Your Spanish Virgin Islands sailing itinerary with 48ft catamaran “Sweetest Thing” begins in St Thomas. You’ll sail to Culebra, Culebrita “Little Culebra”, Vieques, St. Croix, and finish back where you started in St. Thomas.
You’ll begin your 8-day sailing excursion on Water Island. Uniquely, this small residential island (the smallest of the USVI—at just 490 acres) is home to Honeymoon Beach. Honeymoon Beach is a pretty, white sand beach lined with palm trees. Here, you will find small palm frond umbrella huts offering shade. Because the beach is typically surf free and deepens gradually, it offers a safe and relaxing swimming experience that is perfect for small children. Furthermore, the crystal clear water is inviting and offers fair snorkelling.
Venture into Frenchtown, St. Thomas, to delight in authentic Caribbean cuisine. Frenchtown is a small quaint town steeped in history and is home to some great restaurants such as “Hook Line and Sinker”, “Alexander’s,” or “Craig and Sally’s.” You will want to choose from the casual restaurant’s creative menu, everything from pasta to lobster or quail. At last, here you will make lots of friends as the bar is always filled with a crowd of friendly folks.
Early morning sail to a “Culebra”(20 miles downwind). Enjoy a fun day at sea while snorkelling, diving, kayaking, fishing, tubing, knee-boarding behind the dink, or relaxing in the sun on the trampoline or aft sun pad. Enjoy inspired cocktails and tasty cuisine onboard, prepared by “Sweetest Thing’s” award-winning chef Robert Thunder. Adding more to the fun at Culebra is sailing on a Spanish Virgin Islands Yacht Charter Frangines.
The locals call Culebra an “island of nothing,” with no nightclubs and casinos.” On this quiet and unspoiled island, the beach is your best bet for entertainment, and Culebra beaches are among the world’s finest. Discover Channer considers Flamenco Beach the second most beautiful beach in the world, and it is by far the most popular beach in Culebra. This white sandy beach stretches along the entire bay. You will feel the Caribbean sun everywhere and wonder why you have waited this long!
If Flamenco Beaches’ mile-and-a-half stretch of cinematic white sand and turquoise water grows old, try hiking 24 minutes to Carlos Rosario Beach, a premier snorkelling spot. The snorkelling and scuba diving around Culebra are genuinely outstanding. Hard and soft corals abound in the shallows, and magnificent reefs encircle the island. You spend the night anchored at Dakity Reef.
The small uninhabited island of Culebrita is a nature reserve and part of the Culebra National Wildlife Refuge which protects large colonies of sea birds and nesting sea turtles. You’ll never get tired of watching the terns, red-billed tropicbirds, and boobies soar above the island and swoop down low to catch fish.
The island is home to one of the oldest lighthouses in the Caribbean, which can be visited by hiking to its breathtaking location at the top of a large hill. Better yet, visit the seaward pools known locally as “the Jacuzzis,” a series of shallow natural sea-fed pools filled with warm water. The “jacuzzi” action comes when the surf refreshes the water supply. You can also snorkel nearby reefs and ledges or dive the Cayos Ballena, Tiburon, and Geniqui a mile to the north.
You cannot miss Mosquito Bay in Vieques, considered the world’s largest and brightest bioluminescent bay. The luminescence is caused by micro-organisms (dinoflagellates) that dart away from boats, leaving eerie neon-blue trails of phosphorescence. Kayaking through these amazing waters is an experience not to be missed!
Snorkelling is excellent in Vieques, especially at Blue Beach, and this island boasts miles and miles of deserted beaches. Vieques is also famous for its feral horses that roam free over parts of the island. They are descended from stock initially brought by European colonizers.
The next day you sail to St. Croix (35 miles). St Croix is the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and with so much to do, you will want to spend a couple of days exploring this unique Caribbean island which has retained much of its Danish character.
What better way to start your St. Croix experience than in the charming town of Christiansted? With its quaint restaurants, breezy courtyards, and unique shopping opportunities, you can easily spend an entire day “getting lost” in this town. “Crucian Gold”, on Kings Warf, sells Crucian bracelets exclusively designed and manufactured by a crucian—a great souvenir of your trip to Christiansted. Tucked in among the shops you will discover some beautiful restaurants.
Dine outside in the balmy air in a courtyard flanked by stone columns, Danish arches, trees, and gardens. Enjoy the view from your table on a hilltop verandah or enjoy the homey atmosphere of a local deli, café, barbeque or burger stop. Munch on conch fritters or crack open clawless Caribbean lobster. There is food for all tastes and occasions.
For history buffs, the old town of Christiansted boasts five historical sites within walking distance of the waterfront. Includes Fort Christiansted (built-in 1734)—where you must not miss visiting the spooky underground dungeons.
At the southern end of the island is the Cruzan Rum Distillery. You can tour the distillery and watch the workers make rum specialty drinks, concocted daily. From there venture to Frederiksted rainforest or visit the Whim Greathouse (a restored Greathouse from the 1700s).
For those who prefer to spend their time in the Caribbean underwater, Buck Island (only 4.5 miles from Christiansted Harbor) offers a popular snorkel trail at Turtle Beach. The National Park Service operates both Buck Island and Turtle Beach. Furthermore, National Geographic has both voted both “one of the world’s most beautiful beaches by the National Geographic“. The guided tour of the underwater trail at Turtle Beach is a snorkeler’s dream come true. Here you will be surrounded by a variety of colourful coral, angel fish, as well as crustaceans.
Sail 30 miles back to Water Island for one last day of enjoying the Spanish Virgin Islands. Thoroughly relaxing and soaking up the sun, and enjoying the Caribbean waters. Spend the night at The Marriot Frenchman’s Reef Resort, or depart for home.
Rather it’s deep-sea diving, snorkelling, or on-land sightseeing that interests you most. We can certainly build a Spanish Virgin Islands sailing itinerary that best suits your interests and desires. This is just a sample of what your yacht charter adventure in the US & Spanish Virgin Islands may look like. Furthermore, weather or other outside factors could your Captain set an alternative course for the duration of your trip. “As the wind blows, so shall the sail”.
Contact us at 1-321-777-1707 or complete this form to discuss your vacation plans.