Virgin Islands

Location

Flag

Quick Facts
Capital	Charlotte Amalie
Government	NA
Currency	US dollar (USD)
Area	total: 352 sq km water: 3 sq km land: 349 sq km
Population	123,498 (July 2002 est.)
Language	English (official), Spanish, Creole
Religion	Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%, other 7%

Calling Code	+1 (340)
Internet TLD	.vi
Time Zone	UTC-4 (no DST)

The U.S. Virgin Islands is an unincorporated organized territory of the United States of America between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico. It was formerly known as the Danish West Indies. Together with the British Virgin Islands, to the northeast, the territory forms the Virgin Islands archipelago. The islands natural resources are sun, sand, sea, and surf.

Regions

Cities

Other destinations

Understand

Climate

Subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season May to November. Has experienced several hurricanes in recent years as well as frequent and severe droughts and floods.

Terrain

Mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land. There are occasional earthquakes.

Location

Is in an important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the Caribbean

History

During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848.

Get in

By plane

Flights are into either St. Croix or St. Thomas. St. John does not have an airport, and is accessible via St. Thomas.

Many flights connect through San Juan, Puerto Rico, but direct flights from the continental U.S. involve less hassle and flying time.

Direct flights into St. Thomas can be found from Miami, New York-JFK and Boston on American Airlines, Atlanta on Delta Airlines, Newark on Continental Airlines, Ft. Lauderdale on Spirit Airlines, Charlotte, Philadelphia, and New York-La Guardia(weekly) on U.S. Airways, Washington-Dulles and Chicago-O'Hare on United Airlines, and Detroit(weekly) on Northwest Airlines.

Direct flights into St. Croix can be found from Miami on American Airlines, Charlotte on U.S. Airways (weekly), and Atlanta (twice weekly) on Delta Airlines. St. Croix can also be easily reached from the mainland via St. Thomas by flying Cape Air (which flies between the St. Thomas and St. Croix airports) or Seaborne Airlines (which flies seaplanes between Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas and Christiansted, St. Croix).

By boat

Ferries run between all three US Virgin Islands, as well as to and from the British Virgin Islands and, on a seasonal basis, Puerto Rico.

Get around

Getting around St Croix for one, is fairly easy. With plenty to explore on the island, car rental agencies are recommended. From the lush rainforest to the quaint Christiansted, driving the island is both scenic and a visual pleasure. Stick to the left-hand side and with a good handful of sharp curves, take your time navigating the roads. Remember that you're on "island time."

All of the islands have bus service and/or a regulated taxi service. For example, upon landing at the Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas, one could rent a taxi to Charlotte Amalie, or to Red Hook, either of which have ferry service to Cruz Bay, St. John. Upon docking at Cruz Bay, taxis, rental cars, and scooters are available.

Generally car rental rates will be comparable to the mainland U.S. (about $500 per week or $80 per day. Take out the insurance if you plan to go four wheeling up the steep mountain roads. You can "bargain" for most things on the islands, but the taxi and bus rates are regulated. Sailboat rentals at Red Hook, will allow you to get around by water. If you plan to sail to the British Virgin Islands a passport is required as of 2007. Passports are not required for American citizens to travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands, but are recommended.

On St. John, get the best idea of the island by chartering a boat for a full day. By doing this not only will one get a wonderful day of snorkeling in, but also see the island from a local's perspective.

Talk

English is the official language but you may also find Spanish or Creole being spoken.

Buy

The islands are duty-free and have all sorts of shops, with special emphasis on rums, tanzanite, and diamond and gold jewelry.

Eat

Cuzzin’s on Back Street in downtown Charlotte Amalie is a Caribbean dining experience.

Hook Line & Sinker [1]located in the community of Frenchtown. Excellent food and friendly service write on the waterfront. The swordfish is quite good.

Indigo Bar & Restaurant is located on the north side of St. Thomas, overlooking Megan's Bay. Excellent outdoor dining. The pan fried Sea Bass is a must.

Drink

On Saint John dollar drinks are available across the street from the National park office, next to the ice cream shop.

On St. Thomas, There are several drinking establishments in Red Hook, on the East End, including: Caribbean Saloon, Duffy's Love Shack, The Warehouse (Poor Man's Bar), Molly Malone's, Sopchoppy's Pub, and XO Bistro.

Sleep

Learn

The public high schools have had a history of trouble with accreditation, but recent improvements have gotten them accepted on a probationary basis.

Work

As a US territory, Americans can come here and work with no special visa. Foreigners must go through the rigorous process of obtaining a US work permit.

The economy is quite seasonal, based mostly around cruise ship calls, which taper off from May through September and peak in December and January.

Stay safe

This is the only US possession where driving on the left side (British) of the road is practiced. There are many theories as to why this is. One theory is due to the prior use of the donkey as a main mode of transportation. Islanders would drive on the left to see how close they were getting to the edge of the many steep and cliflike roadways. The original donkey trails were then paved over and created what is now the roadways today. Another theory is that as a Danish colony, the Danish West Indies were heavily British-influenced, due to an unwillingness among Danish people to relocate to the Danish colony. This British influence explains the widespread use of the English language even before the United States purchased the islands from Denmark in 1917.

Stay healthy

Low-lying buildings usually use the public water, which is fine to drink. Places up in the mountains almost all have independent water supplies, replenished by the rain that falls on their roofs. The safety of this water depends on regular cleaning and treatment of the building's cistern.

Respect

Islanders follow a charming system of greeting which depends on the time of day. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night are the norm. You may also be greeted with "ya arright?", to which an appropriate response would be "arright!" or "OK".

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