Best Things to Do in St. Croix Island

In order to go to St.Croix Island, you must know its position in the atlas.

You can see the arrow mark pointing to the U.S. Virgin Island. Our subject, St. Croix Island, is one of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Next, see the map below showing exclusively the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The U.S. Virgin Islands that are floating in the Caribbean Sea consist of three main islands and 50+ small islands, islets, and cays.

The three main islands are:

Thomas
Croix
John

They are shown in bold and in red color in the map above. You can also clearly read the names of numerous islands, and islets that are part of the U.S. Virgin Islands archipelago.

In this blog post, we will get to know about St. Croix Island, its tourist landmarks, its resort, and hotels, what to eat and what to buy there.

Interesting Fact about the U.S.Virgin Islands:

The entire archipelago was once owned by Norway, and Denmark reign. During this regime, the archipelago was known as “Danish West Indies”.

Then, it was passed onto the Kingdom of Denmark. Inexplicably, Denmark rulers sold the 53+ islands to the United States in 1917.

Now, these Caribbean Islands are known as U.S. Overseas Territory.

How big is the St. Croix Island that is lying at the southern end of the U.S. Virgin Islands group?

It is the largest of all its siblings. It measures 45 km by 11 km by length and width respectively.

Twin City:

St.Croix’s two important towns are:

Christiansted
Fredereikstead

Look again at the map below.

Scroll down to locate St. Croix.

You can clearly see the twin cities located at the western tip of the island and one at the northern coast.

How do you go to St. Croix Island?

You have seen the location of the island.. Let me tell you how to go there.

Christianstead city is connected with flights from several U.S. cities. Miami operates the maximum flights. So, you can conclude Miami is the gateway to St. Croix and the other important islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The flight duration is nearly 3 hours from Miami. You can guess the flight duration from other U.S. cities to Christianstead City, St. Croix Island.

Hotels to stay on the island:

You have a range of options to stay, depending on bulging your wallet is.

The most expensive property on St. Croix is the Buccaneer Beach and Golf Resort. It costs over $550 per night.

The next best bet is the Sand Castle on the Beach.

Generally, tourists choose a hotel near Cane Bay because the beach is ideal for scuba diving and snorkeling. Cane Bay is on the northern side of St.Croix.

For solo travellers and budget travellers, youth hostels are ideal.

Best Things to Do in St. Croix Island

List of things to do in St. Croix

Point Udall

It is just a landmark in St.Croix’s eastern tip. It is also the easternmost tip of the U.S.

Fort Frederik

The mountainous backdrop gives the Fort at Frederikstead a tropical appearance.

It is a beautiful place to visit in St. Croix Island. It is a historic landmark and a proof of the Denmark-Norway combined regime.

The fort typically has a few canons facing the Caribbean Sea.

From their elevated platform, the sea can clearly reveal the approaching warships.

Eliza James-McBean Clock Tower and Emancipation Park

It’s a public park with mahogany trees. The location is in front of the Fort Frederik.

In addition, your eyes will automatically focus on numerous flowering plants. Apart from the beauty, they demand your attention with their mild fragrances.

Frederikstead Pier

A pier is a long stretch of paved platform built on a sea, usually, near a harbour.

The Frederikstead Pier is 1500 feet long and walking on it is a thrilling thing to do in St. Croix.

The pier acts as a platform for scuba divers as a jump off point. Snorkelers take the cue and hit the water to watch a diverse range of coral reefs and fish species.

Take a scenic drive on the promenade or stroll along the road abutting the Caribbean Sea.

The scenic drive would want you to come again and again to this fantastic spot on St. Croix Island.

Buck Island

One of the enjoyable things to do in St. Croix is to visit several small islands and uninhabited islets, and cays.

Buck Island is one such uninhabited paradise located off the northern coast. From the port of Christianstead, Buck Island is only a 10 minute boat ride away.

It is a quaint place and invites you to hit the water as soon as you set afoot on the island.

There is a reef system that warranted the creation of a National Monument that is worth seeing, provided you can at least snorkel if not scuba dive.

Buck Island Reef National Monument

The lovely fish that you noticed in the beginning of the video is the Spotted Eagle Ray.

The reef system and the national park constitute over 4000 acres. That’s quite a large area underwater where you swim with myriad marine life, including a few species of sharks.

The beaches wear sparkling white sand. The blue water is a terrific contract to the white beaches. That’s why the National Geographic Channel rated the beach on the western shore of the Buck Island as one of the beautiful beaches in the Caribbean region.

Wildlife on St. Croix

No one lives here. Therefore, you can watch several aquatic birds that live rather undisturbed, getting ample prey from the Caribbean Sea.

Brown Pelican
Least Terns

The beach is where you can find several eggs of Hawksbill Turtles during the breeding season for them.

There are boat tours available from Christianstead.

Extremely colorful festivals.

If this blog posts lures to plan a trip to St. Croix in the near future, plan it in such a fashion that you tour the island from December 26.

The last day of the attractive Christian festivals is on 6^th January.

George Village Botanical Gardens

This botanical garden is more of a arboretum than a garden comprised of more flowering plants and trees.

Over 1500 (a staggering number really) species of trees are in the garden. I read several hundred species were imported from various parts of the world.

When you go to the city of Frederikstead, you can visit the arboretum. It is one of the best things to do in St. Croix.

Another inhuman effort was the creation of a herbarium containing dried and pressed species of more than 5000 species. It is an excellent resource material for botanists, and horticulturists.

I wonder how beautiful the arboretum turns into during fall.

Meet the cowgiels

On the beaches on the island, one can enjoy horseback riding. Uniquely, the horses are tended by girls and hence they are called cowgirls.

What to eat and drink on St. Croix?

Let me tell you about the eating and drinking scenario on this island. Find out what are the local special foods to eat in St. Croix.

In addition, learn about some unheard of fruits and absolutely unique drinks there.

Local special foods that you must eat on this U.S. Virgin Island.

I have mentioned who were all the previous owners of St. Croix and its siblings St. Thomas Island, and St. John Island. These Caribbean Islands were occupied by the natives before the foreign rulers, Norway, and Denmark took over. Certainly, they left behind their culture and traditions, and that included their cuisine.

The influence of African, Caribbean, Indian, Danish, and Latin American can be clearly detected on the island’s food and drinks.

The taste of the food, staples, and soups depended mainly on the usage of numerous, locally grown, and imported spices, herbs, and condiments.

On the seafood front, you will find:

Conch
Starfish
Lobster
Wahoo (a kind of Scombrid Fish, a mackerel)
Reef Fish
Mahi Mahi
Kallaloo-a kind of stew contains leafy vegetables (Taro leaves)
Butter Sauce is highly used to accompany rice dishes and also to marinate red meat and white meat
Salt Fish (dried and salted fish) is one of the native islander’s staple.
Dumb Bread-the usual bread loaf but in circular shape with a bland taste. It is said to be originated in India.
Goat Roti
Senepol (local cattle breed)
Pate-a local pastry that is filled with some meet, usually beef.

Truly exotic dishes on St. Croix:

Oxtail Soup
Bull foot soup
Souse-a brothy pork dish
Tamarind Stew
Gooseberry Stew

Edible souvenirs that you can buy from St.Croix

Coconut candy
Ginger candy
Butter-fruit jam
Fruity tarts
Rum cakes

Beverages you should find unique on the island:

Spiced Tea
Herbal tea
Sorrel flower tea

Alcoholic drinks:

Coquito

It is a must-try local delicacy.

The ingredients are rum, coconut milk, vanilla, and some rare spices. The creamy look of the drink is inviting.

Banana Daiquiri-a heady mixture of rum and sugarcane juice. What a combination!
Painkiller

Weirdly named, it is actually an a rum-based cocktail. Its other ingredients are the juices of pineapple, and orange.

To top it all, coconut cream is added and stirred to give the drink a creamy appearance and sweetish taste.

Exotic local fruits in St. Croix:

Genip

I read it is classified under “Soapberry’ species of fruits. This tropical fruit has several ‘aliases’.

Sea Grape
Soursop

The outer thorny skin resembles a jackfruit but the pulp is white with black seeds that are similar to watermelon. It emanates an aroma that reminds you of pineapple.