Thursday, September 3, 2015

St. Croix: travel guide

Wanted to share the places we went, stuff we did, and food we ate. Give you my thoughts and opinions about the stuff we did and basically give you recommendations that you can read if you ever want to do to St. Croix. I didn’t want to call this a travel guide because I have only been to St. Croix once for 6 days but that’s basically what it is. So here we are. I am going to share only things we did and I can comment on and at the end some things I would try if/when we ever go back. I tried to gives lots of detail but if you have any questions about anything we did let me know. I would love to answer them!
Food:

1. Angry Nate’s: This was the first place we ate on the island. We got in Thursday evening and once checked into our hotel we headed downtown to Christiansted for some food. The people here we very friendly, thats when we first realized that everyone knows everyone. I got the bbq ribs and Clark got the seafood pasta. Also, I realized that BBQ is definitely a main dish here on the island as every menu had something bbq. The BBQ ribs were good, they were tangy mango!

2. Cheeseburger’s in America’s Paradise: This was probably one of my favorite places we ate. We stopped by on the way back from Point Udall and it was on the east end pretty close to our hotel. The cheeseburgers were amazing and so big and filling. I got the pasta salad and it was great and clark got french fries. I also ordered the dreamsicle drink which was orange and vanilla rum with other things and talk about yummmmmmmy! Anyways go here get cheeseburgers. But I will say don’t order dessert. Clark got the brownie sundae and you could tell it was just prepackaged so not worth it.

3. Kendrick's at the Buccaneer: So we didn’t actually sit down and eat at Kendrick’s but sense we were staying at the Buccaneer we could order room service some them. And we both ordered the bake Mac & Cheese and it was SO GOOD! I am sure the other food on there menu is good as well.

4. Rhythms at Rainbow Beach: This place was amazing and right on the water! It’s the perfect little beach shack eatery. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and Clark had the fish tacos. We also rented Jet Skis from West End Water Sports which is right next to this place. They also had Chocolate Rum cake that I wanted to try but I didn’t want to be too full for dinner.

5. Seaside Market: This market / grocery store was near are hotel and we stopped by here on our first day and realized that the deli makes sandwiches fresh. We ordered sandwiches a couple times. They even make pulled pork and hamburgers and grilled cheese! The market had everything you could want to Gatorade, Doritoes, Snickers, Oreos, Milk, Rum, Cheese, Fruit, Cake etc! Perfect to stock up on food to store at your hotel or pick up a fresh sandwiches! yum

6. Caribbean Night at the Palms at Pelican Cove: This is a buffet style dinner which is held every Monday night at the Palms at Pelican Cove. It is from 6-9pm but when I called to make reservation the hostess said it’s best to get here before 7 and I 100% agree because more choice of foods. They didn’t replenish all the foods throughout the night. The food was good it was: Johnny Cakes, corn, wild rice, beans, bbq chicken & ribs, biscuits, mac and cheese. And they even had THE BEST peanut butter cookies! It cost $30 per person which I know seems steep but we were mainly there for the entertainment which was fire dancers and moko jumbies (a St. Croix speciality), and live music. People danced and it really was a good time.

7. Napoleon’s Pizza: On Saturday for some reason we were feeling some pizza. I know what a weird choice in food when your on the island. When we were driving from the airport to our hotel on the first day we saw a Little Caesars but I wanted something local. So I googled and yelped and came across Napoleon’s Pizza. We called in an order and then went to pick it up. Unfortunately we couldn’t find it for about 10 minutes and had to pull over and ask some locals. We finally found it and the pizza ended up being really yummy!
Things we did:

1. Big Beard Buck Island Excursion: I called from our hotel phone to book Big Beard. I actually only book one day in advance and I am glad that they had space. This was a really great expereince. We did the half day and it was just enough time. The crew was very profession and experienced. Wear lots of sunscreen and bring snacks. They have complimentary water and a cooler filled with ice that you can put your drinks in. (Blog post here)

2. Tan Tan Tours: Read all about this in more detail and see more photos on this blog post I did about the Tan Tan Tours.

3. Jet Skiing at West End Water Sports: This might be my favorite thing we did while on St. Croix. It is on the west end and right next to Rhythms at Rainbow beach right on the beach. I tried to call and make reservations but no one answers so we just tried our luck and headed over to see what was up. We got there and there was only one person working so it made sense that no one answered because he was out getting the jet skies yet up, giving people the paddle boards etc. He said it would be about a 20 minute wait as there were people using the jet skies at the time but a 20 minute wait so no big deal for us. So we sat down at Rhythms and drank some water. The jet skiing was really fun and we switched on and off and had a blast. We only did the 30 minutes but it was enough time for us. It cost $60. Then after we ate lunch at Rhythms (see above).

4. Caribbean Night at the Palms at Pelican Cove: (see post above in the what we ate section.) Go for the moko jumbies if nothing else!

5. Snorkeling: Snorkeling was one of the main things that we did. Our hotel, the Buccaneer, had complimentary water activity gear (snorkeling, kayaking, and paddle boarding). So Friday morning we snorkeled a little bit getting ready for Buck Island then we snorkeled for a good 3 hours at Buck Island. Then again on Saturday and Sunday just around our hotel. It was one of my favorite things to do. The marine life was amazing. Definitely better at Buck Island but the marine life was still really awesome by our hotel. 

6. Kayaking: We took advantage of the complimentary kayaks that our hotel had and went kayaking Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately it started raining on us when we were our there. It was like the one cloud in the sky decided to rain on us for a solid minute. You know that sense in the Truman Show. It was like that haha. So we high tailed it back to shore. 
Places we went:

1. Frederiksted Pier: This is the pier in Frederiksted, its huge you can’t miss it if you are walking or driving along the water. This is where the cruise ships dock when they come to St. Croix. It’s also a place people scuba dive from and people jump from the dock all the time. I actually jumped from the end of the dock. (Photos from the pier in this blog post)

2. Point Udall: More details and photos here in this blog post.

3. Fort Christiansted: So we didn’t actually go into Fort Christiansted. It cost $3 per person to go in and we didn’t have any cash on us. But it is right downtown and you can’t miss it if you are coming form the east or walking on the broad walk. I will saw the outside is really neat and there are wild chickens and roosters running around the grounds! haha

4. Buck Island: More information in this blog post.

5. Divi Carina Bay Casino: We went to the casino late on Friday night. It was our first time driving on the left side at night and it was okay on the way out but on the way back I think we came across a couple drunk drivers which was a little scary. But the casino was an awesome experience. They had live music and a bunch of lots and table games. We played blackjack until we lost $80. And I was suprised but there was no smoking in the casino. Almost every casino I have been to allows smoking so that was a nice change.
Things I want to do to if/when we go again:

Sandy Point

Rum Runners

Ham Buff’s Lighthouse

Kayak the bio bay at Salt River Marsh

Lots of information! So I am officially done with my St. Croix post and I am happy you get back to posting real time updates. Happy Thursday.
love, Carlee

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Thanks for the wonderful comment. I read and enjoy every single one. Have a question for me, I will reply as soon as I can. Love , Carlee