St Thomas April 2010 Report Wrap-up

[sherban]

VIOL PART1- http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=16279
VIOL PART2- http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... ht=#192031
VIOL PART3- http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=16282
TA TR- http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1 ... lands.html
Photobucket: http://s240.photobucket.com/albums/ff71 ... il%202010/
Google Map of STT- http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie ... f&t=h&z=13

This is our trip report wrap-up & conclusions from our April 2010 week in St Thomas. We chose St Thomas for this trip because we have never stayed there before and wanted to see what it had to offer. We like socializing and going to bars and restaurants and St Thomas looked like a great place to get a good mix of natural beauty and modern conveniences and social opportunities. This report warp up is just a stream of consciousness/recollection of thoughts.

One of the things that I really enjoyed on this trip was a couple morning jogs along the waterfront in Charlotte Amalie. I have always enjoyed jogging in new places because it is a blend of several great things- exercise, sightseeing, listening to music and motion. We would drive to Yacht Haven Grand, park in their parking lot, put on our ipods and start running towards the waterfront, it was a really great loop to run- through YHG, down the hill, past the VI Legislative building, past tent city, and across the “causeway”…a really nice mix of sights in my opinion…then over to Frenchtown and through there a little bit before looping back. I made a fun mix of tunes on my ipod that was great for this…Santana, Stephen Marley, Tito Puente, Third World, Toots, Angelique Kidjo, Bob Marley, TTD, Kassav, Mishka…etc.
I love to run in beautiful places while listening to great music and St Thomas was awesome for that, I really enjoyed the mix of Yachts, Cruise Ships, Safari Busses, Locals, fruit stands, ferrys loading tourists, sparkling water, water island…etc FUN!

Restaurants are a-plenty on STT so I think that is also a big positive, some people call themselves “foodies” and I don’t think we are foodies but we enjoyed the variety of options for places to eat. To be honest, we drank more than we ate…and there are plenty of happy hour opportunities on St Thomas…we liked that.

I started reading Katharyn Stockett “the Help” while on STT and I got totally sucked in, I loved the book and could not put it down, it also added some intrigue to my trip because it made me think more about the subject of race and slavery…I spent hours in STT buried in those pages…a great book. We went over to STJ on Sunday to meet people for drinks and we sat behind the rest of the folks up on the deck…there were two families with kids…one white and one black… and I just wondered “what if history were different?” the wealth of so many whites was built on the backs of slaves…what if it were different? Remember, this is just stream of consciousness recollections…and I was very tuned into “racial history” because I was reading “The Help” at the time. The history of the Caribbean is linked to the subject of slavery and slavery tied to racial realities. We have come a long way in the past 50 years…so glad. Read the book, it is really good.

I found the traffic on St Thomas annoying near “rush hour”…I can do without that but there is a price to pay for development and traffic is one of them. I’ve heard that SXM traffic is horrible…too bad. I also found it a little bit annoying to have to pay to get into Megans Bay beach and Smith Bay Beach…it isn’t the money so much as just having to stop and give money…and remember to bring money.
All in all, we really enjoyed STT and would definitely go back. I’ve been to St John, St Thomas, and Aruba and I like them all for different reasons…they all have different pluses and minuses and different feels.
I think STJ has the best snorkeling and better beaches than STT, Aruba also has some awesome beaches. St Thomas definately has much more “social opportunity” (things happening) than STJ in my opinion.
Next year we are thinking about taking the kids to the Caribbean for the first time…it will likely be Aruba or STJ…not sure.
Cheers- Sherb

[lprof]

Thanks for sharing some highlights of your STT trip; I am more interested in spending time there after seeing your pictures and hearing of your experiences. The tour of the island is particularly appealing.
And, I truly do appreciate all your mapping efforts.

[PA Girl]

In six weeks, we will be staying on STT for the first time. It is just for one night but we are looking forward to it as we have a few things planned with our 4yo.

[liamsaunt]

Thanks for the STT report! I just went back and read everything. It sounds like you had a great time, and you cannot beat your view!

I'm toying with adding a couple of nights on STT next time, and getting out to explore the island a little bit. The only place I have stayed on STT is Secret Harbour.

[vi lover]

OMG! I OWN that great Bob Marley tie-dye shirt! It is the most comfortable shirt and people ALWAYS have a positive comment about it.

Thanks for the report!

[jake]

Good comparisons STT/STJ; we stay in a condo on STT but visit STJ 2-3 times per visit, usually 10 day stays. We take the car over at least once (mostly to get to Coral Bay).We stay out of CA, but this year in May both traffic and visitors were down.
Hands down in my opinion, STT has more food options, slightly cheaper food/alcohol and lodging, unbelievably worse traffic (except maybe in Cruz Bay at times), more options for beach alternatives. But Smith Bay is beautiful, Hull Bay is very interesting, and there are many great views. STT even has a very functional hospital, which we visited this year for the first time ever (nothing permanent, a fall on the rocks while fishing, met a nurse who lives 1 mile from us in PA!)
As certain, STJ has more and better beaches and breathtaking views and better/more cultural sites (including those not opened up yet), slower lifestyle, and larger capacity housing (villas). AND we have many more places to explore on STJ.
I love and will take either. Both. Soon.
Back 19 days and miss them already, planning a 2011 trip.

[Agent99]

Just caught up on the report. Thanks for taking the time to put it together. The Google map is great!