Things to Do in the US Virgin

Amidst the swaying tamarind and fig trees, the jungle vines and the waxy blooms of orchids that line the various pathways weaving through the St. George Village Botanical Garden on the island of St. Croix, there are plenty of opportunities to get a real feel for the wild character of the USVI. There are literally thousands of different species of plant adorning the grounds, all of which spring up from between the ruins of an historic plantation.

Aloft above the mirror-like waters of Magen’s Bay, where the scrub woods of St. Thomas Island give way to a small lookout atop the cliffs, visitors can settle down on a humble green chair and take in arguably some of the most breathtaking panoramas in the entire USVI. The spot is known as Drake’s Seat, and is named after the English naval commander Francis Drake, who is thought to have once moored in the waters below.

Registered as a National Landmark, the bulwarks and palisades here were raised to solidify Scandinavian rule in the archipelago, and later played an important role in fending off the marauding pirate bands of the Caribbean Sea.

Designed in the 1980s by the acclaimed course creators George & Tom Fazio, Mahogany Run is the top place for a round on the United States Virgin Islands.

Each day it comes alive with a clutch of local market sellers, with everything from handmade shell jewellery to leather bags, gimmicky reggae-inspired t-shirts to novelty island hats (think about getting the pirate one if you’re really getting in the Blackbeard mood!) on the menu.

Anyone pining for a shot of the Caribbean’s most famous alcoholic export should be sure to make a beeline for the island of St. Croix, where the welcoming Cruzan Rum Distillery stands on the fringes of Frederiksted.

The Estate Whim Plantation was built sometime in the 1700s by the Dutch West India Company, and represented the largest of its kind on the archipelago.

With everything from National Geographic Society Best Beach awards to Condé Nast prizes for prettiness, Trunk Bay’s accolades have come thick and fast over the years.

Possibly the single best place to don the snorkelling or SCUBA gear and head underwater in the entire United States Virgin Island archipelago, the Buck Island National Wildlife Refuge is home to both the uber-rare hawksbill turtle and the uber-rare leatherback.

Alive with rare sea turtles and sea lions, blooming coral plants in a kaleidoscope of different colours and scuttling hermit crabs, the Coral World Ocean Park sits on the headlands that jut out to meet Thatch Cay from the eastern shores of St. Thomas.

One of the few paradisiacal Caribbean beaches with a campsite just on its edge, Cinnamon Bay is every inch the tropical stretch of sand you’d expect to find in the midst of the beautiful Virgin Islands National Park.