US Virgin Islands Itinerary: How to Spend 7 Days Across St. Thomas & St. John
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The Perfect 7-Day US Virgin Islands Itinerary
Are you looking for your next ultimate vacation to relax? Then you’re in the right place!
The US Virgin Islands are in the heart of the Caribbean, and a direct flight from multiple East Coast and Midwest airports.
The Caribbean is home to many tropical islands, but there is something to say about the US Virgin Islands. World-class snorkeling, beautiful hikes, not to mention endless piña coladas!
Unlike some other Caribbean islands where there is lots of opportunity to adventure, the US Virgin Islands are meant for relaxing!
That being said, there is still plenty to do to be active and also relax. So let’s get into it!
In a Rush? Here’s the TLDR
Planning your trip but don’t know where to start? Here are my curated Google Map pins to blueprint your trip. The map includes everywhere I went, and more!
Fly: Cyril E. King Airport (STT) – Located on St. Thomas and easy to transfer to other islands.
Stay: I highly recommend staying at the Great Bay Condominiums at the Ritz-Carlton.
Do: These are the 4 tours that I would not miss when visiting the Virgin Islands.
Glow in the Dark Night Kayak Excursion
Full Day Snorkel and Lime Out Taco Bar
Full Day Sail to Jost Van Dyke
How to Structure Your USVI Trip
There are three islands that make up the US Virgin Islands: St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix.
St. Thomas and St. John are fairly close to each other, only 20 minutes by ferry, while St. Croix is about 40 miles offshore and is most easily accessed by airplane.
You will fly into St. Thomas (STT) and either take a ferry or puddle jumper plane to St. John or St. Croix. For ease of travel, aim to stay on St. Thomas or St. John and travel daily to the other islands.
There is not as much to do on St. Croix as it is more remote. We did not travel to St. Croix at all on this trip, but it is definitely doable with a couple more days.
This itinerary assumes you are staying on St. Thomas, Red Hook side specifically, and taking day trips to St. John. St. Croix is not included in this trip!
This itinerary also assumes peak season travel, which is typically December-April. We travelled in early January, and some parts of the Islands were definitely busy, but not to the point of discomfort.
And now for the itinerary. Here is the best way to spend 7 days in the US Virgin Islands across St. Thomas and St. John!
7-Day US Virgin Islands Travel Itinerary – St. Thomas Based
Day 1: Arrival and Relax!
✈️ Arrive in Cyril E. King Airport – St. Thomas (STT)
Depending on where you’re traveling from, you’ll arrive at St. Thomas airport (STT) in the afternoon. After you’re through the airport and walk outside, you’ll quickly notice that finding transportation is organized chaos!
🚗 Snag your car or taxi
If you don’t have transportation already lined up, let the staff know where you are going, and they will pile you into a sprinter van with about 8-10 others going the same direction.
For reference, a shared taxi from STT Airport to Red Hook/Ritz Carlton costs $24 cash per person.
💡Pro-Tip: Don’t forget cash! Taxis, along with many other services on the islands, don’t take cards. I recommend having at least $200 in smaller bills just to be safe.
We rented a car, which worked out wonderfully. There are a few companies that have on-site rentals, but the others are 5 minutes down the road, accessible by shuttle from the airport.
💡Pro-Tip: If you choose to rent a car, remember to drive on the left side of the road! The US Virgin Islands is one of the only places in the world where the steering wheel is on the left, and you also drive on the left side of the road. The roads are also very steep and narrow, best suited for experienced drivers.
If you’re staying on St. Thomas, the drive around the island won’t take you more than 30 minutes. If you are getting on the ferry to St. John from Red Hook, the taxi ride to the ferry terminal is only about 25 minutes.
We stayed at the Great Bay Condominiums at the Ritz-Carlton and absolutely loved it. It was a huge convenience to have a kitchen and 2 bedrooms for our group of 4, along with all of the amenities of the Ritz Carlton Hotel (for a much better price).
Whenever you end up at your final destination, take a minute to take in the beautiful views and get on island time! Your week is packed with awesome island adventures and relaxation.
Day 2: Resort Day and Night Kayak
Time to fully settle in to island time and enjoy the sun and blue water. You may be a bit jet lagged today, so I always like starting off with a relax day and a bit of an adventure.
🏝️Spend some time at the beach
You’re likely coming to the Caribbean for the beaches, so take some time to explore! The beach at the Great Bay Condominiums was pristine, and the loungers were almost always empty. There are two sides to the Ritz-Carlton, the Club side and the Hotel side.
A short walk on the Club side property led to the hotel beach, where the loungers were a bit more crowded, but there was a lot more space. The hotel side also offers Kayak, SUP, and Hobie Cat rentals for $85/room/day.
We fully took advantage of the 8 pools, 2 beaches, ping pong tables, and loungers to relax after a long travel day!
🚣🏼♀️ Night Kayak Tour
After a nice, relaxing day, we drove about 25 minutes from Great Bay over to the Westin at Frenchman’s Reef to catch our glow in the dark night kayak tour!
This was a small group tour, 7 guests and 2 guides, around Frenchman’s Reef to see ocean wildlife. The kayaks were clear-bottomed with lights, which was really cool to see straight through the water.
We saw countless Tarpon, stingrays, sea urchins, and even some bats! The guides were lighthearted and very informative, giving us facts about the island and different animals.
I recommend taking this tour if you want a quick and fun way to see ocean wildlife. Definitely worth the price.
Day 3: St. John Day – Car Ferry
Today’s the day to explore St. John! Which you may have been looking at for the past 2 days if you’re staying on the Red Hook side, since it’s right across the sound.
Day 3 is definitely more of an adventure day, so pack your hiking shoes and put some sunscreen on!
⛴️ Catch the Car Ferry from Red Hook (St. Thomas) -> Cruz Bay (St. John)
It’s crucial to plan ahead of time if you’re planning to take the car ferry. You MUST arrive at least 1 hour before your scheduled departure.
We arrived at 7:50 am for a 9 am ferry and made it on with no issue. If we arrived any later, we would have likely waited until 10 am.
There are 2 primary companies that operate the car ferries: Love City and Big Red Barge. The ferry runs about every hour, alternating between companies. Remember you’re on island time! It’s not uncommon for the ferries to be early/late.
We got a lot of conflicting advice on how to purchase tickets, because if you buy a ticket ahead of time for one ferry and miss it, you have to pay again for the other company. We opted NOT to pre-purchase a ticket and pay on board, which cost $88 cash for a round-trip ticket with Love City.
The ferry times are seasonal, so make sure to check departure times and be back in time for your ferry back to St. Thomas.
🚗 Drive 35 mins to Salt Pond Bay
Once you make it to St. John, hit the road to your hike. The road to Salt Pond was a bit narrow and steep, but there weren’t many cars on the road, which made driving easier.
💡Pro-Tip: If you do not have a car on St. John, be aware that taxis will not pick you back up from Salt Pond Bay! You will need to have your own car if you want to come here.
🥾 Hike Ram’s Head Trail
We arrived at the trailhead around 10:30 am, and the parking lot was full, but there was some street parking available.
The hike to Ram’s head is about 2.5 miles round trip and will take about 2 hours if you’re walking leisurely to take in the views!
You can see St. Croix and the British Virgin Islands from the top, along with the stunning St. John coast.
🏝️ Enjoy Salt Pond Beach
You’ll be pretty sweaty by the time you get back to Salt Pond beach, so take a swim before you head to lunch!
The water is extremely calm and also makes a great place for snorkeling. Shade is hard to come by, though, so make sure to reapply reef-safe sunscreen.
🍽️ Lunch at Flavorful Delight
There aren’t too many food options near Salt Pond Bay, but the Flavorful Delight food truck is a must-stop!
This food truck offers plenty of cold drinks, smoothies, and made-to-order food like sandwiches and burgers. They had a good selection of vegan and nut-free items as well.
Remember, you’re on island time, so don’t expect this to be ‘fast’ food, but it is worth the wait.
⛴️ Car Ferry from Cruz Bay -> Red Hook
We took the 4 pm car ferry back to Red Hook after being told that the last ferry at 6:15 likely gets full. We arrived at the dock at 3 pm for a 4 pm ferry and again made it on no problem.
The car ferry worked out well for the convenience of having our own car, but the ferry schedule was not optimal, and we felt a bit rushed. See Day 6 for my experience on the passenger ferry!
🍽️ Dinner at Alloro
After a full day of adventure, pasta was needed, and that’s exactly what we got.
One of the restaurants on the Ritz property is Alloro, an upscale Italian restaurant. The food was decent and came with Ritz prices, but the vibe was nice. Very minimal vegan options, though, which I wish they had more of on this property!
Day 4: Full-Day Snorkel
Today was HANDS DOWN my favorite day on the trip!! We took the Full-Day Lime Out tour on the Lady Linsey from the Ritz Carlton and loved every second.
I have been on quite a few snorkel trips, and this stood out because of the uber attentive crew, beautiful new catamaran, and expertise on where to snorkel. Not to mention stopping at Lime Out, St. John’s famous floating taco bar, and getting 2 tacos included with the tour.
If you’re going to do any tour while on St. Thomas, THIS IS THE ONE!!
⛵️ Full Day Catamaran Snorkel Tour
The Lady Linsey Catamaran sets sail at 8 am right from the beach at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. We had a smaller group by chance, about 25 guests, but the boat can hold up to 50 guests.
We spent about an hour sailing to St. John to start our day, before arriving at our first snorkel stop. Our amazing captain Jolene chose specific snorkel spots based on water conditions and how crowded each bay was, so we never felt overcrowded.
🤿 Snorkel Salt Pond Bay
We’re back! This is the same bay we hiked to Ram’s Head trail, but this time we were further out snorkeling. Because this bay is grassy, we saw green sea turtles, along with many stingrays, fish, and reef.
🌮 Lunch at Lime Out
Lime Out St. John is probably the coolest place you’ll ever eat a taco. You’ll swim out to one of their ‘lily pads’ for a chance to order more food or drinks and shop merch.
🤿 Snorkel Tectite Bay
Our second snorkel stop was in Tectite Bay, named by a meteor that landed in that area. NASA had a research facility here, which you can still see the ruins of. We got to see a Hawksbill Turtle, and again plenty of stingrays and fish.
⛵️ Arrive back to Ritz Carlton Hotel
We arrived back at the hotel around 4 pm after a wonderful day cruising St. John and snorkeling. If you do nothing else, book this tour!
Day 5: Half-Day Snorkel
🏃♀️Morning workout/stroll on the beach/spa morning
This is your morning to chill and reminisce on how awesome snorkeling was yesterday!
The amenities available at the Ritz property were well worth it. I loved taking advantage of the fitness center with ocean views and the grass tennis courts. There were also complimentary yoga and Pilates classes every morning!
🤿 Snorkel and Beach Day
We spent the afternoon on a snorkel tour with The Cat from Frenchman’s Cove because it had over two thousand 5-star reviews. Unfortunately, this tour was extremely crowded and not enjoyable.
There were about 50 people on our boat, along with 3-4 other boats with ~50 people in a small cove on Buck Island. In short, it felt like summer camp as the snorkel was guided, and you couldn’t swim without bumping into someone.
If you want to snorkel today, I would highly recommend spending another day on the Lady Linsey, which is a sure-fire 5-star experience. One of the other popular tours is a Full Day to Visit British Virgin Islands and World Famous Soggy Dollar Bar.
I did not take this tour, but you’ll be aboard the Lady Linsey, which I can say confidently will not let you down.
🍽️ Dinner and Bingo at The Shack
Visit The Shack on a Tuesday from 5-9 pm for Bingo!! Play a few games for $5 cash per card and grab some dinner. Be sure to get here early, before 5 pm, to get parking and a table.
💡Pro-Tip: Taxis will not pick you up here! Be sure to have your own car to visit The Shack!
Day 6: St. John Day – Passenger Ferry
You’re probably feeling a bit tired by today, which is all good because today is a relaxing travel day!
For more time on St. John, it’s crucial to take the passenger ferry instead of the car ferry. You can pretty much just walk onto the passenger ferry with a lot less preparation than the car ferry.
Once you are on St. John, there are two ways you can get around. Rent a car or utilize taxis.
💡Pro-Tip: Parking on St. John is TOUGH after 10 am! If you plan to arrive mid to late morning, taking a taxi is your best bet.
⛴️ Board passenger ferry from Red Hook -> Cruz Bay
Plan to arrive about 15 minutes prior to the ferry time, and buy the ticket at the terminal with cash or card. There is a parking lot at the ferry terminal, but it does get full by mid-morning and you will have to pay $35 for the lot across the street.
🚗 Walk to pick up rental car -OR- catch a taxi from ferry terminal
No matter how you get around the island, you’ll want to visit the various beaches within the Virgin Islands National Park. Unlike other US National Parks, there is no entrance fee, except for Trunk Bay, which costs $5 by credit card only. All of the National Park beaches are accessible by Route 20, making the coast easy to navigate.
The coastline is absolutely stunning, and there are countless beaches to explore. These are my recommendations…
🏝️ Trunk Bay Beach
I would recommend spending the majority of your day at Trunk Bay Beach. There is an entrance fee of $5 per person, card only!
Trunk Bay beach offers a full kitchen and bar, so you can stay comfortably for a while and have lunch. The beach on Trunk Bay is expansive, but there is not much shade. Chair and umbrella rentals are available right at the entrance.
On the beach, there is an underwater snorkel trail which will guide you through the reef, different fish, and how to protect the ecosystem. A very unique experience from a National Park! Not to mention the most clear and blue water you will ever see.
🏝️ Cinnamon Bay Beach
After you spend your day at Trunk Bay, make the short 5-minute drive to Cinnamon Bay for sunset. Crowds will likely have died down by now so parking or taxis will be easy to come by.
You can also check out Maho Bay, Honeymoon Beach, or Hawksnest Beach for more pristine blue water.
🛍️ Stroll Mongoose Junction
Back in Cruz Bay town, you’ll find Mongoose Junction just a few minutes’ walk from the Cruz Bay ferry dock. Grab a snack or meal, and stroll through the various shops.
⛴️ Board passenger ferry from Cruz Bay -> Red Hook
No need to rush today as the last ferry departs at 11 pm! You can purchase your return ticket directly from the ferry dock with cash or card. The later the ferry, the less busy, so you only need to arrive about 15 minutes prior to the ferry time.
Day 7: Resort Day and Sunset Sail
🧘🏼♀️Relax at the pool
There is nothing better to do today than just relax by the pool. Grab a book and a fresh smoothie and enjoy the sun. You are on vacation after all!
⛵️Sunset Sail on Lady Linsey
You’re back aboard the Lady Linsey for a sunset sail with light dinner and drinks. I cannot stress enough how amazing this boat and crew was, even for the second time.
The sunset from the water was absolutely stunning and great lighting for pictures! Not to mention the ever-flowing piña coladas from the open bar. There truly is nothing better than a good sunset sail on your last night in paradise.
Day 8: Depart!
✈️ Depart from Cyril E. King Airport (STT)
💡Pro-Tip: Arrive at the airport 3 hours before your flight. It sounds crazy, but the airport is small, and there is a TON of foot traffic because most flights leave around the same time of day. Save yourself the headache, get there early, and have one last meal at one of the restaurants near the gates.
Where to Stay to Minimize Travel Time
Staying at the Great Bay Condominiums near Red Hook was really advantageous logistically, and the views were top-tier.
The opposite side of the island is where you’ll find Charlotte Amalie and other popular resorts. We spent time near the Westin and Marriott Frenchman’s Cove near the town of Charlotte Amalie, and it was a lot more crowded and had views of cruise ships 24/7.
If this is your vibe, then the Charlotte Amalie side is your place to stay, but my guess is that most people stay here because it is closest to the airport.
Red Hook area and the Great Bay Condominiums had unobstructed views of the bay and St. John. Not a cruise ship in sight and a lot less crowded since it is a bit farther from the airport on the other side of the island.
I would recommend staying on the Red Hook side if you want to travel to St. John and prioritize a calm environment.
I would recommend staying on the Charlotte Amalie side if you want to be closer to the airport/cruise ships, and do not mind a more crowded environment.
Common Itinerary Mistakes to Avoid
If I were to do this trip again, I would spread out more of the active days and put relaxation days in between. For example, switching Day 5 and Day 7 would have evened out the activity. Or even take out Day 5 altogether and just relax!
It all depends on the type of trip you’re going for. This is definitely more of an action-packed itinerary, so you can always make adjustments as needed!
I LOVE putting together interactive travel maps of all the must-see spots, you can grab yours here!
Happy vacationing!
