Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Day Trip to St. Croix from St. John

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Day Trip to St. Croix from St. John

Hi. We are planning a day trip from St. John to St. Croix sometime during the President's Day weekend (Feb 15-17). I have found a couple "fast ferries" that will take us for $50 or $60 round trip. The $60 RT has the better schedule (allowing us to stay longer in St. Croix) but I thought $60 was pretty steep. Any other ideas? Also, what would you suggest as must sees for a quick day-trip like ours? Christiansted is probably a must but seems to be a give me anyway since that is where the ferry will drop us? Also planning to see Frederiksted and the rain forest. Any suggestions for lunch or dinner that won't break the bank would be appreciated as well. I know we will be missing some sites if we stick to these two parts of the island, but are there any that we just must see? We will probably just take a taxi between our sites. Thanks, Chris

Given the fact that you are going to need to take a ferry from St. John to either Charlotte Amelia or Red Hook (and if Red Hook then a taxi to Charlotte) just in order to catch the ferry to St. Croix, you are going to be in for a long day with much of it spent on a ferry. It doesn't sound like you're going to have much time to see St. Croix. Only other alternative would be to fly Seabourne Airlines or Cape Air from STT to STX but you would still have to take a ferry in from St. John. Just got back from trip to St. Thomas and Tortola, also did day trips to ST. john, Virgin Gorda and Jost if you have any questions.

Oops! We are staying in St. Thomas, not St. John (we stayed in St. John last time). Sorry for the confusion.

The other posters are right, doing a day trip doesn't leave you much time to see St. Croix. St. Croix is the biggest of the Virgin Islands and it takes more time to get from Christianstead to Frederiksted. In terms of island vistas, the last time I was there, St. Croix was the most arid and tree-less of the islands since many of the trees were stripped from the island from Hurricane Hugo. The island may be slowly coming back landscape-wise now. Don't expect a rainforest like the ones in Central America or in Jamaica. Expect a nice wooded expanse with some interesting trees and insect life. The forest is pretty. The best way to see it, IMHO, is on horseback from Sprat Hall, if they still do their Rainforest tour. Of course, my favorite thing to do in St. Croix is to do a sailing trip to Buck Island and snorkel. That is the one of the most beautiful beaches and the snorkeling is very good. St. Croix is known for good diving. Cruzan Rum company has its headquarters on St. Croix and they give free tours with free samples of their good rum. (Yum!) I gave the Estate Gold as a part of my Christmas baskets this year and people really liked it. Indies ( I think that is what it is named) was my favorite restaurant. I don't know if it will break the bank, but the food was very good. It is in Christianstead. I definitely would fly to St. Croix. Being the winter time, seas are more choppy and it is quite a distance from St. Thomas to St. Croix and that might be an uncomfortable journey. If you have never flown by seaplane, it is an interesting experience! To give yourself a little more time, why don't you go to St. Croix one day, spend the night in a hotel, they do some more tours and leave the next afternoon? There are a number of nice but reasonable hotels in Christianstead. Hope this helps!

The new inter-island ferries between St homas and St. Croix offer a wonderful sea trip whch takes about 45 minutes and which many commuters now use as an alternative to the seaplane ride. They are extremely comfortable and are built with modern technology for a very safe and very comfortable ride. St Croix has recovered of course since Hurricane Hugo which was YEARS ago! For more info, go to www.usvi-on-line.com.

The Salacia takes 75 minutes and the Mermais 90. ST. Croix has some nice sites to see. You could stay in Christiansted at the Caravelle or maybe at the Divi Carina, they are advertising a day trip with overnight stay and ferry ride included for cheap! I think it even includes some chips for play in their casino! The earliest ferry leaves around 8:30 from STT and returns around 6:00 from STX. There is loads of time to do stuff. Cheeseburgers in Paradise would be a good stop while on the tour! Ronnie

PS: The seaplaane can be had, if you get it for $85 RT, but their regular rate is $130. So $60 is not steep at all. Caution though, on the $85 fare, you have to travel midday most times, so you can't get an early start, they reserve those for the workers that travel back and forth. Ronnie

OK, I'm convinced - we'll stay overnight. I checked out the Hotel Caravelle and it looks like a good selection for us (and good value) and they do have availability. My next question, we will be in the USVI for 6 days and 5 nights. How many nights would you recommend we spend in St. Croix - one or two? We will be staying in St. Thomas the remaining nights. We have already vacationed in both St. Thomas and St. John and also done a day trip to the USVI. So, I am leaning towards 2 nights in St. Croix since we have not been there yet, but I am not sure how much there is to do there. Any opinions? Thanks for all of your advice! Chris

for Info: Yes the island has recovered structually from Hugo, but the storm is still in the hearts and psyche of the islanders after these many years. While visiting the eastern part of the island, which is less inhabited you do tend to see a lot of brush. The islanders stated that this was due to Hugo. I was last in St. Croix two years ago. I still like St. Croix very much. I found the people to be very nice and laid back. For Chris: The best way to decide how long to stay is map out all the activities you would like to do and when the various vendors offer them and how long the trips take. For example, if you plan on doing a snorkel trip to Buck Island, this may take most of one day. Other activities such as visiting the rum factory, the rainforest, shopping, etc, may take the second, The St. Thomas Tourist office has a great brochure called "St. Croix this Week" that lists all the activities offered. Call them and they will send you a copy.

Don't miss The Beer Drinking Pig (honest, it is a pig) at The Domino Hut Club, which is near the rain forest. It is truly a unique sight to behold, and is good for laughs and conversation!

This was our 2nd trip to the VI in 2 yrs,,,just got back from StTom is Nov.2002 made sure we got to StCroix, had to fly over w/ the locals. flight ok. Island huge dissapointment! Cost a fortune to fly and get on boat to "Buck Island", the underwater snorkle trail was all but dead. Buck Island beautifully breayhtaking. We loved,absolutly loved Virgin Gorda, go by ferry and stay over at the Old Yard Inn for a night or 2. Play at the Baths,and snorkle some of the islands Best @ Savanna Bay! Have fun