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March 2, 2013June 5, 2019

Turtle Beach, Buck Island, St. Croix

Buck Island is a small, uninhabited island off the northeast coast of St. Croix. Designated a National Monument in 1961, the 176 acre island is home to several endangered species such as the hawksbill turtle.

Sailing to Turtle Beach, Buck Island

The beach on Buck Island, Turtle Beach, is a long stunning stretch of white sand and clear water and offers spectacular views of St. Croix.

View of St. Croix from Turtle Beach

Access: Buck Island can only be reached by boat. There are several charter companies in St. Croix that offer excursions to Buck Island for snorkeling and exploring the island.

Beach: Turtle Beach is a long stretch of soft sand with an initial gentle, soft sand access, but drops off quickly in areas. Great for swimming and walking the beach.

We sailed on a trimaran to Buck Island

Amenities: Picnic tables, charcoal grills, and pit toilets at West Beach and Dietrich’s Point. Be sure to bring plenty of water and pack out everything you bring in.

Recommended for: Anyone who loves beautiful quiet beaches and doesn’t mind taking a scenic sail to get there.

Tip: If you like to snorkel, take an excursion that stops to snorkel at the underwater snorkel trail by Buck Island. If you like to hike, take the hiking trail that leaves from West Beach or Diedrich Point. The hike takes about 45 minutes. Be sure to wear shoes and bring water.

Have you been to Buck Island yet?

Find Buck Island on our St. Croix Map

To see more posts on St. Croix and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

October 5, 2011June 5, 2019

Rum Therapy On St. Croix

Last spring we had the opportunity to go to St. Croix for the first time. We’d spent some time in the two other US Virgin Islands, St. Thomas and St. John, but had not yet gotten to venture a little farther south to the sunny shores of St. Croix.

After just a week, St. Croix quickly became a new favorite destination. It’s the largest of the three islands but has about the same number of residents as smaller St. Thomas. The pace on St. Croix is decidedly relaxed, the people are warm and friendly and you can either find a quiet beach, relax and do nothing or be as busy as you want with activities like diving, snorkeling, kayaking, sailing, hiking and enjoying stunning scenery, great bars, music, restaurants and shops.

We’ve determined that one week on St. Croix is not nearly enough to truly experience this Caribbean gem, but until we can go and stay longer, we’ll share with you the things we’ve experienced so far that we think shouldn’t be missed! Click on the links for more pictures and info.

1. Cruzan Rum Factory Tour – if you enjoy rum, this is a must see. Interesting tour and a rum drink at the end!

2. Drive to Point Udall – the eastern most point in the US. – beautiful vistas.

From Point Udall, hike down to Jack’s and Issac’s Beach at sunrise…

3. Sail to, snorkel and explore Buck Island. (See Turtle Beach, Buck Island and Snorkeling at Buck Island) Great snorkeling, an underwater snorkel trail, hiking and an amazing powder soft beach.

4. Enjoy the wonderful Cruzan Rum drinks available everywhere on the island!

5. Explore Fort Christiansvaern in Christiansted and other historic buildings in the area to learn some of the the history of the island.

Be sure to spend time walking around Christiansted shopping, exploring and enjoying some of the great restaurants and bars. Join the fun at the Crab Races in Christiansted and the Divi Resort on the SE side.

6. Head to the northwest part of the island and hike one of the trails in St. Croix’s rainforest. Stop by the Mt. Pellier Domino Club for a cool drink, visit with some of the locals and feed a can of beer to one of the famous “beer drinking pigs”. (Read more about out visit to Mt. Pellier Domino Club here: Mt. Pellier Domino Club)

7. Spend some time in Fredriksted and check out the pier where the cruise ships dock. Snorkel, dive, jump off the pier or just enjoy a spectacular sunset. Head over to nearby Coconuts on the Beach and Rhythms at Rainbow Beach to enjoy a cold beverage and live music.

8. Spend a lazy day at Sandy Point. One of the prettiest beaches on the island and the location of the beach scene in “The Shawshank Redemption”.

9. Enjoy “life in the left lane”. Rent a jeep to explore the entire island and drive on the left side of the road – from the left side of the jeep!

10. Take a day trip to St. Thomas or Puerto Rico by seaplane.

Whatever you do or however long your visit, be sure to slow down, relax and take advantage of all that St. Croix has to offer!

See our St. Croix Map for locations of these attractions

To see more posts on St. Croix and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

April 14, 2011September 22, 2019

Sandy Point, St. Croix

We are always on the hunt for the best beaches on each island. Therefore, it came as no surprise that we ended up on Sandy Point Beach, part of the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge in St. Croix.

Sandy Point Beach is a three mile long beautiful powdery soft sand beach at the southwest end of St. Croix, just south of Fredriksted. It’s the largest beach in the USVI, but probably one of the least crowded. Sandy Point was the beach featured in the movie “Shawshank Redemption” when Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins reunited on the beach, supposedly in “Zihuatanejo”. Well, that’s one of our favorite flicks, so that little tidbit made us even more interested in checking it out. And, of course, we rented the movie again when we got home to see how Sandy Point looked in the film. Beautiful, of course.

From the main road, it is a bit of a drive into the beach, but it appeared they were improving the road when we visited and it wasn’t as bumpy as we had read. There are a few small parking areas and then a short hike to the beach. Immediately you are stunned by the beauty of this area.

Endangered green sea and leatherback turtles that lay their eggs on the Sandy Point Beach are protected by the National Wildlife Refuge. The park is only open on weekends from 10:00am – 4:00pm and is closed completely to the general public during laying and hatching season from April to August. I read that a visit might be arranged during hatching season by contacting the Wildlife Refuge ahead of time.

The beach doesn’t offer any shade or concessions and is not the best in St. Croix for snorkeling because the bottom is too sandy (what a problem!), but is a must see if you appreciate turquoise blue Caribbean water, soft powdery sand, fantastic photo opportunities and very few people. There were quite a few brown pelicans dive bombing for fish and we spent several hours watching them, walking the beach and floating in the crystal blue water.

The water is shallow at the shore, but seemed to drop off fairly quickly, at least in the area we swam, but the surf was not rough and we enjoyed spending time in the water. The sand was very soft in the areas close to the water and just a little more coarse the farther you got from shore.

If you’re lucky enough to be in St. Croix when Sandy Beach is open, I’d highly recommend a visit. Bring a cooler, a beach towel, plenty of sunscreen and an extra memory card for your camera. You’ll need it.

Have you been to Sandy Point? Tell us about it!

To see more posts on St. Croix and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC.
All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

April 2, 2011September 22, 2019

Seaplane Adventure

Years ago, sitting in the sun at Paradise Point at the top of the St. Thomas tram drinking my very first Bushwhacker (certainly not my last!) I saw a seaplane curve around Charlotte Amalie and gently splash down in the water. Quite cool, I thought – must put that one on the list.

Fast forward 10-15 years (wow, where does the time go?) and we find ourselves in St. Croix needing to get to St. Thomas. The two choices: 1. Ferry, cost $50.00, time 90 minutes 2. Seaplane, cost $80.00 (plus $1.00 per pound of luggage over 30 pds), time 20 minutes. A little more costly, but much shorter travel time and hey – it was on THE LIST.

We called and booked our flight on Seaborne Airlines for early the next morning and packed our suitcases. Unfortunately, both suitcases were over the 30 pd. limit (just the snorkeling equipment, I’m sure…), so there was an additional charge of about $10.00 each.

The next morning we headed down to the Seaplane Terminal in Christiansted. There were just a few clouds in the sky, but it looked like a beautiful morning. We were quite early, so we checked in and then headed over to Angry Nates for a warm cup o’ joe. The clouds began building and we had a quick 5 minute resulting in a beautiful rainbow over the harbor!

Sipping our coffee, we watched as our plane landed in the harbor and taxied over to the terminal. We headed over to the waiting area to board. It appeared that there were only 4 other people on our flight.

The pilots opened the doors and let the previous passengers out, then welcomed us on. All luggage was packed under the plane and we were allowed only to bring on our cameras (and a small handbag).

One of the pilots gave our safety briefing and then slid up in the cockpit and we were off!

Besides being a bit loud, I was amazed at how smoothly the plane zipped along the water during takeoff.

Once in the air, it was a beautiful sight looking back on St. Croix and the different hues in the water around it.

After about 10 minutes, we saw Water Island and St. Thomas in the distance.

As we approached St. Thomas it seemed we were going to fly right into the hillside around Charlotte Amalie – a little concerning, but then suddenly we took a sharp turn and a pretty steep dive right down into the harbor. We could see the cruise ships and mega yachts in port and the tram in the distance.

It was an odd feeling to set down in the water, but smooth once again. Nice ride, nice experience!

As I looked over towards the tram, I couldn’t help but wonder if someone was sitting up on Paradise Point drinking their first Bushwhacker and adding a seaplane ride to their list!

To see more posts on St. Croix and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC
All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

March 12, 2011June 6, 2019

Snorkeling at Buck Island, St. Croix

I’m scared to scuba dive. There, I said it. I thought about doing a resort course once, but when I learned that you had to be able to take the air tube out of your mouth and share it with someone else and that there is actually a chance that you could run out of air that many feet below the surface… I’m actually in awe of those who do dive, I mean, the pictures I’ve seen of their underwater world are stunning.

Anyway…John, the other half of this team likes to dive, but thankfully he also likes to snorkel – and I LOVE snorkeling.

Here we are, foggy lenses and all!

So we’ve been talking lately a lot about our awesome recent trip to St. Croix. On the list for this trip was a visit to Buck Island, an island just off of St. Croix that has been designated a national monument. Snorkeling there was purported to be amazing, and at the easternmost part of the reef there is an underwater trail – similar to the underwater trail found in Trunk Bay on St. John.

We’d snorkeled Trunk Bay several times – way back before it got so darned popular and crowded and so we were mildly interested in comparing the two trails, although we were more interested in seeing the vibrant coral and fish.

We found a charter recommended by Fodors and Frommers tour guides and booked a tour to sail, snorkel and explore on Teroro II the following day. The Teroro II is a trimaran and we boarded with about 12 other guests.

Teroro II

Carl was our Captain for the day. He was full of information and stories about Buck Island and St. Croix and did his best to make sure everyone was having a good time.

Captain Carl

We had a great sail out to the island and attached to a mooring ball offshore. We donned our gear and quickly jumped in.

The Buck Island Underwater Snorkel Trail consists of a series of underwater plaques indicating some of the flora and fauna found around the reef. After diving in, we soon found one of the plaques in the underwater trail showing the beginning of the trail.

We saw a rather large fish just a few feet away and began swimming after him to get a picture.

Then saw this plaque…

Thankfully he wasn’t interested in us.

We followed the trail for a while and then veered off on our own. The sun was out and the water was warm clear – although a tad choppy. Fish were abundant and the coral was colorful.

An hour flew by and we were signaled to come back to the boat for our short sail to the other side of the island for some beach time!

Find Buck Island on our St. Croix Map

To see more posts on St. Croix and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

March 2, 2011June 6, 2019

Glass Bottom Kayaking in a Bioluminescent Bay

During our recent vacation in St. Croix, we had one evening left to experience something special. I would have loved to have been there for Jump Up, a carnival like party held four times a year in Christiansted, but we missed it by a week. So, I got online to search for an adventure and quickly found it. Glass Bottom Kayaking in a Bioluminescent Bay! “What the heck is that?” was the reply we got when we told our traveling friends what we wanted to do that last night. Kayaking – AT NIGHT – in a pitch black lagoon? Were we crazy?

We had read about a bioluminescent bay in Vieques, but didn’t realize there was one in St. Croix. The organism that creates the luminescence is called a single celled bioluminescent dinoflagellate. This organism emits a greenish light when agitated at night. The conditions, including how bright the moon is that night, need to be just right to get a good effect and our guide thought that tonight might be just right.

We were to meet our guide at Altoona Lagoon on the northeast side of St. Croix at about 6:30p.m. We were excited, but a bit nervous given we had really only kayaked once and it was in broad daylight.

Craig and Bryce Scott, the owner/operators of Sea Thru Kayaks VI met us at a small bonfire close to the mouth of Altoona Lagoon and had smore’s ready for us to prepare while we waited for the rest of the group.

The Scott’s own 10 glass bottomed kayaks called Molokinis, an all-transparent two passenger kayak made out of the same durable polycarbonate material used in the production of bulletproof glass and fighter jet canopies.

The rest of the group arrived, Bryce and Scott loaded us all into our kayak (two per kayak) and we were off. We ended up at the back of the pack somehow and as we headed off in the pitch dark toward the big lagoon we both wondered what we were getting in to!

Bryce did a pretty good job of keeping all of the kayaks together even though he was only equipped with a glow stick and a flashlight. He warned us that we may have fish jump right into our kayak and not to panic! No problem! We had to work pretty hard against the current to get to the other side of the lagoon where the bioluminescent organism had the strongest concentration. About halfway there, we started to notice bright little sparkling flashes under us – cool! It was really hard to get on camera – our flash was not conducive to capturing the glow of what we were seeing, but you can see a few of the sparkles on the bottom of the boat here.

As we got to the other end of the lagoon the luminescence got stronger. Whatever touched the water made it glow – the oar, your hand, even fish underneath the boat! It was quite a sight! We played in the lagoon for about 15 minutes until raindrops began to fall. Bryce rounded us up and said we better be getting back – sometimes these squalls can get quite nasty! Hmmm…in a kayak in the dark in the middle of a lagoon and no clue how to get back. We got right in line behind him!

Sure enough, as we headed back, several minnows jumped right into the kayak. A little freaky at first to feel them flipping around against your leg in the kayak in the dark. Glad he warned us…

We arrived back at our base in good shape. What an adventure. Wish we could share more pics, but guess you’ll have to see it for yourselves!

To find out more about Sea Thru Kayaks, VI, check out their website: Sea Thru Kayaks, VI

More posts on St. Croix that you might be interested in:

Rum Therapy On St. Croix

Turtle Beach, Buck Island, St. Croix

Sandy Point, St. Croix

Cruzan Rum Factory Tour

Snorkeling at Buck Island

All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

February 26, 2011May 29, 2019

Coconuts on the Beach, St. Croix

When visiting a new tropical place, we always try to scope out the funky beach bars and the locals hangouts. Before visiting St. Croix, we asked the folks at St. Croix Lime for recommendations. They obliged and also reminded us to check the calendar on their website for live music and updates.

Coconut’s on the Beach was a bar we saw mentioned on the website and passed by it while driving through Frederiksted and thought we’d stop for some liquid refreshment.

There was a cloud looming overhead and no cruise ships in port that day so Coconuts was quiet, but looked like a great place to sit back and relax.

We ordered a few Corona’s, sat down and took it all in. From Coconut’s you can see the cruise ship pier at Fredriksted, you can catch a glimpse of the lovely Sandy Point Beach or you can stare out at the beach right under the bar.

Would have loved to have been there to enjoy the nightlife and some live music! By the time we left, a few more tables had filled up and as we walked through the Wall of Lost Soles, we figured we’d be back someday…

For another Corona, or perhaps a Cruzan Confusion!!

To find out more, visit Coconuts website here:
Coconuts on the Beach

More posts on St. Croix that you might be interested in:

Rum Therapy On St. Croix

Turtle Beach, Buck Island, St. Croix

Sandy Point, St. Croix

Cruzan Rum Factory Tour

Snorkeling at Buck Island

Mt. Pellier Domino Club, St. Croix

copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

February 10, 2011August 13, 2019

Cruzan Rum Factory Tour

We just returned from enjoying a week of Rum Therapy in St. Croix. We’d never been to St. Croix before, so there were many things we wanted to check out. One of the top things on our list was a tour of the Cruzan Rum Factory.

Finding the Cruzan Rum Factory was an adventure in itself. For those of you who have been on St. Croix, you may know that there aren’t a ton of signs directing you to different sites, and the map didn’t show many of the small roads. We probably could have purchased a more detailed map somewhere, but how lost could we get on an island????….

Anyway, we headed to the west end of the island. John was driving, ’cause they drive on the left side and I volunteered to navigate. He may have ended up with the best end of the deal! We turned on 64 as the map indicated, only to find that 64 was actually a loop and we needed to be clear on the other side of that loop. Finally figuring it out, we saw the factory through the foliage. As we turned in, we could smell a wonderfully sweet aroma…molasses!

We found our way to the building where the tour started and anxiously awaited our guide. Tours at the Cruzan Rum Factory are $5.00 per adult and run continuously from 9:00-11:30a.m. and 1:00-4:15p.m.

Turns out, our tour guide was Karen Nelthropp Low, a member of the Nelthropp Family that has produced Cruzan Rum for 7 generations on St. Croix. She certainly knew her stuff and eagerly answered all of our questions and then some.

St. Croix used to produce quite a bit of sugar cane until the 1960’s and up to that point the Cruzan Distillery used mainly molasses made from local sugar cane. Now a high end molasses from Guatemala is shipped into the local port daily and then delivered by trucks to the distillery.

We began the tour by walking past enormous vats of molasses, tropical rain water and yeast fermenting. It is quite the active process with lots of bubbling and gurgling occurring. The aroma was strong and sweet and it was tempting to just stick your finger in to give it a taste.

When the bubbling and gurgling stop, the molasses has fermented and is ready for the next step.

Karen told us the the Nelthropp family and staff sit down daily to test rum in various stages of production to ensure the quality of the product. Wonder if they’re hiring?

We also learned that Cruzan takes extra time and care to remove the fusels (heads and tails as she explained it) from the rum during distillation. The fusel oil is an impurity that can cause a slightly antiseptic smell and taste and can contribute to hangovers! We inadvertently tested this statement several times during this trip and must say – they may have something here!

The way in which a rum’s age is calculated was a bit confusing, but I found it quite interesting that Cruzan uses one-time use bourbon barrels from Jim Beam Bourbon Distillery to age their rums.

After appropriately aging, the rum is removed from the barrel by tapping out the cork and emptying the rum and allowing it to flow from a cistern to a holding tank.

The rum is sent to Florida to be bottled. Cruzan used to bottle its rums in St. Croix, but due to the increase in demand for their rum, they needed to move that part of the process off island.

The tour concludes with a rum tasting and a cocktail of your choice! We had a good time and learned a bit about rum manufacturing. The tour is well worth it if you get to St. Croix someday! Cruzan Rum website: http://cruzanrum.com/

More posts on St. Croix that you might be interested in:

Rum Therapy On St. Croix

Turtle Beach, Buck Island, St. Croix

Sandy Point, St. Croix

Snorkeling at Buck Island

Glass Bottom Kayaking in a Bioluminescent Bay

Mt. Pellier Domino Club, St. Croix

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC. All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.