St Thomas is the easy part. The water is the reason.
Which catamaran anchors long enough to actually swim with the turtles. What the day boat across to the Baths costs once the BVI fees are in. Whether St John is a ferry ride or a whole day. Reviews of every tour you can book across the US and British Virgin Islands.
The four St Thomas days that fill up before the rest.
What each one costs a head, how long it takes, and what the people who went say about it.
01The turtle swimTurtle Cove Catamaran Snorkel and Sail at Little Buck Island STTA catamaran out to Little Buck Island, where green turtles graze in eight feet of water. The snorkel stop everyone else on the island is also trying to book.
02Over the canopyTree Limin’ Extreme ZiplineSix lines down St Peter Mountain with the harbour a long way below. The rare good St Thomas day that never touches a boat.
03Off the waterParasail Experience in St ThomasUp behind the boat on a parachute, with the reef line and the cruise docks laid out underneath. Short in the air, easy either side of it.
04The evening sailSunset Sail with Cocktails and AppetizersOut of the harbour as the light goes, drinks poured on deck, back alongside in time to eat ashore.
St Thomas, St John, St Croix, and a passport day over to the BVI.
Four islands under two flags, twenty minutes of ferry between the first two. Where each one starts, and the day out worth building around once you are there.
Half day, full day, or the whole boat: how a Virgin Islands charter works.
Almost every good day here starts at a dock. Three ways onto the water, what each costs a head, and which one suits the size of the group you brought.
Green turtles graze the seagrass in eight feet of water here.
Buck Island, Honeymoon Bay, the mangroves at Cas Cay and the reef straight off Coki Point. Most of these run half a day, most of them hand you mask and fins at the dock, and the turtles are genuinely there.
The most popular days out across the four islands.
The whole review list →The trips more travellers take than anything else here, what each costs a head, and why it earns the slot.
1
Turtle Cove Catamaran Snorkel and Sail at Little Buck Island STT
Spend three hours aboard The VI Cat, sailing from Marriott Frenchman’s Cove to Turtle Cove at Little Buck Island. Crew members such as Captain Serena, Nick, Isaac, and Porscha help with safety, snorkeling, and drinks. Equipment, snacks, and post-swim alcoholic drinks are included, with time to swim or relax onboard.
From · $119
Our review of this one →
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 splits three ways: the harbour, the ridge and the beach.
All of St Thomas →
The island is small and steep. Mountain Top and Drake’s Seat look straight down on Magens Bay, the ferries and the duty-free lanes run out of Charlotte Amalie, and the good sand is ten minutes over the ridge from either one.
Magens Bay, or the quieter side
Magens is the postcard and it takes the ship crowd with it. Coki, Sapphire and Lindquist are smaller, sit closer to the reef and stay bearable on a four-ship morning.
Mountain Top, Drake’s Seat, the ridge road
One loop takes in the view everybody photographs, the banana daiquiri at the top and the long drop down to Magens. Drivers here narrate the whole way and stop wherever you ask.
Twin City plates, then a rum bar
Johnnycakes, pates, saltfish and a bush-rum pour, walked between the places locals actually queue at rather than the ones facing the cruise pier.
St John is a national park with a ferry dock attached.
Two thirds of the island is protected, which is why Trunk Bay still has a marked snorkel trail on the seabed and why the north-shore beaches stay quiet by Caribbean standards. The ferry from Red Hook takes twenty minutes and runs most of the day.
- 1Night Kayak Tour St. John – Westin Resortfrom $69
- 2Two-Tank Morning Dive Trip for Certified Diversfrom $180
- 3Book Your Private Two and a Half Hour Island Tour today!from $150
What a day out in the Virgin Islands actually costs.
Every tour on the site, grouped by what one seat costs. The cheap end here buys more than the number suggests.
Open-air island tours, the Coral World gate, the shopping runs out of Charlotte Amalie and the self-guided walks.
- 1Shop, See, & Splashfrom $40
- 2Coral World Ocean Park General Admission Ticketfrom $29
- 3Sights, Scenes, & Shopping Spreefrom $40
The standard day: sail-and-snorkel trips, the kayak tours, the dive boats and most of the St John runs.
Private charters, the BVI day boats and the full-day catamarans with lunch and an open bar.
- 1Snorkel St. John Tour from Sapphire and Margaritavillefrom $180
- 2Tree Limin’ Extreme Ziplinefrom $155
- 3Snorkel Cat All Inclusive Adventurefrom $175
Three things that happen in the Virgin Islands and nowhere else.
Reefs and rum bars run the length of the Caribbean. A pizza boat at permanent anchor, a beach piled with house-sized granite, and a lit kayak fleet after dark do not.
Pizza Pi, Christmas Cove
A converted fishing vessel sits permanently anchored off Great St James, cooking wood-fired pizza to order for whoever pulls alongside. You radio the order ahead or swim it over from your own boat, and it comes out of the galley hot. There is no dock, no table and no other way to eat there.
- 1Turtles, Pizza Pi & Sunset trip★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 410 reviews
- 2St. John PiZZA Pi Snorkel Sail with Beach Stop, Lunch & Open Bar – Westin★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 139 reviews
- 3St. James Snorkel & Pizza Pi Lunch★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 87 reviews
The Baths, Virgin Gorda
At the south end of Virgin Gorda, boulders the size of houses have piled onto the sand and left a maze of pools, ladders and squeezes you scramble through to come out at Devil’s Bay. Nothing else in the eastern Caribbean is built of that granite. It is a different country, so the day starts and ends at a customs dock.
- 1The Baths and White Bay★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 595 reviews
- 2St. John Jost Van Dyke & Soggy Dollar Snorkel Sail with Breakfast – Westin★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 176 reviews
- 3Day Yacht Excursions throughout the US or British Virgin Islands★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 164 reviews
The night kayak
Clear kayaks with lights under the hull go out into the Mangrove Lagoon and off Frenchman’s Bay once the sun is down, and the water under you turns into a window. Tarpon, rays and the odd turtle come through the beam. Departures follow the moon, so the darkest nights go first.
- 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
Jost Van Dyke, Norman Island and the Baths, all inside a day.
The BVI sit an hour off St Thomas by fast boat: white sand at White Bay, the snorkel caves at the Indians, and a bar you swim ashore to for the drink it is famous for. Customs on the way over, customs on the way home, and water for the rest of it.
Every BVI day trip →
Four Virgin Islands bookings that will not wait.
Most of an island week can be arranged over breakfast. These four run on boat schedules, moon phases and a customs desk that keeps its own hours.
- 01Turtles, Pizza Pi & Sunset tripThe galley boat takes a handful of parties at a time and the runs out to Christmas Cove keep a fixed schedule. Weekends go first.
- 02The Baths and White BayThe BVI is another country. The day boats clear customs as one group, so you are booking a seat on a manifest, and the passport has to be in your hand.
- 03Night Kayak Tour St. Thomas – Westin Frenchman’s ReefDeparture follows sunset and the dark nights are the ones worth taking, which is exactly why those dates go weeks out.
- 04Tree Limin’ Extreme ZiplineSix lines, small groups, one mountain. On a heavy ship day the whole morning is gone before most people think to ask.
When four ships are in, the answer is to leave St Thomas.
Charlotte Amalie can put several thousand passengers on the dock in a morning, and they head for the same duty-free lanes and the same half mile of Magens Bay. The fix is a hull: the BVI boats, the St John ferry and the private charters all leave the crowd standing on shore.
By island
By kind of day: deck, reef, ridge or town
Red Hook, Cruz Bay, the Baths and back: how a first week here runs.
Magens and CokiThe newest Virgin Islands tour reviews.
The rest of the new arrivals →
Farm to Bottle Tour at Prosperity Farm Distillery
Our review of this one →
Rainbow Beach with Round-trip Transportation in St. Croix
Our review of this one →
A Morning Cultural Experience Through Food Cooking Class St. Croix
Our review of this one →
C’sted Sip & Savor Mixology Class with VI Food Tours
Our review of this one →
St Thomas Private Group Tour (11 or more ppl)
Our review of this one →
Shared VIP Shuttle from Westin Frenchman’s Reef to STT Airport
Our review of this one →
St. Thomas Mountain Top Tour and Beach Hopping
Our review of this one →
