usvi-on-line
St. Croix...to go or not to go?? Need input~
St. Croix...to go or not to go?? Need input~
Hey all..
Some friends are thinking about taking a trip soon to St. Croix..they have been before, but I have not. St.John is my true love. St. Croix has way cheaper housing..so is more affordable right now....Having never been, I am not sure what to expect or if we would enjoy it. I have been told they don't have many nice beaches, but know we could go out on a daysail, etc..So I would love your advice of why or why not to go??? Thanks so much!!
Some friends are thinking about taking a trip soon to St. Croix..they have been before, but I have not. St.John is my true love. St. Croix has way cheaper housing..so is more affordable right now....Having never been, I am not sure what to expect or if we would enjoy it. I have been told they don't have many nice beaches, but know we could go out on a daysail, etc..So I would love your advice of why or why not to go??? Thanks so much!!
We have been traveling to the VI since the mid-80’s, mostly to STT/STJ. We are villa people. In 2007 during the big burst of construction on STJ we took a chance and tried 10 days on STX, and have been back every year since to stay for at least 10 days. Next spring we plan on staying a little over 2 weeks. My trip reports from this past April are here on VIOL with pix and video links (although I am lagging in the last installment) and trip reports from 2009 are also here.
A couple of things on this thread:
Accommodations: I think the hotels are comparable in price. The best accommodations at The Buccaneer are probably running about the same $ as Caneel. There are many beachfront small resorts. We find the villas to be bit less expensive and what we like is that you can get a villa right on swimmable beachfront without breaking the bank – of course, you can break the bank, there are some spectacular properties, but it’s not necessary. We fly from ORD and the airfare to STX is slightly higher than to STT. So, there is a little bit of balancing to the slightly less expensive accommodations, the cheaper groceries and the reasonably priced restaurants. We rent our villas from on-island manager Vacation St. Croix www.vacationstcroix.com. Our first trip we stayed at Villa Madeleine (stand-alone condos – more like townhouses - each with a private courtyard pool; second trip we stayed at an owner-managed villa I would rather forget so won’t mention the name, third trip we went back to VSTX and rented Island Time (beachfront) and then Villa D’Estasi (beachfront), this past spring we returned to Island Time, and next trip we are staying at Villa Bambooshay, hillside with a long view out over Green Cay. Each trip I try to tour a couple of additional villas as I am always planning a few trips ahead.
Beaches: I am not going to say that you will find the cluster of fabulous beaches, one right after another that you will find on the north shore of STJ but you will find the exact same types of beaches as on STJ all in different places – the island is larger and so the beaches and beach types are all spread out. There is good snorkeling besides what’s out at Buck Island, and the diving is superb – there are wreck dives, drift dives, reef dives, night dives under the Fredericksted pier, Salt River, and for experienced divers there’s The Wall and The Vertigo.
Crime: I think this is relative. There is a large working population on STX independent of tourism so areas west of mid-island and the west end are going to have more density of population. We have never had any brushes with crime there and the villa burglaries I have heard about have all been in the way-off season, usually occurring when owners have shuttered their property due to incoming storms in hurricane season. I have not heard of any villa robberies to date. There are crimes of opportunity – one of my favorite stories about crime on STX was a post on TA by a visitor who blamed the island because he left his brand new Nikon SLR on the front seat of his car at Cane Bay Beach and someone took it – lol. We are always careful, as we are anywhere, and we try not to do stupid things. We have never felt threatened or uncomfortable walking around in Christiansted and one of the things we enjoy about the people we have met is that we don’t have a feeling that, as tourists, everyone has their hands in our pockets.
I won’t go on and on about why we do love STX but if anyone has any specific questions, I’d be happy to answer as best I can.
- Margy
A couple of things on this thread:
Accommodations: I think the hotels are comparable in price. The best accommodations at The Buccaneer are probably running about the same $ as Caneel. There are many beachfront small resorts. We find the villas to be bit less expensive and what we like is that you can get a villa right on swimmable beachfront without breaking the bank – of course, you can break the bank, there are some spectacular properties, but it’s not necessary. We fly from ORD and the airfare to STX is slightly higher than to STT. So, there is a little bit of balancing to the slightly less expensive accommodations, the cheaper groceries and the reasonably priced restaurants. We rent our villas from on-island manager Vacation St. Croix www.vacationstcroix.com. Our first trip we stayed at Villa Madeleine (stand-alone condos – more like townhouses - each with a private courtyard pool; second trip we stayed at an owner-managed villa I would rather forget so won’t mention the name, third trip we went back to VSTX and rented Island Time (beachfront) and then Villa D’Estasi (beachfront), this past spring we returned to Island Time, and next trip we are staying at Villa Bambooshay, hillside with a long view out over Green Cay. Each trip I try to tour a couple of additional villas as I am always planning a few trips ahead.
Beaches: I am not going to say that you will find the cluster of fabulous beaches, one right after another that you will find on the north shore of STJ but you will find the exact same types of beaches as on STJ all in different places – the island is larger and so the beaches and beach types are all spread out. There is good snorkeling besides what’s out at Buck Island, and the diving is superb – there are wreck dives, drift dives, reef dives, night dives under the Fredericksted pier, Salt River, and for experienced divers there’s The Wall and The Vertigo.
Crime: I think this is relative. There is a large working population on STX independent of tourism so areas west of mid-island and the west end are going to have more density of population. We have never had any brushes with crime there and the villa burglaries I have heard about have all been in the way-off season, usually occurring when owners have shuttered their property due to incoming storms in hurricane season. I have not heard of any villa robberies to date. There are crimes of opportunity – one of my favorite stories about crime on STX was a post on TA by a visitor who blamed the island because he left his brand new Nikon SLR on the front seat of his car at Cane Bay Beach and someone took it – lol. We are always careful, as we are anywhere, and we try not to do stupid things. We have never felt threatened or uncomfortable walking around in Christiansted and one of the things we enjoy about the people we have met is that we don’t have a feeling that, as tourists, everyone has their hands in our pockets.
I won’t go on and on about why we do love STX but if anyone has any specific questions, I’d be happy to answer as best I can.
- Margy
related question--
I want to go to St Croix while on my St John trip next time. Just pop in and see it. I read that the boat from STT to STX is nicknamed the Barf Barge, but to fly there is 2x the price. Anyone got any input? What is there to see on STX? What should I not miss? Boat is 90/RT -- plane is 180 RT
I want to go to St Croix while on my St John trip next time. Just pop in and see it. I read that the boat from STT to STX is nicknamed the Barf Barge, but to fly there is 2x the price. Anyone got any input? What is there to see on STX? What should I not miss? Boat is 90/RT -- plane is 180 RT
Larry - it depends on weather, but the crossing from STT to STX is smoother; STX to STT is the rough ride. Some folks take the barge one way and the seaplane back to STT. Seaborne also has an airport to airport shuttle that may be less $$ than the seaplane, Cape Air also flies there. It's 90 minutes on the barge, about 25-30 on the seaplane.
STX is really not a "pop in and see it" kind of place. It's a big island. But, if you just want to spend some time in the pretty town of C'Sted and maybe take Big Beard's cat out to Buck Island from the boardwalk, then do take the seaplane. It will come in just to the west of C'Sted - you can taxi to the boardwalk in about 5 minutes. You can also take the 5 minute shuttle from the fort out to Hotel on the Cay and use their beach, have some drinks, etc.
STX is really not a "pop in and see it" kind of place. It's a big island. But, if you just want to spend some time in the pretty town of C'Sted and maybe take Big Beard's cat out to Buck Island from the boardwalk, then do take the seaplane. It will come in just to the west of C'Sted - you can taxi to the boardwalk in about 5 minutes. You can also take the 5 minute shuttle from the fort out to Hotel on the Cay and use their beach, have some drinks, etc.
We did a week on St Croix a few years ago at the Carambola resort. Hubby had worked for Cruzan for years & had many business trips there. He knew his way around & we drove out to dinner each night and/or other meals. Carambola was lovely & secluded. The beach only has a small section to swim in due to rocks & the waves were rough. We did not go to other beaches. Not the same game plan as STJ since we were on a beach. Not sure what the plan would be if you are in a villa. I did not notice access to a great beach around every bend like STJ because houes/hotels/condos are on the beach. There is a "rough area" of the island we did not go to. I felt safe everywhere we went & the locals were great. I felt more unsafe on STT for sure.
STX
Great job Margy! I was hoping you would add to this thread... (and I am patiently waiting for part 4 of your report... 
)
We are St Croix fans as well, and will be going back for a third year in a row in early 2011. Great beaches, properties at which to stay, historical attractions, restaurants, open spaces, and rarely feels crowded.
Crime is an interesting topic on vacation and island message boards. There is senseless crime everywhere - on every USVI, the BVI, all over the rest of the Caribbean, in every other vacation area, as well as right here in wholesome Iowa. I don't look for trouble here in Des Moines, and follow the same rules when on vacation.
St Croix is not an island of vacation utopia - it's an island of real people, jobs, and industry; surrounded by beautiful beaches and the sea. It feels right to us, and fits our needs perfectly!
) We are St Croix fans as well, and will be going back for a third year in a row in early 2011. Great beaches, properties at which to stay, historical attractions, restaurants, open spaces, and rarely feels crowded.
Crime is an interesting topic on vacation and island message boards. There is senseless crime everywhere - on every USVI, the BVI, all over the rest of the Caribbean, in every other vacation area, as well as right here in wholesome Iowa. I don't look for trouble here in Des Moines, and follow the same rules when on vacation.
St Croix is not an island of vacation utopia - it's an island of real people, jobs, and industry; surrounded by beautiful beaches and the sea. It feels right to us, and fits our needs perfectly!
St Croix Trip
I spent a few days there scouting out my wedding island in November, be happy to answer any questions..
- Liam
- Liam
St. Croix...to go or not to go?? Need input~
I've been to both St. Thomas and St. Croix (as well as Nassau and others). I love both but, then, I simply love the Caribbean.
St. Thomas is beautiful. We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton. The views were spectacular. But the Kid's program was a little lacking and thrown together. My kids can have fun anywhere, so they were okay. But St. Thomas is beautiful, mountainous, great food, etc. And the Ritz is top notch, if not pricey.
On St. Croix, we stayed at The Buccaneer and felt more taken care of..."contained." It's a huge resort with lots to do. Their Kid's Camp was terrific, at least according to my kids. I checked on them a couple times but my kids made it clear that they no longer needed the services of their parents. Talk about spoiled ! So my wife and I had time to fully enjoy ourselves without the guilt of worrying about the kids. And the family programs are great. We took our kids sailing to Buck Island, did the resort treasure hunt, learned to snorkel over reefs, kayak, and more.
I think Liam is right, it depends on your goals. To us, safety was the more important, but the concerns quickly went away once we arrived on both islands.
As far as safety goes, we felt very safe at both places. To me, whichever resort is large enough to keep you busy, happy, and entertained is safer. For us, we never felt we needed to leave the Buccaneer on St. Croix. But we couldn't resist looking around and never felt threatened. My wife loved shopping in Christiansted and I very much liked the Whim sugar plantation... and we loved the Cruzan Rum factory - I did especially. The 25-year old Estate Rum... ah.
I think islands like Jamaica and other places can give all the islands a bad name. But one bad apple definitely doesn't spoil the whole bunch.
I'm new to the list, so pardon me getting on my soap box about the Caribbean. I've been watching the site a while and loving it.
Steve
St. Thomas is beautiful. We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton. The views were spectacular. But the Kid's program was a little lacking and thrown together. My kids can have fun anywhere, so they were okay. But St. Thomas is beautiful, mountainous, great food, etc. And the Ritz is top notch, if not pricey.
On St. Croix, we stayed at The Buccaneer and felt more taken care of..."contained." It's a huge resort with lots to do. Their Kid's Camp was terrific, at least according to my kids. I checked on them a couple times but my kids made it clear that they no longer needed the services of their parents. Talk about spoiled ! So my wife and I had time to fully enjoy ourselves without the guilt of worrying about the kids. And the family programs are great. We took our kids sailing to Buck Island, did the resort treasure hunt, learned to snorkel over reefs, kayak, and more.
I think Liam is right, it depends on your goals. To us, safety was the more important, but the concerns quickly went away once we arrived on both islands.
As far as safety goes, we felt very safe at both places. To me, whichever resort is large enough to keep you busy, happy, and entertained is safer. For us, we never felt we needed to leave the Buccaneer on St. Croix. But we couldn't resist looking around and never felt threatened. My wife loved shopping in Christiansted and I very much liked the Whim sugar plantation... and we loved the Cruzan Rum factory - I did especially. The 25-year old Estate Rum... ah.
I think islands like Jamaica and other places can give all the islands a bad name. But one bad apple definitely doesn't spoil the whole bunch.
I'm new to the list, so pardon me getting on my soap box about the Caribbean. I've been watching the site a while and loving it.
Steve
A huge fan of the Caribbean.
sstclair,
It was a great job, the perks were awesome between trips to STX and Kenny Chesney concerts (think we went to at least 16 in 4 years). Of course the rum was the best perk. The tour is great.. we had the owners give us the door & take us to lunch & dinner while we were on island
It all ended a few years ago because they sold the company..that is the problem with the liquor business.
It was a great job, the perks were awesome between trips to STX and Kenny Chesney concerts (think we went to at least 16 in 4 years). Of course the rum was the best perk. The tour is great.. we had the owners give us the door & take us to lunch & dinner while we were on island
It all ended a few years ago because they sold the company..that is the problem with the liquor business.