Christiansted is the largest town on St. Croix. Located on the north side if the island, Chrisitiansted is a great base for diving and snorkeling on the Buck Island known as Viirgin Islands’ diving mecca. I recommend spending majority of your time in the island on the north side if diving or snorkeling is your thing. There are many activities and things to do in Chrisitiansted and around the town that can keep you busy for several days to a week, but even one day will do it.
Things To Do in Christiansted
Visit Fort Christiansvaern
Have you ever seen the epic Virgin islands picture of the bright yellow fort located on the shore? This is Fort Christiansvaern.
Magical combination of yellow walls and bright blue Caribbean water makes Fort Christiansvaern one of the Virgin Islands’ most photographed places. The fort is part of US national Park system, so if you are a National park annual pass holder you can use your pass at the fort.
The fort was built in the middle of XVIII century by African slaves and Dutch soldiers on the place of the French fort that was destroyed. Fort Christiansvaern is the oldest structure on the entire island.
When it comes to attractions around Christiansted, visiting the fort is one of must-do things. Walk around the park, stop by the Old custom house, take couple of pictures and admire beautiful view.
You can take a self-guided tour of the fort that walks your through the history and architecture of the fort including a lot of interesting information about Alexander Hamilton’s family. The fort served as a jail in the past and Hamilton’s mother was one of the inmates there.
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St. Croix In 2 Days
Visit Gallows Bay Historical village
With white yachts and turquoise Caribbean water, the view doesn’t get any better than that. Stop by Comanche Mill Yacht-less Club to grab a drink and take a picture of Old Sugar Mill replica.
Snorkeling Buck Island
Buck Island Reef is one of the most beautiful and unique reefs abound Caribbean. The island is uninhabited. The reef around the island is a protected area that is part of US national Park Service Similar to St. John Trunks bay ‘s underwater trail, Buck Island reef also has a trail that provide a lot of interesting information about corals and tropical fish.
The best way to explore the reef is to join the tour. Many tour operators offer half or full day snorkeling and diving tours to the Buck island. Tour guides know the best places around the reef to snorkel and dive and will make sure you get the most out of your time on the reef.
While there are still variety of fish around the reef, the corals condition is not great. Largely spread coral bleaching around Caribbean and white plague disease affected the reef killing more than a half of the corals. According to our guide, warmer ocean water and longer rain season also caused corals discoloration. Even though the corals are not as bright as they used to be, snorkeling around the reef was fantastic. We saw variety of tropical fish including parrotfish, blue tang, barracudas, small reef shark, lobster and even couple of sea turtles.
What can you do to protect the reef?
- Use reef friendly sunscreen that does not contain oxybenzone. Oxybenzone presence in water affects corals by making them more vulnerable to bleaching and deceases. Oxybenzone can cause variety of allergies and is not safe for human also.
- Do not step on the corals. Corals grow in a very slow rate, less than an inch a year. So, be extra careful around the reef, do not break corals and do not step on the.
Go sailing on Roseway
Roseway is a beautiful old wooden schooner built in 1925 in Massachusetts to participate in international fishing races. The boat is docked in Boston during the summer and sails to ST. Croix to spend winter there. So, the tours offered only during winter months. I strongly recommend booking your sail at least two weeks in advance here.
With gentle breeze and spectacular view, the sailing experience was spectacular.
Go Horseback riding
Horseback riding on the beach is a great experience for horse lovers. St Crois horseback riding tours are special because the horses will take you into the water. How cool is that?
Just like humans, the horses love walking in the cool water especially during the warm weather. If horseback riding is you thing do not miss this opportunity when visiting St. Croix. If not, just watch horses cooling down in the water before sunset.
See bioluminescence
Have you ever hold glowing in the dark jelly fish? Did you even know those existing? I didn’t.
Unlike bioluminescence in San Diego visible only couple of weeks up to a month, You can bioluminescence lighting on St. Croix year round. There are two places on US Virgin Islands where you can See bioluminescence lighting, Salt River Bay and Altona Lagoon. Both places are relatively close to each other on the east side of St. Croix.
What cause bioluniniscence?
Bioluminiscence produced by phytoplankton and larger creatures like jelly fish only when they get in contact with some objects as a protection mechanism.
Several companies on St Croix offer night kayak tours. I strongly suggest booking the tour online and opting out for a transparent kayak. This will allow you to see the bioluminescent glowing water right under your kayak. Seeing the bioluminiscence was a great memorable experience.
Final Thoughts.
With so many things to do in town, Christiansted is beautiful town totally worth visiting even for a day. Spend some time exploring historical part of the town, relax on the beach or just walk around town. Virgin Islands are my favorite place in the entire Caribbean.
