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US Virgin Islands with Kids
If you’re planning the US Virgin Islands with kids, stay on St. Thomas and give St. John a full day for Virgin Islands National Park. The park covers most of St. John, so you get beaches, hiking, and history in one easy day trip. You can also stay on St. Thomas and just take the ferry over. either way, this park is stunning.
St. Thomas is special to us. Carrick and Carrie were married on Magens Bay, and we brought the kids back to find the crooked palm tree from the wedding photos. It’s still there.
Destination guide · Updated November 2026 · Last visited July 2017
Best months
December–June
National parks
1 + 4 NPS sites
Fly into
STT · STX
How long
4 days, a week with St. John
Book ahead
Jeep rentals on St. John · Cinnamon Bay Campground · Buck Island boats
We stayed at Frenchman’s Reef on St. Thomas, where iguanas greeted the kids every morning on the way to breakfast. On our St. John day, Andrew led us down the Lind Point Trail to Caneel Bay for a Scout requirement. It was miserably hot, and the gelato at the end was the reward. Then we drove across the island to the Annaberg sugar mill ruins.
Back on St. Thomas we spent time at Magens Bay and shopped in Charlotte Amalie. St. Croix is the island we still want to see. Keep reading for its park sites and the rest of the islands’ highlights.
Your US Virgin Islands guide
Enjoy exploring the US Virgin Islands with kids!
Keep scrolling for the essentials, three trip itineraries, and where to stay.
Essential US Virgin Islands
Why we love the US Virgin Islands
We think you’ll love it too.
The US Virgin Islands are where we’d send a family that wants warm water, easy beaches, and a national park you can see in a day. St. John feels like a secret the locals have known about forever. The water is impossibly blue, the donkeys wander right up to say hello, and the minute your toes hit the sand, the stress melts away. Scroll down for the essentials we’d plan a trip around.
Virgin Islands National Park Guide
Every overlook had us wondering if we were dreaming. The park is small enough to see the highlights in one day, and kids get beaches and ruins in the same trip.
Lind Point Trail to Caneel Bay Guide
The Lind Point Trail is a rocky mile from the visitor center down to the beach. Wear real shoes instead of flip-flops and carry water, because it’s hot and humid, especially in summer.
Annaberg Sugar Mill Ruins Guide
A volunteer at the visitor center steered us to these stone ruins on St. John’s north shore, with windows looking out over the water. The kids loved wandering through the old rooms.
Magens Bay AftT Visit
Magens Bay is our wedding beach, on the north side of St. Thomas. The water is usually calm, which makes it an easy beach day with little swimmers, and there’s a small entrance fee.
And the rest we’d hop a ferry for
Trunk Bay
Trunk Bay is the famous St. John beach, with an underwater snorkel trail marked by signs. There’s a day-use fee, and it gets busy when cruise ships are in.
Maho Bay
Maho Bay has shallow, calm water where sea turtles graze in the sea grass. It’s easy snorkeling for kids.
Cinnamon Bay
Cinnamon Bay is a long beach with the park’s campground and cottages right on the sand. It makes a fun first family camping trip in the islands.
Coral World Ocean Park
Coral World at Coki Point on St. Thomas has an underwater observatory, touch pools, and sea lion encounters. It’s a great half day with kids.
Charlotte Amalie AftT Visit
We stayed and shopped in Charlotte Amalie, the capital of St. Thomas, home to the 99 Steps and Fort Christian. Go early, before the cruise crowds arrive.
Buck Island Reef National Monument
A boat ride off St. Croix takes you to Buck Island’s underwater snorkel trail and a beach with no development. Tours leave from Christiansted. Are you looking for more national park sites? See our guide to USVI national parks.
Christiansted National Historic Site
Christiansted has Danish colonial buildings and a yellow fort on the St. Croix waterfront. Alexander Hamilton worked here as a teenager, which Hamilton fans will love. Want more NPS sites nearby? Check out our USVI national parks guide.
Salt River Bay
Salt River Bay is one of the few bioluminescent bays in the Caribbean, and a night kayak tour makes the water glow. Our USVI national parks guide covers all five park sites.
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Visiting Stunning Virgin Islands National Park in St. John USVI
Virgin Islands National Park is one of those places that have to be seen to be believed. It may sound…
Routes
Three US Virgin Islands itineraries
Three islands give you three very different trips. Pick St. Thomas with a day on St. John, a slower week on St. John, or St. Croix for the other park sites. See all the best stops on a map.
Home base
St. Thomas
Rent a car at the airport. We stayed just outside Charlotte Amalie at Frenchman’s Reef, now the Westin Beach Resort.
Then head to
St. John
Drive your rental onto the car barge at Red Hook. Get stamps at the Cruz Bay visitor center, hike Lind Point, then take the North Shore Road to Annaberg. Our park guide has the whole day.
Finish
Magens Bay & Charlotte Amalie
Plan a slow last day, with the beach in the morning and then shopping in town.
Home base
Cruz Bay
Cruz Bay has condos and small hotels within walking distance of the ferry and the park visitor center. Rent a Jeep for the week.
Then head to
The North Shore beaches
Plan on the snorkel trail at Trunk Bay, a camping night at Cinnamon Bay, and sea turtles at Maho Bay.
Add on
Coral Bay & Ram Head
This is the quieter east end. Hike out to Ram Head from Salt Pond Bay for the views, early before the heat.
Home base
Christiansted
Fly into STX. The boardwalk, the fort, and the national historic site are all walkable.
Then head to
Buck Island
Take a half-day or full-day boat trip to the snorkel trail and the beach.
Finish
Salt River Bay
Take a night kayak tour on the bioluminescent bay, a fun way to end the trip.
When to go
Time your visits with the weather and the region
We went in July, and it was hot and humid, especially on the trails. The islands are warm every month, so the real differences are rain, wind, and price. December through April is the dry season and the busiest. Hurricane season runs June through November, with the most risk from August to October.
Swipe the chart sideways to see the full year.
December – March
The dry season, with trade winds that keep the heat in check. It’s also the busiest and priciest stretch, so book cars and rooms early.
April – June
Spring break crowds fade after Easter, prices drop, and the water is calm and clear. It’s a great window for families with flexible dates.
July – August
This is when we went. It’s hot and humid on the trails, with warm, calm water for snorkeling. Hurricane season has started, so travel insurance is a good idea.
September – November
Hurricane risk peaks in September and October, and some restaurants close for a few weeks. November gets quieter and cheaper as things reopen.
Where to stay
Pick a good base to start your US Virgin Islands adventure
Most families pick one island and day-trip from there. A rental car makes every option easier, and the big resorts book well on points.
St. Thomas trips
Charlotte Amalie & Frenchman’s Reef
We stayed at Frenchman’s Reef, which reopened in 2023 as the Westin Beach Resort and the Morningstar Buoy Haus. It’s a big resort with pools, its own beach, and resident iguanas. It’s just outside Charlotte Amalie and about 25 minutes from the Red Hook ferry.
- Westin Frenchman’s Reef on Marriott points
- Red Hook for the shortest ferry ride
- Our St. John day trip guide
St. John trips
Cruz Bay & the park
Stay on St. John to wake up next to the park. Cruz Bay has condos and small hotels near the ferry. Caneel Bay Resort has been closed since the 2017 hurricanes.
- The Westin St. John for villas with kitchens
- St. John Inn for a small hotel in Cruz Bay
- Cinnamon Bay cottages inside the park
St. Croix trips
Christiansted
St. Croix is the biggest island and the quietest of the three. Christiansted puts you on the boardwalk near the fort and the Buck Island boats.
- Boardwalk hotels in Christiansted
- A rental car for the bioluminescent bay
- Fly into STX, not STT
Good to know
Questions families ask us about the US Virgin Islands
No, you don’t. It’s a US territory, so US citizens fly in with the same ID they’d use for a domestic flight. You’ll clear a quick customs check on the way home. The US dollar is the currency, and most US cell plans work like they do at home. If you plan a day trip to the British Virgin Islands, bring passports for everyone, because that’s a different country.
Yes, it is, especially if your kids like beaches and history in the same day. The trails are rocky and hot, so wear real shoes and carry water. Most of them end at a beach, and the sugar mill ruins at Annaberg were a favorite with ours. The park is small enough to see the highlights in one day. Our park guide has the details.
We stayed on St. Thomas. It has the airport, the big resorts, and more to do on a rainy day. St. John is quieter and puts the park outside your door, but lodging costs more and books up fast. For a first trip with kids, St. Thomas with a day or two on St. John is the easy version.
Fly into St. Thomas (STT). Passenger ferries run from Red Hook and Charlotte Amalie to Cruz Bay. We rented a car at the airport and brought it over on the car barge from Red Hook, which the kids thought was fun. It also saved us from renting a second car. A car makes the park much easier, because the trails and beaches are spread across the island.
It runs June through November, with the most risk from August to October. We went in July and had no trouble, but travel insurance is a good idea for a trip in those months. Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit hard in September 2017, just after our visit, and Caneel Bay Resort never reopened.
Yes, they do. It’s the only place in the US where you drive on the left, but the cars are American, with the steering wheel on the left side. The roads are narrow, steep, and curvy, especially on St. John, so take it slow.
Map
Essential US Virgin Islands, mapped
Keep exploring
Where to go next
Florida with Kids
Florida was our other warm-water parks trip that year, with Dry Tortugas and Biscayne.
