3 Surprising Thrills To Enjoy In St. Croix

St. Croix is an outdoor playground with plenty of beautiful sandy beaches for relaxing.  If you’re  looking for an island destination where you can kick back and relieve some stress, it’s definitely the perfect location. But don’t make the mistake of thinking St. Croix is all about lying around on pretty beaches! St Croix is also packed with adventures, activities and thrills, to create a lifetime of exciting travel memories.

Here are three adventures that you can experience while visiting St. Croix.

1. Kayak Salt River & the BioBay

There are  a number of great kayaking adventures on St. Croix, including exploration of the ever popular Salt River Bay. This historic locale is not only beautifully serene but the location where Christopher Columbus encountered resident Amerindians on his second trip across the Atlantic in what became the first documented skirmish between the Old and New Worlds. During the day you can kayak through the mangroves and learn about the Taino village that once thrived along the shores while you search for  iguanas in the trees and look for marine life below.  At night, during the darker evenings of the month, you can explore the Bioluminescent Bay that sparkles like fairy dust with each stroke of your paddle due to the tiny diatoms that magically glow when agitated.

2. Casino Gaming

Casino gaming brings some thrill and excitement to your island adventure. An activity you expect to find in places like the Bahamas or Saint Martin where there are giant resorts packed with tourist attractions, you may be surprised to learn that eco-adventurous St Croix has the only casino in the US Virgin Islands. According to this review there’s a lot to do there! That makes casino gaming on St. Croix really exciting and unique. Just be sure you brush up on your skills a little bit before heading into the Divi Carina Bay Casino. A lot of people traveling already do this by taking advantage of international online gaming platforms. In that vein, this gaming hub has a lot of pretty realistic card gaming material that can prepare you for the real thing. Knowing your own strategies and tendencies will go a long way toward helping you find success at the poker and blackjack tables, if you like the games with elements of skill in them.

3. Learn to Kite Board or Paddle Board

With no major resort areas and big hotels packed with tourists, St Croix offers more water sports and activities for those who enjoy the beauty of nature. If you’re an adrenaline seeker, try your skills at Kite Boarding. Local Bill Kraft has established himself as an industry leader in kite board instruction and operates out on a pristine beach with views for days. Immerse yourself in the incredible blues of the Caribbean Sea while enjoying the sensation of flying over the water. If you like to enjoy nature at a calmer pace, take a Paddle Board lesson. Surf City Board Shop & Grill out in Frederiksted has typically calm waters and incredible West End views. Following an afternoon on the water, grab a Hawaiian style shaved ice to cool off! You can find out more about these and other water sport activities in our Get Wet! section.

All of these options go beyond your basic island tourism excursions, and are all the more reason to visit St. Croix. Just be sure to leave some time to kick back and relax on the beach!