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Busy Red Hook serves as the jumping-off spot for trips to St. John. The ferry dock hums with activity until midnight, when the ferries stop running. The strip of highway that runs through its several blocks is flanked with stores selling just about anything you’d need on an island vacation. You’ll find a grocery store, a pharmacy, a gas station, a place to get your photos developed, a handful of restaurants ranging from take-out Chinese to seafood, and a gift shop or two.

The heart of the island’s commerce and tourism industry, harborfront Road Town buzzes with cruise ship tourists and office workers crowding its streets for lunch or to shop. Its narrow Main Street is lined with small old wooden and stone buildings. Road Town spills out to the east with Wickhams Cay I, home to a couple of hotels, and numerous shops, restaurants, and offices, just a short walk from Main Street. Charter yachts pick up or drop off passengers here and at Wickhams Cay II, a mile (1.6 km) away along Waterfront Drive.

This is the best way to see the sights of St. Thomas if you’re here for only a day. The Havensight cruise ship pier is a convenient place to catch a cab.

Islanders still harvest salt from the three natural ponds that dot this tiny cay. You’re welcome to come ashore to inspect the salt ponds, stroll the beach, and enjoy the solitude. A popular dive site, the Wreck of the Rhone National Park sits just offshore. TheRhone, a 310-ft (94-m) royal mail ship, split in two when it hit Salt Island during an 1867 hurricane. The captain and most of the crew perished.

Almost undeveloped, this 948- acre seaside park is where Christopher Columbus sent a party ashore to look for fresh water on his second trip through the New World in 1493 (seeChristopher Columbus Arrives in USVI & BVI). A skirmish with the Carib Indians resulted, with Columbus’s men getting the worst of it. A small hill on the eastern side of the parking area is what remains of an old Dutch earth fort. For more historical information, follow the signs to the Visitor’s Center.

An unpopulated speck off Jost Van Dyke perfect for those who love solitude, Sandy Cay is ringed with a desert-island style beach. With no protected harbor, it is best used during the winter season as a day sailboat anchorage or stopping spot for power boats. When calmer summer weather arrives, it makes a fine overnight halt. Swim in limpid water, sun on the gorgeous white beach, and stroll through the greenery that covers the interior of the island.

Breathtaking is the best word to use when describing this lengthy stretch of luscious white sand. The hillside overlook, just as you start down toward the beach entrance, provides terrific photo opportunities for shutterbugs. Pack a picnic lunch and bring plenty of water and sunscreen, as there are no facilities. While it’s easy to reach and just a short drive from Spanish Town, the beach sees few visitors.

Leading uphill along the island’s ridge, Scenic Road (Route 78) runs east–west from Route 80 near Salt River to Ham’s Bluff Road outside Frederiksted. It intersects paved roads several times, so you don’t have to make the entire 8-or-so-mile (13 km) of this mostly dirt road. Rent a vehicle with four-wheel drive and high clearance to navigate Scenic Road. You’ll find no development along this route, just forest flora and fauna with an occasional fine view. The solitude is stunning.

Put your Jeep in four-wheel drive for a ride down a rutted dirt road to this gorgeous beach. Just keep going past Long Bay Beach Resort (seeLong Bay Beach Resort, Tortola) on the North Coast Road. Taxi drivers will drop you off with a promise to pick you up at the appointed hour. While it’s a bit of an adventure getting there, the pristine beach and great snorkeling await you. Bring a picnic lunch.

With lifeguards on duty and underwater signs pointing out the features of its underwater trail, Trunk Bay provides easy snorkeling for novices. Kids with a bit more experience can snorkel off Trunk Cay. Rent snorkel gear near the snack stand, where you can get burgers if you haven’t brought lunch (seeVirgin Islands National Park, St. John;St. John).