St. Thomas Safe?
 

We were planning to go to St. Thomas in March/April and were wondering how safe the island was. Which ends are safe, for example is the Hull Bay or the Sapphire Beach area safe? What if we rented a private residence, in one of those two areas, are they safe?

Yes, StT is safe. We go down every few months. Our son is a reportr for one of the USVI newspapers. Downtoown Charlotte Amaile at night isnt' where you want to be and there are Estates (projects) that you don't want to venture into, but yes, Hull and Sapphire are very safe. We happen to rent a home on the West end, not much action on that side of the island, but peaceful and lovely. We'll be there in mid march again.

We had a wonderful stay at the Wyndam Suger Bay. The staff and everyone we met around the island seemed friendly. Use common sense wherever you go but I felt safe here. The trip was a pleasure.

I used to think that St. Thomas was safe until my most recent trip this month. One afternoon we were returning to our hotel (one of the major hotels in Charlotte Amalie) and two teenage black boys, accompanied by two very young children, held my friend and I up at gunpoint. Beware, St. Thomas isn't safe anymore. We were lucky to get off the island alive.

Norma, <BR>Just returned from St. Thomas last month. Stayed in the Sapphire Beach area. Although we did not encounter any difficulties while there, we always felt uncertain about our safety. It was a weird feeling and something we did not notice in other Caribbean destinations. <BR> <BR>Patty

I have been visiting St. Thomas for fifteen years and have never had a problem or felt unsafe. I just use common sense like you would do at home. There are parts of town where I am where you wouldn't want to go and parts of downtown CA are like that after dark. Stick to the main resorts and restaurant areas after dark and you won't have a problem.

St. Thomas is NOT safe at all -- and it is definitely one of the most unattractive and downtrodden islands I have EVER seen!!!

St. Thomas is a time-bomb waiting to go off. There is no police protection to speak of. We spent 5 days there in May and never saw a policeman/woman anywhere. The locals are nasty while serving tourists and there is a feeling of racial tension everywhere you go. Beware!

Having spent lots of time on St. Thomas this winter, I did not experience the same that the "others" are reporting. Sure there is crime, no one denies it, and there are socio economic problems. But, afraid you might run into that anywhere in the Caribb basin or even Hawaii. Just use your head and common sense. There seems to be few places to escape from it nowadays unfortunately. But a time bomb? Not even close! One encounters the islanders who might resent the typical tourist coming in and telling them how is and how it should be done and what is wrong, but the island is a garden of hopeful wonderful hard-working people who want you to love their home the same way they do! I think that the "uncomfortable" feeling comes from inflammatory posts and hearing these stories no matter where you travel and you are waiting for the other shoe to drop! I know I felt the same on Aguilla when I heard about the serious of robberies with a machete as the weapon and it is reportedly one of the "safer" islands. It is terrible that Louise was held up but there is a police presence, not only on the roads but in the tourist areas, island wide. Fortunately in my 25+ years of traveling to St. Thomas and the other USVI at least three or four times a winter, I have never needed their assistance. We just haven't had those experiences nor has any of my islander or visitor friends. Most of the hotels do maintain a security system (of sorts) with "guards" or security in the parking lots but since we don't know the details of the robbery, we really can't guess. But do educate yourself as to where to go and where NOT to go, what to do and what NOT to do. Just like any new location, be smart and look past a few disgruntled visitors and residents and you will have a lovely time!

If you don't want to mess around with crime or worrying, go to the Cayman Islands!

There definitely is crime even in the Caymans. My wife and I were robbed at gunpoint near Seven Mile Beach in March, 2001. But since we cooperated with the robbers, we weren't harmed. We will still go back to Grand Cayman, but we will exercise more caution in the future. <BR> <BR>We have also been to St. Thomas a few times and have never had a problem there at all. We know what areas to avoid. The locals we met on the island and on St. John were all friendly to us. Both islands are beautiful, but St. John is our favorite island in the Caribbean. <BR>

Some people just want to bury their heads in the sand and ignore the reality that St. Thomas is one of the most dangerous islands in the Caribbean, but the crime coverage is kept under covers by the press and government to protect the tourism industry. Beware!

Not sure what the vendetta is against St. Thomas but be reassured that the local newspapers and government have no great scheme to hide anything from anyone. Someone must be a bit paranoid and needs medication. A quick look at the papers, either on line, or in person, gives you the facts of any crime situation. but, of couse, someone could be confusing the recent murder on Tortola with St. Thomas since the victim was a resident of St. Thomas! Try to find that on the BVI sites!

To: Nohotair <BR> <BR>As long as people like you believe that St. Thomas doesn't have a crime problem, it will continue to escalate. The truth of the matter is that this island is running rampant with pistol-packing young thugs who mug tourists in broad daylight and the press doesn't even bother to report it. The lack of police protection is obvious to anyone who walks around Charlotte Amalie. Good luck with your fairytale image of this island that once was a tropical paradise but now is a crime haven.

<BR>To Nobaloney, <BR> <BR>You should change your name to Full of Baloney. Crime is no more rampant on St. Thomas than it is in the USA or most places in the Caribbean. But you would never have to worry about losing your life on St. Thomas, because you obviously don't yet have one to lose. Get a Life, Dude!

Oh sure -- St. Thomas is about as safe as D.C. is, right?????? NoBaloney is one of the FEW who is telling the TRUTH!!! The rest of you are flat out LIARS!!!!!

<BR> <BR>Hey Bill, <BR> <BR>You are a gd lying sob! Your calling us liars is the biggest lie of all. I hope you become a major crime statistic soon. If someone murdered your ass today, I would celebrate tomorrow and the rest of the month! You probably had Bill Clinton teach you ethics in college. Oh no, you're too stupid to have gone to college.

<BR>I'm sorry I was so wrong in the things I just said earlier to you, Bill. Silly me! I should have realized that your last name must be Clinton. Hey, I didn't have sex with that woman either.

Ah yes, summertime and the living is easy. I see that school is out again. <BR> <BR>Let's see, this board went through all this last year about this time and it stopped around September. Now it starts again in June. Hmmm...... <BR> <BR>A word to the wise folks, don't believe half of what you read in the summer for any postings.

St. Thomas is having a major surge in crime in 2002, especially robberies and homicides. Here's an article describing how the murder rate in St. Thomas has more than doubled this year:<BR><BR>http://new.onepaper.com/stthomasvi/?v=d&i=&s=News:Local&p=53204<BR><BR>Here's an article describing how St. Thomas is on track to break its all time record for number of murders this year:<BR><BR>www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=310279<BR><BR>Here's an article about the increase in robberies:<BR><BR>http://new.onepaper.com/stthomasvi/?v=d&i=&s=News:Local&p=53154<BR>