Every year, chic resorts, hundreds of cruise ships regularly visiting the islands, excellent conditions for diving, windsurfing, and yachting attract more than one and a half million tourists to the Virgin Islands. Let’s see what sights this beautiful corner of the planet can offer you and your loved one.

Virgin Islands National Park

On the smallest island inhabited since the eighteenth century, there’s one of the most famous sights – the lush thickets of the rainforest, which received the status of the National Park. The park owes its existence to the wealthy financier Laurence Rockefeller, who was so shocked by the beauty of the island that he bought out the part of it, having built a small resort and a tent camp an old sugar plantation stood. The rest of the land that wasn’t used, the millionaire presented to the government of the country, which turned this spot into a protected nature reserve in 1956.

Christiansted

On the island of Santa Cruz, not very popular with tourists, is an interesting town, known as the prettiest in the Caribbean. The town, founded by settlers from Denmark in 1735, was once the capital of the American Virgin Islands. The layout of Christiansted is so simple that it’s impossible to get lost here. The town is known for its colorful houses, built of bricks, brought to the island 500 years ago as ballast and small picturesque restaurants that surround the old Fort Christiansvaern which defended the townsfolk against pirate attacks. The most famous buildings in Christiansted are the Steeple Building, the first church on the island, the old customs house, which became an art gallery, a beautiful botanical garden that collected more than one and a half thousand different plants in its collection.

Magens Bay Beach

On the island of St. Thomas, the most popular destination of the Virgin Islands, is one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world according to National Geographic. A legend has it that one of the most famous pirates, Francis Drake, often hid his ships at Magens Bay before the next raid, using the successful location of the beach hidden between the hills. The beach got its name after Magen, a woman from the Fairchild family, who owned the area and gave it to islanders later.

Charlotte Amalie

The capital of the US Virgin Islands is a rather lively city filled with crowds of tourists coming ashore from the huge cruise ships in the port of Charlotte Amalie. The main historical sight of the city is Fort Christian, towering over rows of duty-free shops, green parks, hotel complexes, and warehouses left from distant colonial times. The fortress, built in 1672 and considered the oldest structure on St. Thomas, defended the capital against attacks of corsairs and combined the functions of the city council, government building, and church. After the pirate attacks ceased, the fort turned into a prison, and then into the museum of the Virgin Islands. Another place that’s worth visiting on the island is Skytesborg, better known as the Blackbeard’s castle.

Buck Island

One of the tiniest islets in the group is not populated by people, but it’s known throughout the world. The Buck Island is created for diving and snorkeling: in its water area, there’s a huge number of sunken ships, and unique coral reefs hiding under the transparent water surface. Despite their beauty and seeming harmlessness, it was these underwater inhabitants that caused a lot of shipwrecks. For fans of scuba diving, there is even a special underwater trail. Along the path, there are special signs with information route notes.

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