Family Friendly Itinerary in the U.S. Virgin Islands

UPDATE: You are not required to get covid tested before or after arriving. No masks anymore!

We booked this last minute trip 9 days before we were set to leave for the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since we all know how quickly the world can change and cancel plans. All we needed to do was get our covid testing done 5 days before our flight. The website we used to schedule our appointment to get tested was Gogettested.com and they did the covid mouth swabs. Our flight was on a Tuesday and we took our test that Thursday before.

Once you receive your negative covid tests you upload them into the USVI portal and then you wait to get the acceptance QR code. Print everything off and have the paper work handy while traveling. Most importantly check with the airline you are flying with to see what their requirements are for traveling. USVI portal only required Covid testing done 5 days before but some airlines wanted 3 days before.

Itinerary

• Day 1: Travel Day- Airplanes travel, get car rental, dinner restaurant, Airbnb, grocery store
• Day 2: Beach Day- Magen’s Bay Beach, lunch pizza on the beach (dinner at the airbnb)
• Day 3: St John Day- Car ferry, go to NP building, lunch restaurant, national park, Trunk Bay beach, car ferry back
• Day 4: Relaxing Day- Lunch restaurant, crepes and shakes, Magen’s Bay beach (dinner at the airbnb)
• Day 5: Explore City Day- lunch restaurant, exploring Red Hook, ice cream and dinner restaurant
• Day 6: Beach Day- lunch restaurant, Lindqvist Beach (dinner at the airbnb)
• Day 7: Beach Day- Magen’s Bay Beach (pack lunch and drinks for lunch)
• Day 8: Travel Day- Clean Airbnb, Clean and return rental car, Airport travel

Day 1: Travel Day

We flew our family of 5 out of DFW (Dallas, TX) early in the morning and then had a 45-minute layover in MCO (Orlando, FL). This included us getting off of the plane jumping on 2 trams and walking to our gate that was already boarding. It was a close one so we could not grab anything to eat on the plane to USVI. I would recommend packing a lunch or buying something at the airport. If they offer food on the airplane get it they did not offer anything on our Spirit flight.

Landed in U.S. Virgin Islands

Once we landed we walked off the airplane into a line for them to check our temperatures. They took our USVI portal QR paperwork for their records and just looked at our negative covid tests. We walked out of the airport and looked for the shuttle to take us to go pick up the rental car we had booked online. Rent a car online before arriving on the island there might not be anything available. Taxis are expensive if you have more than 2 people in your group.

They drive on the LEFT side of the road so be aware of your driving while visiting. We booked our place through Airbnb and it was only a 20-minute drive from the airport. The entire island is 30 miles wide so you will never be too far from where you want to go.

Pictures from left to right; Spirit flight over the ocean, Jaxton (son) on the flight that requires masks for kids over 2 years old, family of 5 in the rental car (midsized car), This was our Airbnb we recommend. Our travel car seat we use is a WayB Pico and its so easy to set up and take down.

Margaritaville Restaurant

After we dropped our bags off at our Airbnb we found a place to eat nearby. Wearing a mask in restaurants, public transportation, and the airport was required; everywhere else on the island it wasn’t required. We went to Margaritaville and however, we do not recommend this place. The food was just okay, the management was terrible (manager yelling at workers) and the prices were pretty high compared to the rest of the island’s restaurants. The private beach is not swim-able with the seaweed and the bacteria in the water. Learn from our mistake and skip this place.

Grocery Store in the St. Thomas

We went to Cost-U-Less for groceries for the week which is like the Costco for the island but you don’t need a membership to get in. Making a plan of what and which meals you will make and eat at home will save you time and money. Everything at the grocery store is imported so it all costs more than what we are use to seeing. For us, we planned to eat breakfast at the Airbnb and make most of the dinners there also.

Left to right- Top left: Standing in front of Margaritaville restaurant, At the beach right out side of the restaurant at their personal beach, Only old coral and rocks at this beach and washed up seaweed

Day 2: Beach Day-Magens Bay Beach

Visiting Magens Bay Beach

Bring cash when going to the beaches. They do take credit or debit cards at this location but sometimes their card reader is not working and will ask for cash. Non-residents cost $5 for Adults, Children are free and parking is $2 per vehicle. Plenty of parking spaces available and within walking distance to the beach. Since the cruise ships are not stopping on St. Thomas right now the beaches were not crowded and we only saw sailboats and a couple of small yachts in the distance. Magens Bay Beach is the largest beach on the island. So there will be plenty of space around your family to not feel like you are crammed.

Food on the beach was limited but there was an eating area where you could order pizzas, burgers, fried anything, and drinks. You will have to wear a mask or they will not serve you so do not forget to pack one. We ordered 1 large pizza and it was $30. Bring snacks for the beach and plenty of water to drink.

Day 3: St. John Day

Travel to St. John island

The only way to get to the island of St. John is by boat but you have options of which boat to go on. These are the choices to choose from a passenger ferry, charter boat, sailboat, water taxi, or car ferry. Depending on how much of the island you want to see and the type of transportation when you get there is how you will decide on what to choose. Most of the island’s shopping and restaurants are on the west side of the island where you will dock from the boats. Here you can find some boat options and cost for your family at this link. Since we had a car rental we purchased the ticket for the car ferry.

Tips For the Car Ferry

On a side note, arrive 1-hour ahead of your scheduled departure time. Cars will line up and we almost did not make our boat ride and we were there 30-minutes before. They will cram as many cars as possible in so practice your best reversing skills before you get there. This was an adventure in and of its own. Have your ferry ticket ready for them to take and write on if you have a round-way tickets.

Beaches on St. John Island

St. John island is one of the best places in the world to snorkel, so do not forget to bring your snorkeling gear or at least googles. Here you can check the beaches and their reviews at this link. We’d recommend choosing from the beaches on the north side of the island.

While we were heading to check out Trunk Bay but found there was not any parking available. We drove down the road to look for a spot and happened upon a side beach to Trunk Bay called Jumbie Bay. It was the perfect private beach for a family. Parking was on the opposite side of the road, and the path to the beach was just a 300ft walk.
Other beaches we would also recommend Honeymoon Beach and Maho Bay.

Food Options on St. John

Google maps only show restaurants that are on the East and the West side of the island. There are food options all over the island thought. There were multiple food trucks and local restaurants on the drive over to the east side. Parking on the East side was hard to come by for us. It was like Christmas time in a mall parking lot driving around lurking for a spot to become available. Arrive early at the island if you have a car or if you are renting one there.

Miss Lucy’s restaurant

We checked out Miss Lucy’s restaurant since it is on the opposite side of the island, it takes 35-minutes to drive to it. They do take island time to the extreme here. The food was good here. From the time we arrived until the time we had received our food it took 2-hours. If you plan to check off many things to do in St. John I would bring a lunch instead. Try the Johnny Cakes while on the island these were called journey cakes originally because they would be eaten as a snack in the car for the journey. Since the islands have various dialects spoke, they changed to Johnny cakes. The beaches here were just pretty to look at. Their shores consisted of coral, shells, seaweed and rocks.

Returning to St. Thomas

Watch the time closely when in St. John the last car ferry leaves at 6pm. If you are not staying there and need to go back to St. Thomas, do not miss the ferry. The ferries do not wait on anyone. Arrive earlier than your time so you can make sure and have a spot on the ferry. This side of the island has to load the cars on the ferry not stressful. Each vehicle will take its turn to reverse, unlike the St. Thomas ferry system. Which was everyone goes all at once and has no plan at all. Once you’re on the ferry, servers will go around and ask if you would like an alcoholic beverage since you are on open waters. Have your second ferry ticket ready for them to take if you have a round-way tickets.

Day 4: Relaxing Day

Agave Restaurant

Agave was the best restaurant food and service we had on the entire island! If you do not add this place to your list, you’re completely missing out. It is a Mexican restaurant. Everything we ate was so flavorful and visually appealing. We ordered veggie empanadas, veggie tacos, grilled veggie fajitas, and the tres amigos. The tres amigos included hot sauce, guacamole, and queso.

Dessert and Magens Bay Beach

After lunch, we walked across the street to Creamy Crepes and ordered dessert. Ice cream, slushies, smoothies, and a stuffed crepe. Then to finish off the day by relaxing at Magens Bay beach again since we loved it so much.

Tickles Bar and Pub Restaurant

Then we made our way to the restroom and shower rooms at the beach to change for dinner. Drove to a place called Tickles Bar and Pub. It was a bit tricky to get to this restaurant in the marina. The map will send you a different way to the loading docks. You will need to turn around and follow the fence around to the open gate to get in. We tried the Mahi Mahi, shrimp pasta, “veggie” soup-it had seafood in it and a veggie burger. Not many veggie options here.

From left to right, view from our Airbnb front door, Willow at Creamy Crepes, walking by the Marina to Tickles.

Day 5: Explore City Day- Downtown Charlotte Amalie

Then we went to explore downtown Charlotte Amalie where the cruise ship’s dock was calm and relaxing. Since the cruise ships were not docking per usual, the commonly busy city was quite empty. The shopping areas for the cruise ships had all of their doors open but were not bustling.

Glady’s Cafe

The alleyway walking down to Glady’s Cafe is perfect for many photo opportunities. There were different colored doors, ideal lighting, and even greenery. Walking into Glady’s Cafe was like stepping back in time with the exposed stone on the walls and no air condition. They had the doors which was letting in a cool breeze from the alleyway. We ordered a fresh veggie sandwich with fries and tried one of the island’s alcoholic drinks. This drink is called Pain Killers. It is very tropical with rum in it.

Scoops and Brew

For dessert, we drove over to the marina to Scoops and Brew. This ice cream shop is in the same parking lot where Tickles Bar and Pub is. Scoops and Brew had ice creams, smoothies, and coffee options. They even had different colored and flavored cones for the kids. Also, they had a vegan ice cream option which was chocolate ice cream.

Day 6: Beach Day- Lindqvist Beach

Agave Restaurant Round 2

We ordered a delicious passionfruit margarita, veggie empanadas, tres amigos, and veggie enchiladas. The Owners of this restaurant have two other restaurants- Pesce Italian and Raw Sushi & Sake Bar. If this place was so amazing, we went on multiple occasions; I believe their other two are just as good.

Lindqvist Beach

Lindqvist Beach is a highly recommended beach on the island. Be sure to bring cash to enter this beach. It is $5/adults, kids are free, and parking is $2. Every beach that costs money on the islands has restrooms, showers, parking, and a place to wash your feet off. Lindqvist is so beautiful! The water is as clear as Trunk Bay beaches waters. This beach is an excellent place to snorkel.

Day 7: Beach Day- Magens Bay Beach

Magens Bay Beach Round 2

Once we arrived at Magens Bay beach, we at 1 pm and did not leave until 6 pm. The seashells are not on the top of the sand but buried below the sand in the waters. Magens Bay is truly a kid-friendly beach because the kids could walk out in the water with no drop-offs. Spending an entire day out at this beach is perfect. Do not forget your sunblock; we did, but we searched all the stores for some and found it at Magens Bay beach at the store there. While we spent most of our time in the ocean, so did the little fish around our feet in the shallow water.

Day 8: Travel Day

Leaving St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

After we cleaned up our Airbnb and rental car we headed to the car rental company to drop it off. They drove us to the airport, which we arrived 2 hours before our flight. The line to the border crossing took 45 minutes. After that, the security lines were pretty quick. No layovers from STT(St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands)-DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth, TX).

The airplanes do not have working screens at the moment because of covid sanitary rules. If you are flying Spirit as we did on the way to St. Thomas, download movies or apps on your phone before arriving. If you are flying any of the other airlines they will give you their WiFi. You can find a how to download movies on your phone here.

Places Mentioned

This map will show you a list of places I have talked about in this post click on any of the dropped pins to check them out.

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