Looking for an American Caribbean island beach paradise with pirate lore, lush golf courses, tennis, horseback riding, marlin and tuna fishing, shipwrecks to dive, coral reefs to snorkel, and every conceivable water sport? Plus tropical forests to hike, biking trails, duty-free shops, and beach and poolside tropical drinks and fruits? A money-saving beach vacation rental on the US Virgin Islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix will deliver you as near as possible to a heavenly island beach paradise.

The southernmost, largest, and least visited of the US Virgin Islands, St. Croix is linked to St. Thomas and St. John by ferries and swift seaplanes. A money-saving St. Croix vacation rental condo, apartment, or villa can include a private pool and bar overlooking the ocean. Bring the whole family to Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, a Christopher Columbus landing site sparkling with coral reefs, mangroves and estuaries. Visit Christiansted National Historical Park, an old Danish waterfront fortress with a Steeple Building and Danish West India & Guinea Company Warehouse.

Walk the streets of downtown Charlotte Amalie, the US Virgin Islands capital located on St. Thomas Island. Tour Fort Skytsborg, the castle tower that the pirate Blackbeard climbed to watch the sea. Take the whole family on a cruise in a catamaran or yacht. Perhaps a day of sailing from St. Thomas to St. John. Swim up close to giant green sea turtles. Snorkel remote beaches. Be dazzled by starfish, sea urchins, and schools of brightly colored fish darting in and out of coral reefs. Treat your partner to a romantic sunset dinner cruise. Your money-saving St. Thomas vacation rental is also a good base for night and day scuba diving among the sharks and rays frequenting the many easily accessible shipwrecks.

Beach hop along North Shore Road on St John Island. Ferry hop from Cruz Bay to Red Hook or Charlotte Amalie on St Thomas Island. Take the whole family hiking among the native tyre palms, valleys, forests and beaches of Virgin Islands National Park, which occupies 60% of St John’s land area. Trunk Bay’s white beach and underwater snorkeling trail are not to be missed. The Cinnamon Bay Nature Trail has ruins of old sugarcane plantations that employed slave labor. View ancient Taino petroglyphs carved into the rocks, old sugar mills, and a spring-fed waterfall along the forested Reef Bay trail. Relax at night on the porch or deck of your money-saving St. John vacation villa or rental home. Enjoy the bright starry night sky.