The Virgin Islands, boat by boat.
Which catamaran actually reaches the far cays. Where the green turtles graze at slack water. Whether the Red Hook ferry beats a taxi to Cruz Bay. Every trip across the three islands, reviewed.
Six ways to spend a day between St Thomas and St John.
Turtles at Buck Island, a catamaran out to the cays, a jeep over the mountain road to Magens Bay, a kayak through the mangrove lagoon. The days most trips here are built around, and the right boat for each.
What everybody books between the cruise pier and Cruz Bay.
See all the reviews →Turtle snorkels, night kayaks and one zipline down a rainforest ridge — the trips more travellers take than anything else on these islands.
1
Turtle Cove Catamaran Snorkel and Sail at Little Buck Island STT
Sail from St. Thomas to Little Buck Island for turtle snorkeling, coral reefs, drinks, snacks, and a relaxed catamaran ride.
From · $119
Read our review →
2
Snorkel St. John Tour from Sapphire and Margaritaville
from $180
3
Night Kayak Tour St. Thomas – Westin Frenchman’s Reef
from $69
4
Tree Limin’ Extreme Zipline
from $155
5
Afternoon Snorkel, Pizza & Sunset Tour departing from St. Thomas & St. John
from $120
6
Parasail Experience in St Thomas
from $146
7
Sunset & Harbor Lights Dinner Sail from the Marriott’s Frenchman’s Cove
from $119
8
Night Kayak Tour St. John – Westin Resort
from $69
St Thomas is a harbour, a mountain road and a reef.
Charlotte Amalie fills by nine when the ships are in, and empties again by four. The island you came for is past that: the switchbacks up to Drake’s Seat, Magens Bay on the north shore, and a dock at Red Hook where every good boat leaves from.
Two thirds of St John is national park, and the beaches are the easy part.
The ferry from Red Hook takes twenty minutes and lands you in Cruz Bay, where the taxis are open-sided and the road east climbs straight into the park. Trunk Bay has the underwater trail; Annaberg has the sugar-mill ruins; the good boats keep going to the cays beyond.
All 31 St John tours →
What a day on the water costs in the Virgin Islands.
From a park ticket to the whole boat for the day. A seat on a snorkel catamaran and a private charter are two different conversations, and both are here.
Park tickets, the ferry-and-beach days, an hour of jet ski and the walking tours of town.
The everyday boat: turtle snorkels, half-day catamarans with lunch, night kayaks, the island drives.
Full-day sails to the outer cays, the crossing to the British Virgin Islands, small groups capped at a dozen.
One captain, one crew, one group. Priced for the boat rather than the seat, up to twelve aboard.
St Croix sits forty miles south, and rewards the flight.
The big island of the three is also the quietest: Danish arcades along the Christiansted boardwalk, a reef monument off Buck Island with its own marked snorkel trail, rum that has been distilled here since the eighteenth century, and a food walk through two towns that visitors mostly skip.
- 1Taste of Twin City Food Tour with VI Food Toursfrom $145
- 2Live Music Sunset Sailfrom $70
- 3Horseback Riding Experiencefrom $160
Three days you can only have in the Virgin Islands.
Reef water and rum punch run the length of the Caribbean. Turtle Cove, the lit kayaks off Frenchman’s Reef and a national park you reach by ferry belong to these three islands.
Turtles at Turtle Cove
A mile off the east end of St Thomas, Buck Island is ringed with seagrass, and green turtles graze it all day. Boats moor at Turtle Cove and you slide in over the meadow; the turtles surface to breathe every few minutes and pay snorkelers no attention at all. Morning departures get the glassy water, afternoon boats trade that for warmer air and a rum punch on the run home.
- 1Turtle Cove Catamaran Snorkel and Sail at Little Buck Island STT★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 2,100 reviews
- 2Snorkel & Swim with Turtles. Semi Private Tour to Buck Island & Honeymoon Beach★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 661 reviews
- 3Half Day Luxury Catamaran Turtle Snorkel And Beach★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 635 reviews
The lit kayak
Clear-hulled kayaks with lights under the seat leave the Frenchman’s Reef and Westin docks once the sun is down. The glow pulls fish in under the hull, which is the whole point, and the paddling is flat-water easy. Trips run on a small fleet, so an evening holds a handful of seats rather than a boatload.
- 1Night Kayak Tour St. Thomas – Westin Frenchman’s Reef★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,813 reviews
- 2Night Kayak Tour St. John – Westin Resort★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 1,011 reviews
- 3Cas Cay – Kayak Hike and Snorkel Adventure★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 870 reviews
Virgin Islands National Park
Laurance Rockefeller handed most of St John to the country in 1956, and it never got built on. What that means for a visitor: Trunk Bay’s marked underwater trail, the Annaberg sugar-mill ruins above the Sir Francis Drake Channel, and a shoreline of empty bays you reach by open-sided taxi or by boat from Red Hook.
- 1National Park Snorkeling Excursion★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 593 reviews
- 2Kayak & Snorkel with Sea Turtles, National Park, St. John★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 291 reviews
- 3Explore St. John, Beaches and National Park Private Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 45 reviews
The best hour on St Thomas is the one after sunset.
Every boat that sails at dusk →
Cocktail Sunset Cruise from Sapphire Beach Resort
Read our review →Night Kayak Tour St. Thomas – Westin Frenchman’s Reef
Read our review →Book these before you land in St Thomas.
Most of the islands can be arranged at the hotel desk the night before. These cannot: one crosses an international border, one takes the whole boat, and one runs on a handful of hulls after dark.
- 01The Baths and White BayThe Baths are in the British Virgin Islands. You clear immigration on the way across, and the boat cannot take you without a passport.
- 02Private Luxury Catamaran Yacht. Full or Half Day Charter – Sail, Beach, Snorkel.A charter is the whole boat for the day, so one reservation closes the date for everybody else.
- 03Night Kayak Tour St. Thomas – Westin Frenchman’s ReefEvening departures only, on a small fleet of lit kayaks — a night holds a handful of seats, not a boatload.
- 04Tree Limin’ Extreme ZiplineThe ridge platforms run on fixed departure slots and the drive up from the harbour eats an hour of your day.
A windy day is not a lost day on St Thomas.
Winter trade wind shuts the outer cays first: the crossing gets bumpy, the far reefs go cloudy, and the catamarans stay in the lee. The island answers on land and in the harbour — the reef tanks at Coral World, the 99 Steps and the market square, a jeep over the mountain to Magens Bay, and the sheltered water inside the mangroves.
By island — and the ferries between them
St Thomas121 tours
St John31 tours
St Croix8 tours
Virgin Islands National Park4 tours
Coral World4 tours- All three islands, every tour →
By experience — on the water, on the road, in town
How the ferries string a Virgin Islands week together.
Latest Virgin Islands tour reviews.
The newest reviews →
Private Full Day Guided Snorkeling or Diving Charter in St Thomas
Read our review →
#1 St. Thomas Ghost Tour – Virgin Island’s Original Haunted Tour
Read our review →
Round-Trip Transportation to Coral World Park and Coki Beach
Read our review →
Ghosts and Legends of St. Thomas Charlotte Amalie Walking Tour
Read our review →
Historical attractions of Alexander Hamillton Mother’s Gravesite
Read our review →
Farm to Bottle Tour at Prosperity Farm Distillery
Read our review →
Private Round Trip Airport Transfer in St. Thomas Virgin Islands
Read our review →
Luxury Sightseeing & Shopping Private Tour – 3 Hours
Read our review →
St. John Luxury Catamaran Turtle Snorkel and Cays Full Day
Read our review →
Full or Half Day Private Power Catamaran- USVI Beach and Snorkel
Read our review →
Full-Day Private Boat Charter from St. John or St. Thomas
Read our review →
Days End Sunset Sail from the Westin at Frenchman’s Reef
Read our review →