St Croix Anniversary Trip Oct 2020
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Carlos Danger
Contributor
We stayed at Carambola, which was beautiful at the time. Not sure what it is like now after all the hurricane damage a while back:
St Croix was one of the more memorable and diverse trips I've been on; you'll have a great time. There is a lot to explore; Frederiksted, Christiansted, Point Udall, Davis Bay, Buck Island, The Beast, Sandy Point. There is a rainforest area, hiking trails, historical sights, and there used to be plenty of great places to eat.
Even though US citziens do not need a passport, I would take them anyway; can help on your return trip. Renting a car is a must! I reserved in-advance with Avis at the airport, and had no issues (NOTE: sit on the left, but drive on the left). When you pickup your car make sure to take photos of every part, particularly any pre-existing damage, and do not leave anything unattended in your vehicle while you're out-n-about having fun.
The island is pretty spread out, and you may wish to dive in multiple areas with different ops. The best diving is generally along the northern and western coasts, and there are some great spots that can be explored from shore at Davis Bay and Cane Bay, plus boat dives at Salt River and along the western/northern coastlines. Must-do dives are the Frederiksted Pier (if it is still there) and the Elkhorn coral barrier reef at Buck Island (if it is still there).
Hope this helps!
Tattoo John
Registered
Any operator in Frederiksted is capable of diving the pier, there are seahorses and octopus. Just keep in mind different operators have different boats, some intimate, some larger. What kind of diving do you want to do? Deep/shallow wrecks, the pier(which everyone should do at least once), shallow reef diving south of the pier, Cane Bay (wall), and around Salt River Canyon (where I saw a lot of sharks) to Long Reef - Christiansted.
As far as restaurants... I found great dinner/supper food in Christiansted and restaurants out East. But after a great pier dive a sandwich at Polly's at the Pier was awesome. and just up the beach a little is Rhythms at Rainbow Beach... always good people watching.
As far as restaurants... I found great dinner/supper food in Christiansted and restaurants out East. But after a great pier dive a sandwich at Polly's at the Pier was awesome. and just up the beach a little is Rhythms at Rainbow Beach... always good people watching.
jonhall
Contributor
I want to thank you for the laugh I got out of reading this. I'm sure spell check changed sea horses to seashores......that is unless you meant to say one can see seashores from the pier!
Just checking into Scubaboard after a short break while we were moving and noticed this post. My wife and I recently moved to St. Croix, so if you have more questions or need more input, let me know.
Like most of the world, St. Croix is currently impacted by the virus, but resorts and hotels are open again, dive operators are running daily trips, and restaurants (not bars) are open for both indoor and outdoor dining. Masks are used extensively here and required in all retail businesses.
Both Frederiksted (West) and Christiansted (east) areas have nice places to stay. There are several really nice hotels (The Buccaneer near Christiansted) and The Fred (Frederiksted) are two of the nicer hotels. The Buccaneer is a resort and The Fred more of a boutique hotel. AirBnb’s are also very popular here and have lots of availability due to the downturn in travel worldwide. Some are oceanfront/beachfront and most have ocean views. We personally stayed at The Buccaneer 3 times before we moved here and AirBnb’s several times and they both have their advantages. At The Buccaneer, you feel like you’re at a very nice resort and don’t have to leave the resort unless you want to. Pricey but good service, great staff, and an amazing property. Also rented houses as we’ve also traveled here with large groups and condos for just the two of us. Could recommend each of them depending upon budget and wishlist.
Like others have said, having a rental car will make your trip so much more enjoyable. There are taxis, but they can add up and make logistics a challenge. I’ve used several rental companies, but we recently used Centerline and they were the best we’ve tried. Similar pricing To the National brands.
For diving, I recommend booking trips all over the island if you want the variety St. Croix offers. Christiansted has many great dive sites within several minutes of the dock. Lots of great coral formations and some very nice wall dives at Salt River. All diving In Christiansted is from boats. Frederiksted has the pier (considered one of the world’s best shore dives), wreck dives and some nice shallow reefs. In between is Cane Bay where a lot of shore diving and snorkeling takes place. I personally use St. Croix Underwater Bluewater Adventures aka SCUBA as they are a well run operation and have boats and shops at both ends of the islands. However, I’ve heard good things about many of the operations.
Again, let me know if you have any questions or need any recommendations.
Like most of the world, St. Croix is currently impacted by the virus, but resorts and hotels are open again, dive operators are running daily trips, and restaurants (not bars) are open for both indoor and outdoor dining. Masks are used extensively here and required in all retail businesses.
Both Frederiksted (West) and Christiansted (east) areas have nice places to stay. There are several really nice hotels (The Buccaneer near Christiansted) and The Fred (Frederiksted) are two of the nicer hotels. The Buccaneer is a resort and The Fred more of a boutique hotel. AirBnb’s are also very popular here and have lots of availability due to the downturn in travel worldwide. Some are oceanfront/beachfront and most have ocean views. We personally stayed at The Buccaneer 3 times before we moved here and AirBnb’s several times and they both have their advantages. At The Buccaneer, you feel like you’re at a very nice resort and don’t have to leave the resort unless you want to. Pricey but good service, great staff, and an amazing property. Also rented houses as we’ve also traveled here with large groups and condos for just the two of us. Could recommend each of them depending upon budget and wishlist.
Like others have said, having a rental car will make your trip so much more enjoyable. There are taxis, but they can add up and make logistics a challenge. I’ve used several rental companies, but we recently used Centerline and they were the best we’ve tried. Similar pricing To the National brands.
For diving, I recommend booking trips all over the island if you want the variety St. Croix offers. Christiansted has many great dive sites within several minutes of the dock. Lots of great coral formations and some very nice wall dives at Salt River. All diving In Christiansted is from boats. Frederiksted has the pier (considered one of the world’s best shore dives), wreck dives and some nice shallow reefs. In between is Cane Bay where a lot of shore diving and snorkeling takes place. I personally use St. Croix Underwater Bluewater Adventures aka SCUBA as they are a well run operation and have boats and shops at both ends of the islands. However, I’ve heard good things about many of the operations.
Again, let me know if you have any questions or need any recommendations.
SandyUT
Contributor
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we rented a house there between the two ports that was great. we have a large group and that was needed. Get a car. there is lot to see and its easy to navigate.
Dive op we used was st croix ultimate blue water adventures. not the best experience. the boat captain was not pleasant and pushed my wifr off the ladder by putting his foot on her forehead - for not following their ridiculous boat loading process. where everyone stays on a rope 20" from the boat, you hand your fins the the DM who swims them to the captain, then you drag yourself up with the rope and no fins. I reviewed the even with the owner who fully defended the captain and basically said it didnt happen. my wife skipped the next day because of the event and they almost didnt refund the prepaid dives. I would not use them or recommend them.
the salty captain also ignored divers at the ladder to help a younger woman dive from the captains roost later in the week. seems eye candy was more important than diver safety.
Dive op we used was st croix ultimate blue water adventures. not the best experience. the boat captain was not pleasant and pushed my wifr off the ladder by putting his foot on her forehead - for not following their ridiculous boat loading process. where everyone stays on a rope 20" from the boat, you hand your fins the the DM who swims them to the captain, then you drag yourself up with the rope and no fins. I reviewed the even with the owner who fully defended the captain and basically said it didnt happen. my wife skipped the next day because of the event and they almost didnt refund the prepaid dives. I would not use them or recommend them.
the salty captain also ignored divers at the ladder to help a younger woman dive from the captains roost later in the week. seems eye candy was more important than diver safety.
Sallygirl
Contributor
I just spent some lovely time with your trip report. Thank you for helping me to enjoy a vicarious vacation while we are not traveling. I will be looking at St. Croix as a possible destination post Covid.
You always have excellent, thorough trip reports. I truly appreciate them, and I am sure that I am not alone!
I just read yesterday that USVIs are reverting to phase 2 COVID-19 precautions.
“Beginning Monday, August 17, 2020, all non-essential businesses and churches are ordered to cease operations and the public is ordered to stay at home unless shopping for food, seeking medical services, or conducting core life services”
Are the islands still open to tourism? @mwall04 can you please comment if you are still on the island?
“Beginning Monday, August 17, 2020, all non-essential businesses and churches are ordered to cease operations and the public is ordered to stay at home unless shopping for food, seeking medical services, or conducting core life services”
Are the islands still open to tourism? @mwall04 can you please comment if you are still on the island?
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