Covers 25 islands from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to Aruba, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Cozumel and Roatán, with prices, flights and entry rules checked at the source.
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The US Virgin Islands are three very different islands under one flag. You need no passport, you pay in dollars and you drive on the left on all three. St. Thomas ranks first at 7.8 out of 10, ahead of St. John at 7.4 and St. Croix at 7.2.
St. Thomas wins on logistics, not beauty. It has nonstops from 16 US airports and the cheapest 3-star room we found in the territory, $93 a night with tax on both January 13 and July 14, 2027. St. John has the better beaches, scored 9 against 7.5, but no airport and rooms from $382 in January. St. Croix would be second on its numbers alone; it gives up 0.4 points because its own page gives a conditional verdict. Many visitors do not have to choose: St. John is 15 minutes from St. Thomas by ferry.
At a glance
Best overall
St. Thomas, 7.8/10: most flights, cheapest room ($93 on both dates)
Best beaches
St. John, 9/10, inside Virgin Islands National Park
Best for divers
St. Croix: Buck Island's snorkel trail and the Cane Bay wall
Most expensive
St. John: $382 in January, $263 in July, cheapest 3-star hotel
Between islands
Red Hook to Cruz Bay ferry, 15 minutes, $8.15; St. Croix by ferry or short flight
Entry
No passport for US citizens; REAL ID or passport to fly
The ranking
Score = the weighted average of six factors. How we score
St. Thomas is #1 on access and value. It has nonstops from 16 US airports, the most in the territory, and the cheapest 3-star room we found, $93 a night with tax at a hillside hotel in Charlotte Amalie on both our dates. Magens Bay and Coki Beach are calm enough for children, and Coral World sits next to Coki. Things to do score only 6.5, because much of the best is on St. John, a 15-minute ferry away. Expect crowds on cruise days. It suits families, budget travelers and anyone who wants St. John's beaches without its prices.
St. John has the best beaches in the USVI, scored 9: Trunk Bay's underwater snorkel trail, turtles at Maho Bay, Cinnamon Bay and the walk to Honeymoon Beach. The national park covers most of the island and charges no entrance fee, only $5 at Trunk Bay. It ranks second because value scores 3.4 and access 7.3. The cheapest 3-star hotel was $382 in January and $263 in July, and there is no airport, so you fly to St. Thomas and take the ferry. Couples, snorkelers and hikers get the most from it.
St. Croix has the best weather score of the three, 9.4, the most things to do, 7, and rooms from $108 in Christiansted in January. Its reef is the headline: the Buck Island snorkel trail, the Cane Bay wall from shore and night dives under the Frederiksted pier. It ranks third for two reasons. Beaches score 6.5, because the best ones, Buck Island and Sandy Point, take a boat or a drive. And its page gives a conditional verdict, worth 0.4 points. Flights are thin since Spirit left: five US airports, several seasonal.
Each island is scored on weather, beaches, things to do, getting there from the US, value and crowds, weighted 20, 25, 25, 10, 10 and 10 percent. Beaches and things to do are our editors' scores; the rest come from data. St. Thomas and St. John share an airport, so their weather scores are identical, 9.2. St. Croix, out on its own to the south, scores 9.4. The method is on how we score islands.
One factor is missing for all three. There is no reliable island-by-island visitor count for the USVI, so none of them gets a crowd score, and each total is averaged over the other five factors. That flatters St. Thomas most. The Department of Tourism counted 464,289 visitors to St. Thomas from January to June 2026, and the territory took nearly 1.83 million cruise passengers in 2025. If crowds bother you, give St. John and St. Croix extra credit.
Staying on one island, seeing two
The cheapest way to see St. John is to sleep on St. Thomas. The Red Hook to Cruz Bay ferry takes about 15 minutes and costs $8.15 one way for non-residents, plus $4 a bag. Ferries also leave Charlotte Amalie and Crown Bay ($20). Trunk Bay charges $5 per person aged 16 and up, card only; the rest of Virgin Islands National Park charges no entrance fee. If you want your own car on St. John, the car barge from Red Hook is $50 one way or $65 round trip.
St. Croix is a separate trip. It sits across open water to the south of St. Thomas. The QE IV ferry links Gallows Bay and Charlotte Amalie Thursday to Monday, in about 2 hours 10 minutes, for $60 one way, and Cape Air and Fly The Whale fly short hops. Combine it with St. Thomas only if you have a week or more.
The British Virgin Islands are next door, but they are another country and need a passport. Compare all five islands on our Virgin Islands ranking.
Flights in 2026: what changed after Spirit
Spirit Airlines shut down on May 2, 2026. It flew Fort Lauderdale and Orlando to St. Thomas and Fort Lauderdale to St. Croix. The Virgin Islands Port Authority told senators that 565 scheduled St. Thomas flights and 81 St. Croix flights were lost from May to December.
St. Thomas still has nonstops from 16 US airports on American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, Sun Country and United, several of them seasonal. Breeze adds Tampa from December 16, 2026, and Southwest adds Nashville from March 13, 2027. St. Croix has five: Miami year-round, seasonal Charlotte, Chicago O'Hare and Atlanta, and United from Newark, resuming October 31, 2026. St. John has no airport.
You need a REAL ID-compliant license or a passport to fly, and TSA charges $45 if you have neither. Flying home, you clear CBP and USDA inspection at the airport, so carry a passport, or a raised-seal birth certificate plus a government photo ID. USDA inspects bags for fruit and plants. The no-passport ranking compares the USVI with Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Key West.
When to go, and hurricane season
December to April is the dry, busy season, with the most cruise ships and the highest rates. In our weather scores, December reaches 9.9 on all three islands, and St. Croix scores a full 10 from January to March. Summer is quieter and usually cheaper, though our two St. Croix dates were close: $108 in January, $128 in July.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, and the NOAA National Hurricane Center puts the peak on September 10. September is the weakest month in our data, 5.9 on St. Thomas and St. John and 5.6 on St. Croix. Ferries stop in dangerous seas. Book refundable rates from August to October, and read our hurricane season guide.
One rule applies everywhere: USVI law bans sunscreen with oxybenzone, octinoxate or octocrylene. Pack mineral sunscreen.
What a week costs in rooms
Using the cheapest 3-star-or-better doubles we found, with tax, seven January nights cost about $650 on St. Thomas, $756 on St. Croix and $2,674 on St. John. St. John's figure is high partly because so little is rated: only three 3-star-plus hotels showed rooms, and the next after the $382 St John Inn was over $600. Most St. John lodging is villas, condos and the Cinnamon Bay campground inside the park, which Kayak does not rate.
Add ground transport. You will want a rental car on St. Croix and probably a Jeep on St. John; on St. Thomas, taxis add up on steep roads. Dogs are easy on all three: a vet health certificate within 10 days of arrival, emailed to the USVI Department of Agriculture a business day ahead, and no quarantine. For the wider region, see the Caribbean ranking.
Booking through these links supports this site at no cost to you. Prices move by date, so we do not print them here; the official prices we checked are in the page above.
Frequently asked questions
Which US Virgin Island is best to visit?
On our scores, St. Thomas, at 7.8 out of 10, for its 16 US nonstop airports and $93 rooms. St. John has the best beaches and suits couples and snorkelers who can pay more. St. Croix suits divers and travelers who want quiet.
Which US Virgin Island has the best beaches?
St. John. Most of it is Virgin Islands National Park, with calm north-shore bays such as Trunk Bay, Maho Bay and Cinnamon Bay. We score its beaches 9, against 7.5 for St. Thomas and 6.5 for St. Croix.
Do you need a passport for the US Virgin Islands?
No, not as a US citizen. You need a REAL ID or a passport to board the flight. On the way home you clear federal inspection, so carry a passport or a raised-seal birth certificate plus a government photo ID.
Which is cheaper, St. Thomas or St. John?
St. Thomas, by a wide margin. The cheapest 3-star room was $93 on both our dates on St. Thomas, against $382 in January and $263 in July on St. John.
Can you visit St. John on a day trip from St. Thomas?
Yes. The ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay takes about 15 minutes and costs $8.15 one way. Take a taxi to the north-shore beaches, or walk the 1-mile Lind Point Trail from Cruz Bay to Honeymoon and Salomon beaches.
Which US Virgin Island is least crowded?
St. Croix. It sits off the main cruise routes, has two quiet towns in Christiansted and Frederiksted, and is the largest of the three at about 83 square miles (215 km²). St. John has no cruise pier, but its famous beaches fill with day-trippers.
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