US Virgin Island - Our first impression
Flamingo Bay, Water Island, USVI
US Virgin Island is our second stop for this Caribbean trip. Similar to Bahamas, we didn’t start well. We got stranded at Crown Bay Marina of St Thomas, where we landed the first night, as our Airbnb host mistakenly gave us the wrong number of the boat captain. She went to sleep and didn’t answer our SOS.
Crown Bay Marina, St Thomas, USVI
We were homeless but were offered a room by a sailboat owner around midnight when he took a night walk in the marina. We must be seriously lucky!
We finally got settled on Water Island the second morning and enjoyed our first Kawasaki mule ride.
Honeymoon Beach, Water Island, USVI
The view from our balcony somehow made up for the extra long wait.
5-photo stitched pano from airbnb patio
We tried to recon for a perfect location to photograph sunset and full moon, and ended up driving around the whole island (which took less than 30 minutes), better than the moon show itself.
Flamingo Bay, Water Island
We made several attempts to look for a spot to photograph sunset. In the end, we settled on our Airbnb patio.
Sunset, Water Island, USVI
The best news is that I got my camera bag back! For the first few days in Bahamas, I was researching on all options to get back my cameras. Finally, it cost an expensive shipping to get the bag from Seattle to Miami, and another plane ticket for my friend to bring the bag to our terminal during our short layover. It worked!!!
Now after a brief 2-day discovery, here are some fun facts about US Virgin Island:
➡️You drive cars on the left (like UK)
…but your car’s steering wheel is also on the left (like US). So it’s a hybrid model.
➡️ Rental cars are limited
you need to book early. We booked one month early and couldn’t get an SUV. In fact we had very few options. If you have large luggage pieces like we do, think again as you might not have the the trunk space.
➡️About Water Island in particular
you don’t need rental car. In fact you can’t bring a car over. Golf cart is the main means of transportation.
We rented a Kawasaki mule as it has more room for luggage. It is perhaps more suitable for bumpy roads with better speed and power. But be prepared, it’s not the most comfortable
➡️ Weather seems unpredictable or predictable.
iPhone weather app is showing exactly the same weather everyday with temperature between 75 and 82 and high wind in late mornings.
But it hasn’t showed the sprinkle here and there so we don’t really know how reliable the weather app is and just have to go with flow. (Btw this happened to us while we were in Galapagos in our South America trip. You just get totally different weather in reality and the app).
➡️ If you have drone, you might not be able to fly
due to airport restrictions, unless you apply for a certificate. I did that several times in Bahamas and here even I am just a newbie pilot so just some very quick flights here and there.
➡️ USVI was hit pretty hard by hurricane in 2017 and is still going through recovery.
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