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Caribbean Festivals
"are a tradition on each of the US Virgin Islands. The largest celebration is the St. Thomas Carnival which takes place at the end of April every year. With a steel band jamboree, calypso competition, local food stalls, arts & crafts, beauty pageants, concerts, and 'jump-up' dances - this is the biggest social event in the US Virgin Islands and the second largest Caribbean Carnival after Trinidad's annual celebration. The highlight of St. Thomas's Caribbean Carnival is the grand finale - 'Adult's Parade' - with fabulous costumes that soar above the participants with feathers and sequins everywhere. Combined with steel bands, floats and our famous 'Mocko Jumbie' stilt-walkers - Carnival on St. Thomas is an experience you'll never forget.
St. John carries on the tradition of Caribbean fun with its Summer Fourth of July Festival in the week leading up to Independence Day which also celebrates Emancipation Day (freedom of the slaves) on July 3rd.
St. Croix saves its 'jump up' for the end of each year with a Christmas and New Year's Three Kings Festival which starts in December and runs through January 8th." |
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ST JOHN
"What makes ST John unique is that most of the island is a National Park, US Virgin Island National Park. This means no building or commercial use of the land. Most of the park was once owned by Lawrence Rockefeller who had the wisdom to grant the land to the government for use by the people of generations to come. He also did the same in Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands. He gave land that is now their National Parks. We visited the world famous BVI Baths this time down there. One word says it all. ""AWESOME"".
The VI National Park has some great beaches and areas of its own. I have moved most of the information about the park to it's own new place here at Epinions. You can follow the link at the end of this piece. Do be sure to go around to all the best beaches of the Virgin Islands. They are very cool and fun to explore. Add another star if you enjoy snorkeling. There is some great coral reefs to check out."
ST THOMAS
"Very different from the quiet beaches of ST John are the very populated ones of St Thomas. I actually thought I might be disappointed staying at the ST Thomas beaches after our ST John experience of pristine beaches and waters. St Thomas was just a different kind of place, though enjoyable. Our hotel right on Sapphire beach was excellent. We stayed at the Antilles@ Sapphire Beach Resort We actually booked the wrong place through Hotels.com. My wife and I thought we were booking the Sapphire Beach and Marina. That's another whole tale to tell you about. We lucked out and kind of stayed at both places. We also stopped by the Ritz-Carlton Resort for lunch. This place is beautiful with the finest of service. A great off season seat can be made.
We went to the world class beach of Megen's Bay. Some magazines say it's one of the worlds ten most beautiful beaches. Ha, I remember it best for the great pizza the made there. It is pretty, especially when viewed from the mountains. There are lockers, showers and quaint places to grab some finger foods on the beach."
RESORTS
There are only two main resorts on this Island, Caneel Bay and the Westin Resort. We stayed at the Westin last year. There are many villas for rent through out the island, especially in the Cruz Bay area. Grocery stores and supermarkets are in Cruz Bay too. Gas stations are on the island. Expect to pay a little over two dollars a gallon. |
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Time Zone
GMT -3
Language Spoken
English
Passport/ VISA
"Passports: Passport valid for duration of stay required by all except:
1. nationals of Canada and the USA with an original birth certificate and official photo ID.
Visas: Required by all except the following for stays of up to 30 days:
(a) nationals of countries referred to in the chart above and their overseas territories;
(b) citizens of Commonwealth countries (except nationals of Cameroon, Guyana, Mozambique, Nigeria and Pakistan, who do require visas);
(c) nationals of Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong (SAR), Iceland, Korea (Rep), Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Romania, San Marino, Serbia & Montenegro, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, Vatican City and Venezuela."
Climate
The islands are hot and humid throughout the year, with most rain falling between August and October. The busiest tourist season is from December to May, during the northern hemisphere winter, and outside of these months rooms are cheaper and the islands less crowded. Between April and August the waters are calmer and underwater visibility is best for diving and snorkelling. |
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