One Day in St Thomas USVI
If you only have one day in St Thomas to spend, how would you best spend it? Here is our guide on what to do if you only had one day in St Thomas. Be it on a short cruise excursion or if you’ve already used up a lot of your vacation time and don’t have enough time exploring.
Contents
A majority of this tour occurs when your boat is docked on the Charlotte Amalie port. Another is if your accommodation is located around the Charlotte Amalie area. If you are more adventurous, do not hesitate to grab a safari taxi or a shared taxi to take you to other places within the island. We made this post because we only had half a day to explore Charlotte Amalie before going to the airport. Understandably, there’s not much to do in the city if you’re rushing to the airport within a few hours.
Cruise ships usually only have a few hours to spend in every port. This quick day trip is a cheap and fun way to explore St Thomas without spending extra on food or drink. You can easily sightsee and still have enough time to go back to the ship for lunch!
The big, red fort is visibly located in downtown Charlotte Amalie. You may pass it by the side of the road as you make your way to or from Red Hook or other St Thomas beaches. The fort is pretty big, and the history is pretty interesting.
Entrance costs $10 per adult, and everything is self-guided. A docent who moonlights as the ticket seller will tell you about the fort on your way in. There are also interesting exhibits to see and great photo spots. It is a fun way to spend a morning and was not extremely busy when we visited. You can also see a great view of the city and the marina from the top of the fort.
You can see the way the governor used to live when the Dutch-owned and controlled the fort. As a quick reminder: the US just bought the territory in 1917, so not much American history in the area. Expect to spend an hour or two, max, if you are planning to go to the fort.
A quick walk from Fort Christian is the Emancipation Garden and also the Charlotte Amalie Post Office. While the Emancipation Garden is small, the statue and history behind it paint a picture of the history of Charlotte Amalie and St Thomas. The post office is this big yellow building facing the street and shows how Dutch architecture at the time looked. If you’re a fan of mailing postcards to yourself or to friends and family while traveling, then the post office is definitely a must-visit place.
Blackbeard’s Castle was closed for repairs when we arrived in St Thomas, but the view from it is absolutely amazing. Getting up to Blackbeard’s Castle involves walking up to another tourist site, the 99 Steps.
The 99 Steps are made from ballast bricks from Danish ships, back when the world was dependent on shipping and there was no such thing as airplanes to transport people and cargo. Ballast bricks were used to make the cargo hold of ships more stable, and are known for their sturdy nature. There are actually 100+ steps to get up to Blackbeard’s Castle, but not all of those steps are made of ballast bricks.
You’ll know you made it up the top of 99 Steps when you see the Three Queens Statue. The statue is located in a small park with a great overlook of the Charlotte Amalie harbor. If still lost, try to look for an old tower on your horizon: that’s Blackbeard’s Castle.
Going up 99 Steps to Blackbeard’s Castle and back should only take between 30 minutes to an hour of your day. It all depends on how long you intend to stay at the top to take photos and your fitness level. 99 Steps is free to do, but Blackbeard’s Castle (when open) charges a fee to enter.
Note: at the time we visited, Blackbeard’s Castle is close for repairs.
While we would not recommend buying anything from the shops in the shopping area of Charlotte Amalie, it’s still nice to walk around and see Dutch architecture. It reminded me a lot of Havana, Cuba. Buildings with a bit of dilapidation and disrepair in some of the building’s exterior. The big front doors on the shops, the small courtyards, and the street itself feel historic.
Other reviewers on some websites like TripAdvisor think that it’s not safe to walk around the area. We think it is perfectly safe, even in the evenings. The biggest problem is trying to keep your credit card or cash from leaving your wallet. You may get suckered into buying jewelry or other ‘luxury goods’ by some of the pushy salespeople standing outside the stores asking you to come in and ‘take a look’.
Just say no, keep walking, and you’ll eventually see the beauty of the buildings (from the street). The street is not particularly pedestrian-friendly. The sidewalk is small, and there’s two-way traffic on the narrow roads. Not sure if it’s the same during cruise days, but imagine tens of thousands of people from cruise ships walking around these streets with two-way vehicle traffic: bad.
Technically a tourist trap where the cable cars are only working whenever cruise ships are at port, but you can opt to head to Paradise Point, which offers a great viewpoint of the island.
What’s up there? A restaurant, bar of sorts, and a souvenir store all rolled into one. It is expensive to get up there, as the cable car is around $21 per person, not to mention the food or drinks you might opt to consume while up there.
Is Paradise Point worth visiting? Probably not. There are other viewpoints that are more beautiful than this. One of which is Drake’s Seat, which has amazing views of Magen’s Bay and you don’t even need to pay an entrance fee.
If you have more time, we would recommend spending it outside of the Charlotte Amalie area. The north side of St Thomas is known for Magens Bay and other beaches that made the island famous, so resorts are aplenty in this area as well as on the east side of the island.
To be honest, half a day would probably be more than enough to spend in Charlotte Amalie, given that the area is small and walkable enough, which is why it is a good day trip if coming on a cruise. People usually shrug off checking Charlotte Amalie out because it is not that pretty, but look a little bit deeper and you’ll see the beauty and history of this part of St Thomas.
For a full 24 hours in St Thomas, it’s best to explore Magen’s Bay and the other beaches, but hey, you can always come back and explore the ones you haven’t yet. If I missed out on any other hidden spot in Charlotte Amalie, feel free to let me know!
Planning for our honeymoon through Alaska, I casually looked at Google Maps on our route…
There’s a new attraction in Daytona Beach, and one we’re particularly excited to visit. It’s…
Museums and aquariums became a staple of places we had to see and visit once…
Knoxville is the city that hosted the World's Fair in 1982. Its downtown is cute,…
Cruising is one of the most popular vacation activities. It's a great way to travel…
Utah Olympic Park was one of the host venues of the Winter Olympics held in…
This website uses cookies.
