Question:  Doris asks, Would it be best to stay on St. Thomas or St. Croix to take advantage of shopping and sightseeing, along with limited crowds?

Answer: Vicki Nelson, who recentled contributed a series of posts on St. Croix, responds: St. Thomas and St. Croix offer different experiences for shopping.  St. Thomas has far more shops many catering to the thousands of cruise ship passengers that arrive there most days.  St. Croix has fewer shops and tend to feature locally made, custom jewelry designs, arts, crafts and a healthy choice of fashions from a variety of places—with an island flare, of course.  Sightseeing varies as well.  St. Thomas offers more attraction-type activities in addition to the local historical and cultural venues, while St. Croix focuses on showcasing historical, cultural and locally unique venues.  With regard to crowds, St. Croix is definitely the less crowded.  To begin with the island is nearly twice the size of St. Thomas with similar population.  There are no mega resorts on St. Croix (but a couple very nice smaller resort-type properties), and there is limited cruise-ship traffic (this season 1-3 ships a week compared to St. Thomas’ several ships a day).  I hope this helps you make your choice.  And, keep in mind St. John, the third U.S. Virgin Island, offers yet another experience given is it largely a U.S. National Park. 

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