St Thomas

Beach life is the reason most people come, and the water makes it easy: clear, calm Caribbean sea at around 26°C to 29°C through the year, swimmable in every month. Magens Bay on the north shore is the classic, a long sheltered horseshoe of white sand that suits swimmers of every ability. The east end around Red Hook has a cluster of smaller beaches, Sapphire, Secret Harbour and Lindquist, where a stay can be built within walking distance of the sand, and Coki Point adds snorkelling straight off the beach.

The island's real strength is what lies a short ferry ride away. From Red Hook, St John is about twenty minutes across the water, and its north shore of Trunk, Cinnamon and Maho Bays gives some of the finest beaches in the region. Cruise days crowd Magens Bay and Coki Point, so the quieter coves reward an early start.

Eating here is a mix of genuine West Indian cooking and resort dining. The local food is worth seeking out: fried johnnycakes, pates filled with saltfish or spiced beef, kallaloo, fungi with boiled fish, goat stew and conch, sold from roadside stands, small lunch counters and the vendors around Charlotte Amalie. Frenchtown and the east end around Red Hook hold the better sit-down restaurants, many with water views and fresh-caught fish.

Rum is the drink, in painkillers and bushwhackers at beach bars, and the island's duty-free status makes bottles a common purchase. Range and depth are limited, though, and because almost everything is imported, much of the menu is predictable and costly. Good meals exist, but nobody books the island to eat.

Charlotte Amalie, the capital, keeps a real colonial core from more than two centuries of Danish rule: thick-walled warehouses converted along narrow alleys running down to the harbour, step streets such as the 99 Steps climbing the hillside, and red-roofed merchant houses. Fort Christian, dating from the late seventeenth century, is the oldest standing building in the territory, and the St Thomas Synagogue, with its floor of sand, is one of the oldest in the Americas still in use.

Add Emancipation Garden, Government House and the hilltop lookout towers, and the town makes a pleasant half day to a day of history. Beyond the capital there is little heritage to visit, and the island's appeal lies firmly elsewhere.

Going out is casual and small. Red Hook on the east end is the liveliest corner, a cluster of open-air bars around the ferry dock where boat crews, residents and visitors mix until late on weekends. Frenchtown, just west of the capital, has a few waterside bars, and the beach bars elsewhere run a sociable sundowner hour rather than a late night. Charlotte Amalie itself empties once the cruise ships leave. There is no club scene to speak of, so this suits rum punch and conversation, not dancing until dawn.

St Thomas itself is a steep, green ridge of an island with fine views over scattered islets, but its own trails are few. The outdoors opens up across the water: about two thirds of St John is national park, with forest trails down to sugar mill ruins, petroglyphs and quiet bays, and an underwater snorkel trail off Trunk Bay. Coral, turtles and rays are easy to see at Coki Point and around the offshore cays.

The island is also one of the great places to sail, with sheltered channels and anchorages running east through the Virgin Islands, and charters, kayaking, paddleboarding and diving leave from Red Hook. What it lacks is big landscape: no high mountains, no wilderness, and summer and autumn bring heat and the hurricane season.

The day trips are all by boat. St John is the easy one, with the small, relaxed town of Cruz Bay at the ferry landing. Water Island, a short hop from the harbour, is quiet and residential. The British Virgin Islands lie close enough for a day out by ferry or charter, to Tortola's Road Town, the beach bars of Jost Van Dyke or the boulders of Virgin Gorda, though that means a passport and customs.

St Croix, with the Danish colonial towns of Christiansted and Frederiksted, is reachable by ferry or seaplane for a longer day. The variety is real, but these are small island places, and the days are as much about the sea crossing as the destination.

For a beach vacation with children, the island works well. Magens Bay and the east-end beaches have calm, shallow water, Coki Point lets older children snorkel among fish right from the sand, and Coral World Ocean Park next door offers an undersea observatory, touch pools and turtles. The Skyride to Paradise Point above the harbour gives a short, easy outing with a view.

English is spoken, US currency and familiar brands smooth the logistics, and resorts cater well for families. Beyond that, the list of things made for children is short, and the steep, winding roads, left-side driving and midday heat make outings more tiring than the small size suggests.

The island is small, but moving around it takes effort. There is no rail or proper bus network for visitors, so most rely on safari taxis, open-sided trucks running fixed routes and charging per person, or on a hire car. Driving is on the left, in mostly left-hand-drive cars, along steep, narrow and winding roads, and traffic around Charlotte Amalie gets heavy, especially on cruise days. Walking only works within the old town or a single resort area. Ferries to St John run often from Red Hook and are simple to use.

Shopping centres on Charlotte Amalie's Main Street and the old stone warehouses running off it, a long-established duty-free district where visitors come for jewellery, watches, perfume and liquor at tax-free rates, with a generous customs allowance for US travellers. The Havensight area by the cruise dock repeats the formula. Away from that, there are local crafts, spice blends, hot sauces and art at small galleries and markets, but fashion, design and independent boutiques are thin. It suits a targeted purchase more than a browse.

This is an expensive place to stay. Rooms in the winter high season, when most people visit, are priced at the top end for the Caribbean, groceries and restaurant meals carry the cost of importing nearly everything, and taxis charge each passenger separately, which adds up fast for families. Cheaper options exist in local lunch counters, roadside food stands and duty-free rum, and the beaches themselves are mostly free or modest to enter, but overall budget for premium prices.

Formal performance is limited. The Reichhold Center for the Arts, an open-air amphitheatre on the university campus, stages occasional concerts, dance and touring acts. The living traditions are more interesting: steel pan, calypso and quelbe, the islands' own folk music, along with stilt-walking mocko jumbies. These come out most fully during Carnival in spring, with parades and music over several weeks. On a typical evening, live music means a band at a beach bar or resort.

Relaxation here comes from pace rather than tradition. There are no thermal baths or bathing culture, and spa options are mostly those of the larger beach resorts, offering massage and treatments with sea views. The east end and north shore are calm places to slow down, and evenings are quiet. The capital and the most popular beaches can feel busy when several cruise ships are in port, so a restful stay works best based away from the harbour.