St. Thomas, USVI
Guidebook: Introduction
Welcome To St. Thomas!
St. Thomas Nightlife
On any given night, especially in season, you can find steel-pan orchestras, rock and roll, piano music, jazz, broken-bottle dancing (actual dancing atop broken glass), disco, and karaoke. Pick up a free copy of the bright-yellow St. Thomas-St. John This Week magazine when you arrive (it can be found at the airport, in stores, and in hotel lobbies). The back pages list who’s playing where. The Friday edition of the Daily News carries complete listings for the upcoming weekend.
St. Thomas Shopping
St. Thomas lives up to its billing as a duty-free shopping destination. Even if shopping isn’t your idea of how to spend a vacation, you still may want to slip in on a quiet day (check the cruise-ship listings—Monday and Sunday are usually the least crowded) to browse. Among the best buys are liquor, linens, china, crystal (most stores will ship), and jewelry. The amount of jewelry available makes this one of the few items for which comparison shopping is worth the effort. Local crafts include shell jewelry, carved calabash bowls, straw brooms, woven baskets, and dolls. Creations by local doll maker Gwendolyn Harley—like her costumed West Indian market woman—have been little goodwill ambassadors, bought by visitors from as far away as Asia. Spice mixes, hot sauces, and tropical jams and jellies are other native products.
St. Thomas Restaurants
Restaurants are spread all over the island, although fewer are found in the west and northwest sections. Most restaurants out of town are easily accessible by taxi and have ample parking. If you dine in Charlotte Amalie, take a taxi. Parking close to restaurants can be difficult to find, and walking around after dark isn’t advisable for safety reasons. Dining on St. Thomas is informal. Few restaurants require a jacket and tie. Still, at dinner in the snazzier places shorts and T-shirts are inappropriate; men would do well to wear slacks and a shirt with buttons. Dress codes on St. Thomas rarely require women to wear skirts, but you can never go wrong with something flowing.
St. Thomas Sights
To explore outside Charlotte Amalie, rent a car or hire a taxi. Your rental car should come with a good map; if not, pick up the pocket-size “St. Thomas-St. John Road Map” at a tourist information center. Roads are marked with route numbers, but they’re confusing and seem to switch numbers suddenly. Roads are also identified by signs bearing the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association’s mascot, Tommy the Starfish. More than 100 of these color-coded signs line the island’s main routes. Orange signs trace the route from the airport to Red Hook, green signs identify the road from town to Magens Bay, Tommy’s face on a yellow background points from Mafolie to Crown Bay through the north side, red signs lead from Smith Bay to Four Corners via Skyline Drive, and blue signs mark the route from the cruise-ship dock at Havensight to Red Hook. These color-coded routes are not marked on most visitor maps, however. Allow yourself a day to explore, especially if you want to stop to take pictures or to enjoy a light bite or refreshing swim. Most gas stations are on the island’s more populated eastern end, so fill up before heading to the north side. And remember to drive on the left!
While in St. Thomas…
Shop till you drop: Find great deals on duty-free jewelry, timepieces, and electronics along Charlotte Amalie’s Main Street—but don’t forget to pick up some locally made crafts as well.
Tell Fish Stories: Go in search of magnificent blue marlins and other trophy-worthy fish in the waters around St. Thomas from June through October.
Get Your Sea Legs: Charter a yacht (or just take a regularly scheduled day sail) to cruise between the islands any time of year, or join the International Rolex Regatta in March. It’s also a short hop over to the British Virgin Islands from St. Thomas.
Hit the Links: Play through the “Devil’s Triangle,” an intimidating cliff-side trio of holes at Mahogany Run Golf Course.
Take a Dip: Swim at Magens Bay, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
