Hi! I am planning a trip to St. Thomas in mid-July, and I plan to stay at the Ritz Carlton. I want to go to St. John and St. Croix as well, and wanted to see how much time to spend on each island. I am thinking of taking a day trip to St. John and then going to St. Croix for 2 nights at the end of the trip. I have heard Buck Island is awesome and want to go there. Does this plan sound reasonable? Also - does anyone have any suggestions for places to stay on St. Croix?

The Buccaneer comes very highly recommended on St. Croix and you will find all three islands have their own personality. I personally would be more inclined to split the time between St. John and St. Thomas due to the time and having to fly between STT and STX - seems like a down day packing, moving, flying, unpacking, etc. Buck Island is nice but I find that St. John and day trips to the BVI do rival and exceed STX's Buck Island. I would much rather sail to Jost than ferry to Buck! Those who love to explore, find wonderful beaches hidden behind each curve or over each hill, the activities of the Nat'l Park and the ambience of St. John overall very seductive and some say they can't get enuf of it!

spent x-mas '99 at st. croix stayed at sunterra resort, very nice resort secluded away from everything. did'nt care to much for the island other than our resort. went to buck island, was nice, the masses of elkhorn coral are amasing!! i would'nt take time away from st. john or st. thomas just to say you went to buck island, you won't be missing out on anything just wasting time and money traveling to st. croix. i did scuba dive for the first time in st. croix and truely loved it, that is one reason i'll never forget xmas '99 in st. croix. any other questions please ask- good luck!!

hi, <BR>just thought i would drop u a note as i too am headed to st. thomas & the ritz tomorrow morning. planning at least 4 open water dives. i will msg. u when i return next week RE: travel between islands, general impressions etc. i've never been there so am curious to compare to grand cayman(went there the last 2 yrs and loved it)and aruba(good for windsurfing but not much else-diving was most disappointing-MANY dead reefs.) <BR>

bcolt- <BR>i am eagerly awaiting your reply about the ritz. i, too have been to aruba- no need to return, however, i was trying to decide if i should go to the hyatt in grand cayman or the ritz in st thomas- my thinking is- you cant go wrong with the ritz, but which island is better? at the ritz, do you book a garden view or ocean view? which building do you request? which restuarants do you eat in? how far is the hotel by taxi to other hotels and shopping? does the island appear impoverished? any comments would be appreciated. thanks-debbie.

Hi,<BR>My husband and I fell in love with the Buccaneer in St. Croix. I am seriously considering returning next year instead of going to a new island, thats how much we liked it. We are not very experienced travellers though. We thought the beach at Buck Island was breathtaking. Just my .02!