# Caribbean Vacations Forums > St John & U.S. Virgin Islands Travel Forum >  >  Just returned from a one-week stay in St Croix, and wanted to post a recap.  Special thanks to IV for posting an STX trip report that helped with our planning.Accomodations:  Villa Vista Turquesa in J

## sradek

Just returned from a one-week stay in St Croix, and wanted to post a recap.  Special thanks to IV for posting an STX trip report that helped with our planning.

Accomodations:  Villa Vista Turquesa in Judith's Fancy.  Judith's Fancy is a gated community on the northern side of the island.  We had a group of 10 traveling together and the villa accomodated all of us -- 3 king bedrooms with ensuite baths and 2 queen bedrooms that shared one bath.   Villa was nicely appointed with west indian colonial style furnishings.  Villa amenities - large pool and deck area, good sized kitchen with two refrigerators and all necessary appliances, dining room had a magnificient maghagony table that seated 12.  The villa was probably built in the 70's however was recently refurbished and was well taken care of.  The location was ideal because we had continual breezes, and it backed up to the Salt River National Park which we enjoyed each morning by hiking.   Also - over the hill just behind our villa was an ideal spot to see amazing sunsets.  The villa was relative bargain, under $4k for the week. 

Activites:
The guys went sportfishing for a half day and caught a 12 lb mahi which was dinner on Sunday evening.  

Our entire group took a private, day trip to Buck Island for snorkling.  Wonderful experience.  We saw quite a range of wildlife: large lobsters, nurse sharks, barracuda, sea turtles, and large schools of a variety of fish.  There were large sectons of coral that were dying, so some of the coral was not as beautiful as we expected.   After snorkling we spent an hour or two on the beach at Buck Island -- and it is one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen.  General comment:  pay the extra money to do this on a private basis if you are with a group of 6 or more people.   Most of the services that take you to Buck Island are large group charters that cram 20-35 people on a 40 foot trimaran.  We saw two of them while we were out and they looked like refugee boats.  Our experience was terrific - we had plenty of room and privacy.  It was well worth the expense.

We spent the afternoon at The Buccaneer where the girls enjoyed spa appointments.  Following the spa, we had a wonderful lunch at their restaurant and then enjoyed their beach.

Our entire group took a 45-minute hike to the Annaly Bay tide pools.  This hike is aggressive (much longer and more difficult than either of the Colombier hikes) but very enjoyable.  There are beautiful views and the majority of the hike is shaded which helps tremendously.  The tide pools were beaufiul, great snorkling -- large schools of small angel fish.

Dining:
H20.  First night dinner was at H20 where we had a table for 10 set on the sand next to the water.  Magical atmosphere.  Food was very good, I would recommend it for a casual dining experience. 

Savant.  Located in downtown Christensted, Savant was the best dining experience of our trip.  Exceptional food and service, charming atmosphere.   The best seating location is outside in the courtyard.  We actually went here twice because it was so amazing.   Pricing was very affordable (125 per couple with plenty of drinks)

Bacchus.  Located in downtown Christensted.  We heard from multiple people on the island that Bacchus was one of the best restaurants, that convinced us to try it.  Quite honestly it was the biggest dining disappointment of the trip.  Menu was somewhat uninspired, and food preparation was lacking.  We had a homemade ravioli that was served in a broth so salty it was almost inedible.   One of our group ordered the fresh tuna (that they said was caught that afternoon) and it was served buried in a spicy puttenesca sauce.  The sauce did have good flavor but it completely overwhelmed what should have been a lovely fish. 

Private Chefs. We had two chefs come to our villa, both different styles, and both wonderful.

Beaches.  Our best beach experiences were:  Buck Island, The Buccaneer and Carambola resort beaches, as well as Sunset beach on the west side of the island.  Stunning white sand beaches, lovely water conditions.

Other beaches we visited: Divi Resort (rocky with lots of seaweed),  Cane Bay (charming location but the ants in the sand were a little off-putting),  Annaly Bay (all rocks, but very pretty - not intended to be a "layout" beach)),  Judith's Fancy / Salt River (natural and beautiful, not intended to be "layout" beaches),  The Palms resort beach (lots of seaweed on the sand and in the water)

Other notable experiences:
Domino Club - we stopped at this bar / restaurant one afternoon on our drive through the rainforest.  Very rustic, out door environment.   Unusual experience, hysterically funny and a must do.  Norma is a charming hostess, serving two kinds of moonshine (and plenty of beer for those that can't quite manage those drinks), a verbal menu consisting of burgers or chicken with johnny cake (chicken was excellent), and the must-see beer drinking pigs.  The 600 lb pig grabs the beer can out of your hand, chews the can to burst it in his mouth, consumes the beer (while spewing a good portion of it) and spits out the can when done.  Trust me, you would not believe it until you see it.   BTW, the pigs only get non-alcoholic beer.

We drove to Point Udall - the most eastern location in the U.S.  Beautiful vistas. 

We drove "The Beast" which is an extremely steep hill that is the toughest part of the St Croix triathalon run, and did some off-roading along scenic drive.

Travel to and from:
We flew BWI - ATL - STX on Delta.   Relatively easy experience on the way there.  Our return home on Friday was nightmare because of the bad weather in the NE - our flight from ATL to BWI was canceled and we ended up renting 2 SUVs and driving from Atlanta to Baltimore through the night.  It was unpleasant but it was our best option (closest available hotel was 20miles from the airport and next likely flight was Monday at 9pm...)  we were lucky to get cars. 

Overall comments:  The trip was outstanding, and we were all pleasantly surprised by the experience.   The island is very undeveloped with no high-rise resorts.  Accomodations and dining are extremely affordable.  Topography is varied and beautiful.  There is a lot to see and do if you are inclined to explore the island.  The locals are very friendly and helpful - we got lost several times and anyone we asked was more than willing to give us directions (that actually were accurate)  We had no first-hand evidence of any crime while on-island.   Our villa was never locked, and we did not feel uncomfortable leaving it open.  Given that we had such a large group, I think this contributed to our "comfort level" while out and about exploring.   We also used basic travel-sense and were not out wandering about past midnight, and no one was out and about on their own.  We met several people on the trip who all spoke very highly of the island.  One family had recently retired and relocated from St Louis, and another was actively looking at property to build a home.  As we drove around the island there was a lot of property for sale, and many homes under construction.    

All in all, it was a terrific trip.

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## Island Visitor

Susanne:

Glad to hear it was such a great trip.  I think STX is a somewhat undersold jewel.  The one thing that I have taken away in my two trips down is how much everyone there really seems to be trying to do the right thing.  The shopkeepers downtown are wonderful, the resto folks are very friendly and the people in general are warm. 

We love STX and have another trip to The Bucc already on the books.

Next time, add Tutto Bene and Cheeseburger In America's Paradise to the trip.

Cheesburger In America's Paradise is the only resto in the world of which I am familiar that has pulled off The Pentafecta:

1.  Great cheeseburger

2.  Great Nicoise Salade

3.  Great al fresco dining under tents and stars

4.  Great classical/pop guitarist/singer.

5.  Great little basketball court on a little paved area right by the tables.

Mom and dad have a nicoise salade and listen to the great guitarist while the kids play basketball waiting for their cheeseburger and fries to arrive.

Anytime you find that combo in a beautiful environment, you have found a winner!

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## Seles

Susanne

I have the fondest memories of Buck Island...a group of 6 got a Sailor named Kermit to take us over on a concrete junk/clipper...it was just great &amp; a memory I cherish everytime it pops up.  Thanks for the reminder as it was a long time ago.

Ric

PS~for you and IV-do a lot of the old mills still stand and/or some villas actually built around them as I remember?

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## Island Visitor

Ric:  There are indeed still many freestanding sugar mills.  One particular house has been built around a mill and is quite nice.  But there are still many dotting the landscape including one right by the main house at the Buccaneer.

The East End is where Da Money is moving to St Croix although the Carambola area is challenging that of late.  There is a lot of New Money, including Dotbomb money, in the East End.  There is one particular stretch of road between Coakley and Teague Bay where several houses in a row have put up concrete walls and then hidden them with a long, unbroken stretch of flowering plants (hibiscus?  bougainvilla? - I dont know flowers).  It is quite Wow.

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## MIke R

I remember that Chinese Junk from my days living there....I came as close as I ever want to come to getting killed on Buck Island trying to raise a sunken sailboat...but thats a long story best told  over a beer

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## Island Visitor

Here is the sugar mill at The Buccaneer

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## Island Visitor

Ric:

The most famous villa built around a sugar mill is

Clairmont Mill

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## Seles

Mike, Kermit attempted to 'channel' Lu or something with all his Voodoo or whatever...never made much of an impression.  BUT on that trip this guy came alongside the boat on a Windsurfing board &amp; came aboard, had some water &amp; fruit, and then took off saying "he was on his way to San Juan".  That would take a ton of strength to do that.  I wanna hear all about the sunken sailboat in June.

IV, I will have to look up the name of the villa we have stayed in...Joyce was the housekeeper and it had a mill in the center, can't even recall exactly where it was.  I'll find it but the sugar mills are so cool!

Ric

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## MIke R

Ric....any idea who owns that Chinese Junk that was anchored off Corrosol this past June?...I went by it on my way back from Colombier by boat and took a ton of pictures of it

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## sradek

Ric, This sugar mill was located just off our pool deck in Judiths Fancy... Susanne

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## sradek

IV, We heard a lot about the East End and drove around that area quite a bit one afternoon.  I actually found the northern / Carambola area much more appealing.  The drive along 80 was amazing, much more open with beautiful views

The Carambola resort was wonderfully appointed, the public areas appeared recently refurbished.   My only concern staying out "this far" would be the drive back from Christensted after a late dinner.... it would easily be a 30 minute drive

View of coast line and Carambola resort from Annaly Bay hike:

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## Island Visitor

Carambola is stunning - Hawaii in the Caribbean is the image most people evoke.  Alas, the poor Carambola area is only now beginning to shake off the legacy of The Fountain Valley Massacre in 1972.  

The area itself is in the midst of a MAJOR shot in the arm with no less than Westin opening a marvy new place in the next few years.

The East End will be sold to people wanting to build villas, high end condos and, on Grapetree, nice casino resorts.  It has a bit of an enclave feel to it, being away from much of the rest of the island.

There is no doubt that Carambola, as well as Fsted, have a lot of appeal.  Both are slated for expensive hotel projects in the near future.  When I was touting the East End, it was more as a residential area than a hotel area (Grapetree notwithstanding).

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## Seles

> Ric....any idea who owns that Chinese Junk that was anchored off Corrosol this past June?...I went by it on my way back from Colombier by boat and took a ton of pictures of it



No, except a couple of people rumored it to be conviscated as 'abandoned' around the last week of June...we were either going by or in Columbier Baie 3 times and each time we saw a French man &amp; woman aboard who spoke no English.  They didn't get boarded to my knowledge when the French Coast Guard came by one day.  

Susanne and IV, I have had the best time for 2 hours...Lu &amp; I have all our 'hard' copy albums out looking at memories of St.Croix, St. John, Buck Island, Jamaica (all from the late 80's).

Villa Mill Point was where we stayed 4 times...built around a sugar mill &amp; simply gorgeous even in today's terms.  Bluefieds Bay in Jamaica, etc.  This is fun.

Sorry no digitals to post anywhere from that time.

ric

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## MIke R

I dont  know Ric...it looked to be in pretty good shape for "abandoned"...but I suppose  you never know

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## KevinS

Is this the one you're talking about?  This picture is from June '05.

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## Seles

Not the one we saw Kevin.  

Ric

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## MIke R

I can't tell..they all look alike to me and I never saw it in full sail

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