The U.S. Virgin Islands are the Caribbean without the customs line: no passport for U.S. citizens, dollars and domestic phone plans throughout, and three islands with three personalities: cruise-busy, beach-blessed St. Thomas; two-thirds-national-park St. John; and laid-back, history-rich St. Croix, where the territory's rare true all-inclusives live. If the passport drawer is empty or the trip is last-minute, this is the easiest warm-water answer an American traveler has.
- Passport
- Not required for U.S. citizens
- bring REAL ID
- Airports
- St. Thomas (STT) and St. Croix (STX)
- The islands
- St. Thomas (beaches/cruise), St. John (park), St. Croix (relaxed, AI resorts)
- Currency
- U.S. dollar
- U.S. phone plans work
- Driving
- On the left, in U.S.-spec cars
Where U.S. Virgin Islands splits
The resort areas are not interchangeable. What each one is actually for.
St. Croix
Carina Bay Boutique All-Inclusive Resort & Casino, four-star, adults-only.
Where the U.S. Virgin Islands resorts are
3 resorts mapped stars are five-star properties
When to visit U.S. Virgin Islands
Climate normals for St. Croix / St. Thomas, and our verdict on each month.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average daily high | 84°F29°C | 84°F29°C | 85°F29°C | 86°F30°C | 87°F31°C | 88°F31°C | 89°F32°C | 89°F32°C | 89°F32°C | 88°F31°C | 86°F30°C | 85°F29°C |
| Rainfall | 2″ | 1.5″ | 1.5″ | 2.5″ | 3.5″ | 2.5″ | 2.5″ | 3.5″ | 5.5″ | 5.5″ | 5″ | 3″ |
| Verdict | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Shoulder | Good | Good | Shoulder | Off-peak | Off-peak | Off-peak | Prime |
December–April is the classic dry, breezy prime. Summer runs hotter and greener, and hurricane season (June–November, peaking August–October) is a genuine factor: the 2017 storms rewrote the islands' hotel stock, and fall trips warrant insurance. The flip side: no better late-spring value exists inside U.S. borders.
Sweet spot. December–April; rainy season runs September–November.
Storm risk. Squarely in the hurricane belt (June–November, peak August–October); 2017's Irma and Maria reshaped the islands' hotel stock, so fall trips warrant insurance.
Sargassum. East- and south-facing shores catch seasonal drift; the popular north-facing beaches usually stay clearer.
Figures are long-term climate normals for St. Croix / St. Thomas, good for planning. They are not a forecast.
St. Thomas, St. John, or St. Croix?
St. Thomas is the gateway: Magens Bay's postcard curve, duty-free Charlotte Amalie, and the ferry dock for St. John, whose Virgin Islands National Park keeps Trunk Bay and two-thirds of the island wild. St. Croix, a 25-minute hop south, runs slower: Danish-colonial Christiansted, the Buck Island reef monument, rum distilleries, and the territory's actual all-inclusive resorts.
True all-inclusive is scarce in the USVI (the islands lean hotel-and-restaurant), so travelers set on the wristband model should look at St. Croix specifically, which is exactly where our catalog's USVI properties sit.
Beyond the resort
Snorkel Buck Island's underwater trail off St. Croix, day-trip St. John's park beaches, tour the Cruzan and Mutiny Island rum operations, dive the Frederiksted pier's seahorses, and time a visit to the bioluminescent bay at Salt River. Island-hopping by seaplane or ferry is half the fun.
Good to know
U.S. rules mostly apply (dollars, domestic flights, no roaming), with two quirks: driving is on the left, and departure involves a U.S. customs pre-clearance line for agriculture. Tipping matches the mainland (18–20%). Power, plugs, and pharmacies are all standard American.
The best all-inclusive resorts in U.S. Virgin Islands
The U.S. Virgin Islands properties we would actually book.
Where to stay in U.S. Virgin Islands
The resort areas we cover, and which properties sit in each.
Resort chains in U.S. Virgin Islands
The brands operating here. The ones we rank in full link through to the chain, what its plan really covers, and every resort of theirs we track.
U.S. Virgin Islands, head to head
Price, flights, sand, food and safety, compared honestly.
U.S. Virgin Islands vs JamaicaMexicoDominican RepublicMaldivesGreeceSpainTurks & CaicosArubaBarbadosSt. LuciaItalyPortugalTurkeyAntiguaCuraçaoBrazilCosta RicaPhilippinesFrench PolynesiaMoroccoEgyptSouth AfricaMauritiusKenyaTanzaniaMozambiqueThailandIndonesiaMalaysiaPunta CanaCancúnRiviera MayaLos CabosPuerto VallartaMontego BayNegrilOcho RiosGuanacasteCreteBahiaBora BoraMalé AtollsRodney BayBarbados South CoastBarbados West CoastViti LevuVanua LevuCanary IslandsBalearic IslandsCosta del SolSharm el-SheikhHurghada & the Red Sea CoastBelekRhodesLara & AntalyaMaldives Outer AtollsCorfuHalkidikiKosSoufrière & South St. LuciaGrenadaFijiCroatiaSri LankaSeychellesBahamasChileArgentinaUnited States
Frequently asked questions
Do U.S. citizens need a passport for the U.S. Virgin Islands?
No. It's a U.S. territory, so a REAL ID-compliant license does it for domestic itineraries. Non-U.S. citizens follow normal U.S. entry rules.
Are there all-inclusive resorts in the U.S. Virgin Islands?
A few, concentrated on St. Croix; the islands mostly run hotel-plus-restaurants. If all-inclusive is the requirement, check the specific properties in our ranking rather than assuming any USVI resort offers it.