St. Thomas

Best months by our weather score: January, April, December. Daytime highs, rain and sunshine are 2016–2025 averages at Cyril E. King Airport (Open-Meteo historical weather archive); sea temperatures are 2022–2025 averages for the nearest sea area (Open-Meteo marine archive). Months marked in the storm row fall in the Atlantic hurricane season (June 1 to November 30); the score takes that risk into account.

Gateway airport

Cyril E. King Airport (STT)

US nonstops

ATL, BNA, BOS, BWI, CLT, DFW, EWR, IAD and 8 more

Distance

3,444 mi from Los Angeles, 1,627 mi from New York

Passport

Not needed for US citizens

Hotel, one night

$93 on Jan 13, 2027 · $93 on Jul 14, 2027 (Charlotte Amalie)

Visitors a year

802,734 overnight visitors (2025)

Bringing a dog

Easy: No quarantine. A USDA-accredited vet's health certificate (APHIS 7001, state CVI or approved eCVI) issued within 10 days of arrival, showing current rabies vaccination, emailed to the USVI Department of Agriculture at least 1 business day before you land.

Hotel prices: Cheapest 3-star-or-better double, 1 night, 2 adults, Kayak 'stay total' including taxes and fees, member-only and private deals excluded, checked 2026-10-20. Both dates: Galleon House Hotel, Charlotte Amalie (a small hillside hotel); the next cheapest was Bunker Hill Hotel at $137.. Visitor figures: FAA, CY2025 commercial service enplanements (Cyril E. King Airport, STT).

St. Thomas works for families and first-time Caribbean travelers who want short flights, calm beaches and plenty of hotels. It is also the budget choice in the USVI, and the logical base if you want St. John's beaches without St. John's villa prices.

Skip it if you dislike crowds. On cruise days, Charlotte Amalie, Magens Bay and the island's taxis fill quickly. Travelers who want quiet should look at St. John or St. Croix, both compared on our best US Virgin Island ranking.

• Charlotte Amalie: the capital and cruise port, with small hillside hotels, shops and restaurants. Cheapest, but no beach on the doorstep.
• East End (Red Hook, Sapphire, Secret Harbour): beach resorts, condos and the ferry to St. John. The best base for most visitors.
• North side: guesthouses and villas in the hills above Magens Bay.

Our Kayak check on October 20, 2026, one night, two adults, taxes and fees included: $93 at Galleon House Hotel in Charlotte Amalie for both January 13 and July 14, 2027. The next cheapest was Bunker Hill Hotel at $137. Expect to pay more for a beachfront room on the East End, and budget for taxis or a rental car.

• Magens Bay: the famous one, a deep, sheltered horseshoe on the north shore with calm, shallow water. The best family beach, and the busiest on cruise days.
• Coki Beach: small and calm, with good snorkeling off the rocks, next to Coral World.
• Lindquist Beach (Smith Bay): a quiet, protected park beach on the East End.
• Sapphire Beach: resort beach with snorkeling and views to St. John.
• Brewers Bay: a calm local beach by the airport.

Sargassum seaweed can wash onto east-facing beaches in some months; local outlets report the University of South Florida's monthly sargassum outlook. Under USVI law you may only use mineral sunscreen: oxybenzone, octinoxate and octocrylene are banned. We score the beaches 7.5: very good water, with crowds and seaweed as the caveats.

• Charlotte Amalie: Danish-era streets, steps and forts, and duty-free shopping along Main Street.
• Coral World Ocean Park at Coki Point, the easy marine stop with children.
• Sailing and snorkel trips from Red Hook to St. John's bays.
• Water Island, a short ferry from Crown Bay, where Fort Segarra reopened in August 2026.
• A day on St. John, 15 minutes by ferry, for Virgin Islands National Park.
• The British Virgin Islands by ferry, if you carry a passport: they are a separate country.

That is several good days, scoring 6.5. Much of the best of it is really St. John, a boat ride away.

St. Thomas is the cheapest of the three US Virgin Islands to sleep on, but not cheap to move around. A week at the $93 Charlotte Amalie rate comes to about $650 in hotel nights for two. Budget separately for taxis or a rental car on the steep roads. Day trips add up too: a round trip to St. John on the Red Hook ferry is $16.30 per adult before bags, and Trunk Bay on St. John charges $5 per person aged 16 and up. If you plan to spend most days on St. John anyway, compare the extra hotel cost of staying there against the ferry and taxi fares.

December to April is the dry, busy season, with the most cruise ships. Summer is hotter and quieter, and the USVI Department of Tourism notes the best bargains are then. Our 12-month weather table below gives sea and air temperatures and rainfall.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, according to the NOAA National Hurricane Center, peaking around September 10, with most activity between mid-August and mid-October. Book refundable rates for those months; our hurricane season guide covers insurance.

Cyril E. King Airport (STT) has nonstops from 16 US airports on its current schedule: American (Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, New York-JFK, Philadelphia, seasonal Chicago), Delta (Atlanta, seasonal Boston and JFK), JetBlue (seasonal Boston), Southwest (Baltimore and Orlando), Sun Country (seasonal Minneapolis) and United (Houston, Newark, Washington-Dulles, seasonal Chicago). Breeze adds Tampa from December 16, 2026, and Southwest adds Nashville from March 13, 2027.

One big change: Spirit Airlines shut down on May 2, 2026, ending its Fort Lauderdale and Orlando flights. The Port Authority told senators that 565 scheduled St. Thomas flights were lost from May to December.

Entry and return: no passport. You need a REAL ID-compliant license or a passport to fly (TSA charges $45 otherwise). On the way home, you go through federal inspection at STT before the flight: CBP checks citizenship, and USDA inspects for fruit and plants. The USVI Department of Tourism says to carry a passport, or a raised-seal birth certificate plus government photo ID.

Dogs: easy. A vet health certificate within 10 days of arrival, with rabies details, emailed to the USVI Department of Agriculture a business day ahead. No quarantine.

Island-level figures are hard to find: the USVI Bureau of Economic Research site linked by the Port Authority is offline. The Department of Tourism reported 464,289 visitors to St. Thomas from January to June 2026, and for 2025, territory-wide, almost one million airline passengers and nearly 1.83 million cruise passengers. The FAA counted 802,734 boardings at STT in 2025. Check the port's cruise calendar before you pick beach days.

Turtle Cove Catamaran Snorkel and Sail at Little Buck Island STT

Drinks, snacks and snorkel gear are included; you make your own way to the dock. This is St. Thomas's Buck Island, not the national monument off St. Croix.

3 hours

4.8★★★★★★★★★★(2,320 reviews)

Reserve

Rating as shown on Viator

The Baths and White Bay

It is expensive and the extras add up: $85 per person in BVI immigration and customs fees in cash, plus a customary 20% crew tip, and a passport is required. It does not start on Virgin Gorda.

9 hours

4.9★★★★★★★★★★(814 reviews)

Reserve

Rating as shown on Viator

St. Thomas: 3-Hour Mangrove Kayak, Hike & Snorkel Eco-Tour

Gear and lockers are included; tips are not, and you need shoes you can hike in. Calm water makes it a good pick for first-time snorkelers.

3 hours

4.7★★★★★★★★★★(151 reviews)

Reserve

Rating as shown on GetYourGuide

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