Coral World, a Submarine Experience
Coral World (open daily, entrance fee), is a fascinating submarine observatory where roles are turned upside down, as fishes swimming around, are the ones curiously watching the spectators. Located at Coki Point, twenty minutes by highway, northeast from Charlotte Amalie, has been reopened to public after the damage caused by the Marilyn hurricane in 1995.

If you want to dive into the submarine gardens in front of Coki Beach and swim under water between the fishes living around the corals, and colorful sponges, the Coki Beach Dive Club offers submarine training for beginners, with immersion practices in the narrow reefs between St. Thomas and St. John. The majority of the fifteen submarine schools of the island also offer submarine photograph lessons.

On the highway taking you back to the capital, in about twenty minutes, you’ll find Tillett Gardens, an Old Danish farm transformed into an artisan center in 1959. Some the buildings host art galleries exposing and selling paintings from local artists, as well as handicraft. You may also visit the restaurant, placed in a beautiful garden that during the winter stages chamber music concerts. At the same place, three times a year, an art festival known as Art Alive Arts and Crafts Festival is celebrated.

Back on the coastal road, little more than 5 km. west, is Mahogany Run Golf Course, a golf field of 18 holes, surrounded by the unmatched beauty of the cliff on which it is built. Nearby is Magen’s Bay Beach (entrance fee), a beach located in a harbor seeming a horseshoe, and considered by National Geographic as one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world. Following a signal you’ll reach Little Magen’s Bay, where nudism is allowed. The colorful highway of route 35 taking you back to Charlotte Amalie goes through Drake’s Seat, which many think was really a place used by Francis Drake as a guard post.

Another place where you can enjoy beautiful views as well as “the best Banana daiquiris of the world” is Mountain Top. It’s the highest watchtower in the island, and you will also find duty free shops. If you are driving back to Charlotte Amalie at night, you’ll see the lights of the ships at St. Thomas shining like if a star constellation would have fall into the sea. Then, nightlife begins at the city. Far from downtown, a dangerous place at night, the bars around Frenchtown, and the western former submarine base, are crowded with people looking for fun and dancing till the end.

Wedding in Paradise
Couples coming to the US Virgin Islands for wedding are, each day, more frequent. Is anything more romantic than a wedding in white sandy beach or in an exotic tropical garden? Is something more extravagant than getting married under the sea, or on top of a hill, having a breathtaking sight as scenery? Of course you can choose a more traditional way, a church, anytime of the day from sunrise to sunset. Of course, some couples will probably choose to say “Yes, I do” on board of a luxurious ship. By all means, in these islands you’ll find a great diversity of beautiful places for such an important occasion. Tourist offices provide a list of addresses and phone numbers for interested couples, so they can contact law advisors, florists, photographers, and all kind of people that will help them to make true their “Dream Wedding”.  

Weddings have become a profitable business for the island’s economy. Agencies renting yachts work alongside with weddings organizers, and take care of receiving the guests arriving by sea, so the ceremony runs smoothly. Whatever is clear is that the new couple won’t have to go much further to enjoy their honeymoon.