Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOURS
The Virgin Islands are small and easy to navigate, so most people opt to visit these
islands independently. Tours are not vital to a vacation here, but if you'd like to be
taken around on a tour, a limited number of excursions are offered. Note: During the
low summer season, these tours may not run regularly unless enough people book, so
always call in advance to make arrangements.
Air Tours
It's a pricey option, but well-heeled visitors may want to see the Virgin Islands as the
birds do. Helicopter tours are available through Air Center Helicopters, Cyril E.
King Airport, in St. Thomas ( &   340/775-7335; www.aircaenterhelicopters.com).
Parties can rent the entire helicopter for a 17-minute tour of St. Thomas and St. John
for $385; a 25-minute tour that flies over both of these islands as well as Jost van
Dyke in the B.V.I. costs $565. Helicopters seat five passengers and a pilot.
Air Ventures in Paradise ( &   340/719-5529; www.airventuresinparadise.com),
based in St. Croix's Henry Rohlsen Airport, offers “flightseeing” tours of St. Thomas
and St. Croix in small private airplanes. They also offer charter flights to nearby
islands and private flight lessons.
If you can't afford such a luxury, you can get a panoramic aerial view from Paradise
Point on St. Thomas. See Paradise Point St. Thomas Skyride (p. 92).
Adventure Trips
See the “Active Vacation Planner,” below, for information on biking, boating, hiking,
scuba-diving, and snorkeling tours.
Guided Tours
One of the best tour operators in the U.S.V.I. is Adventure Center, in the Marriott
Frenchman's Reef Resort, Flamboyant Point, St. Thomas ( &   340/774-2992; www.
adventurecenters.net). They offer a wide variety of tours, on both land and sea, and
many tours of both St. Thomas and St. John depart right from the hotel's dock. Their
2 1 2 hour “Scenic Island Drive” tour explores St. Thomas's highlights, including the
Botanical Gardens, Drake's Seat, and Charlotte Amalie; this tour costs $49 per per-
son. Their “St. John Land and Snorkel Safari” is a full-day tour that takes visitors
through the beaches and national parks in St. John, including a snorkel stop in Trunk
Bay, in open-air buses; it costs $95 per person. Adventure Center offers an array of
other quality guided tours throughout the Virgin Islands.
Tan Tan Tours ( &   340/773-7041; www.stxtantantours.com) is a tour operator
based in St. Croix that offers off-the-beaten-path jeep tours of the island. A 2 1 2 -hour
tour of the tide pools costs $70 per person, while a full-day (8-hr.) tour of the island
costs $140 per person; custom tours are also available.
B.V.I. Eco-Tours ( &   284/495-0271; www.bvi-ecotours.com) offers a variety of
guided tours, including snorkeling, hiking, bird watching, sightseeing, diving, and
general tours of the British Virgin Islands. Virgin Gorda Tours ( &   284/495-5240;
www.virgingordatours.com) offers guided taxi tours of Virgin Gorda, including stops
at Savannah Bay, Gorda Peak, the historical Copper Mine ruins, and the famous
Baths; tours vary, but a 1-hour tour (for 2 people) costs $55.
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