U.S. Virgin Islands

Well, I took my e-cation last week and I finally have time to report on it today.

I chose to go to the U.S. Virgin Islands, specifically St. John. This area has truly relaxing beaches and tropical settings, without the tourist clutter.

Beautiful beaches of St. John:

St. John is different than the other Virgin Islands because it is primarily National Forest. For this reason, St. John has some of the best hiking available in the Caribbean. One of the most intriguing hikes is on the Annaberg Historic trail which takes you past former plantation sites.



[Map of the Annaberg Historic Trail area]

[A view from the trail]

[Plantation site along the trail]


There are endless things to do throughout the U.S. Virgin Islands, but these hikes on St. John were my favorite. There are even campsites along the various hiking trails, which some consider to be the best camping in the Carribean!

When we first got off the ferry that brought us to the island from St. Thomas we explored Cruz Bay. This quaint town has a variety of small shops and restaurants has so much local flavor it was hard to leave!

We also had a blast at the hotspot of the island, Coral Bay. This is a popular destination for the yachts to gather and there are numerous restaurants and places to shop.

My favorite restaurant was at the Caneel Bay, though. There, Equator serves up the best Caribbean food available on the island. You pay plenty for it, but it's well worth the experience of having fine seared Caribbean tuna while sitting around the "woman's tongue tree" that dominates the center of the restaurant.

This is a definite vacation reccomendation for those looking for a relaxing time off the beaten path and those ready to explore the Caribbean.