat cash fare.
| To | 1 passenger | 2+ (each) |
|---|---|---|
| Yacht Haven Grande | $6 | $6 |
| Crown Bay | $8 | $6 |
| Havensight | $9 | $8 |
| Airport (STT) | $11 | $9 |
| Frenchman's Reef | $12 | $9 |
| Tutu | $14 | $11 |
| Bolongo Bay | $15 | $12 |
| Magens Bay | $15 | $12 |
| Coki Point | $18 | $14 |
| Red Hook | $20 | $15 |
| Sapphire Beach | $21 | $15 |
| Ritz Carlton | $23 | $15 |
| Secret Harbor | $23 | $15 |
Fares set by the VI Taxicab Commission (rates revised October 24, 2022). Per person; night (midnight–6am), luggage and waiting surcharges apply. Fare calculator for any two stops · Rent or take taxis?
Every beach on St. Thomas is public to the waterline, even in front of a resort; Magens Bay and Lindquist are run as parks with an entry fee and gate hours. Numbers match the map. For which one is calm and uncrowded today, open the beach report.
Photo: socaltraveler, CC BY-SA 3.0The famous one: a long curve of white sand at the head of a deep bay on the north shore, sheltered by the hills on both sides, so the water is calm most of the year. Run by the Magens Bay Authority as a park with an entry fee, a snack bar and water-sport rentals. Busiest on big ship days.
Taxi from Charlotte Amalie: $15 for one rider, $12 each for two or more
Photo: Gruepig, CC BY-SA 3.0A small, busy beach beside Coral World, with reef and clouds of fish a few strokes from the sand — the island's easiest snorkel and its classic shore dive. Vendors rent gear and chairs; it is loud and crowded on ship days, quiet early.
Taxi from Charlotte Amalie: $18 for one rider, $14 each for two or more
Photo: Gruepig, CC BY-SA 4.0Inside Smith Bay Park on the east end: a protected, undeveloped beach with soft sand and clear water looking out to the cays. No hotel and no bar, so bring what you need; there is a small entry fee.
Taxi from Charlotte Amalie (fare to Smith Bay, the park entrance): $18 for one rider, $12 each for two or more
Photo: PunctuatedArt, CC0A long east-end beach beside a resort and marina, looking across Pillsbury Sound to St. John and the BVI, with reef to snorkel near the point. Our live Sapphire Beach camera shows the water before you go.
Taxi from Charlotte Amalie: $21 for one rider, $15 each for two or more
A sheltered cove off Nazareth Bay near Red Hook, facing south-west: calm water, good snorkeling along both sides of the bay and a beach bar on the sand.
Taxi from Charlotte Amalie: $23 for one rider, $15 each for two or more
Below the Frenchman's Reef resort on the south shore, minutes from Charlotte Amalie and the Havensight dock: a long, gentle beach that is the quickest swim from a ship.
Taxi from Charlotte Amalie (fare to Frenchman's Reef, above the beach): $12 for one rider, $9 each for two or more
Beside the University of the Virgin Islands and the end of the airport runway: a long, quiet beach with calm water, a local crowd and jets landing overhead. Food trucks at weekends.
Taxi from Charlotte Amalie (fare to UVI; the beach is beside the campus): $11 for one rider, $9 each for two or more
A laid-back bay on the north side, with fishing boats pulled up on the sand and, when the winter north swells come in, the island's only real surf break.
Taxi from Charlotte Amalie: $18 for one rider, $12 each for two or more
Photo: Smallbones, CC0The capital's Danish old town: the stone warehouses of Main Street (Dronningens Gade), now duty-free shops, and the alleys running down to the waterfront; red-walled Fort Christian, begun in the 1670s and the oldest standing building in the territory; the Vendors Plaza market; and the 99 Steps climbing to Blackbeard's Castle, a 17th-century watchtower. Go early, or on a day with few ships in.
The ridge road over the north side has the island's postcard views: Drake's Seat looks straight down on Magens Bay, and Mountain Top, higher up the same ridge, has a deck over the north shore and out to the BVI on a clear day, with a shop and bar. Pair it with an afternoon on Magens beach below.
The reef at Coki Beach starts in shallow water and the fish come to you — the easiest snorkel on the island and its classic shore dive. Next door, Coral World Ocean Park has an underwater observatory tower, touch pools and animal encounters.
Photo: Gruepig, CC BY-SA 4.0The fourth U.S. Virgin Island, a short ferry ride from Crown Bay Marina: hilly, quiet, fewer than 200 residents, with Honeymoon Beach a walk from the dock. Take a picnic or rent a golf cart, and watch the ships come and go across the harbour.
The island across the harbour from Charlotte Amalie is mostly Virgin Islands National Park: trails through dry forest to the ruins of forts the British built during their occupation of 1807–1815, and an old ship-repair yard. There is no regular ferry — go with a kayak or boat tour.
Lime Out's St. Thomas bar floats in Lindbergh Bay, five minutes from the airport. You cannot swim or paddle out: the Taco Taxi runs from Emerald Beach, the Taco Tug from Crown Bay Marina, and catamarans on some days. Closed for part of the off-season — the Lime Out page says whether it is open today.
Photo: Gruepig, CC BY-SA 4.0Red Hook is the launchpad: St. John's national-park beaches are one short ferry ride away, and Jost Van Dyke, Tortola and Virgin Gorda are an international ferry or a day charter. Passport required for the BVI, plus BVI entry fees.
Charlotte Amalie is where St. Thomas lunches: Caribbean cooking in the old-town alleys, bars along the waterfront by the ferry dock, and Frenchtown's restaurants a few minutes west. In the evening the action moves up the hills for the sunset views, and out to Red Hook, the east end's harbour village of bars and dockside restaurants. A few places close for part of the off-season — the list below says who, from our seasonal-closures tracker.
From our tracker of 2 St. Thomas spots. Every island's off-season closures
Shopping: Main Street (Dronningens Gade) — Duty-free shopping district through 17th-century Danish warehouses. Jewelry, liquor, watches, electronics. Vendors Plaza — Open-air market at the waterfront. Straw bags, t-shirts, spices, hot sauce and local crafts. Havensight Mall — Shopping center next to the Havensight cruise pier. Big-name jewelry and liquor stores within walking distance.
Warm all year: highs in the mid-80s °F in winter and around 90 °F in late summer, a steady easterly trade wind, and short tropical showers rather than all-day rain. December to April is the dry, busy season — and the heart of the cruise season. June to November is hurricane season, with the peak from mid-August to mid-October, when some restaurants close and the ferries run an off-season timetable.
| Day | Sky | High / low | Rain | Wind | Seas |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | Drizzle | 85° / 83°F | 41% | ESE 18 mph, gusts 24 | 3.2 ft |
| Tomorrow | Drizzle | 84° / 80°F | 73% | ESE 19 mph, gusts 25 | 3.9 ft |
| Wed, Oct 7 | Showers | 82° / 79°F | 76% | ESE 18 mph, gusts 27 | 3.5 ft |
| Thu, Oct 8 | Thunderstorms | 84° / 79°F | 65% | ESE 16 mph, gusts 22 | 3 ft |
| Fri, Oct 9 | Drizzle | 84° / 83°F | 51% | E 18 mph, gusts 24 | 3.3 ft |
| Sat, Oct 10 | Drizzle | 83° / 80°F | 63% | ENE 15 mph, gusts 24 | 2.8 ft |
| Sun, Oct 11 | Thunderstorms | 82° / 79°F | 73% | ESE 15 mph, gusts 24 | 2.2 ft |
Open-Meteo forecast for St. Thomas, refreshed every half hour. Live weather map · NWS alerts & marine forecast
Daily-mean sea-surface temperature, averaged 2021–2024 (Open-Meteo marine reanalysis): warmest in Sep (86.4°F), coolest in Feb (79.8°F). Hurricane history map
St. Thomas is one of the busiest cruise ports in the Caribbean. The big ships berth at Havensight — the West Indian Company dock on the east side of the harbour, beside Yacht Haven Grande and the Havensight Mall — and at Crown Bay on the west side, nearer the airport. Both are a short taxi ride from Main Street. On a big ship day downtown, Magens Bay, Coki and the road to Red Hook fill from mid-morning, and excursions cross to St. John's Trunk Bay.
28 calls at Havensight and Crown Bay in the next 30 days. Next:
2 live cameras on St. Thomas — check the water, the ferry dock or the sunset before you go.
Seventeen Spanish ships anchor at Salt River, St. Croix. A landing party fights the Kalinago there — the first recorded battle between Europeans and Native Americans. Columbus names the chain Las Once Mil Vírgenes and claims it all for Spain; Spain never settles any of it.
The Danish West India Company's ship Færøe lands Governor Jørgen Iversen and a handful of colonists at the harbour that becomes Charlotte Amalie. Two European powers now hold the Virgin Islands, twenty miles apart — the split that still exists today.
Governor Adolph Esmit openly shelters pirates at St. Thomas, buying their plunder and refusing to hand them over. For a generation the harbour is a known haven in the Golden Age of Piracy.
Planters from St. Thomas raise the Dannebrog at Coral Bay and lay out the first estates. Britain, which also claimed the island, protests and lets it go.
Denmark opens St. Thomas to ships of every flag. The harbour turns into the trading crossroads of the Caribbean — neutral, busy, and rich on everyone else's wars.
With Denmark drawn into Napoleon's wars, a British fleet takes St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix without a shot. They are handed back the following February.
The Peace of Amiens returns the three islands to Denmark.
Denmark sides with France after the bombardment of Copenhagen, and the Royal Navy returns. The Union Jack flies over the Danish islands until April 1815.
After Napoleon's fall the islands go back to Denmark, which keeps them for another century.
Denmark agrees to sell St. Thomas and St. John for $7.5 million. Within weeks an earthquake, a tsunami and a hurricane hit the islands, and the U.S. Senate never ratifies the treaty.
$25 million in gold — the most the United States has ever paid for territory. At 4 p.m. in Charlotte Amalie the Dannebrog comes down and the Stars and Stripes go up, with the USS Hancock in the harbour and a U-boat war on in the Atlantic.
St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix and Water Island are the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke and Anegada are the British Virgin Islands. Cruise ships and ferries cross the line every day.
The U.S. Virgin Islands ban sunscreens with oxybenzone, octinoxate or octocrylene. Bring a mineral (zinc or titanium) one, or buy it on the island.
Keep left — on the hills, on the blind bends and when pulling out of a beach lot. Rental cars are American, with the steering wheel on the left.
On days with several ships in, downtown, Magens Bay, Coki and the roads are busiest from late morning to mid-afternoon. Our cruise page shows how many are in today.
Departing passengers clear U.S. Customs before TSA security. On the busiest days the line is long — our airport page forecasts it by the half hour.
Take valuables with you at the beach lots and viewpoints, or leave them at the hotel.
Safari buses and some taxis and beach vendors prefer cash. ATMs are easy to find downtown, at Havensight and in Red Hook.
U.S. Virgin IslandsSt. JohnFerries, taxis, beaches, hikes and a true map of St. John — two-thirds national park — with today's weather and the next boat from Red Hook.
U.S. Virgin IslandsWater IslandThe ferry from Crown Bay, Honeymoon Beach, Fort Segarra and a true map of the smallest U.S. Virgin Island, with today's weather and the next boat.
U.S. Virgin IslandsSt. CroixGetting from St. Thomas to St. Croix by seaplane or ferry, the airport, taxi fares, Buck Island, Christiansted, Frederiksted and every main beach on a true map.
British Virgin IslandsTortolaFerries, taxis, beaches and a true map of Tortola — the BVI's capital island and charter base — with today's weather and the next boat from St. Thomas.
British Virgin IslandsVirgin GordaThe Baths, Spring Bay, Savannah Bay and North Sound on a true map, with the next ferry from Road Town, the official taxi fares and today's weather.
British Virgin IslandsJost Van DykeHow to get to Jost Van Dyke, what the taxis cost, White Bay and the Soggy Dollar, Foxy's in Great Harbour, the Bubbly Pool and Sandy Spit — with today's weather and the next boat.
British Virgin IslandsNorman IslandThe boat-only island: day sails and charters from St. Thomas, St. John and Tortola, the Caves at Treasure Point, the Indians, the Bight and its floating bar.Not if you are a U.S. citizen travelling from the U.S. mainland or Puerto Rico: St. Thomas is in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a U.S. territory. On the way home you clear U.S. Customs at the airport before security, so carry proof of citizenship — a passport, or a birth certificate with photo ID. You do need a passport for the ferries to the British Virgin Islands, and non-U.S. visitors need the same documents as for the mainland United States.
Taxis on St. Thomas charge official fixed fares per person, set by the VI Taxicab Commission. The fare from Cyril E. King Airport (STT) to Charlotte Amalie is $11 for one rider, $9 each for two or more; to Red Hook, for the St. John ferry, $23 for one rider, $17 each for two or more. Night, luggage and waiting surcharges apply, and the taxis wait outside arrivals.
At two docks either side of Charlotte Amalie harbour: Havensight, the West Indian Company dock on the east side, beside Yacht Haven Grande and the Havensight Mall; and Crown Bay, on the west side near the airport. Both are a short taxi ride from downtown and Main Street.
Fares are fixed per person: Havensight to Magens Bay is $15 for one rider, $12 each for two or more. Magens Bay charges its own entry fee at the gate, and the beach is busiest on big ship days.
Magens Bay for a long, calm beach with facilities; Coki Beach for snorkeling straight off the sand; Lindquist Beach in Smith Bay Park for clear water with no development; Sapphire Beach for views of St. John; Secret Harbour for a calm cove near Red Hook; Morningstar for a quick swim near the cruise dock; and Brewers Bay, by the airport, for a quiet local beach.
By ferry. The quick crossing is the passenger ferry from Red Hook on the east end to Cruz Bay, which runs all day; a few boats a day also leave from Crown Bay, nearer the airport and the cruise docks, and a slower boat from downtown Charlotte Amalie runs for much of the year (it pauses for part of the off-season). Cars cross on the car barge from Red Hook to Enighed Pond, half a mile south of Cruz Bay. No passport is needed — it is a domestic crossing.
Not for a beach-and-town stay. Taxis charge fixed per-person fares — Charlotte Amalie to Coki Point is $18 for one rider, $14 each for two or more, and safari buses run the main road between town and Red Hook. A rental car pays off for a longer stay or for the north side and the west end. Remember to drive on the left.
December to April is the dry season with the most reliable weather — and the busiest, with the most cruise ships. May, June and November are quieter and still warm. August to October is the peak of hurricane season, when the island is quietest and some restaurants close for a few weeks.