The US Virgin Islands

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Former stamping grounds of some of history's most famous seafarers, the US Virgin Islands are now invaded by thousands of visitors who arrive daily by cruise ship and plane from Miami and Puerto Rico.

Most Virgin Islands natives are descendants of African slaves who worked the sugar-cane plantations. In recent years, the local population has swelled with an influx of "down islanders" -- people from other Caribbean islands. Many Puerto Ricans have also come here (it's only 30 min. by air); they are joined by a wide cross section of mainland Americans, including well-heeled yachties and young expats who've become addicted to the limin' lifestyle. The old ways of the islands are all but gone in bustling St. Thomas and St. Croix, but they may still be found in St. John.

At 84 square miles, St. Croix is the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands. At the east end -- which actually is the easternmost point of the United States -- the terrain is rocky and arid. The west end is more lush and even includes a small "rain forest" of mango, mahogany, tree ferns, and dangling lianas. Between the two extremes are beautiful beaches, rolling hills, pastures, and, increasingly, miles of condos.

Christopher Columbus named the island Santa Cruz (Holy Cross) when he landed on November 14, 1493. He anchored his ship off the north shore but was quickly driven away by the spears, arrows, and axes of the Carib Indians. The French laid claim to the island in 1650; the Danes purchased it from them in 1773. Under their rule, the slave trade and sugar-cane fields flourished until the latter half of the 19th century. Danish influence still permeates the island today.

St. Croix is a lot more relaxed with friendlier people than St. Thomas, although there have been acts of violence and hostility against visitors in the past. It is nowhere near as inviting or welcoming as St. John, and St. Croix doesn't approach the graciousness encountered in the British Virgin Islands. Additionally, the introduction of gambling has brought a more jaded Atlantic City or Las Vegas type of tourist to the island. Even with gambling, St. Croix has a long way to go to reach the sharp edge projected by the mass tourism of St. Thomas.

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East of St. Thomas, across a glistening turquoise channel known as Pillsbury Sound, lies St. John, the smallest and least densely populated of the three main U.S. Virgin Islands. St. John is a wonder of unspoiled beauty. Along its rocky coastline are beautiful crescent-shaped bays and white-sand beaches, and the interior is no less impressive. The variety of wildlife on St. John is the envy ofnaturalists around the world. And there are miles of hiking trails, leading past the ruins of 18th-century Danish plantations to panoramic views. At scattered spots along the trails, you can even find mysteriously geometric petroglyphs of unknown age and origin incised into boulders and cliffs.

Today, St. John (unlike the other U.S. islands) remains pristine, its preservation enforced by the National Park Service. Thanks to the efforts of Laurance Rockefeller, who purchased many acres of land and donated them to the United States, the island's shoreline waters, as well as more than half of its surface area, make up the Virgin Islands National Park. The hundreds of coral gardens that surround St. John are protected rigorously -- any attempt to damage or remove coral is punishable with large and strictly enforced fines.

Despite the unspoiled beauty of much of St. John, the island manages to provide visitors with modern amenities and travel services, including a sampling of restaurants, car-rental kiosks, yacht-supply facilities, hotels, and campgrounds. Cinnamon Bay, founded by the National Park Service in 1964, is the most famous campsite in the Caribbean. In addition, the roads are well maintained; there's even a small commercial center, Cruz Bay, on the island's western tip. Don't come here for nightlife: St. John is definitely sleepy, and that's why people love it.

St. Thomas, the busiest cruise-ship harbor in the West Indies, is not the largest of the U.S. Virgins -- St. Croix, 40 miles south, holds that distinction. But bustling Charlotte Amalie, at the heart of the island, is the capital of the U.S.V.I., and it remains the shopping hub of the Caribbean. The beaches on this island are renowned for their white sand and calm, turquoise waters, including the very best of them all, Magens Bay. National Geographic rated the island as one of the top destinations in the world for sailing, scuba diving, and fishing.

Charlotte Amalie, with its white houses and bright red roofs glistening in the sun, is one of the most beautiful towns in the Caribbean. It's most famous for shopping, but the town is also filled with historic sights, like Fort Christian, an intriguing 17th-century building constructed by the Danes. The town's architecture reflects the island's culturally diverse past: You'll pass Dutch doors, Danish red-tile roofs, French iron grillwork, and Spanish-style patios.

Because of St. Thomas's thriving commercial activity -- as well as its lingering drug and crime problems -- the island is often referred to as the most "unvirgin" of the Virgin Islands. Charlotte Amalie's Main Street is virtually a 3- to 4-block-long shopping center. Although this area tends to be overcrowded, the island's beaches, major hotels, most restaurants, and entertainment facilities are, for the most part, removed from the cruise-ship chaos. And you can always find seclusion at a hotel in more remote sections of the island. Hotels on the north side of St. Thomas look out at the Atlantic; those on the south side front the calmer Caribbean Sea.

St. Thomas has much to recommend it -- not only perfect sandy beaches but also the best dining in the islands and a string of the most upmarket resorts. But no one ever said St. Thomas was the friendliest of the Virgin Islands. It is, in fact, the unfriendliest -- a rather impersonal place overrun with cruise-ship passengers and locals who cast a rather cynical eye toward tourists. It can even be dangerous at night, especially on the back streets of Charlotte Amalie.

If you want to escape the hordes, don't come here, as the rush-hour traffic in and out of Charlotte Amalie will reveal. If you're seeking something laid-back, with friendlier people, all you have to do is take the ferry over to St. John, and you'll enter a world that's more evocative of the sleepier 1950s. St. Thomas is for those who want action.

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