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Cruise Port Guide |
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Virgin Islands Travel
Guide |
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Welcome to the
Virgin Islands
(VI)
on Paradise
Islands. The two
separate island
groups consist of the
American isles "USVI" (Saint
Thomas, Saint Croix and Saint
John) and the British
isles "BVI";
Tortola, Virgin Gorda,
Jost Van Dyke, Anegada
and a large number of
smaller atolls including
the world famous Necker
Island resort.
The VI are are all
part of the
Caribbean Leeward
chain at the
very top of the Lesser
Antilles archipelago.
They are located south
east of the
Bahamas and just
east of
Puerto Rico. St
Thomas in the USVI is
often the first port of
call for cruise ships
departing
from
Old San Juan in
Puerto Rico or Miami in
Florida. |

The
BVI
are not as developed and
consist of over sixty
separate isles. The
main island is
Tortola
with the BVI capital
Road Town. These are
unspoilt romantic
hideaways with white
sandy beaches and
turquoise waters.
The BVI are one of the
most popular sailing
destinations in the
World attracting
thousands of private
boats which can explore
the secrets of the 60
island chain and still
feel like there is
enough space for
everyone. Little gems
such as Norman Island
(the inspiration for
"Treasure Island"),
Anegada, Cooper and
Peter
are just waiting to be
explored. |
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The
USVI consist of
three larger isles of
which the main one is
Saint Thomas
with it's capital
Charlotte Amalie. This
is a busy town and the
most popular cruise port
in the Caribbean. The
USVI capital town of
Charlotte Amalie was
named after a Danish
Queen.
It has the best shopping
opportunities in the
USVI with a
busy main street full of
quaint shops and a
colourful harbour front
lined with old Danish
buildings. The other
main isles are
Saint Croix and
Saint John
(which is stunning);
together with some 25 smaller isles and
cays. |
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The isles were
first recorded by Christopher Columbus on
his second voyage to the West Indies in
November 1493. Columbus sailed past and
named them after Saint Ursula and her 11,000
followers ("Santa
Ursula y las Once Mil Virgines" or "Islas
Virgines" for short). On this second voyage
to the New World he did not stop at the
Islas Virgines, but
sighted and named Saint Croix (which he
called "Santa Cruz"); Gorda, Tortola and
Peter ("San Pedro").
Columbus was headed for
Hispaniola (now known as
Puerto Rico and Haiti) with seventeen ships
and over one thousand men to establish a
permanent settlement and convert the natives
of Hispaniola to Christianity. The previous year, on his
first voyage to the West Indies, he had lost
one of his three ships and he was forced to
leave 39 crew behind on Hispaniola. When he
returned in 1493, they had all been
slaughtered by the native Caribs.
There was very little European interest in
the
Virgin Islands
region for the next 169 years until the
Dutch established the first permanent
settlement on Tortola in 1662. Prior to this
date and at some time before 1615, the Dutch
privateer Joost van Dyk (an official
"pirate", authorised to raid and plunder);
used
Soper's Hole as an operational base and
later moved to
Road Town
in 1625. |
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Travel, vacation and
cruise guide to the Caribbean. All text and images are Copyright
Paradise Islands
org. All photographs on this Caribbean travel guide are obtained with
the permission of the owners and come from various sources
including the islands tourist boards.
Some of our own
maybe reproduced with permission - please see notes
attached to each image to avoid any copyright penalty. |
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Guana |
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St Thomas Port |
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Cane Garden
Bay |
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Anegada |
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Trunk Bay St John |
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Savannah
Bay |
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Scrub |
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Cruz Bay St John |
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White Bay JVD |
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VG Yacht Harbour |
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Sandy Spit |
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Buck St
Croix |
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The Baths VG |
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Norman |
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