5 reasons to visit St. Thomas in 2023

Let’s be real—there’s no bad time to visit St. Thomas. The Caribbean island is the picture of paradise year-round, with its emerald-green hills, unspoiled beaches, and dazzling yacht-filled bays. Even in the rainy season (September-November), St. Thomas doesn’t disappoint.

But if you’re looking for the ideal time to escape, you’ll want to plan a getaway from January through May. The weather’s flawless, there are tons of festivals and regattas, and the views from Mountain Top—the highest point on the island— can’t be beat. Visitors who are making the trip in 2023 can also look forward to brand-new hotels and the return of a beloved party cruise that celebrates soca music, a hip-shaking blend of calypso and soul.

Bonus: With daily nonstop flights from the U.S. and no need for passports (the US Virgin Islands are a territory of the United States), planning a last-minute getaway to St. Thomas is super easy. If you need more convincing, here are five reasons to book your vacation stat.

In St. Thomas, the rainy season lasts from September through November, bringing a higher risk of tropical storms. By the time January rolls around, the skies have cleared, the sun is out, and the tempers hover around 85 degrees. Beach-lovers will want to head to Magens Bay—widely considered one of the best beaches in the world—to soak up the rays and walk the one-mile powdery stretch. Snorkelers and divers should bring their gear to Coki Beach, where the crystal-clear waters make it easy to spot colorful coral and multi-colored fish. For incredible vistas, board the St. Thomas Skyride, a gondola that whisks you 700 feet above Charlotte Amalie, where you’ll enjoy a bird's eye view of St. Thomas Harbor. Or head to St. Peter’s Mountain Top, the highest point on the island. On a clear day, you’ll be able to make out 20 surrounding islands.

Every spring, visitors from all over the world descend on St. Thomas to take part in Carnival. It’s one of the most exciting parts of the year, with a month’s worth of festivities—pageants, parades, calypso shows, boat races, firework displays, amusement park rides, and more—in celebration of the island’s local culture (passed on from African, European, and Caribbean customs). The most popular events are the two parades, a riotous display of costumes, floats, and dance troupes, as well as the crowning of the Carnival King and Queen and the popular J’ouvert event. Most of the action is in the streets of Charlotte Amalie, so you’ll want to pick a hotel nearby.

Even if you’re not traveling during Carnival, chances are your springtime visit will coincide with a celebration–on St. Thomas or elsewhere in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Sail over to St. Croix to take part in the Mardi Gras Parade, an annual event that takes place in early March; celebrate Easter Weekend at the Virgin Gorda Easter Festival, which features street parades, a beauty pageant, and 24-hour partying; and don’t miss the British Virgin Island Music Festival on Tortola in May–bands come from all over the West Indies to perform on Cane Garden, the island’s best beach.

Of the three events that make up the Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle (CORT) series, the most glamorous is the International Rolex Cup Regatta, which takes place on St. Thomas for three days every March. First held in 1984, the regatta draws top-ranked yachtsmen and yachtswomen for fierce racing competitions that start at the St. Thomas Yacht Club. You can expect to see a variety of fast and expensive sailboats (some of which extend 80 feet) whipping through 15-18 knot breezes as the crews navigate the cuts, cays, and islands of the U.S. Virgins. If you want to follow the action up-close, consider chartering a yacht. If not, there’s always dancing, live music, and mouthwatering food on shore.

For more action on the high seas, consider visiting earlier in the season to see the Annual International St. Croix Regatta, another three-day regatta that takes place in Mid-February. The regatta season ends in April with the B.V.I. Spring Regatta —the third of the CORT events—on Tortola, famous for its 4-day ‘rum and reggae’ race.

As one of the more developed islands in the U.S. Virgins, St. Thomas has no shortage of world-class hotels. There are sprawling family-friend beach resorts, sleek adults-only retreats, and hillside villas that look out over the action of the harbor. Many visitors choose to return to their tried-and-trusted favorites, but if you’re looking for a new place to lay your head, you’ve got options. Recently, two new properties cropped up where the original Frenchman’s Reef (closed since the devastation of Hurricane Irma in 2017) once stood. The larger of the two is the 392-room Westin Beach Resort and Spa at Frenchman’s Reef, set on a rocky outcrop with six restaurants, three ocean-view pools, and a spa with 13 treatment rooms. One of the biggest draws, though, is a private dock for easy boat charters to neighboring islands. For more intimate digs, check out the Seaborn at Frenchman’s Reef, Autograph Collection, a 94-room boutique property with four open-air restaurants and an infinity-edge pool with a swim-up bar.

There’s nothing like dining alfresco, a rum punch in hand and a side of salty sea breezes. If you visit St. Thomas during high season, you’ll be blessed with patio-worthy weather most days. At Heidi’s Honeymoon Grill, a hilltop eatery on Water Island, a five-minute water taxi from St. Thomas, enjoy fish tacos and frozen cocktails while soaking up the views of Honeymoon Beach. Another local favorite is Twist340, in the Yacht Haven Grande Marina, where the things to order are the honey-drizzled johnny cakes, jerk bowls, and samplings of the island’s famous pate. But the best open-air meal has to be at Petite Pump Room, located on the water's edge at the Charlotte Amalie Harbor. Your order: conch sautéed in a garlic butter sauce, washed down with a Cruzan mojito.

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