USVI Trip Report
Nov 24th, 2006 | 01:32 PM
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USVI Trip Report
I traveled with my brother to the USVI from 11/19/06 to 11/24/06. Here is the trip report.
Sunday, Nov 19:
We landed at the Cyril E. King airport and took a Taxi ride to Red hook, where we were to catch a ferry to St. Johns. Taxi’s in the VI charge on a per passenger basis. They are more like a shuttle, in the sense that they pick up and drop off passengers on the way to Red Hook. We missed our ferry by a few minutes, since the ferry leaves for St. Johns on top of the hour, until midnight.
The ferry dropped us off at Cruz bay in St. Johns. Cruz bay is a quaint town. On reaching St. Johns, we took a cab to the Tamarind Inn. Actually it’s a very short walk to Tamarind Inn, because it is located at Cruz Bay. We had dinner that night at Woody’s – a short walk from the Tamarind Inn. The blackened Mahi Mahi sandwich there was delicious.
Tamarind Inn is a basic place, but clean and adequate for our needs. The restaurants and tourist centers are all located within walking distance of the hotel. Tamarind Inn also serves a different traditional cuisine every day.
Monday, Nov 20:
We started the day by taking a Taxi from Cruz Bay to the Annenberg sugar mill. After touring the Annenberg sugar mill, we walked down the hill towards the Leinster Bay and headed for the trek towards the Watermelon Cay. The hike is about a mile long and easy. After reaching the farthest point we went for a snorkel to the Watermelon Island. Lots of Sea Urchins, Yellow tail snapper, Parrot fish to see here. If you get lucky, you might spot a sting ray or lizard fish. My brother actually saw a couple of sting rays. After that we started walking back toward the main road. On the way we stopped over for another snorkel detour on the sandy portion of the Watermelon Cay trail. This time we spotted a sea turtle and lots of star fish.
It was late and we were starving. There are no snack bars or restaurants near the Annenberg sugar mill. We survived for a little bit on fruits and granola bars. After 2-3 hours of snorkeling at the Watermelon cay, we decided to move on to our next destination – The Trunk Bay.
The Trunk Bay is rated as one of the top 10 beaches in the world. We were able to grab a sandwich to eat at Trunk Bay. Trunk Bay has great fine sand beaches and mild waves. We snorkeled here for a bit and walked around the beach. At 4:30 pm we went back to the hotel and relaxed until dinner. We went to SOGO for dinner. SOGO serves some good authentic Caribbean dishes. I tried the mutton stew and loved it.
Tuesday, Nov 21:
The next day we went to Virgin Gorda on a tour. We traveled on LIMNOS V for a 1 hour 30 minute trip to Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. We went to see The Baths at the Virgin Gorda. The Baths are exotic pools and grottos formed by giant boulders strewn across sand beaches. The tour company crew verifies your passports and collects it for immigration processing with the BVI authorities.
The breakfast on the boat is quite bare and consists of muffins. If you need coffee, drink it before getting on the boat. They don’t serve coffee on the boat. Once we landed in Virgin Gorda, the tour company takes you by cab to the Bath entrance. The most palpable theory for the boulders at The Baths has to do with tectonic activity pushing the boulders to the surface. The combination of water and the boulders makes the whole experience a unique one. Our guide informed us that there are only three such formation’s in the world. After returning from The Baths, we went back to our boat where a Deli lunch buffet awaited us.
After lunch, we went to snorkel near the Norman Island, which is on the way to St. Johns. We stopped near a pair of underwater caverns. Although, I have snorkeled many times, the coral formation in caverns is one of the most impressive ones. We saw many of the same fishes that we had seen before, until we saw a 3 ft Barracuda. The ship crew was familiar with this one and had named it after the island – Norman. Once everyone was back on the boat we headed back to St. Johns. That night we had dinner at the Morgan’s Mango.
Wednesday, Nov 22:
The next morning, we headed towards Charlotte Amalie. We boarded the boat to Charlotte Amalie. Unlike the Red hook boat, the Charlotte Amalie boat leaves every hour. Unlike Cruz bay, Charlotte Amalie is bustling town. Upon reaching Charlotte Amalie, we walked to our hotel– Miller Manor. Miller Manor is perched up on a hill and has a great view of the harbor. The owners Marj and Harry are friendly. The Charlotte Amalie shopping area is within walking distance from the hotel.
We ate lunch at Cuzzins – a native Caribbean place. I tried the mutton stew and the curry, both are fabulous. We liked the place so much that we went back there that night for dinner.
That evening we walked around the post office, emancipation garden and 99 steps.
Thursday, Nov 23:
The next morning, we went to Paradise point and then to Megan’s beach by Taxi. Personally, I like the view on the way to Megan’s beach more than the view from the Paradise point. Megan’s beach is in many ways like Trunk Bay, except its much larger but its not ideal for snorkeling. We spent the morning hanging out at the beach and by noon we headed back to downtown. We went for lunch at Glady’s by the main street. The roti-chicken here is delicious.
We went back to the hotel to rest and get away from the heat and humidity. In the evening, we wanted to go out elsewhere, but it turns out that St. Thomas is a fairly dull town after 5 pm. Most shops and restaurants cater to the cruise ships. We had thanksgiving dinner at the Miller manor.
Friday, Nov 24:
We went back to the main street to shop for some alcohol, which is quite inexpensive here. The Alcohol vendor packed our alcohol in special cases so that it can be checked-in with the flight baggage check-in. We also purchased some T-shirts on sale by local vendors by the post office.
We went back to the hotel and checked out at noon. The cab came and picked us up and dropped us at the airport.
Overall, we had a good time at St. Thomas, St. Johns and Virgin Gorda.
Sunday, Nov 19:
We landed at the Cyril E. King airport and took a Taxi ride to Red hook, where we were to catch a ferry to St. Johns. Taxi’s in the VI charge on a per passenger basis. They are more like a shuttle, in the sense that they pick up and drop off passengers on the way to Red Hook. We missed our ferry by a few minutes, since the ferry leaves for St. Johns on top of the hour, until midnight.
The ferry dropped us off at Cruz bay in St. Johns. Cruz bay is a quaint town. On reaching St. Johns, we took a cab to the Tamarind Inn. Actually it’s a very short walk to Tamarind Inn, because it is located at Cruz Bay. We had dinner that night at Woody’s – a short walk from the Tamarind Inn. The blackened Mahi Mahi sandwich there was delicious.
Tamarind Inn is a basic place, but clean and adequate for our needs. The restaurants and tourist centers are all located within walking distance of the hotel. Tamarind Inn also serves a different traditional cuisine every day.
Monday, Nov 20:
We started the day by taking a Taxi from Cruz Bay to the Annenberg sugar mill. After touring the Annenberg sugar mill, we walked down the hill towards the Leinster Bay and headed for the trek towards the Watermelon Cay. The hike is about a mile long and easy. After reaching the farthest point we went for a snorkel to the Watermelon Island. Lots of Sea Urchins, Yellow tail snapper, Parrot fish to see here. If you get lucky, you might spot a sting ray or lizard fish. My brother actually saw a couple of sting rays. After that we started walking back toward the main road. On the way we stopped over for another snorkel detour on the sandy portion of the Watermelon Cay trail. This time we spotted a sea turtle and lots of star fish.
It was late and we were starving. There are no snack bars or restaurants near the Annenberg sugar mill. We survived for a little bit on fruits and granola bars. After 2-3 hours of snorkeling at the Watermelon cay, we decided to move on to our next destination – The Trunk Bay.
The Trunk Bay is rated as one of the top 10 beaches in the world. We were able to grab a sandwich to eat at Trunk Bay. Trunk Bay has great fine sand beaches and mild waves. We snorkeled here for a bit and walked around the beach. At 4:30 pm we went back to the hotel and relaxed until dinner. We went to SOGO for dinner. SOGO serves some good authentic Caribbean dishes. I tried the mutton stew and loved it.
Tuesday, Nov 21:
The next day we went to Virgin Gorda on a tour. We traveled on LIMNOS V for a 1 hour 30 minute trip to Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. We went to see The Baths at the Virgin Gorda. The Baths are exotic pools and grottos formed by giant boulders strewn across sand beaches. The tour company crew verifies your passports and collects it for immigration processing with the BVI authorities.
The breakfast on the boat is quite bare and consists of muffins. If you need coffee, drink it before getting on the boat. They don’t serve coffee on the boat. Once we landed in Virgin Gorda, the tour company takes you by cab to the Bath entrance. The most palpable theory for the boulders at The Baths has to do with tectonic activity pushing the boulders to the surface. The combination of water and the boulders makes the whole experience a unique one. Our guide informed us that there are only three such formation’s in the world. After returning from The Baths, we went back to our boat where a Deli lunch buffet awaited us.
After lunch, we went to snorkel near the Norman Island, which is on the way to St. Johns. We stopped near a pair of underwater caverns. Although, I have snorkeled many times, the coral formation in caverns is one of the most impressive ones. We saw many of the same fishes that we had seen before, until we saw a 3 ft Barracuda. The ship crew was familiar with this one and had named it after the island – Norman. Once everyone was back on the boat we headed back to St. Johns. That night we had dinner at the Morgan’s Mango.
Wednesday, Nov 22:
The next morning, we headed towards Charlotte Amalie. We boarded the boat to Charlotte Amalie. Unlike the Red hook boat, the Charlotte Amalie boat leaves every hour. Unlike Cruz bay, Charlotte Amalie is bustling town. Upon reaching Charlotte Amalie, we walked to our hotel– Miller Manor. Miller Manor is perched up on a hill and has a great view of the harbor. The owners Marj and Harry are friendly. The Charlotte Amalie shopping area is within walking distance from the hotel.
We ate lunch at Cuzzins – a native Caribbean place. I tried the mutton stew and the curry, both are fabulous. We liked the place so much that we went back there that night for dinner.
That evening we walked around the post office, emancipation garden and 99 steps.
Thursday, Nov 23:
The next morning, we went to Paradise point and then to Megan’s beach by Taxi. Personally, I like the view on the way to Megan’s beach more than the view from the Paradise point. Megan’s beach is in many ways like Trunk Bay, except its much larger but its not ideal for snorkeling. We spent the morning hanging out at the beach and by noon we headed back to downtown. We went for lunch at Glady’s by the main street. The roti-chicken here is delicious.
We went back to the hotel to rest and get away from the heat and humidity. In the evening, we wanted to go out elsewhere, but it turns out that St. Thomas is a fairly dull town after 5 pm. Most shops and restaurants cater to the cruise ships. We had thanksgiving dinner at the Miller manor.
Friday, Nov 24:
We went back to the main street to shop for some alcohol, which is quite inexpensive here. The Alcohol vendor packed our alcohol in special cases so that it can be checked-in with the flight baggage check-in. We also purchased some T-shirts on sale by local vendors by the post office.
We went back to the hotel and checked out at noon. The cab came and picked us up and dropped us at the airport.
Overall, we had a good time at St. Thomas, St. Johns and Virgin Gorda.
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