I have been itching to travel for a while now. With school and work I rarely have time to take off on global ventures. I took the opportunity to explore with the s/o the week after my graduation; right before starting my final, full-semester internship here in Boston. It took a LOT of searching and conversation with friends and family to decide where we wanted to go. After weeks of thought, we finally settled on St.Thomas based on the points we were looking for: beach, sunshine (all day), and water activities. Marriott Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star seemed to offer us all this and more.
Day 1:
The airport is super close to the hotel so we didn’t have to go far at all! We found out about our room upgrade to a villa when we got there and also were greeted with two trays of fresh fruit and an invite to a manager’s cocktail. The room was impeccable and there was convenient (and free) transportation to the three different areas of the resort. A few family members were staying in the timeshare section of the resort so the transportation proved extremely helpful!
Check in was easy with the mobile app and (thank goodness) with the room fee we got free wifi which is 100% necessary if you want cell service. The internet connection was almost completely unavailable anywhere near the water. But hey, who needs cell service when you’ve got a camera and a gorgeous view? We loved how the villas each had their own private balcony. Ours was wonderful because we were right on the waterfront with an unobstructed view of the ocean. You know I had my morning coffee out there every day, if you saw my snapchats (biancablogs) and Instagram…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUjkgsWlGfD/
Our flight landed early in the afternoon which gave us extra time to walk along the beach and grab a few drinks at the bar next to our room. Our room was a minutes walk from the Morning Star pool and beaches.
Because it was so close to our room, we went to Coco Joes a few times during our stay. I will be writing an entire blog on our dining experiences in St.Thomas with links to the reviews so look out for that soon.
Day 2:
The United States Virgin Island Department of Tourism was so kind to donate a full-day trip of St.Thomas to me and my travel companions. They gave us swag bags full of goodies that provided us with information about the island and a beach bag which was a lifesaver considering I had forgotten mine back at home (woops). The tour was about 4-hours in length and I highly recommend taking one if you’ve never been to USVI before.
Our driver, Llewelyn “Llew”, was incredible. He brought us to all of the hot spots, chatted with us when there was nothing to see, and talked about the island’s history. He gave us advice on where to go and what to see during the rest of our trip and had nothing but positive things to say about USVI. One of the major spots he brought us to was the highest point of St.Thomas. The island is very hilly which came as a surprise to me. The view from up here was magnificent! Thankfully, we had nothing but good weather.
After we saw all the sites, Llew brought us to his recommended lunch spot “Gladys Cafe” in downtown Charlotte Amalie. We grabbed a bite and did a little shopping before having him bring us back to the hotel. This area was fun to shop in. A part of the street was under construction, but there aren’t too many cars that come back and forth. I grabbed my St.Thomas Alex and Ani here which I LOVE! I pretty much get one wherever I go.
The rest of the day consisted of a little beach time and dinner later on at Iggies on Bongolo Bay Beach Resort.
Day 3:
On our third day on the island we took a ferry to St.John from Red Hook. The ferry is quite inexpensive and takes you straight to Cruz Bay, St.John’s busy waterfront. We were starving once we got there so we stopped at High Tide for brunch. After our short stop we took a cab to Trunk Bay which is one of the most incredible beaches I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. Paul snorkeled while I waded in the water.
When we decided we’d had enough roasting in the sun (seriously, bring stronger sunscreen than you think you need and reapply it), we went back to Cruz Bay to do some shopping and grab lunch at The Beach Bar.
We lounged on the beach behind the joint for a little before heading back to the ferry. I recommend spending the entire day here and maybe visiting a few other beaches if you have the chance.
Day 4:
We were exhausted from our long, burnt day on St.John so we slept in a bit. Then we headed to Blue Orchid at St.Peter’s Greathouse for the best brunch I’ve had in my entire life of brunching (more on the following blog). We walked around the gardens and watched the Macaws for a while before making our way back to the hotel.
The Marriott, Frenchman’s Cove, has the most amazing pool. You can walk down to look out on the water or you can look out over the infinity pool. They have a family friendly pool and an adult only pool with a swim up bar. TIP: If you’re staying at the Morning Star you need to get your towels there before going up to the main hotel or they won’t give you any. We floated for hours and used the entire day for relaxation.
After freshening up, we enjoyed a waterfront dinner at Hook Line and Sinker.
Day 5:
Naturally, I woke up pondering how I could spend a few extra days on the island. Unfortunately, this was not a possibility. To make the most of our last day we hit the breakfast buffet at Aqua Terra and sat at the pool for an hour before embarking on a 4-hour snorkeling adventure aboard The Cat.
The Cat and it’s awesome crew took us to a reef about 30 minutes from the dock where we had the opportunity to swim with the turtles. We also got to see Dory, Stingrays, and other fish… watch out for the fire coral. If you get seasick EVER just take the Dramamine or Bonine so you enjoy your time here. I had a rocky ride home and kicked myself for the rest of the day for not taking it. However, the experience was so fulfilling that it was worth every minute and they gave all of passengers rum drinks for the sail back.
Once we got back we took a short nap to recuperate before our dinner reservations at Banana Tree Grille.
I was so sad to leave St.Thomas and the beautiful Virgin Islands. We truly enjoyed our stay here and would go back in a heartbeat. I wish we could have stayed for a full 7-days to further our experience, but we did a good job fitting everything in. Next time I will definitely visit St.Croix and the British Virgin Islands (BVI) as I’ve heard both are gorgeous.
I would like to extend a special thank you to my sponsors including the USVI Department of Tourism, Iggie’s Beach Bar & Grill, Frenchtown Brewers (even though we couldn’t make it this trip), and Blue Orchid at St.Peter’s The Greathouse. Additionally, a big thank you to Romwe, Marsia, and Lenny & Eva for contributing to my island attire on which I’ll have a post about soon!