Caribbean · The Virgin Islands
The national park and the direct flights: where the Virgins week begins
St Thomas has the airport with direct flights from across the US, and St John next door is two thirds national park with the calmest bays in the Caribbean. The US Virgin Islands are the first and last nights of our Virgin Islands week, and the border with the British islands is a formality on a yacht.
Where
The Virgin Islands, west of the BVI
Fly to
St Thomas (STT), direct from New York, Miami, Atlanta and more
Best months
December to April
Give it
The first and last night of a Virgins week
Known for
Trunk Bay, Maho Bay’s turtles, Magens Bay, Charlotte Amalie
Border
US and British islands are an hour apart; the crew clear you in and out
Why go
The US Virgin Islands, honestly
The US Virgin Islands are three islands: St Thomas with the airport and the cruise-ship capital of Charlotte Amalie, St John with the national park, and St Croix forty miles south on its own. For a yacht, St Thomas is where you board and St John is where you go.
Two thirds of St John is Virgin Islands National Park, so the north-shore bays, Caneel, Hawksnest, Trunk, Cinnamon, Maho and Francis, have no buildings behind them and moorings laid to protect the seagrass. Turtles graze under the boat at Maho. Trunk Bay has an underwater snorkel trail. It is the calmest first night in the Caribbean.
We run the Virgin Islands week out of St Thomas because the direct flights land there, spend the first and last nights in the park, and give the middle five to the British islands an hour east. On the ten-night St Barths bundle, St Thomas is the finish.
Where we anchor
The anchorages, in the order we use them
- St John, Caneel or Francis BayMooring, overnightNational park bays with no buildings behind them. The first night, an hour from the airport.
- St John, Maho BayMooring, overnightTurtles in the seagrass under the boat. The last night before St Thomas.
- St John, Trunk BayDay stopThe underwater snorkel trail and the beach on every postcard. Lunch, then move.
- St Thomas, Charlotte AmalieBerthYacht Haven Grande for boarding and disembarking, fifteen minutes from the airport.
- St Thomas, Magens BayLunch anchorageThe north-shore beach, a mile of sand in a heart-shaped bay. Open to the north swell, so lunch rather than the night.
Ashore
The US Virgin Islands off the boat
Not a directory. If it is here, we have sat at the table or stood at the bar.
Eat
St John for the tables, St Thomas for the first and last dinners.
- ZoZo’s at Caneel BayItalian on the point above Caneel, the dressed-up dinner of the week.
- The Longboard, Cruz BayFish tacos and rum in St John’s little town, after clearing in.
- Old Stone Farmhouse, St ThomasDinner in a 200-year-old plantation building above Mahogany Run.
Drink and dance
Quiet by Virgin Islands standards. The British side has the beach bars.
- Cruz Bay sunsetThe Beach Bar on the sand in Cruz Bay for the last rum before the park goes dark.
- Lime OutA floating taco bar in Coral Bay, St John. Swim up.
Do
The park, above and below the water.
- Snorkel the Trunk Bay trailMarked underwater, shallow, for everyone. Go early.
- Turtles at Maho BayFloat over the seagrass and wait. They surface beside you.
- Charlotte Amalie’s old townDanish warehouses turned into galleries and jewellers. An hour, no more.
Where it sits
The US Virgin Islands on the chart
St Thomas and St John are the western end of the Virgin Islands and the natural start and finish of a Virgins week, an hour from the British border at Soper’s Hole.
Drag to move. Double-click or ctrl-scroll to zoom.Zoom with the buttons, then drag to move.
When
When to be in The US Virgin Islands
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
- December to April: the season, with steady trades and the park at its calmest.
- Christmas and New Year: St John’s bays fill with boats; the moorings are first come, first served.
- March: St Thomas Carnival builds through April. Lively, if the dates line up.
- May to November: hot and quiet, hurricane season from July.
Itineraries
Itineraries that call at The US Virgin Islands
Full plans, day by day, with the boat each one runs on. Send one to the people coming with you; we reshape it around your yacht and dates.
A week in the Virgin Islands
St John7 stopsSt Thomas
From St Thomas: St John's park, the Caves at Norman Island, the Baths, Anegada's lobster and the Soggy Dollar. The first charter we recommend to most families.
Open
St Barths then the Virgin Islands
St Barths8 stopsSt John
A weekend in St Barths and Anguilla's beach picnic, an overnight passage downwind, then a week in the Virgins. St Maarten to St Thomas.
OpenYachts
Yachts in the Caribbean now
Boarding in Charlotte Amalie, fifteen minutes from the airport.
CORAL OCEAN
Lürssen · 73m · 1994, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 28 crew
€650k – 790k
GRAND ILLUSION
Palmer Johnson · 44m · 1994, refit 2017
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
$115k – 125k
KASKAZI FOUR
Lagoon · 19m · 2016, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€23k – 30k
SHADES OF GREY
Sunreef · 24m · 2024
9 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
€70k – 80k
Ascension
Lagoon · 19m · 2018, refit 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
$38k – 44k
QARA
Horizon · 25m · 2001, refit 2023
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
$37k – 42k
SIETE MARES
Lagoon · 24m · 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€65k – 69k
LOOMA
Fountaine Pajot · 20m · 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
$34k – 65k
Southern Belle
Johnson · 27m · 2006
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$54k – 59k
NEVER ENOUGH
Feadship · 43m · 1992, refit 2019
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
$110k – 127k
CROSSED SABRE
Burger · 44m · 2006, refit 2021
12 guests | 7 cabins | 11 crew
$175k – 195k
Vivi
Sunreef Yachts · 18m · 2024
8 guests | 3 crew
$53k – 58k
Aurelius 111
DUTCH YACHT BUILDERS · 34m · 2011, refit 2023
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
Price on request
BELLA
Feadship · 45m · 2008, refit 2014
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
€245k – 255k
MISS CHRISTINE
Trinity Yachts · 48m · 2006, refit 2024
11 guests | 5 cabins | 8 crew
$165k – 190k
OKINAWA
Fountaine Pajot · 18m · 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 3 crew
$29k – 63k
ELVIS MAGIC
Oyster Marine · 20m · 2003, refit 2025
6 guests | 3 cabins | 2 crew
$25k – 26k
SEA BLISS
Sunreef Yachts · 23m · 2024
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
€63k – 70k
VALINOR
Lagoon · 17m · 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
€27k – 31k
ENCORE
Sunreef Yachts · 18m · 2026
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
$56k – 62k
Lady Joy
Christensen · 48m · 2007, refit 2025
12 guests | 6 cabins | 11 crew
$199k – 225k
REVA NUI
Lagoon · 24m · 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€60k – 83k
MINE GAMES
Benetti · 50m · 2023
10 guests | 5 cabins | 10 crew
$330k – 350k
IL MIO CANTO LIBERO
Nautor's Swan · 32m · 2014, refit 2026
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€85k – 102k
ALEXA OF LONDON
38m · 1992, refit 2025
9 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
€65k – 70k
SWEET CAROLINE II
Trinity Yachts · 50m · 2009, refit 2021
12 guests | 7 cabins | 11 crew
$19k – 230k
ARKTOS
Lagoon · 24m · 2026
9 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€70k – 96k
ENTRE 4
Sunreef Yachts · 24m · 2024
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$100k – 125k
TOP FIVE II
Royal Hakvoort · 61m · 2021
12 guests | 7 cabins | 19 crew
$600k – 650k
LE PONANT
Société Française de Construction Navale (SFCN) · 84m · 1990, refit 2022
32 guests | 16 cabins | 34 crew
€540k
XENIA 74
Alliaura Marine Group · 23m · 2012
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$37k
OCEAN CLUB
Trinity Yachts · 49m · 2009, refit 2025
12 guests | 5 cabins | 10 crew
$195k – 250k
VAGATOR
Fountaine Pajot · 20m · 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
€38k – 57k
YOLO
Sunreef Yachts · 22m · 2022
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€59k – 70k
NORTHERN STAR
Hinckley · 23m · 1993, refit 2022
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
$52k – 60k
SHADES OF GREY
Sunreef Yachts · 24m · 2024
9 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
€70k – 100k
HOUBARA
Sunreef Yachts · 24m · 2012, refit 2026
7 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
€34k – 45k
The Peddler
Custom Line · 26m · 2019
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$69k – 74k
Just Enough
43m · 2012, refit 2024
11 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
$119k – 139k
REVE BLEU
Lagoon · 21m · 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€45k – 60k
UTOPIA IV
Rossinavi · 63m · 2018, refit 2022
12 guests | 6 cabins | 12 crew
$475k – 505k
WHISPER
Holland Jachtbouw · 35m · 2003, refit 2019
6 guests | 3 cabins | 5 crew
Price on request
Chakra
Devonport · 86m · 1998, refit 2025
24 guests | 19 cabins | 30 crew
€495k
RAY
Sunreef Yachts · 22m · 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
€70k – 77k
CALYPSO
Feadship · 38m · 1978, refit 2025
11 guests | 5 cabins | 8 crew
$120k – 135k
FRENCH WEST
Lagoon · 24m · 2020
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
$55k – 72k
46 yachts in rotation. The order changes with every visit so no boat is always last.
Questions we get asked
The US Virgin Islands, answered
Common questions
Why start a Virgin Islands charter in St Thomas?
The flights. St Thomas has direct services from New York, Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte and more, and the yacht is fifteen minutes from the terminal. The British islands are an hour east and the crew clear you in on the first morning.
Do we need passports between the US and British Virgin Islands?
Yes. The crew handle the paperwork at Soper’s Hole going east and Cruz Bay coming back, and guests rarely leave the boat for it.
What is special about St John?
Two thirds of it is national park, so the bays have no buildings behind them and the water is protected. Turtles at Maho, the snorkel trail at Trunk, and the calmest anchorages in the Caribbean.
Is St Croix part of the week?
Not usually. It sits forty miles south on its own and a week is better spent inside the channel. We add it on longer charters for the diving at Buck Island.
Want The US Virgin Islands in your week?
Tell us the dates and who is coming. We will say which nights to give it, which berth to hold, and whether the week you want is still open.