St. Thomas, USVI
In May 2022 we went on a 7-night cruise which included a stop in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. This island quickly became one of my top 2 destinations ever. The entire island is stunning, the people are so kind, and the sounds you hear around the whole island bring so much joy to all the passengers.
Our Excursion
We booked an excursion through the cruise line for the first time! We booked this cruise 2 weeks before sailing, so we figured it would be difficult to find an excursion elsewhere. We booked the 5 Star Island Tour, Magen’s Bay Beach & Shopping excursion and we LOVED it! I would even book this exact excursion on a future sailing if it’s available, it was that incredible.
We started our day by boarding an open-air bus that took us up to Mountain Top, with a 10-minute stop along the way at a lookout point. We had about 45 minutes at Mountain Top before heading back down to Magen’s Bay Beach. After about an hour at the beach, the bus takes you downtown where you can go shopping before bringing you back to the ship.
This is the view from the lookout point before getting to Mountain Top. This was one of my favourite views of the whole trip and part of what made me fall in love with this island!
Mountain Top
Mountain Top was more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed of. It’s at the highest point of the island, 1,200ft above Magen’s Bay — the most popular beach on St. Thomas. Here you get a beautiful view of Magen’s Bay, with many other islands in the distance, and a souvenir shop that also happens to be the home of the World Famous Banana Daquiri!
One downside to our excursion was that Mountain Top was our first destination, and we chose to have their World-Famous banana daiquiri while we were there… around 9 am. While we aren’t against day drinking, it was a little more than we were expecting for that early in the day!
Once you make your way through the souvenir shop, you get to experience the most incredible view. You see Magen’s Bay, and the other islands in the background, and if you’re anything like me you just stand there in awe.
Magen’s Bay Beach
This beach was as beautiful as it was busy. We had an hour at the beach, so we decided rent beach chairs which was around $ 10 USD per chair, and an umbrella which was $5 USD. We figured the small fee was worth it, but you can absolutely opt to just sit on your beach towel — totally up to you. We just spent the hour relaxing, taking in the views, and doing a bit of swimming. The water was so beautiful; blue and crystal clear.
Shopping
We didn’t know what to expect from the shopping portion of the excursion, but we made the most of it and just walked around the downtown area, chatting with locals and checking out the stuff in the little boutiques. We had a blast! We didn’t care to spend 2.5 hours shopping, so our driver offered to drive us back to the port early and we were able to explore the immediate port area and then head back on the ship to take in the views from the pool deck.
Final Thoughts
St. Thomas became my favourite island in a matter of a few hours. Something about it just felt different. From the island breeze to the steel drums playing all throughout the island, to the breathtaking views. I honestly cannot wait to come back!
