Flippin - Frommers EasyGuide to the Virgin Islands

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ISBN 978-1-62887-068-8 (paper), 978-1-62887-069-5 (e-book)

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CONTENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexis Lipsitz Flippin is the author of Frommers Turks & Caicos, Frommers St. Maarten/St. Martin, Anguilla & St. Barts, The Food Lovers Guide to Manhattan, and Frommers NYC with Kids and the co-author of Frommers 500 Extraordinary Islands, Frommers Caribbean, and Frommers Carolinas & Georgia. She has written for numerous magazines and webzines, including CNN.com, MSNBC.com, Zagat.com, and AARP.com and is a former Senior Editor of the Frommers travel guides.

ABOUT THE FROMMERs TRAVEL GUIDES

For most of the past 50 years, Frommers has been the leading series of travel guides in North America, accounting for as many as 24 percent of all guidebooks sold. I think I know why.

Although we hope our books are entertaining, we nevertheless deal with travel in a serious fashion. Our guidebooks have never looked on such journeys as a mere recreation, but as a far more important human function, a time of learning and introspection, an essential part of a civilized life. We stress the culture, lifestyle, history, and beliefs of the destinations we cover and urge our readers to seek out people and new ideas as the chief rewards of travel.

We have never shied from controversy. We have, from the beginning, encouraged our authors to be intensely judgmental, criticalboth pro and conin their comments, and wholly independent. Our only clients are our readers, and we have triggered the ire of countless prominent sorts, from a tourist newspaper we called practically worthless (it unsuccessfully sued us) to the many rip-offs weve condemned.

And because we believe that travel should be available to everyone regardless of their incomes, we have always been cost-conscious at every level of expenditure. Although we have broadened our recommendations beyond the budget category, we insist that every lodging we include be sensibly priced. We use every form of media to assist our readers and are particularly proud of our feisty daily website, the award-winning Frommers.com.

I have high hopes for the future of Frommers. May these guidebooks, in all the years ahead, continue to reflect the joy of travel and the freedom that travel represents. May they always pursue a cost-conscious path, so that people of all incomes can enjoy the rewards of travel. And may they create, for both the traveler and the persons among whom we travel, a community of friends, where all human beings live in harmony and peace.

Arthur Frommer

THE BEST OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

M ountainous and luminously green, the Virgin Islands number about 100, some governed by the United States and others by Great Britain. The larger islands appear as mossy green hills rising dramatically out of turquoise seas; others are little more than rocky outcroppings rimmed by whispery white-sand beaches waiting for Robinson Crusoe to call. The former haunt of derring-do sea captains and pirate marauders, today many of the Virgin Islands are invaded by thousands of visitors, arriving by plane and cruise ship, suntan lotion in hand.

The regions major islands include the three United States territories: Bustling St. Thomas attracts the most visitors, many of them disembarking from some of the biggest cruise ships in the business; the plantation island, St. Croix is the Virgins largest island and some say its cultural heart; and the lush beauty known as St. John, at 9 miles long and 5 miles wide, is the smallest of the three. No matter where youre traveling from, St. Thomas is for many people the gateway to the Virgins. With the busiest cruise-ship harbor in the Caribbean, St. Thomas bustles with duty-free shopping and global dining. St. Croix is more laid-back than St. Thomas, with well-preserved colonial towns and verdant countryside dotted with plantation ruins. Little St. John is positively sleepy, two-thirds of its acreage taken up by one of Americas most beautiful national parks.

With its dizzying mountain topography and scalloped coastline of shimmering blue coves and powdery beaches, the B.V.I. remains a pristine retreat for yachties and visitors who want to a true escape from the scrum of modern civilization. With steady tradewinds and scores of protected deep-water harbors, the B.V.I. offer some of the best sailing grounds in the Caribbean. Many boaters base themselves on Tortola, the largest island in the B.V.I. and its capitalits a relaxed spot with something for everyone. Beautiful and sparsely populated Virgin Gorda is the place to go for luxury stays in secluded resorts. Dotted about the main islands are private island retreats and uninhabited islands perfect for castaway day-tripping.

For beach lovers, the Virgin Islands contain some of the most celebrated white-sand beaches in the West Indies, including Magens Bay on St. Thomas, Trunk Bay on St. John, and Cane Garden Bay on Tortola. Swim ming and snorkeling await you at every coveand in the vibrant coral reef ringing Buck Island, St. Croix has Americas only underwater national monument. Throughout the island archipelago are also miles of idyllic hiking trails, tracing the sinous curves of these scenic volcanic wonders.

THE most authentic EXPERIENCES

Island-Hopping by Sea: Whether youre traveling the liquid expanse of the local waterways by ferry, sailboat, or mega yacht, seeing the Virgin Islands by sea feels like the way nature intended it. Most visitors take to the waters at some point in their trip, cruising to big-shouldered islands or exploring uninhabited cays. For many, its the most peaceful and relaxing way to travel the Virgins.

Waking Up to Tropical Birdsong and Roosters Crowing: No matter where you are on the islands, you will be accompanied by the musical chatter of tropical birdsong, from the twittering of colorful birds to the morning, noon, and night cock-a-doodle-dooing of roadside roosters in splendid plumage of gold, green, and blue.