Getting There

By Plane

If you're flying to St. Thomas, you will land at the Cyril E. King Airport (tel. 340/774-5100), to the west of Charlotte Amalie on Route 30. From here, you can easily grab a taxi to your hotel or villa. Chances are you will be staying east of Charlotte Amalie, so keep in mind that getting through town often involves long delays and traffic jams.

Nonstop flights to the U.S. Virgin Islands from New York City take 3 3/4 hours. Flight time from Miami is about 2 1/2 hours. Flight time between St. Thomas and St. Croix is only 20 minutes. Flying to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from mainland cities and connecting to St. Thomas may cost less than regular nonstop fares.

American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300 in the U.S.; www.aa.com) offers frequent service to St. Thomas and St. Croix from the U.S. mainland, with two daily flights from New York to St. Thomas in high season. Passengers flying from other parts of the world are usually routed to St. Thomas through American's hubs in Miami or San Juan, both of which offer nonstop service (often several times a day) to St. Thomas. (American Eagle alone has 12 nonstop flights daily from San Juan to St. Thomas.)

Delta (tel. 800/241-4141 in the U.S.; www.delta.com) offers two daily nonstop flights between Atlanta and St. Thomas in winter. US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322 in the U.S.; www.usairways.com) has one nonstop daily flight from Philadelphia to St. Thomas, and an additional flight on Saturday.

Cape Air (tel. 800/352-0714 in the U.S.; www.flycapeair.com) has service between St. Thomas and Puerto Rico. This Massachusetts-based airline offers 5 to 12 flights daily. Cape Air has expanded its service to include flights from San Juan to St. Croix and Tortola, and flights between St. Croix and St. Thomas.

United Airlines (tel. 800/538-2929 in the U.S.; www.united.com) has nonstop service on Saturday to St. Thomas from Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Continental Airlines (tel. 800/231-0856 in the U.S.; www.continental.com) has daily flights from Newark International Airport, in New Jersey, to St. Thomas.

A final hint: Bargain seekers should ask their airline representative to connect them with the tour desk, which can often arrange discounted hotel rates if a hotel reservation is booked simultaneously with airline tickets.

By Boat

If you're in the British Virgin Islands, you can take a boat to Charlotte Amalie from Tortola. Trip time is only 45 minutes between these two capitals, and a one-way ticket is $30 ($50 round-trip). The major carriers to and from Tortola are Smith's Ferry (tel. 340/775-7292; www.smithsferry.com) and Native Son (tel. 340/774-8685; www.nativesonferry.com), which are both based in Charlotte Amalie. Boats arrive in and depart from Tortola's West End.

St. Thomas is also linked by boat to St. John, about 3 to 5 miles away. Ferries depart Red Hook Marina on the East End of St. Thomas and arrive at Cruz Bay on St. John. Trip time is about 15 to 20 minutes; the cost is $6.10 one-way for adults ($1 for kids 2 to 10). For complete ferry schedules, call Transportation Services at tel. 340/776-6282.

It's also possible to take a ferry service from Puerto Rico to St. Thomas, with a stop in St. John. The service, however, is available only during Carnival. Trip time between Fajardo and Charlotte Amalie (St. Thomas) is about 1 3/4 hours, with the departure Saturday morning and the return Sunday afternoon. The cost is $100 one-way, $125 round-trip. For more information, call Transportation Services at tel. 340/776-6282.