Category: vacations with bae

Me and my partner in crime decided that our 2nd vacation in 2026 would be somewhere out of the country since our last vacation in the month of March was to Phoenix, Arizona.

We decided to head back to St. Thomas, USVI even though we had previously vacationed there in March of 2025.  We love the vibe in St. Thomas but decided this time we would not catch any ferries to any other islands so we could focus on St. Thomas itself which has superb weather, great West Indian restaurants and beautiful nearby beaches.

The weather forecast (6/6 – 6/12) called for sunshine with little or no rain.  The temperature was literally (24/7) 80 to 83 degrees Farenheit the entire time we were in St. Thomas.

 

Day 1 – Travel Day – Saturday June 6th

 

What made this trip so much easier than our trip to St. Thomas back in March of 2025 was that this time we decided to depart from JFK airport in New York City to fly non-stop instead from flying out of Bradley International airport and catching 2 airplanes.  We also hired a driver named Rob.  Rob’s business is called “On Time Car Services” and he truly lives up to the name.  He’s not just affordable but also personable and a pleasure to catch a ride with.  My hairstylist Stephanie’s salon coordinator Michele’s husband is good friends with Rob so he came well recommended (smile).

 

Did I mention that JFK was a breeze this time?  We usually travel out of  Bradley International Airport so we were pleasantly surprised to discover that JFK has stepped up its game!  It was easy to navigate, there were plenty of new and well lit stores and restaurants, the staff was friendly and helpful and despite the on-going construction, it was easy for Rob to get in and out to our Delta Airlines pick up and drop-off points.

 

We arrived to St, Thomas in 4 short hours and after picking up our Budget rental car at the airport, we were famished so we decided to head to Glady’s Restaurant in downtown Charlotte Amalie for some delish and filling West Indian cuisine.  Gladys did not disappoint.  The restaurant was pretty much empty though since the month of June is the beginning of the off season so unless it’s a ‘Cruise Ship Day,’ the island restaurants and stores resemble a ghost town.

 

 

 

After lunch, we took a walk on the waterfront boardwalk and then drove to Pueblo Supermarket to buy waters and snacks for the week.

 

Our hotel room (due to it being the slow season) was upgraded to a suite (balcony room with an ocean view) so we were happy campers (smile).  We were also greeted in our room with a chilled bottle of Pinot Grigio.  By the way, there are just 12 guest rooms at Island View Guesthouse in St. Thomas as it is an intimate boutique hotel.  The rates, like most hotels, are lower to reflect the slow season.

 

Day 2 – Sunday June 7th

 

We decided to spend our second picture perfect day at Sapphire Beach.  Island View Guest House offers free breakfasts every day (eggs, fruit and toast) so after we ate, we got dressed in our bathing suits and headed out to the beach.  All of the beaches have different rules.  This particular beach does not charge an entrance fee nor does it charge a parking fee.  There is however a $15 dollar beach chair rental but beach umbrellas are not allowed.  Sapphire Beach is a fun vibey beach with 2 large bars, live music, a couple of beach shops and beachy food.  There is a lively atmosphere and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.  The teal blue water is calm and the sand is soft and gravel free.

 

 

 

While on the beach we met and had a conversation with this nice group of people from Maryland who were sitting near us and the funny part was, we not only ran into them again at the Caribbean Fish Market at the Elysian Beach Resort in Cowpet where we had 730pm dinner reservations that evening, but they were seated right next to us (smile).

I had a huge arugula salad with shrimp pad thai and it was delish!

 

After dinner we drove the half hour back to downtown Charlotte Amalie for a nice stroll on the waterfront boardwalk so we could walk off the heavy meal.

 

Day 3 – Monday, June 8th

 

Lindquist Beach was our beach of choice today.  The couples we met on the beach and at dinner yesterday told us it was a beautiful and quiet beach with white sand and emerald water so we were super psyched to go.   This beach (which is just 5 minutes away from Sapphire Beach) charges a $7 dollar per Adult entrance fee, and $2 dollar parking fee.  They also rent beach chairs for $10 dollars.  There are no amenities so you have to bring your own food and drink.  We had waters with us but no food so when we got hungry we hopped in the car and drove 5 minutes up the street to eat at Sapphire Beach’s restaurant.  Again, the beach was gorgeous but you have to remember to pack your own food and drink and music for that matter.

 

 

That night it was Game 3 of the NBA Finals – we assumed we would just catch the NBA Finals in our hotel suite but unbeknownst to us, the only TVs broadcasting this game were at restaurants and/or sports bars as only they had VPNs so we scrambled in the late afternoon to find a sports bar that we would feel comfortable watching the game in.  We settled on The Island Green but were forced to sit in the overflow section since everybody and their grandmother had the same idea as we had (smile).

 

Day 4 – Tuesday June 9th

 

Today was ironically a “Cruise Ship Day” so there were easily 10,000 to 20,000 extra people on this small island.  The beaches were all so crowded!

 

Despite the madness we decided to beach hop and started at Coki Point Beach which is truly a vibe!  There is a small parking fee, no entrance fee, lots of small merchants and take-out restaurants and a ton of beach umbrellas and beach chairs for rent.  The actual beach front is small but cozy and the people are very friendly.

 

Next up was Meghan’s Bay Beach which Trip Advisor and every other online travel portal gives lots of love to.  Don’t get me wrong, I like Meghan’s Bay Beach as it’s a very large beach with all of the amenities you could possibly ask for on a beach but it’s always crowded so the beach chairs and umbrellas are lined up side by side to fit in the maximum amount of people.  The food and drink lines are also very long and the parking is scarce.   If you like to be around a lot of people while you are swimming in the water and/or while laying out on your beach chair, then Meghan’s Bay Beach is for you (smile).  We prefer smaller quieter beaches so we walked wayyyyy down towards the end of the beach and found a relaxing spot to chill in.

 

 

 

After beaching all day we returned home, showered and then dressed for dinner.  We decided to drive downtown Charlotte Amalie and check out some of their local restaurants.  We wound up at an black owned restaurant/lounge called Cove Lounge.   It was a hot day so the air conditioning was blasting when we arrived – we ordered dinner, sat back and listened to a nice blend of R & B and Soul music.

 

Day 5 – Wednesday June 10th

 

Wednesday “Hump Day” was our shopping day.  We drove to downtown Charlotte Amalie to check out the local merchants.  It was difficult to find a parking spot but finally we lucked out when someone was pulling out.  Our first stop (since we are Art lovers) was The Creative Native Art Gallery.  The owner Ama L. Dennis is native to St. Thomas and regaled us with stories about her ancestors and such.  She literally spent well over an hour describing in detail what each painting, portrait, and/or piece of art work that she created represented.  I was totally in awe of her as both as a successful entrepreneur as well as the solo artist.

 

 

 

 

While Ama and James were still chatting I decided to check out a black owned boutique right down that street from the gallery that Ama had recommended.  It was called Shammies Boutique and it features ladies clothes and accessories.  The owner was out of the country so I met her daughter and her daughter’s adorable one year old son.  The merch was gorgeous and I quickly found a few pieces I could rock (smile).

 

 

After the art gallery and the boutique we decided to go jewelry shopping and James found me a beautiful ring at The Gold Mine.  St. Thomas has a few blocks of jewelry stores that heavily compete with each other since they are literally side by side but Jeff at The Gold Mine did not seem as aggressive and hungry as some of the other jewelers so we decided to buy from him.  It was a great experience and he truly took care of us.

 

While Jeff was sizing my ring, we were getting hangry so we caught a quick shuttle to a place that we missed the last time we were in St. Thomas.  It’s called The Chicken Fry and the West Indian cuisine is “slap yo’ mama” good!

 

 

 

After we ate we drove around and looked for a different sports bar/restaurant to catch the NBA Finals Game 4.  We settled on a restaurant/bar not too far from The Island Green called The Dog House Pub.   It was a different experience for sure as the place was darker and not as bright and pretty as The Island Green but the bar food was good and the customers who sat in our section were all passionate Knicks fans (smile).

 

 

Day 6 – Thursday June 11th –  Back to the Beach!

 

Since we visited a total of 5 beaches this week (I left out Brewers Beach at the University of Virgin Islands because it really is not worth talking about) we had a pretty good idea of where we wanted to spend our second to last day in St. Thomas – for us it was Lindquist Beach.  On this day the weather was overcast but the temperatures were still 83 degrees so the sun was stronger than it felt.  We spent the entire day at this beach mostly in the water except for the time where we left to drive up the road to Sapphire Beach so we could eat lunch.  Lucky for us, there were no cruise ships present so it was tranquil and quiet at both beaches.  We truly enjoyed our last day on Lindquist Beach.

 

That afternoon when we got back to the hotel we made dinner reservations at a place called Sol at Mafolie restaurant, another restaurant that came highly recommended.  It was a good half hour from our hotel but well worth the drive.  The restaurant had very few diners that night again because of the time of the year but the food was fabulous.   We ordered Conch Salad as our appetizer; James had a whole Red Snapper with fungi and veggies and I had a delish vegan dish.  We took lots of pictures as the restaurant was high on a hill and it overlooked the bright lights of the city.  I started feeling low key sad thinking about the fact that the next day we would be traveling back home to Connecticut…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 7 – Friday June 12th – Travel Day

 

Our travel day was uneventful in a good way.  Everything was on time, our rental drop-off, our aircraft carrier, our driver, etc.  We will be looking forward to visiting St. Thomas again and again and again (smile).

 

 

 

Fun Fact:  St. Thomas USVI is the only place under U.S. jurisdiction where you must drive on the left side of the road.

P.S. The roads are very narrow and winding so driving is challenging to say the least.  Especially at night as there are no lights up in the hills so drinking and driving is not advised (smile).