Looking to get away for a few days and having never been to the USVI, am thinking of going there. I am the diver, my SO is not. This would not be a diving vacation but rather a vacation with a dive or two hopefully squeezed in. What are the topside activiites like at St. Croix? Not interested in shopping, dining, etc. Want to relax on a tropical beach, see some nature oriented sites and get some snorkeling in, as well as hopefully a dive or two. How does the diving there compare to south Florida? How do the beaches compare? Are the dives a half day affair, or would I return early enough to not be abandoning my wife for most of the day?
A lot of the topside activities were closed when we were recently on St. Croix (Oct/Nov 2020) because of Covid. I think that is probably true of many tourist destinations including the other USVI islands.
Quite a few restaurants and some shops were open but several of the tourist activities we remembered from an earlier trip were not available; I don't know if that has changed yet. The island had only been open to visitors for a month when we were there and things were quiet.
But there were still lots of great things to do. There are excellent restaurants and the boardwalk in Christiansted is fun. Of course there are beaches and snorkeling and diving to enjoy. You could also take a half-day cruise over to Buck Island to explore and snorkel and I believe that sunset cruises were also being offered. I didn't notice any jet skis, kayaks, parasailing, or paddleboards in use so I don't know if they are available.
The island is beautiful to explore and you can drive to Point Udall, the easternmost point in the US to enjoy the stunning views.
The things that were closed when we were there included the casino, both of the rum distillery tours, the museums, forts, and the botanical gardens. I believe that the vodka distillery tour is open but we didn't take it. Maybe more things have since opened up because we are now in the high season for tropical travel.
Christiansted is on the north side and it is the main town and that area has the most tourist attractions. You don't have to stay right in Christiansted, there are resorts, hotels, and condos nearby. You can dive out of Christiansted on the north reefs and the wall.
Cane Bay is also on the north side (east of Christiansted) and it is a lovely area and accessible to shore dives and the wall, but it may not be the best area for non-divers. I am not sure, I've never stayed in the Cane Bay area.
Fredricksted is on the west side and it is said to have the best beaches and it has the pier, but it was almost a ghost town (and rather "derelict-looking" not far away from the shore and the pier) when we were there, so it might not be great spot for non-divers. A place to stay that is frequently recommended in the Fredricksted area is called Cottages by the Sea but I have never been there.
The St. Croix diving is really good, different from Florida in my memory, but we haven't been to Florida recently. My memories of Florida are lots of sealife and sharks but the corals weren't the best.
We had excellent warm and sunny weather on STX but we were not able to dive the north side or the wall when we recently there because of high winds. So we didn't get to dive some of the most popular sites during this trip, but the reefs on the west side near Fredricksted were calm and great and there were a lot of healthy corals and diverse sea life, and we saw several sharks, turtles, eels, and rays. We were very happy with the diving.
If you can only do a couple of dives on STX then make sure that you dive the Fredricksted Pier, it's the best 30 foot dive you could have and you can plan the timing to best fit your tight schedule because it's a shore dive. You might want to start with a guided dive of the pier because the divemasters really know where to find all the best stuff. You are likely to see octopus, seahorses, and many other wonderful things. You can also snorkel the pier and your non-diving companions might enjoy doing that.
It's best to rent a car on St. Croix and it's pretty easy to drive between Christiansted and Fredricksted (about 30 to 40 minutes) but they drive on the left side of the road. Be sure to reserve a car in advance because there was a shortage when we were there.
For accommodations, it's hard to find one place that has everything you want and budget is a big factor. The Buccaneer is a beautiful resort near Christiansted and it might be the perfect place for a short stay but I believe that it is expensive. We stayed in a condo on "Condo Row" just east of Christiansted because we were there for 2 weeks. It was lovely and the beach was nice but not spectacular and there was no snorkeling nearby.