Vacation rentals in St. Croix

You can visit multiple environs on St. Croix, the largest of the Virgin Islands. Yes, you’ll find beaches here: big sandy ones with bright blue water, waving palms, and fringes of verdant vegetation. But there are also plains, a misty rainforest, and mountains, the most impressive of which is rugged Mount Eagle, which tempts ambitious hikers to climb its steep slopes into a tropical forest. But most visitors come here to go beneath the surface. The warm, calm water surrounding St. Croix hides coral reefs and shipwrecks for snorkelers and divers to eagerly explore.

There is still plenty to do on land, though. The island boasts two bustling cities, Frederiksted — noted for its preserved Victorian-era architecture — on the western end and Christiansted on the northeast side. The island’s complicated history — it was mostly ruled by the Danish before becoming a territory of the United States — is on display in the form of forts that dot the island. St. Croix is also known for its rum distilleries. You can tour both, for a glimpse at the island’s past as well as its present.

St. Croix’s tropical weather is inviting year round. Warm, sunny days are the norm. The Caribbean hurricane season runs from June through November, and while you are unlikely to encounter large storms, it’s worth keeping tabs on the weather forecast. One of the island’s largest festivals, the Crucian Christmas Festival, celebrates the holiday throughout December and the first week of January with parades, music, and other cultural events. In February the Agriculture and Food Fair celebrates local cuisine and arts and crafts at outdoor booths.

Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve

This beautiful, undeveloped swath of land is one of the island’s marquee spots for exploring ocean wildlife. The gentle waters are a favored snorkeling and diving spot, where tropical fish and seahorses frolic among the reefs offshore. At night, the place takes on a magical atmosphere as the bioluminescent bay comes to life with microorganisms that emit light.

Christiansted National Historic Site

Explore St. Croix’s past as a European colony at this park that preserves 18th-century buildings constructed by the Danish, including a circa-1738 fort, warehouses, and a custom house built of canary-yellow bricks, stone rubble, and blocks of coral. Exhibits explore many facets of the island’s past, including the lives of the Indigenous people, who arrived on the island by canoe more than 2,000 years ago.

Point Udall

Located at the eastern tip of the island, Point Udall offers excellent views of the azure ocean. But it’s not just a nice lookout — it’s the easternmost point of the United States. Its significance was memorialized by a massive sundial called the Millennium Monument in 2000 to mark the first U.S. sunrise of that year.