Kelly Alexis - Fodors U.S & British Virgin Islands

St. Thomas

St. John

St. Croix

Tortola

Virgin Gorda

Other British Virgin Islands

St. Thomas. The familiar and foreign mingle perfectly here. Resorts run the gamut from plain and simple to luxurious. Go for the shopping, sights, and water sports. But tranquil it isnt.

St. John. The least developed of the USVI, two-thirds of the island is a U.S. national park. With its excellent snorkeling, good restaurants, and comfortable villas and resorts, many find this the perfect island.

St. Croix. The largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands is 40 miles (64 km) south of St. Thomas. Choose St. Croix if you like history, good restaurants, decent shopping, and good (but not great) beaches.

Tortola. A day might not be enough to tour this island because youre meant to relax while youre here. Go to Tortola if you want to do some shopping and enjoy a larger choice of good restaurants than you can find on the other British Virgins.

Virgin Gorda. Progressing from laid-back to more laid-back, mountainous and arid Virgin Gorda offers beautiful beaches but fewer restaurants and far fewer shopping opportunities than Tortola.

Other British Virgin Islands. There are actually about 50 islands in the British Virgin chain, many of them completely uninhabited, but others have a single hotel or at least a beach that is popular with sailors.

Everything from fast food to fine cuisine in elegant settings is available in the Virgin Islands. Prices run about the same as you might expect to pay in New York City (so 20% more than youd pay in most places in the U.S.). Dont be afraid to sample local fare at roadside stands throughout the islands. One popular island-style fast-food basic is the pat, a fried pastry filled with conch, salt fish, or hamburger, which islanders call, simply, meat. Most restaurants, except the simplest roadside stands, take major credit cards. Dress is generally casual, though there are a few upscale places that still require men to wear a jacket, though never a tie. Virgin Islanders, however, would never wear swim attire in town, and most upscale restaurants will expect men to wear long pants at dinner. Mealtimes are similar to what youll find at home.

There are many types of lodgings in the Virgin Islands, from luxury resorts to moderately priced hotels to small inns. Many visitors opt to rent a private villa, which might range from a sumptuous retreat on the beach to a simpler house in the hills. Many of these have private pools. The high season generally runs from mid-December through mid-April. After that, rates may drop by a third or more, with the lowest rates reserved for the period in the late fall, when hurricanes are most common. Rates during the Christmas holidays may be double those during the rest of the year.

If you have a GSM mobile phone, then regular phone calls in the USVI may be included in your wireless plan; however, you may have to pay extra to send or receive text messages or to use data features. Most companies charge hefty roaming fees for the BVI, but from some points on the west end of Tortola, you can pick up a signal from St. John.

Most hotels now offer some kind of Internet service, sometimes even Wi-Fi. This service is not always free, so check with your resort regarding any charges. There are still Internet cafs on all the U.S. Virgin Islands and on Tortola. There are no Internet cafs elsewhere in the BVI.

You can still smoke almost everywhere in the USVI, including bars and restaurants. However, smoking is not allowed in any public places in the BVI, including bars and restaurants.

Its fairly easy to get to St. Thomas by air from the United States, with many nonstop flights as well as connecting flights from San Juan. Theres no air service to St. John; you must take a ferry from St. Thomas. For St. Croix, you must usually connect in either Miami, San Juan, or St. Thomas. The only air service to the British Virgin Islands is through Tortola (always a connecting flight on a smaller plane). You can get a charter flight from Tortola or another nearby island to Virgin Gorda or Anegada, or take one of the ferries that connects Tortola to the rest of the Virgin Islands.

Once in the Virgin Islands, you can use ferries to hop from one island to another, though not all services are daily, and some ferries dont run frequently (or reliably). There are also small planes, but they arent really cost-effective if you plan on visiting several islands (unless you have a large transportation budget).

Many visitors rent cars, especially in the USVI and on Tortola and Virgin Gorda, but taxis will suffice if you dont plan on doing a lot of independent exploring or eating too often outside your resort. You can also rent a jeep on Anegada, though some people opt for taxis there, too. Jost Van Dyke is small enough that most visitors walk or use an island-based taxi service. On the smaller private islands, there may be no cars at all.

The major chains are represented in the USVI and on Tortola, but only local companies operate in Virgin Gorda and the smaller islands. Its a good idea to reserve a car in advance since companies can run out, particularly during the high season.