Welcome to the Virgin Islands: Our Islands and Our Home!

The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) are part of the group of thousands of islands, inlets and cays which stand between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea; they are also known as the Antilles chain. Located at the northwestern extremity of the Leeward islands about 60 miles east of Puerto Rico and at approximately 18 degrees latitude north and 64 degrees west, the Virgin Islands have always been in the cross hairs of the trading routes between North and South America, Central America, Mexico and Europe. The island of St. Thomas is the administrative hub of the USVI and its largest city; Charlotte Amalie is its capital. This central location in the Caribbean sea and Charlotte Amalie's unique natural harbor are two of the primary reasons why the Virgin Islands have always played a major role in commerce, travel and politics throughout this part of the Caribbean and the Western Hemisphere. Traders, entrepreneurs and pirates alike found the Virgin Islands an ideal place to dwell. The Arawak and Carib Indians were the first documented people to inhabit the islands. Recent archeological digs on St. John at Cinnamon Bay have unearthed artifacts dating back to the early 1300's. The Carib Indians had wiped out the Arawaks by the time the first explorers arrived. Christopher Columbus was the first recorded European explorer to set foot here, on St. Croix at Salt River during his second voyage to the New World in 1493. He named the island Santa Cruz. He later named the entire Virgin Island chain after Saint Ursula and her 11,000 virgin martyrs. Many of us who have made these islands our home still wish to think he named them because of their pristine purity, untouched beauty and enduring splendor.

Since their discovery and the successor visits by Spanish and French sailors in the early 1500's the Virgin Islands have been under the jurisdiction of many states: Holland, France, England, Spain, Denmark, the Knights of Malta and finally the United States. Denmark took over St. Thomas in 1670 and developed the islands into sugarcane growing plantations with slave labor brought over from West Africa by European slave traders. Charlotte Amalie became a major destination for laborers enslaved by French, British and Dutch traders. France had captured St. Croix and later Louis the 14th (the Sun King) sold it to Denmark in 1733 to help pay for expansionary military debts on the continent. All three islands, St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John then became one political and territorial unit under the control of Denmark. The United States tried unsuccessfully to purchase the Virgin Islands in the mid-1800's but finally completed a transaction with Denmark in 1917 for St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John for $25 million. The primary interest was to provide a strategic presence and military base to protect the Eastern approaches to the Panama Canal in addition the island of Puerto Rico, by now a US protectorate.

The constant trade winds of the Virgin Islands keep temperatures in a very comfortable range of 72 to 88 degrees all year around. Summers are a bit warmer and Winters a bit cooler, but the National Geographic has called the weather "as close to perfect all the time as any place on earth". The sea temperature is also incredibly comfortable and ranges between 78 deg in the winter and 83 deg in the summer; perfect conditions for year around swimming, snorkeling and diving.

St. Croix:
Of the three US Virgin Islands, St. Croix is the largest with a total area of relatively flat 87 square miles. It is the most arable and is home to many former plantations, sugar mills and great houses of years gone by. Of all the Virgin Islands it is also the only one of non-volcanic origin. Its formation is due to massive tectonic plate shifts shortly after the main volcanic eruptions during a period of several millions of years approximately 365 million years ago. The sugar plantations and their rum producing factories that spurred the original growth of St. Croix quickly found its demise, partly due to the increasingly large need of slave labor from West Africa. With the end of the slave trade in the 1830's and the end of slavery in 1848 (17 years before the abolition of slavery in the US) this way of life eventually disappeared. Today, beautiful and historic Christiansted and Fredericksted have become the largest centers of commerce and government. The island's natural beauty, outdoor activities and casino gambling are its biggest draw to tourists and vacationers the world over.

St. Thomas:
St. Thomas, the second largest of the US Virgin Islands is also its political capital. Charlotte Amalie (or Amalia) was once home to famous pirates and scallywags like Blackbeard, Sir Edward Teach and Bluebeard. The town is now a showcase of Danish style architecture and home to the Caribbean number one cruise ship port. Its natural deep-water channels can accommodate the world's largest cruise ships, some with accommodations large enough to welcome over 3000 passengers and 2000 crew. The main street of Charlotte Amalie is a beehive of commercial and entertainment activities with shops, restaurants and nightclubs for all to enjoy. Some of the world's most beautiful beaches are found here on the North shore with first class swimming and sailing accommodations.

St. John:
But it is St. John that brings the rich and famous to the US Virgin Islands. Consistently voted as the most desirable destination in the Caribbean, St. John boasts more world-class beaches and vistas than any other in the Caribbean. Travel magazines and writers claim that the remoteness and solitude of St. John have created the perfect environment for those who seek quiet and restful vacations. One of the main reasons for this tranquility is due to the low level of commercial and residential development on St. John. Three quarters of the island was donated by Lawrence Rockefeller to the US National Park Service in the mid 1900's and protection is afforded to the shoreline, tropical forests and underwater wildlife preserves. In 2001 the US government further extended this protection by creating the first underwater monument in the US, severely restricting and in some cases eliminating all types of commercial fishing and anchoring in the waters off St. John up to a limit of several miles. This has created a natural buffer zone between pristine waters, beaches and lush mountains and residential developments. Some of the world's most beautiful vistas can be viewed from literally every corner of this 3 mile by 5 mile pearl of the Caribbean. A small population of 4000 inhabitants make St. John their home. A few hundred more own vacation homes and make St. John their second home.

The little town of Cruz Bay is the administrative and commercial center of St. John. It is home to various shops, business offices, bazaars and restaurants. On the other end of St. John the village of Coral Bay is home to a few hundred families and small businesses. It is so remote that to the visitor it looks like time has stood still for the last fifty years in Coral Bay.

The unspoiled and National Park protected South shore is home to some of the islands most secluded vacation sites and luxurious vacation villas, such as Villa Claudia at Point Rendez Vous Estates overlooking the East end, Fish Bay, Ditlieff Point and Rendez Vous bay.

St. John is also home to some of the most interesting and talented people you would ever want to meet. The works of local artists such as Les Anderson, Amie Tracer, Mark Hanson, Gale Van Der Bogart and Elaine Estern adorn many shops, restaurants and homes. They are prizes for their uniqueness and fidelity to artistic purity.

The British Virgin Islands:

The BVI, as they are called, consist of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke and Anegada Reef and nearly 60 smaller cays and reefs. They are located to the North of the US Virgin Islands within a quick twenty-minute ferry ride from Charlotte Amalie or Cruz Bay. They were discovered during Christopher Columbus' second trip to the West Indies in 1493. Except for some copper on Virgin Gorda, the Spanish found very little of commercial interest and eventually lost them to the British.

Tortola, (Spanish for turtle dove) has its capital and commercial center at Road Town, with its difficult harbor and Sage mountain National Park. Virgin Gorda (fat virgin) was so named by Christopher Columbus because its outline reminded him of a reclining fat woman with its belly and breasts sticking out. This outline is very distinguishable coming by sea from the North. The island has an untamed and natural beauty with remnants of old copper mines and shafts. Across the Sir Francis Drake channel, named after the famous 16th century British naval hero, lies a string of small and picturesque islands with colorful and romantic histories. Norman Island is reputed to have been the setting for Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. The nearby cay called Dead Chest is where Blackbeard supposedly abandoned his unwanted pirates, inspiring the words to the famous pirate song "Fifteen men on a dead man's chest-Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of rum". Between Norman and Dead Man's chest is the home of the Peter Island resort famous for its style, luxurious accommodations and illustrious visitors. Bill Gates, Mel Brooks, Alan Alda, Larry Ellison and Eric Clapton have been spotted on their yachts on Peter Island. Just East of Dead Man's Chest is Salt Island with its two evaporation ponds that have been used for salt production ever since the days of the Carib Indians. It has a small settlement of 30 people and on its Eastern shore a beautifully reef-protected lagoon. On Copper Island, east of Salt Island, is the Copper Island Beach Club, a good swimming and snorkeling beach. 10 miles north of Virgin Gorda is Anegada (population 250) that is a coral and limestone atoll, one of three Virgin Islands that is not of volcanic origin. In contrast to all the others, its highest point is only 28 feet above sea level. It is noted for its stunning beaches, extensive reefs and remoteness. It is a favorite of scuba divers and naturalists.

The last and most intriguing of the BVI's is Jost Van Dyke. It lies to the North of Tortola and is the largest of a small group of cays and islands. It is also the only inhabited island of this chain. It is home to Foxy's, one of the most famous beach bars in the Caribbean.
The islands of the BVI's are the only jurisdictions under the Union Jack with the US Dollar as its official currency and the Dollar sign on its stamps alongside Queen Elizabeth II.

The BVI's and their US sisters form a tightly grouped of small islands with tranquil and unmatched beauty anywhere. They are a prime vacation destination for travelers from all over the world. The United States Virgins Islands bear their well-earned reputation well: American Paradise.

Come see for yourself!

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