What exactly is there to do in STX?

Um, Hovensa closed so things have gotten very quiet on St Croix.

You missed the Jump Up last night? Tomorrow is the Triathlon.

Caribbean Community Theatre has performances this weekend.

During carnival, very few events are scheduled on other islands regardless of where the carnival is.

Check with St Croix Environmental Assoc and St Croix Hiking Assoc. They may have or know of an activity.

100 things to do on STX

http://www.gotostcroix.com/st-croix-blog/100-things-to-do-st-croix/

We may not have the hustle and bustle of St Thomas, but there is still stuff to do--especially for a lot of the stuff you mentioned:

Snorkeling--Dorsch Beach and the pier, Butler Bay, Cane Bay (you can snorkel out to see the coral nurseries or dive it, they're in about 30 ft of water. This is the only "public" nursery, but there are several all around the island. Nature Conservancy runs these, you have to go through a training program to become a volunteer diver with them).

Paddleboarding, Teres Veho/Freedom City Surf

Jet Skis-Rainbow Beach.

Diving is amazing all over the island. Shore diving--Cane Bay, the Pier, Butler Bay, North Shore, Carambola (Davis Bay).

Boat Diving--N2 the Blue (West and Salt River), SCUBA (C'sted and F'sted), Dive Experience (C'sted) all have daily boat trips, Cane Bay, Sweet Bottom Dive Center

Kayaking--Salt River, Bio Bay (several operators, Bush Tribe Eco Adventures comes to mind).

Turtle tours: Sandy Point leatherback nesting watches can by arranged by US Fish and Wildlife and also SEA has tours reserved for their members ($45 membership per year)

Hiking--Hike to the tide pools, hike to the Ham's Bluff lighthouse, hike Goat Hill, hike to Jacks and Issac's (snorkel both those bays)

Drinking and Food: Mamawana and the beer drinking pigs at the Domino Club, Cruzan Rum tour, Captain Morgan Rum tour, Rainbow beach, Freedom City, the Palms, The Sands, Chenay Bay, Deep End Bar and Grill, Cane Bay, Off the Wall, Above the Cliff, Rowdy Joes, The Blue Moon, Sandcastles by the Beach, Coconuts, Lost Dog Pub, Polly's

Other/cultural: Whim Plantation, Botanical Gardens, Point Udall, Caribbean Museum for the Arts, numerous art galleries in Christiansted and a couple in Frederiksted too, farmers markets, Jump Up, Art Thursday every month, Sunset Jazz, movie night at the fort, Christiansted Jazz in the Park, Whim candlelight concert series, Caribbean Community Theatre productions, various art openings and shows throughout the year, STX Food and Wine Festival (just occurred, weeklong food and wine events all over the island), house tours.

A bar at a gas station and dinner is not necessarily indicative of all that STX has to offer.

Everything's great here...no problems at all!

Lots of great things to do! Can't wait to make the move!

I like it that STX is not as busy as STT. Many people live here for just that reason! I don't want to live in a large city either. But, to answer your question, I'm retired and I find there are not enough hours in a day for me to get all the things I want to do done.
We have an extensive arts scene here, plenty of great dive spots, an actual 4-lane hwy. many fresh local grown veggies, our own beef, local eggs, etc. as mentioned in above posts tons of other great and fun things to do. Volunteering is also great on this island as many are this weekend for our Triathlon.

You can have St. Thomas'

I like it that STX is not as busy as STT. Many people live here for just that reason! I don't want to live in a large city either.

... You can have St. Thomas'

Actually where I live on STT (and I believe AandA2VI are in the same general area) it's incredibly quiet, peaceful and "country" and as far from city life as imaginable. If I want to enjoy "city" life or a hubbub of activity it's a 10 minute drive away. Lot of misconceptions as usual about STT.

Prefer Northside, STT, any day over anywhere, STX.
Especially since driving distances to whatever activity or event, restaurant, beach, etc., one chooses are so much shorter.

We don't go out of the way to put down STX living but it seems that's not the case, as is usual, for some living in STX to continue to do for STT. All that considering they've never spent any time living here but feel free to tell others about living here. It gets tiresome to continue reading such blatant ignorance.

I wouldn't go so far as to call downtown Charlotte Amalie a hubbub
of activity except during our very short tourist season. If there are no cruise ships in town which is basically May - mid Dec., there's very little hubbub or activity. We're lucky to have them when we do.
I would not think we qualify as a city, in any way.

Outside of town during tourist season, there are great, quiet neighborhoods and other locations all over the island with great ocean views.

I'm sure that anyone, anywhere, looking for activities to enjoy, will
find plenty of things to do whether here in STT, there in STX or over
in STJ.

Yes, we have our differences but there a hell of a lot more similarities. Just saying.

i will say i think stt and the vicinity have much more to offer in the way of things to do and concerts, short weekend trips etc...

That's true.

For example, my tenant's girlfriend is visiting this week so they got
on the car barge and went to STJ to stay for a long weekend on Fri.

Having so many islands nearby without having to get on a plane is nice.

that would be awesome

Yea exactly. Proximity to other islands is fab. I also agree - we had a free trip to STX that we won and stayed at the divi (kinda run down for $200nt) we didn't pay that and wouldn't have but it took an hour to get to Fsted. I forgot how big STX is.

Yes I live north side and its quiet compared to town but NOTHING like STX. I was like.... Did everyone get abducted? We didn't pass a single car for like 20 min one day. That's weird lol.

Thanks for all the replies for sure, I do think the diving is better on STX for sure...... FINALLY saw my first frogfish last weekend at the pier. WOOT! Oh and the seahorses of course.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u302/HelfrichChick/B7CDCEA0-331F-4F1C-BF71-89362E2A86FB.jp g">

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u302/HelfrichChick/48BE13FD-90F5-4750-8780-0A8913B8AC1D.jp g">

again, awesome photography

I like it that STX is not as busy as STT. Many people live here for just that reason! I don't want to live in a large city either. But, to answer your question, I'm retired and I find there are not enough hours in a day for me to get all the things I want to do done.
We have an extensive arts scene here, plenty of great dive spots, an actual 4-lane hwy. many fresh local grown veggies, our own beef, local eggs, etc. as mentioned in above posts tons of other great and fun things to do. Volunteering is also great on this island as many are this weekend for our Triathlon.

You can have St. Thomas'

+ 1

CD

Great pics. Awesome colors.
The seahorse is a little fatty. Is he preggers?
The frogfish is an interesting looking cutie!

http://www.theseahorsetrust.org/seahorse-facts.aspx
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Frogfish

Having lived in STT for 7 years, and now STX for the past year, I feel I can chime in, since I have experienced actually LIVING on both islands and not just being a visitor...AandA2VI, there is plenty to do here but I think you need to search for it more; and why did it take you an hour to get from Divi to F'sted? Especially with no traffic?? 45 minutes, perhaps, but an hour is a bit much. The vibe is certainly different between all 3 islands (I also spent a great deal of time on STJ, whenever I could, as it is still my favorite of the 3!). You have diving, hiking, excellent restaurants, horseback riding, kayaking, cultural events (JumpUp, Artwalk, etc. - which may not have been going on during your short visit). The economy is definitely suffering here and I feel that STX has a bit of an identitiy crisis as to what it actually has to offer - it has been so reliant on Hovensa dollars rather than tourist dollars, it has to re invent itself for some type of tourism. I think the potential for this big, beautiful island is great! We just have to identify how we want to promote ourselves.

As for STT being a "city", I, too, lived on the Northside (Upper Caret and Hull Bay) as well as living for 1 1/2 years all the way out in Botany Bay (right above Mermaid's Chair, so as far West as you could go!) and, while there are places that are quiet and lovely, it is a busier place, by far, than STX - cruise ship days and tourist season or not! I do miss the ability to go over to my beloved STJ, where the beaches are far lovelier (to me, at least) than anything STT or STX have to offer, or the view down island, or being able to island hop to the BVI...however, I love STX for it's peace, for the ability to look on the hilltops and NOT see every inch covered with structures, the multitude of plantation ruins, the fresh produce from the farms!!!

I hate to see people talk badly about each other and profess that one island "has it all" while the other is not worth a visit or consideration for living on...it is a shame. They are all VERY different and have much to offer, in their own way. Do I think STX is having trouble figuring out how to promote itself? Yes. Do I think our government tends to ignore STX in its plans to bring tourist dollars into the territory, as a whole? Yes, I do, and it would be extremely helpful if we ALL, as Virgin Islanders (bahn here or transplants) came together to figure out a way to promote our big island and give it a new identity (now that we have no more Hovensa. What is our tourism to be? We can't compete with STT or STJ, nor would we want to. Let's brainstorm on ways to make STX a destination in its own right. Stop with this silly competition of which island is better! It is all subject to opinion anyway...

Well said pilatesgirl318!! (tu)(tu)(tu)

Marijuana Tourism. It is really so simple. I was just talking to friends from the States who are regular users and they were asking me about how easy it is to get marijuana here (I see it all the time but never use).. I asked them would they consider visiting MORE if it was legalized for recreational use and they all said yes.

well said pilatesgal

I've really enjoyed doing lots of things mentioned in this thread on STX - especially the diving. Love the pier for so much to see and almost limitless bottom time!

For space/science buffs, I think the VLBA telescope is very cool.

Something I don't see mentioned here is horse racing on St. Croix. I know the fact that it is tax supported is a sore spot and I haven't been there yet on any of my previous visits. I've been to tracks on other islands and found it really enjoyable.

i dont think they have had any in a while? not sure

Thanks, stxem and speee1dy for the kind "shout out"! Just telling it like it is, or rather how I feel about it all. If it were completely up to me and my desires, I would choose to live on STJ - that island is what put the thought in my head in the first place to relocate down here! However, STT was the one that had the job market for myself and my now ex-husband, and I made some amazing friends along the way - the island was also very good to me, business wise...my move to STX was facilitated by the fact that my now (very!) significant other owns a business here and we were both tired of the seaplane venture every weekend!! Honestly, I am grateful to call this territory my home...granted, there are times that just make you shake your head in disbelief at the way some things are handled and may even make you question the reason you are still here, however, more often than not, I am happy with my decision to be here, on any one of these islands - the beauty, the weather, the people make it home for me, unlike any other place I have been...

SpartyGrad95, I totally agree with you! "Amsterdam of the Caribbean". The medical marijuana legalization in the VI is a no brainer, imo (PR is on its way, it appears?!). I am not a user myself (tried for chronic pain, however, I am the freak of nature who experiences exacerbated pain from it! Go figure!!), however, I have seen the pain relief it can give to many and can negate the need for synthetic opiates (that are HORRIBLE FOR YOU!!). As for recreational use, I truly believe that alcohol is FAR more dangerous a substance than marijuana (this is coming from a woman who ADORES red wine but drinks moderately)!! I have friends in CO and WA, and while, yes, they have some issues that they are having to come to terms with in the legalization of it (as you would anywhere, I think), it has been a huge asset to their economy. Just THINK what this could do for STX?! Land to grow it, hemp for all of its wonderful uses, cafes in our 2 quaint little towns on island...I think it would be a great addition, personally. Just my opinion...

Thanks for all the info Pilatesgirl! GREAT to hear from someone who's lived on both. As a diver and an ocean lover - STX to me is better diving I'll agree there but we do have some great spots. Although yesterday I did my favorite dive at stragglers reef and every time I go I just fall in more in love with it... Still don't think it beats the wall thou and nothing competes for me with the pier as I am into macro life.

Speaking of diving - I got run over by a hawksbill turtle yesterday lol. Was too funny. http://youtu.be/cym__1jbfWk

Native Virgin Islander who has lived on all three islands here: you must consider that most of the members of this forum are middle aged/senior, and not from the islands. If you are younger, then St. Croix is very boring and is, as you put it, mostly a ghost town. Also, the beaches are mostly rocky and generally not as picturesque as the beaches on STT and STJ. That being said, some people enjoy the less busy environment.