This blog is for those 18 and older.

Friday, August 30, 2013

My Island LIfe: Vacation Destination


My adventures living on a Caribbean island. Welcome to my monthly, or not so monthly adventures. We try not to commit too soon here on island.

Impression #10
Living on this island, I forget that people might like to come visit it on their vacation. Thankfully, an old friend from grammar school (yes, you read that right) reminded me of that fact.  Sometimes I can really miss the obvious.

Getting to St. Croix is not that difficult. The best part is that you don’t need a passport. Nope. We are a US Territory. Please tell everyone. We have had everyone from businesses to TSA not realize we are part of the US . All you need is your license, and you only go through customs when you leave the island.

The major airline that comes here is American Airlines. They fly direct from Miami. It is a 2 and half hour flight from there. When you arrive you will have to deplane down outside steps, so don’t bring too much carry-on and don’t wear heels. This is flip-flop land anyway :-) Other carriers will fly into San Juan and then you can take Seaborne Airlines to St. Croix (STX). I prefer Seaborne to other carriers from San Juan because they can handle your checked luggage. 

If you are looking for a place to stay, we have everything from upscale resorts to huts in the rainforest. The resort featured on The Bachelor was The Buccaneer. Another nice one on the north shore (okay, so we know the owner) is The Palms at Pelican Cove. On the west side is Sandcastle on the Beach which is more of a boutique hotel. The Carambola Resort has its own golf course (as does the Buccaneer), and Hotel on the Cay in Christiansted harbor is on its own island and just a short boat ride to the quaint boardwalk. There are others as well.

Of course we have beautiful beaches if a week on the beach is more your style, but for those who like to “do things,” there is a lot to do here. Everything from a sunset cruise on a tall ship, to a visit to Whim Plantation, to hanging out with the Beer Drinking Pigs in the Rainforest, to diving one of the deepest walls in the Caribbean. My favorite website for visiting St Croix is http://www.gotostcroix.com/  It has a lot of information including a web cam in Christiansted harbor so you can see what kind of day it is here at any time. St. Croix Tourism also has a good site http://www.stcroixtourism.com/  In addition, I have a whole sheet of websites depending on what you’d like to do while you are here. If you are interested, let me know and I will email it to you. But here’s a taste:

Cruzan Rum factory www.cruzanrum.com    
Botanical Gardens http://www.sgvbg.org/
Bioluminescence Kayak Night Tour http://www.anchordivestcroix.com/specials.htm
N2 the Blue Diving Adventures  http://www.n2theblue.com/

Tourism is actually welcomed on island because unlike St. Thomas, we don’t get that many cruise ships and since the island is so big, almost 28 miles long with its fair share of mountains, we never feel inundated by visitors. You will always get a friendly smile and a “Good Afternoon.”

Lesson #10
Can’t forget to share information on visiting St. Croix. People want to come visit this beautiful island!

Stay Warm,
Alexis

3 comments:

  1. I love the picture of you and Bob! What heavenly scenery behind you. I think it'd be fun to trek those mountains.

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    1. The mountains are not that high and you can actually drive to the top of most :-} In fact one road "The Beast" brings you right over the top and at the crest you feel just like you do on roller coast only it looks like you could fall into the ocean. Wild :-)

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  2. I think I could handle that, but my husband would need a railing-vertigo!

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