Clever Nomad

We're regular visitors to St. John and the BVI, but we'd never made it to St. Croix. St. Croix sits apart from its USVI comrades and is much less visited than St. Thomas and St. John. I've always had the distinct feeling I'd like this island and my instinct was correct. Where St. Thomas and St. John jut out of the sea dramatically, St. Croix rises more softly out of the ocean. The island has dramatically high elevations, but also has rolling plains and flat areas where cows graze and horses are out to pasture. I loved St. Croix, and we'll be back.

Gecko's Island Adventures ATV Tour
Cruise ships dock far from the capital of Christiansted, on the far west end in Fredericksted. Admittedly, we didn't venture far from the ship. We wanted to see the island in a different way, so we booked a small, non-ship sponsored** ATV tour with Gecko's Island Adventures. The outfit is run by an ex-pat couple who have about five or six ATVs. Arlen, the guide and owner, takes you from sea level to 1,000 feet and back in about two hours.

We started out on roads...


Then we climbed to heights of 1,000 feet overlooking gorgeous vistas...




Then we stopped at the highest sugar mill ruin on the island...


Got a great view of the ship from dizzying heights...


Then we came down through the rainforest...


Post-ATV Afternoon
Our afternoon was spent at the beach in front of Cottages by the Sea, small hotel about a mile from Fredericksted. The snorkeling was definitely nothing special compared to St. John (other spots around the island are better, but time did not permit us to explore these sites), but we had a great afternoon and enjoyed some cold Caribs on the beach. Here are some assorted shots from our all-too-brief time on St. Croix:




We enjoyed sail away with a nice glass of wine (or two!) on our awesome balcony. St. Croix, thank you for a wonderful day. We shall return.


** Note: All of our shore activities were booked independently for a more personalized experience.