Overview
St. Thomas Travel Guide: Honest Truths from Black Travelers
Green Book Global is the only website and app that has a St. Thomas travel guide based on reviews from the perspective of Black Travelers. If you want to know where to stay, where to eat, what to do etc. but also what it’s like Traveling While Black in St. Thomas, then our St. Thomas travel guide will be essential to your trip planning for Black Travelers and allies alike.
Quick Summary:
St. Thomas, a gem of the U.S. Virgin Islands, captures the hearts of travelers with its stunning beaches, lush landscapes, and vibrant culture. Our St. Thomas travel guide based on the reviews of Black travelers, praises the island’s diverse offerings, from bustling urban areas to secluded coastal retreats. Charlotte Amalie, the capital city, enchants visitors with its colorful streets, historic architecture, and bustling markets, where shoppers can find everything from duty-free goods to local crafts and souvenirs. Meanwhile, the island’s eastern side boasts pristine beaches like Magens Bay, consistently rated among the world’s most beautiful, inviting travelers to unwind on soft sands and swim in crystal-clear waters.
When the sun sets, St. Thomas comes alive with a lively nightlife scene that caters to all tastes and preferences. Our St. Thomas travel guide highlights the array of beach bars, live music venues, and waterfront restaurants where visitors can enjoy Caribbean-inspired cuisine, sip on tropical cocktails, and dance the night away under the stars. For those seeking culinary delights, St. Thomas offers a fusion of flavors influenced by African, European, and Caribbean cuisines, with fresh seafood dishes, tropical fruits, and spicy specialties gracing menus across the island. And when it’s time to relax, St. Thomas provides ample opportunities, whether it’s soaking up the sun on a secluded beach, snorkeling among vibrant coral reefs, or indulging in a rejuvenating spa treatment overlooking the azure sea. With its captivating beauty and endless possibilities for adventure and relaxation, St. Thomas offers an unforgettable Caribbean escape, as echoed in countless St. Thomas reviews.
Interesting facts:
- Magens Bay: Magens Bay Beach, located on the north coast of St. Thomas, is consistently ranked as one of the top beaches in the world. Its tranquil turquoise waters and powdery white sands attract visitors from around the globe.
- Coral Reefs: St. Thomas is surrounded by vibrant coral reefs, making it a popular destination for snorkeling and diving enthusiasts. These reefs are home to a diverse array of marine life, including colorful fish, sea turtles, and even the occasional dolphin or whale.
- Blackbeard’s Castle: This historic landmark in Charlotte Amalie is named after the infamous pirate Blackbeard, who is said to have used the tower as a lookout point. Today, visitors can climb to the top for panoramic views of the island and surrounding seas.
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I absolutely love St Thomas! It is very close to home, only a flight away. There are so many beautiful beaches to park at and enjoy the day. Although we are all black people, I am sure a STT native can spot a black American from a mile away. However, I have never been treated differently as a tourist. The food is amazing. I recommend trying to stick to the local food spots and activities to experience the best of STT.
St. Thomas is great. We visited in May 2021 for our Anniversary. We stayed at the Wyndham Margaritaville Resort. Upon arrival we were given a complimentary bottle of rum. We felt safe with all the Covid Precautions. I do not recommend renting a car, they drive on the left side of the road there and it’s very hilly terrain, we actually cancelled our rental and just cabbed it. They are still bouncing back after being shutdown for Covid and a Hurricane 2 years ago, so they are reliant on tourists, so we tipped generously wherever we went, most cabs were about $15 – $20 per trip. We got a complimentary tour to downtown from the hotel, where we walked around, bought some jewelry, visited a few shops and historic sites and of course ate at a little hole in the wall eatery in one of the alleyways. A lot of the tourist spots are closed for repairs post hurricane. There are good places to eat in Redhook, that have authentic carribean fare for low prices. We ate at Pesce Italian, which was very good and reasonably priced. Shoreline bar and grill which was right near our resort, cheap eats, good food and drinks and you get to see tarquin fish right on the water while the sun is setting, the fish tacos were amazing. Sunset Grille, which is right on the water and the fish is so good. St. Thomas is just relaxing and easy to get in and out of from the states. Perfect for 3 – 4 days.
The rock! The rock is what some locals call the beautiful US Virgin Islands! The Mountain top has great views. At mountain top, which is about $48 per person, you have to try to world famous banana daiquiri ?There is also a great gift shop at Mountaintop where you can buy affordable souvenirs. I got the most beautiful dress for $10. If you are ready to swim in the most gorgeous water go out to Magens Bay. The water so pretty can see right through. This island is meant to completely relax you and take you alway from it all!
St. Thomas is honestly one of the best places to go for relaxation. I recommend, if you have a significant other, you make this a baecation.
St.Thomas is a very relaxing island with waterfronts that leave you in awe! The beach I went to was the Emerald Beach Resort , it was beautiful! I never saw water so clear , not to mention the sunlight make it a perfect place to go to in the winter time to get away from the weather I was dealing with in Baltimore! It may have been my favorite place thus far!
You don’t have to leave America for an amazing, relaxing beach vacation. I LOVED visiting St. Thomas with my husband for a quick weekend getaway! Gave me Jamaica vibes except there were no pushy people trying to sell you things or con you into buying things (No shade to Jamaica. Love it there but that was just one downfall.) Felt very safe, even late at night. The locals don’t bother you at all.
It’s no doubt that St. Thomas is more so a place to relax, but with some research, you can easily find things to do. We booked all of our excursions through Viator before we got there. We went night Kayaking at the Marriott Frenchman Cove. We saw lots of HUGE fish and sea turtles were also spotted. During the kayak, the guide gave lots of history on St. Thomas (pirates, hurricanes, etc.). We went on a Rum and Food tour with Flavors Food Tours. During the tour, we walked through the streets of downtown Charlotte Amalie and stopped at five different restaurants along the way. The foods were AMAZING and the drinks EVEN BETTER! (My favorite was Gladys’ Cafe). This tour is great for history buffs as the guide gave lots of historical information along the way. The last booked activity that we did was a Sea Turtle Snorkel with St. Thomas Adventure Tours. Neither my husband nor I know how to swim, but we risked out lives that day and it was worth it! lol Life jackets were provided. I loooved that we were the only ones on the beach! Even if you’re not into snorkeling and don’t want to do the tour, I recommend taking the ferry over (unless you prefer crowded beaches) as most tourists don’t go there. It was on Water island. The beach was calm and clean and there is a nice restaurant to go to for drinks or a hot meal. Coki beach was another nice, clean beach. There weren’t many people there when I went but it is next to a popular attraction (Coral World), so I can imagine that it gets crowded sometimes, especially when cruise ships are in town.
And speaking of Coral World, it is an ocean park that offers many activities including sea turtle encounters, sea lion encounters, SNUBA diving, sea trekking and more. There is shopping downtown if you prefer to shop. About 70% of the stores are jewelry stores though. While roaming around in Charlotte Amalie, I saw a sign for a free event called “Jazz at the Park” in Emancipation Gardens where locals bring lawn chairs and enjoy the music and vendors. We saw a sign for it when we were on our food tour. The other couple on the food tour also invited us to a concert that we hadn’t heard about. I definitely recommend checking their tourism website events.
Other things that we didn’t get a chance to do were to visit the highly recommended Lindquist Beach, Magen’s Bay, Red Hook, taking the ferry to St. John or the BVI (passports required). So while it may not be and adventure wonderland, you can definitely find something to do!
St. Thomas was my first trip “out of the country”, although still USA territory. It was amazing. I stayed at the Sugar Bay Resort. Everyday I planned activities. There was an awesome food tour through the downtown St. Thomas, Charlotte Amalie area. There were shopping trips and trip to the “mountaintop” where you can overlook the island and enjoy there well known banana daquiris. I also did a sunset sailing tour from the hotel through the Caribbean Sea. Caribbean people are always so down to earth, so we never felt out of place. Things got a little expensive getting food every night because we did not book an all inclusive room, but it was still worthwhile. I recommend St. Thomas if traveling with friends, family, or bae.
Definitely meant more for a baecation than anything else. The beaches are gorgeous. There’s really nothing to do except relax. We stayed for 4 day at the Marriott Mornignstar Resort. The nightlife doesn’t offer much. I can say go hiking, as the hills and the main mountain give great exercise and picturesque views. One of the best things was the ferry to St. Croix. Liquor is cheap, and you can buy it in the grocery store. There were more restaurants and bars and shopping around the port. The local food is very American, so nothing that exotic, and it was priced higher than here in the main 48 U.S. states. The seafood was pretty good though. Once might be enough for me.
I loved vacationing in St. Thomas. The beaches are BEAUTIFUL (especially Lindquist beach). I will admit there’s not a lot to do there except relax. We stayed for a week and rented a condo through VRBO. The condo had a nice oceanfront view so waking up to that every morning was nice. We did a beacation, so I think it’s definitely a more appropriate romantic vacation versus a girl’s or guy’s trip. I didn’t get to experience much of the nightlife, ( I don’t really think they had much to offer). We did however do a lot of hiking and sightseeing. We visited a new beach each day we were there. We took two day trips to St. John via the ferry. St. John had a little more going on in my opinion. There were more restaurants and bars and shopping close the ferry port. Because we did have a kitchen, we did some cooking ourselves. As far as the local food that we did try, we weren’t too impressed. We ended up ordering a pizza a few nights of the week due to lack of interest in the other local restaurants. Overall I enjoyed the island. I will be taking another trip there this year, in order to visit those beaches again. If you like snorkeling , grab some gear and go to Lindquist, we saw lots of marine life there.
I enjoyed St Thomas as far as the relaxing goes, but not much else. I definitely wasn’t impressed with the food. We stayed in an AirB&B so we were able to make meals at home. But the crazy part is that the grocery store food was damn near more than the restaurants!! A few locals told us that nearly everything has to be shipped to them so that’s why the market food is so high!! I had a better time on our day trip to St John, but if you’re looking to lay out on some beautiful beaches or take a night cruise around the town & meet some fun(and fine) local men, St Thomas is a good spot for it!!