US Virgin Island

St Thomas

On Monday we arrived in St Thomas which is part of the US Virgin Islands. We visted the island in 2004 on a British ship and once again saw significant changes. Tortola (the British Island) is very close with a ferry running between both islands on a daily basis.

In our opinion the US side is the most spectacular, more like Monte Carlo with the biggest mega yachts around, berthed side by side.

Waiting on the pier were an abundance of open top taxis, waiting to whisk passengers into town or beaches. We decided to walk along the water front boardwalk, with speciality shops selling diamonds, expensive clothing and handbags. Every now and then there would be cafe/bars where you could just sit and watch the world go by. All along the boardwalk music played and on both sides of the path lawns were manicured to perfection.

After 25 minutes we reached the shops and decided to go to the beach and then come back to town later. The taxi took us to Magens beach and what a beach it was, beautiful white sands with palm trees gently slopping towards the sea. The water was warm and inviting so needless to say we spent a very nice few hours soaking up the sun with the gentle breeze, only to find out that we were sun burned when we returned, how stupid were we.

History & Culture. The Virgin Islands lured more foreign nations than any other territory. The island dates back to 1500 BC and evidence of people living here 1,000 years earlier.


During the first World War, America bought the Virgin Islands for 25 million dollars in gold. The Capital is Charlotte Amalie and the size of the island is 32 square miles. Population is around 56,000 and the language is English.