St Croix vs other islands
 

I am trying to decide whether my family(parents and two daughters 18 & 21) would like St Croix. We have been to St John and loved it. Not so wild about St Thomas (thought it was kind of dirty). Is St Croix more similiar to St Thomas or St John? Does St Croix have a town with ambiance like St John? Really don't want to pay the price of the Buckaneer, but haven't really found anything that really grabs me. What parts of the island should we stay away from because of crime? Maybe we should looke at BVI? Thanks

Hi. We stayed at the Buccaneer in St. Croix about 3 or 4 years ago. It was nice, but not great. And pricey. The breakfast was pretty good. The dinners at the hotel were awful. Our oceanfront room had a lovely view, though fairly simple furnishings. The beach wasn't that nice, as I recall.

I had been to St. John prior to that and thought St. John was much nicer.

I think St. Croix is nicer than St. Thomas, but I think it's not as nice as St. John.
You should look into Tortola. Tortola is a good base to hop around on sail excursions and ferries. Do not miss Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke. Even a day trip to Peter Island for lunch. You'll love the ambience and beaches.

The usual route to St. John from the airport is by the dump in Bovoni. It's also the poorer part of St. Thomas. I live here & St. Thomas on the whole is NOT dirty.

There has also been a spike in crime on STX recently, if I recall. Cruise ships have stopped going there as a result (for the most part). STX would not be my choice for a family vacation. Take the other poster's advice and go to Tortola.

Pappy--
Careful what you throw out there about crime on any island. The cruise ships stopped going to STX quite a few years ago and others on this board live there and can comment more accurately on the crime situation.

We travel to STX every year with our kids and have a great time. We stay at the Buccaneer and love the ambience and the proximity to great restaurants in Christiansted. We are careful about walking around C'sted at night but would feel the same about other islands. The dinners at The Buccaneer are vastly improved (you're correct...they were poor before) but we still like the in town restaurants.

St. John is beautiful and cannot be beat by St. Croix. I would compare St. Croix more to Virgin Gorda in topography (dry and hilly) with a bigger town. We go there because we love the Buccaneer and find their rates to be among the most competitive for what they offer.

ccrosner, We go to the Buccaneer a week from today for 5 nights due to reading your positive reviews. This will be our first time to STX. Then on to Caneel for 7 nights. I'll let you know how we liked our stay at the Buccaneer. Owa

ccrosner, thanks for posting! We are traveling to STX for our first visit this Christmas... and I have done tons of research and know this is the right island for us! I would hate for someone to be "scared" off because of some uneducated remarkes read on the internet. There is crime everywhere and one must always be careful and alert. STX is not dangerous and could be a lovely vacation spot. It seems to be the best island for golf and scuba- out two priorities! :D
Less than two months- woohoo! (omg- I have GOT to start that diet!!)

Owa--
I was thinking that it must be time for your trip. I do hope you will like the Buccaneer--just remember it's not the Ritz Carlton and probably isn't quite as luxurious as Caneel. But it's got a friendly feeling.

Be sure to let Maria and her concierge staff help you find restaurants and cabs. Tell her Carol Rosner says hi and is on her way in February!!

Which accommodations did you choose and is it just two of you?

ccrosner, We have a deluxe oceanfront room which came with the package I purchased. Just the two of us.

Did you do a full or half day to Buck Island? I've copied information on snorkeling beaches from a couple message boards.

I will pass your message to Maria. Owa

Your oceanfront room will have a great view of the water....lucky you! We always stay in Room 168 (a family cottage) since there are four of us.

I would suggest the half day to Buck Island only because I don't think the full day gives you any more snorkeling time. I have heard (but it may be incorrect) that the full day just adds on the barbecue for lunch which is actually held on the main island. If you (or Maria) can find a trip that will give you more than an hour of snorkeling and an hour on the Buck Island beach, I would go for that.

We took Tesoro this year and liked it the best of the three trips we've taken. I liked that they went to the beach AFTER snorkeling at the reef--just seemed more relaxing. And the Buck Island beach is as beautiful as they come (rivals my other favorite--Hawks Nest in STJ).

Have a great time! Be sure to go to Kendricks and Bacchus for really good meals. If you go to Rumrunners (for the atmosphere) be sure to drink a painkiller and order the lobster quesadillas. And Duggan's Reef is very fun but a pricey cab ride (but we go every year).

Enjoy! Hope you meet Patricia, Babylon, Patty and Dalu while eating your breakfast :)

Hope you have a great time.

We loved the snorkeling trip out to Buck Island. My son, then about 7 or 8, wasn't a great swimmer at the time, but he loved it so much that the only he thing he wanted to do after that was go out on another boat trip to snorkel.

OWA

We will be at the Buccanner next week and delux oceanfront, too! :) If you see a couple and a toddler, that will be us.

OWA--What a coincidence--We will be at The Bucaneer 31 Oct thru 5 Nov. Going to St Croix to house hunt and check out the island. Hope to meet you. Howard Cann

Howard, I can't believe it!!! Let us lift a glass together. Leave a note at the front desk for Sharon Tieszen and we'll try to connect. This will be fun. See you soon. Owa

Ghengis, Leave a note for me at the front desk-- Sharon Tieszen. With Howard there also, we can have a party!! It will be fun to connect screen names with faces. Hope to see you. Owa

ccrosner, I've copied your post. Thanks for the information. Do you want to join the three of us for the party? Owa

Owa--
You bet that I do!!!! But I will have to wait until February where we will meet up with many old friends.

I hope you all meet (Howard C...feel like I know you from another part of the fodors board) and think of me while you're having your drinks overlooking the gorgeous view. I cry every time we arrive and see it again.

For the record--in case you are remembering me to any of my friends there--they know us as Carol and Steve Rosner from Boston with our children David and Kate :)

Hi OWA-- Looking forward to Meeting you and Larry. We will definitely meet up for drinks dinner or whatever. Part of the fun of these forums is meeting people you don't know and putting faces and names togeter

st.croix is not dangerous at all(unless you decide to go hang out at a deserted beach at 2am by yourself!) I grew up there, so am slightly bias....but after living in the states for 10 years, i go back every xmas to visit my family. My parents still leave their keys in the car and the house unlocked. no problems. Renting a house ive heard is cheapest. Hotel on the cay is nice, right next to christiansted. Stick to christiansted becasuse fredriksted is a bit more desolate, although charming. C'sted has a lot more going on. If you go Jan6-9th carnival is going on.