St. John's USVI is Your Ticket to Vacation Bliss

I have said it before and I am sure I will find myself continually raving about the Caribbean in the future. Its abundance of picturesque, lush, tropical landscapes, cultural and historical impact and significance, breathtaking turquoise waters, ethnic diversity portrayed in its unique culinary presentations from one island to the next superseded possibly by the plethora of attractions and activities available to suit any one's desires, visions and dreams. The Island of St. John's, US VI is no exception!

Representing the smallest of the three U.S. Territories in the United States Virgin Islands, St John's hails as an unspoiled and non commercialized mecca as far as vacation destinations are concerned. At nine miles long and three miles wide amounting to only 28 square miles, roughly two thirds of St. John's is designated as a National Park, therefore much of its land and neighboring waters will remain protected allowing it to stay unchanged, unhurried and unspoiled as nature intended.

The history of St. John's began and ended much like it did for the other two islands making up the US VI. Arawak people were the first inhabitants followed by the Carib Indians who overthrew the Arawak's. In 1493, during Christopher Columbus' second journey to the "New World", he was credited as the first European to visit St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John's. Eventually these islands would be settled by the Danish West India and Guinea Company, the first Europeans back in 1718. The Danish people relied heavily on the slave trade, constantly dipping into the slave pool out of Africa. The major reason for slave labor was the cultivation of and reliance on sugar cane. Sugar cane plantations were splattered all over the US VI due to its arid and fertile terrain and income associated with this cash crop. With its reliance on slavery from Africa came numerous revolts by these same African slaves. In fact, St. John's represented one of the largest slave rebellions of the time back in 1733, when enslaved Akwamu rebels from the Gold Coast took over the island of St. John's for six months. With help from French forces, the Danish were able to reconquer the island from these slave rebels. Slavery became a thing of the past on July 3, 1848.

Sugar cane remained a prized possession and efforts to produce sugar, brown sugar and rum continued as long as there was slavery. Once the slavery trade fell apart in the 19 century with the slaves granted their freedom, efforts turned from the cane production to tourism, tourism related industries, real estate and hotels. Today, these same values hold true as residents pride themselves on dedicating themselves to providing vacationers with a memorable experience. At the same time, however, residents have not forgotten their cultural and historical roots, illustrated in alot of St. John's cuisine, dress, festivals and historical sites located throughout the island.

St. John's has been called the "Beverly Hills of the Caribbean" due to its posh and unscaled real estate sector and high level of affluent tourists. Whereas as St. Crux and St. Thomas have become somewhat overdeveloped, St. John's remains a beautiful secluded hideaway featuring, culinary diversity , natural beauty, pristine beaches, coves and bays and lush tropical landscapes dotted with opulent abodes of the wealthy and elite. St. John's is also known as having one of the top ten beaches in the world and being the wealthiest of the US VI.

Cruz Bay is the largest port on St. John's located on the western coast of the island. Coral Bay, located on the Eastern side of the island is the next largest port. Most of the standard amenities are found at these ports with 20 minute ferry rides to and from Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas. Because St. John's doesn't have an airport, the only way to experience the island is by ferry boat or other form of water transportation. Ferry boats also provide transportation to Tortola, Virgin Gorda and Anegada.

Many of the most popular and beautiful beaches are encountered on St. John's northern shore. Trunk Bay is the perennial hands down, one of the ten best beaches in the world! Caneel and Cinnamon Bay represent other great destinations for beach goers and divers alike. Beautiful dive sites teeming with a diverse abundance of coral reefs and a plethora of marine fish that rivals and painting applied to canvas. the south shore of the island provides some nice beaches as well though the terrain in getting their provides a challenge and is only accessible by rough dirt roads.

Numerous water sports are available, even if diving or sun tanning isn't your cup of tea. For the land lovers, shopping in the largest port areas is a nice alternative. Resort life, fine dinning, experiencing the historical sites on the island or hiking and exploring the wild life and beauty on the many trails throughout the natural park area is amazing.

St. John's definitely captivates the senses and offers an all inclusive vacation experience to last a lifetime. The fact that the island remains mainly a remote natural park system protected by governing bodies will ensure that the island remains as lush and beautiful today as it did years ago. Once you get there, the only thing you have to do is enjoy and decide what exciting thing you will do while experiencing all that St. John's has to offer.