Jonathan Haws 
| Location: | St. Croix |
| Airline: | Delta |
| Accommodations: | Airbnb in Christiansted |
| Length of Stay: | 7 days |
| Favorite Restaurant: | Savant / Too Chez |
| Favorite Activity: | Exploring Monk’s Bath Beach |
For my wife’s 40th year birthday we wanted to get away. Travel was still heavily restricted due to COVID-19, but we were able to make it down to the US Virgin Islands to visit St. Croix since it is a U.S. territory.
Trisha only had two stipulations for her birthday trip:
- A beach
- A classy restaurant
Well, St. Croix has that in spades! All in all, we were thoroughly impressed and would love to return sometime with the whole fam.
Saturday
We flew Delta, as we always do, and caught a red eye Friday night to Seattle, then on to Atlanta, and finally on to St. Croix. We arrived late afternoon on Saturday, grabbed our car and headed for our AirBnb up in Christiansted.
That evening we decided to get started on our adventure as soon as we were settled, so Trisha looked around and found bio-bay tours where we could rent kayaks and paddle around the bioluminescent Salt River and Sugar Bays. Super fun way to start the trip! We caught a bioluminescent jellyfish and it was so cool to watch it glow as it just floated through the water.
Dinner was spent at Flyer’s Bar and Grill. Delicious burgers and fish and just a super fun, outdoor atmosphere!
Sunday
Sunday we kept laid back. We streamed our local Sunday sacrament meeting from our place then went out to see Point Udall, the easternmost point in the USA, followed by a hike of Goat Hill, the high point of St. Croix.
We stayed in for dinner and just enjoyed the evening reading, meditating, and enjoying the sound of the ocean waves on the beach.
Monday
The next day, we spent most of the day snorkeling at Jack and Isaac’s bay. It was fun to get a nearly aerial view of them the day before on the hike. Getting down in them to swim and snorkel was such an incredible way to spend the day.
Overall, the snorkeling was not anything to write home about. There was a lot of grass and coral to look at, but relatively few fish. I was lucky enough to come across what I believe was an eagle ray as I was coming back in.
I think I enjoyed the hiking to and from the beaches more than the snorkeling itself. Tons of pretty flowers and great vistas to the ocean.
We ate a late lunch at Whale Point, a rocky beach on the north-east side of the island. It was a little secluded, so not very busy. There were just a few other people out enjoying lunch as well. Because it was so rocky, it wasn’t a great spot to lounge and relax.
After exploring the boardwalk at Christiansted for a while, we drove west along the coastline to a recommended restaurant called The Landing. It has a cool, open-air dining area that made for a fun, island atmosphere. We sat at a table across from a group of retired couples. We laughed when we noticed that all the women were sitting together casting annoyed looks at their husbands, who were becoming more loud and obnoxious with every drink.
We simply enjoyed our mojitos and sandwiches and headed back home.
Tuesday
Big Beard’s Snorkel tour with boat ride, diving pelicans, and lunch on the beach
We booked a boat ride and snorkeling tour with Big Beard’s Adventure Tours, and they treated us so well! We had a group of six of us for the tour, so it was small and loads of fun! I think my favorite part was all of Trisha’s giggles as we sat on the nets at the prow as we buzzed out to Buck Island. We even saw a few turtles swimming around as we went!
Buck Island was a lot of fun as we hung out on the beach and explored a little bit of the island. The coolest part out there was watching the pelicans dive as they fished for their food. We got another great laugh as we watched some other bird that was definitely *not* a pelican mimic them. Needless to say, its dive was not nearly as graceful as the pelicans!
After exploring the island, we drove around to the far side to the barrier reef for snorkeling. The snorkeling here was much better and more exciting than Jack’s or Isaac’s Bay. So many fish to see and the coral was bigger, deeper, and much more interesting. If you plan to visit St. Croix and enjoy snorkeling, this should for sure be on your list!
Big Beard’s fed us lunch on their private beach and then took us back to the docks in Christiansted. We explored the boardwalk a bit more, and found a grill for dinner. It was nothing too memorable, but it was still good.
Wednesday – the big 4-0!
One reason why Trisha chose to come to St. Croix for her 40th was because she read about some cool tide pools that you can hike to and swim in.
It took us a minute to find the trailhead from the parking lot — we actually walked to the highway above the resort before we realized that we must have missed it. Turns out it was right at the bottom of the road, but it was hard to see!
The hike was nicely shaded for most of it, skirting through the forest above the resort you park by. It was super cool because as you hike, tons or hermit crabs would just fall from the trees as the pulled into their shells when we walked by.
After our hike, we just relaxed at the public beach by the resort, down the road from the trailhead. I wound up taking a very nice nap in the shade of a palm tree while Trisha reminisced about being alive for 40 years. Super peaceful, tranquil location to reflect and relax.
The second stipulation for Trisha was a classy restaurant. Well, Savant was just the place! It was recommended by a shop owner we were talking to on the boardwalk and, WOW! It did not disappoint!
Our server was incredible. We told her we wanted to try some new, virgin drinks, so she mixed us up some unique flavors and everything was amazing! You can tell from the pictures below, that Savant is a real foodie location — incredibly well-prepared, beautifully presented, and absolutely delicious.
Thursday
Thursday found us beach hopping along the west coast, north of Fredriksted. We started by stopping at beaches as we drove north, along the coastline to the Ham’s Bluff Lighthouse trailhead.
One of our favorite beaches was called Monk’s Bath. As we walked along the beach we found tons of sea glass washed ashore and the way the ocean was eating away at the rocks was really neat. The waves would crash in and spit, and it was mesmerizing!
We finished our drive to the trailhead and hiked the short way up to the lighthouse (about a mile or so). Views from the point were awe-inspiring.
Rainbow Beach was our next stop, and it was a nice place to relax, enjoy some lunch, and take another beach nap. While we were napping and reading, a horse tour of all things came past, and we thought it so interesting how they would just take the horses right out in the surf and trot along. It was funny because we kept catching the tour guide glancing at us and then making her horse do some fancy moves — totally showing off for us tourists who have never seen a horse before…
When we went to explore Frederiksted it was like a ghost town. With no cruises coming in, not many people were out, and the pier was dead. We walked to the end and back, trying to gauge if it was worth it to get in and try to snorkel. We decided against it and just headed back to Christiansted and some other beaches back on the north side.
We found a sort of secluded beach in Shoy’s Beach and I got in to snorkel there, and it wasn’t too bad. Trisha chose to continue reading and relaxing on shore.
To finish the evening, we got cleaned up and headed down to the boardwalk and ate dinner at another recommendation in Too Chez. Again — it did not disappoint one bit! I nearly ordered the filet mignon, but when I saw they offered a filet mignon burger for half the price, I had to try it. In all honesty, it was by far — by leaps and bounds — the best hamburger I have ever had.
Friday
We had an afternoon flight home, so we opted to hit a beach right next to our AirBnb called Pelican Cove. It was a fun little beach, but a little shallow for snorkeling, though we tried!
We summoned all our athletic ability to show how excited we were about our trip! I’ll let you judge how well it went…
We were lucky enough to have Delta upgrade us to first class for our flights home, Trisha’s first time going first class. I think she’s hooked…
Summary
Overall, this was an amazing trip and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my favorite person in the world. So many great beaches, so much great food, and even better company! We’ll head back for sure!
Beaches
- Whale Point
- Jack’s Bay
- Isaac’s Bay
- Tide pool beach
- Public beach by The Landing
- Monk’s Bath
- Ham’s Bluff
- Rainbow Beach (west side, by Frederiksted)
- Shoy’s Beach (east of Christiansted)
- Pelican Cove (right next to our AirBnb)
Restaurants
- Flyer’s Bar and Grill
- The Landing (Cane Bay)
- Savant
- Too Chez
