10 Reasons to Travel to the USVI
10 Reasons to Dive USVI opener
Steve Simonsen
1. Cane Bay Rated one of the top scuba diving destinations in the Caribbean — and one of the few places in the USVI with shore diving. Want to go farther out? St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures dives 72 moored sites on the north and west shores.
2. Salt River Canyon The thrill of the abyss, the security of a wall: Salt River’s West Wall offers that, while the East Wall boasts vibrant sea life. Into history? Columbus and crew landed here in 1493.
3. Dive “Quad-athlon” St. Croix gives you a wreck, wall, reef and pier all in one day.
4. Maho Bay Camps St. John’s Maho Bay started in 1976 with 18 tent cottages in the Virgin Islands National Park. Today choose from two eco-resorts, Maho Bay Camps and Harmony Studios, and Estate Concordia Preserve, where lodgings are constructed of recycled materials.
5. Sweet Sugar-mill ruins abound in USVI, reflecting the islands’ plantation heritage. One of the most interesting is the 1780 Annaberg ruins on St. John.
6. Tame “the Beast” For the cardio warriors, cycle up St. Croix’s legendary incline, a 600-foot climb that offers grades between 14 percent and 21 percent — and a killer view for reward.
7. A&J Meat Market If this stand at 300 Enighed Street, St. John, looks like shipping containers welded together — well, it is. But the market’s to-die-for fried chicken is a local favorite.
8. Butler Bay wrecks There are five, at varying levels: Rosa Maria, a 177-foot freighter; Coakley Bay, an oil-refinery tug; Suffolk Maid, a 144-foot trawler; Virgin Islander, a 300-foot oil barge; and North Wind, a 75-foot tug used in the TV movie Dreams of God — The Mel Fisher Story.
9. Trunk Bay Ranked among the best beaches in the world, St. John’s Trunk Bay also boasts an underwater snorkeling trail. And right next door is the highly rated Hawksnest Beach; all about a $4 taxi ride from Cruz Bay.
10. Bottoms Up Wet your whistle at Woody’s Seafood Saloon, St. John, or sample the wine list and gourmet pizza at the Pie Whole in Frenchtown, St. Thomas.
For even more diving and travel information on the US Virgin Islands, visit USVI