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Welcome to US Virgin
Islands on the Paradise
Islands website. The
USVI consist of
three large islands of which the main one
is
Saint Thomas
with it's capital Charlotte Amalie;
a busy working port and one of the most popular cruise
stopovers
in the Caribbean. Charlotte
Amalie was named after a Danish Queen and
the town has the
best shopping opportunities in the Virgin
Islands on the busy main street which full of
quaint stores, together with the colourful harbour front
lined with old Danish buildings. The other
two large islands are Saint Croix and
Saint John. |
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There are
seven main islands
within the whole
Virgin Islands group
which are divided in
ownership between the
United States (St
Thomas, St Croix and St
John) and the British (Tortola,
Virgin Gorda,
Jost Van Dyke and
Anegada). The U.S.
and British islands lie
just a few miles apart
and around 90 miles east
of Puerto Rico within a
larger group known as
the
Leeward Islands. The
USVI covers an area of
some 134 square miles
with a population of
around 110,000. |
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Aerial
photograph of Charlotte
Amalie |
Tranquil
beach scene on St Croix |
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The most
well known island is St
Thomas (population
51,000) which is a major
port of call for most
cruise lines operating
in the Caribbean as well
a tourists arriving by
air at the Cyril E King
Airport. The airport
acts a hub for all of
the Virgin Islands with
connecting flights to
many US cities and
routes around the World.
Notable landmarks
include Magens Bay,
Blackbeard's Castle,
Buck Island National
Wildlife Reserve and
Fort Christian.
St
Croix is actually the
largest of the islands
(28 miles long and 7
miles wide) and lies 36
miles south of St
Thomas. St Croix has two
main towns,
Christiansted and
Frederiksted and a
population of 53,000.
St
John is the smallest of
the main three and lies
just 4 miles east of St
Thomas; covering an area
just under 20 square
miles with a population
of 4,000. Serviced by a
regular ferry from
Charlotte Amalie (every
hour) the island is a
popular day trip for
cruise passengers. Most
of St John is under
developed and a National
Park with many notable
landmarks including the
world famous Trunk Bay. |
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The
islands were discovered
by Christopher Columbus
in 1493 and named after
Saint Ursula and her
virgin followers. The
islands have been under
various European control
over the years including
the British, Spanish,
French and Danish. The
Danish settled the
islands in 1672 and held
control until 1917 when
a sale was agreed to the
U.S. Government and
United States
citizenship was granted
to the islanders in
1927. |
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Travel, holiday, vacation and photograph
guide to the United States Virgin Islands and the Caribbean. All text and images are Copyright
Paradise Islands
org 2008. All photographs on this website are obtained with
the permission of the owners and come from various sources
including the islands tourist boards. Some of our own images
maybe reproduced with permission - please see notes
attached to each image to avoid any copyright penalty.
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