20 Best Shopping in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

This gallery sells pieces from a roster of the island's best artists. You can shop for oils, pastels, watercolors, and turned-wood pieces as well as ceramic and metal works. Find potable art in the form of a full bar in the back. There's espresso, craft cocktails. and a good selection of aged rums, the latter of which you can sample in curated tasting flights.

Find books, maps, and beachwear—like tee's printed with turtle and petroglyph designs—at this store run by the nonprofit group that raises money for Virgin Islands National Park. It's a great spot to buy educational materials for kids and books about the island. 

This store's worth the trip all the way out to the island's East End to shop for made-on-the-premises clothing and pillows, in fabrics splashed with tropical colors. The clothes are made from cotton, gauze, and modal, and are supremely comfortable. Sloop also holds painting workshops.

This multicultural boutique carries unusual housewares, rugs, bedspreads, accessories, and men's and women's clothes and shoes that owner Jo Sterling has found on her world travels.

You knew when you arrived that someplace on St. John would cater to the outdoors enthusiasts who hike up and down the island's trails. This store sells flip-flops and Reef footwear, along with colorful and durable cotton clothing and accessories by Billabong. The store also sells children's clothes.

If you're renting a villa on the island's southeast end or headed to Salt Pond or Lameshur Bay for the day, provision at this minimarket. The selection is quite good, and villa renters will find enough choices for simple meals and snacking.

This waterside shop, a five-minute walk from the center of Cruz Bay, showcases the work of Elaine Estern. She specializes in undersea scenes.

This small store in Cruz Bay is a good source for fresh produce, deli items, and all the basics. Two smaller branches are in Chocolate Hole, near Great Cruz Bay, and in Coral Bay.

You'll find distinctive clay pieces, unusual handblown glass, wind chimes, kaleidoscopes, fanciful fountains, and pottery bowls here. Your purchases can be shipped worldwide.

This is your on-island destination for special handcrafted jewelry—earrings, bracelets, pendants, chains—as well as a good selection of water-resistant watches.

The gift shop at Gallows Point Resort has a bit of this and a bit of that. Shop for Caribbean books, picture frames decorated with shells, and T-shirts with tropical motifs. Residents and visitors also drop by for a cup of coffee or espresso.

Head here for the stuff you forgot to pack. Sarongs in cotton and rayon, beach towels with tropical motifs, and hats and T-shirts sporting the "Jolly Dog" logo fill the shelves.

A branch of the St. Thomas store, Little Switzerland carries diamonds and other jewels in attractive yellow- and white-gold settings, as well as strings of creamy pearls, watches, and other designer jewelry.

With what may be the best prices in St. John, Mumbo Jumbo carries tropical clothing, stuffed sea creatures, local hot sauces, and other gifty items in a cozy little shop.

The bookshop at Virgin Islands National Park Headquarters sells several good histories of St. John, including St. John Backtime: Eyewitness Accounts From 1718 to 1956, by Ruth Hull Low and Rafael Lito Valls, and, for intrepid explorers, longtime resident Pam Gaffin's St. John Feet, Fins and Four-Wheel Drive, a "complete guide to all of the island's beaches, trails, and roads."

The bookshop at Virgin Islands National Park Visitor Center sells several good histories of St. John.

Head to this shop and art gallery for the work of longtime Virgin Islands resident Lisa Etre. There's also a huge collection of one-of-a-kind gifts, including bright tableware, trays, and tropical jewelry.

This store has good prices (for St. John) and a nice selection of fruits, veggies, and the basics, plus items you don't find at other stores—like soy flour.

The island's largest store usually has the best selection of meat, fish, and produce.

The necklaces, bracelets, and rings sold at Zemi (the native Taíno term for spirit symbol) feature petroglyph designs as well as more contemporary hook bracelets, wreck coins, and gemstones. Its sister store, Jolly Dog, is next door.