US Virgin Islands Travel Guide Information about US Virgin Islands

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With its sea-swept landscapes, historic towns, duty-free shopping and luxurious resorts, the United States Virgin Islands bask in the combination of familiar yet exotic that makes them one of the most popular cruise-ship destinations in the Caribbean. America aside, it's the Danes who have had the most influence on the islands. Successful sugarcane exporters and slave dealers, they built most of the major towns, and there are plentiful reminders of their presence in the colonial architecture of the historic cities of Charlotte Amalie and Christiansted and in the ruins of sugar plantations scattered across the green mountainous slopes. Your Ad Here Of the sixty islands, islets and cays (most of which are uninhabited) that make up the USVI, the biggest and busiest are St Thomas, St Croix and St John. Each has a distinctive mood and culture, and you haven't really seen the USVI until you've checked out all three. St Thomas, with its picturesque capital, Charlotte Amalie, is the most American of the islands - hip and stylish (at least compared to the rest of the Caribbean) with upmarket shops and restaurants and a history born of trade rather than sugar. St Croix, the largest of the islands, is the most distant so sees little of the hordes that flock to St Thomas and St John, though the cruise-ship ports of Christiansted and Frederiksted still attract visitors with their mix of historic sights and good shopping and restaurants. St John, the smallest of the islands is virtually all wilderness, its National Park, part on land, part underwater, the major attraction for its miles of hiking trails and quiet beaches. St Croix, the largest of the USVI, measuring 28 miles by 7 miles, is also the most remote, lying forty miles south of St Thomas. For many years this peaceful gem has been accessible only by air or cruise ship but now that a fast ferry connects the island to St Thomas, it's a must-see for all visitors to the USVI. The landscape, more gentle than its neighbours, is a mixture of rocky sierras, fertile coastal plain and rainforest and, of course, St Croix has its fair share of picturesque beaches. Architecturally the island is a few steps ahead of the other Virgins - the towns contain plentiful and beautiful examples of Danish colonial architecture and the landscape has many ruins of plantations and stone windmills from the island's days as king of the Caribbean sugarcane industry. Culturally, the island is a fusion of cuisines, ideas and customs, its employment opportunities (the Hess Oil refinery and tourism) and proximity to the US (and potential for US citizenship) attracting people from all over the Caribbean. The two major towns are historic Christiansted, on the northeast coast and Frederiksted, on the west coast. The latter only really comes to life when cruise ships dock but Christiansted is almost always lively. Don't leave without a visit to the tiny but spectacular Buck Island, off the northeast coast. The island has been administered by the National Park Service since 1948 and is a paradise of beaches, reefs and hiking trails. Destinations by Island in US Virgin Islands Saint Croix Saint John Saint Thomas Located just three miles east of St Thomas and only accessible by boat, St John, the smallest and most pristine of the USVI, is the perfect hideaway and a paradise for nature lovers. Twenty square miles of lush mountains rise from perfect white-sand beaches, and with two-thirds of the island designated a National Park - one of the largest areas of wilderness in the whole of the Caribbean - there's an abundance of flora and fauna, including wild cats and burros, hummingbirds and iguanas to look out for. You really need to come for longer than a day trip to get the most out of the scenery, miles of hiking trails, numerous secluded beaches, and many reefs to snorkel. A hike into the mountains will also take you past man-made sights - ruins dating from the eighteenth century when the island had over one hundred successful sugar plantations and a population of two hundred whites and one thousand slaves. The main town on St John is Cruz Bay, home to half of the island's four thousand inhabitants and the best of the island's shopping, eating and nightlife. Your Ad Here The most accessible and Americanized of the Virgins, St Thomas is the capital of cool - the couture, accommodation and cuisine hub of the Caribbean. Its mercantile roots - the port at Charlotte Amalie has been an important merchant centre since the 1700s - still prevail and Charlotte Amalie's renovated old warehouses now house a wealth of galleries, restaurants and shops. It can all seem a bit too sanitized, but if you look deeper - a trip to the western side of the island or Ashley's Mobile Restaurant is a good start - you can still find Caribbean culture alive and kicking. The small town of Red Hook offers all the amenities of Charlotte Amalie on a smaller scale. It doesn't have much in the way of historical buildings, but the harbour is hopping with yachters and those seeking ferries for St John and beyond. The north and east of the island have the best beaches, including Magens Bay, consistently voted one of the world's best.

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