Read about our epic Virgin Islands NP itinerary

An Epic Virgin Islands National Park Itinerary

If you are looking for an epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary, this has it all. This is our 2nd day in the park, and we’re hiking to amazing views, exploring ruins and looking for wildlife. Read all about our adventures hiking to Ram Head, exploring the Annaberg Ruins and more!

Planning the Epic Virgin Islands National Park Itinerary

Our previous post explains all about transportation options and provides a checklist of what to bring with you. We recommend reading it here: The Best Virgin Islands National Park Itinerary. And now we have a better idea of how to get around the island and what to bring with us.

Today is our 10th anniversary and we are planning something epic! Since we are staying on St. Thomas, we’ll take the ferry over to St. John first thing. This time we want to be on the 7:30AM ferry to get to Cool Breeze Jeep Rentals when they open. Because today we want to go to Salt Pond Bay on the other side of the island for a hike. The posted taxi rate for the 2 of us to go there is $42 one way.  So we’d rather rent a jeep for the day. Though we’re also prepared with enough cash for taxis if we can’t rent one.  We’re also prepared with water bottles filled with ice water, a picnic lunch and better hiking shoes.

Our Epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary stops
Our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary stops

When we visited the park visitor center last time, a ranger recommended the Ram Head Trail. So we really want to get to Salt Pond Bay to do this epic hike. Once finished, we want to see the Annaberg Sugar Plantation Ruins. And afterwards, we’re bringing our snorkel gear to explore Francis Bay. Not only does it have a beach we haven’t visited, but it also has a short hiking trail. And once we return the rental, we’ll take the ferry back to St Thomas. And we’ll finish our day at the popular Duffy’s Love Shack nearby for dinner and drinks. So the following is our planned itinerary for the day.

Our Epic Virgin Islands National Park Itinerary

  1. Ferry and Jeep Rental
  2. Driving to Salt Pond Bay
  3. Ram Head Trail Hike
  4. Annaberg Ruins
  5. Francis Bay Trail
  6. Francis Bay Beach
  7. Jeep Return and Ferry back
  8. Dinner at Duffy’s Love Shack

Ferry and Jeep Rental

To start our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary, we need to get to St. John. And since It’s recommended to do the Ram Head Trail early to avoid the heat, we leave early. We make it on the 7:30AM ferry from Red Hook in St. Thomas to Cruz Bay in St. John. The ferry takes 15 minutes and we walk to Cool Breeze Jeep Rentals arriving 10 minutes before they open. And though their sign says they open at 8:00AM, I forgot we’re on island time. By the time someone arrives about 10 minutes late, there are 2 more couples behind us. And when they open the store, they tell us they have to run some errands and will be back in an hour! Rather than wait, we decide to find another rental company.

Cool Breeze Jeep Rentals on St. John
Cool Breeze Jeep Rentals

We walk down the street and find another company that’s also closed.  But someone walks up and asks if we are returning a vehicle.  After telling him we want to rent a jeep for a day, he advises us they only do 3-day rentals.  However, he calls his uncle who agrees to rent to us for the day.  He then walks us to a little building literally next door to Cool Breeze.  And he offers to rent us a Ford Bronco for $140.  This is more than I want to pay.  And by the time I say no thank you, the Cool Breeze guys come back. And we’re still first in line to get a Jeep rental, so we go inside.  It winds up being much cheaper at $96.75 as long as we don’t return it dirty.  And we are finally in the Jeep just after 9:00AM.

Our Epic Virgin Islands National Park Itinerary – Driving to Salt Pond Bay

We finally feel like we’re starting our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary once in the Jeep. Though we’re an hour behind, we’re happy we don’t have to take taxis and can stick with our planned itinerary. In fact, I am excited to drive the Jeep even though the steering wheel is on the other side. And my first test of driving on the left side of the road is just up the road at a large roundabout. Once I get to it, I take a left to enter and take the 1st left onto Centerline Road. So far so good!

Driving the Jeep on St. John, beginning our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary
Driving the Jeep on St. John

Centerline Road takes us through the center of St. John and the Virgin Islands National Park to Coral Bay. This road is less traveled and I become comfortable driving the Jeep. The road winds up to heights overlooking amazing views below. But we are more excited about what we see just off the road.

Driving on Centerline Road
Driving on Centerline Road

We had heard there are wild donkeys on St. John but did not see any last visit. However, just off the road we see 3 of them! These donkeys are descendants of some let loose by plantation owners in the late 1600’s. Their numbers have been controlled over the years, and there’s no exact count of them on the island.

A wild donkey seen on our Epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary
Wild donkey in Virgin Islands National Park

When Centerline Road ends we turn right onto Coral Bay Road. At this point we are back at sea-level and can see the boats in the bay. As we continue, we make a turn and spot a couple more donkeys on the corner under a tree. And we follow the road until we turn off for the parking lot for Salt Pond Bay. We arrive around 9:45AM.

Our Epic Virgin Islands Itinerary – Start of the Ram Head Trail

While researching this trail, there is not much information about it on the NPS site. However, on AllTrails we were able to find out it’s about a 2.3 mile out-and-back hike to a point with 360 degree views of the surrounding islands. But reading reviews they say it is hot and to bring Sun protection and plenty of water. So we apply our sunscreen, refill our water bottles and grab our wide-brimmed hats. And just before 10:00AM, we are ready to start the next part of our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary. For a map and reviews of the trail, check out Ram Head Trail, Saint John, US Virgin Islands | AllTrails.

Starting the Ram Head Trail on our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary
Starting the Ram Head Trail hike

The first quarter mile of this trail is a rocky road down to Salt Pond Bay Beach. And we are glad we brought better shoes this time. The Sun is already beating down as well, but we make it the end of the road in 5 minutes. We see a restroom on the left, and just past is the beach.

Salt Pond Bay Beach

There were a few cars in the parking lot when we arrived. And when we get to the beach there are a few people swimming and snorkeling in the water. There is also a catamaran offshore in the secluded bay.

Arriving at Salt Pond Bay Beach
Arriving at Salt Pond Bay Beach

From here the trail basically just walks along the beach. In the middle of the beach are some picnic tables in the shade. We stop for a minute to admire the view. But after seeing a mosquito, we continue on.

A view of Salt Pond Bay Beach from the picnic table
A view of Salt Pond Bay Beach from the picnic table

The water is gorgeous, but we still have more hiking to do. As we continue to the other side of the beach, we see a trail sign. If we continue, it’s 0.9 mile to Ram Head, or turn left and it’s 0.25 miles to Drunk Bay. And just past the sign we can see Salt Pond.

Salt Pond

We heard locals harvest salt from this pond for their table. That’s right, they use it for table salt. So, we have to check out Salt Pond on the other side. The water is a coppery color much different from the turquoise waters in the bay. And this pond is much bigger than we thought it would be.

Salt Pond
Salt Pond

Saltwater collects here from high tides or storms and when the water evaporates it leaves the salt behind. So, when it hasn’t rained in a while, the salt can crystallize on the shore. And people can scoop it right up, wash it, dry it and use for table salt. It’s supposed to be some of the most pure salt you’ll ever find.

Checking out Salt Pond
Checking out Salt Pond

Unfortunately it must have rained a lot, because we only see some seafoam on the shore and no salt crystals. You also can walk along the shore of Salt Pond to Drunk Bay. However, it looks like you might have to walk some in the pond to get there. But we want to go back to bay to start up to Ram Head. Though this was a cool 5 minute diversion.

Continuing on the Ram Head Trail

Back on the other side, the beach ends and the trail becomes more difficult. The trail is basically rocks as we hike along the shoreline. We get to a point where we can see Salt Pond behind us, and Salt Pond Bay beside us.

Hiking along Salt Pond Bay
Hiking along Salt Pond Bay

And then we see steps up, where we get even better views. There’s one point higher up that Becky asks which way we go. Then we realize if we turn right there’s a huge drop-off. But the view is absolutely gorgeous.

Gorgeous view from the Ram Head Trail, part of our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary
Gorgeous view from the Ram Head Trail

We continue until we see a fork in the trail. We decide to go right though it seems like we’re going off-trail. And sure enough, the trail ends overlooking Blue Cobblestone Beach. There’s a cliff separating us from the beach on the other side. And we also can see Ram Head, the point past the beach overlooking the sea.

Overlooking Blue Cobbestone Beach
Overlooking Blue Cobblestone Beach

It only takes us a couple minutes to get back to the fork and on the main trail. The trail then continues through a wooded area which provides some shade. It goes up, then down until we exit on the beach.

Blue Cobblestone Beach

As if the trail couldn’t get any rockier, Blue Cobblestone Beach is covered in the naturally rounded stones. And there are layers of them. Walking on them is very difficult, so we take it slow. But the beach is still beautiful. And we can clearly see our destination in the distance.

Blue Cobblestone Beach and Ram Head in the distance on our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary
Blue Cobblestone Beach and Ram Head

We also see a rescue boat and there are people walking along the shore. One of the gentlemen walking on the beach asks if we know who called for help. He says someone went up to Ram Head and passed out!

Walking along Blue Cobblestone Beach
Walking along Blue Cobblestone Beach

After walking along the beach carefully, Becky decides to take a break and see what’s going on. While we’re sitting drinking water and checking out some rocks, we see some people come down from the trail. They tell us it was really hot and they ran out of water. And it was the poor guy’s 60th birthday that passed out. He seems to be doing better now, but they head to the rescue personnel to get him checked out.

Climbing over rocks leaving Blue Cobblestone Beach
Climbing over rocks leaving Blue Cobblestone Beach

After the trail is clear, we decide to continue. After all, we’re younger than that guy and we still have water. So we pass the beach where the nice stones end, and bigger rocks start. This part is basically a rock scramble where we have to climb over rocks. On the other side of the rocks is a sign pointing left that simply says “trail”.

The Ascent to Ram Head

By the time we get to the trail sign, we already an hour in to this trail. And the sign points to a narrow trail going up. On the way up I spot a barrel cactus called Turk’s Cap that’s common in the Virgin Islands.

Starting the ascent to Ram Head, part of our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary
Starting the ascent to Ram Head

We saw some earlier this week when we went on an excursion to The Baths in Virgin Gorda. And our guide said their pink fruit is edible and ate one. He said it tastes like kiwi, so I carefully pluck one to try it. The texture and taste are fine, but it’s so hot I spit it out. I’m sure it’s better when cooled. When we climb higher, we see they’re everywhere.

Barrel cactus on the Ram Head Trail
Barrel cactus on the Ram Head Trail

They are all over the hillside, different shapes and sizes. We also see some bushes full of white butterflies. And though it’s arid and hot, the trail is a little easier at this point. We get some great views looking back at Blue Cobblestone Beach. And we can still see the rescue boat near shore.

Looking back at Blue Cobblestone Beach
Looking back at Blue Cobblestone Beach

At this point we are on the last part hiking up to Ram Head. We start to see the deep blue ocean to our left and then we’re there. We made it to Ram Head in an hour and 15 minutes.

Ram Head

The park ranger was right about one thing, the views from Ram Head are magnificent. From up top you get panoramic views of the ocean all around. From this rocky bluff you can look back at Coral Bay or left to see the British Virgin Islands. We can clearly see Norman Island where we snorkeled on our Baths excursion.

Selfie at Ram Head overlooking the BVI
Selfie at Ram Head overlooking the BVI

Ram Head is the southernmost tip of the Virgin Islands National Park and St. John. And looking straight out South you can see St. Croix on a clear day. We also see a boat far out possibly from there coming towards us.

A view from Ram Head looking South toward St. Croix
A view from Ram Head looking south

I see a path to another viewpoint and hike to it while Becky waits on top. I pass more barrel cactus on the way out to another point. Very similar views from here, but it makes for a cool picture.

Looking out from the viewpoint on Ram Head, part of our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary
Looking out from the viewpoint on Ram Head

Once back, we just sit, have a snack and admire the views a few more moments. We drink some more water not realizing we have so much ice in our water bottles that we drink all of it. And while sitting, another couple makes it to the top. There is plenty of space to spread out, but it was nice having it to ourselves for a while. Ram Head is an epic Virgin Islands spot, but after 20 minutes we start the trek back.

Hiking back from Ram Head

It’s already after 11:30AM when we decide to hike back. There are multiple paths leading down and for some reason we both choose a different one. Walking up the trail seemed pretty clear, but all paths lead down. I make it down to a point and wait for Becky.

Starting the hike back from Ram Head
Starting the hike back from Ram Head

Once we meet back up, we go through the area with all the barrel cactus. There are great views of Blue Cobblestone Beach on the way. And we take the trail back down to where we see the “trail” sign pointing up. Now we just have to do the rock scramble again.

Traversing the rock scramble back to Blue Cobblestone Beach on our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary
Traversing the rock scramble back

After climbing over the rocks we make it to Blue Cobblestone Beach. It’s almost noon and we’re struggling, and no more rescue boat. The Sun is beating down and each step over the cobblestones feels harder than the last. We make it to the woods, but even with some shade this part is harder going back. I’m able to squeeze a little ice out of my water bottle, and we keep going.

Reaching Salt Pond Bay on the Ram Head Trail
Reaching Salt Pond Bay

We finally make it to Salt Pond Bay, but still have to walk on the rocky trail back to the beach. Once here we see more people relaxing in the water. We would stop, but I need to use the restroom after drinking all my water.

Seeing the end of the trail
The end of the trail

Once out, we still have to take the rocky road back to the parking lot. And this part is brutal with very little shade and uphill. Becky starts complaining she’s getting shivers from the heat exposure. I reassure her we are almost there, but thinking I hope I don’t kill her on our anniversary!

Salt Pond Bay to Annaberg

We make it back to the Jeep at 12:30PM and turn on the AC. We then pour what water we have left over the ice remaining in our water bottles. The Ram Head Trail took us 2.5 hours to complete. It was definitely epic, but we need more water. Becky remembers we passed a market on the way here, so we decide to go there first. We pass the wild donkeys again under the tree around the same turn. And we find Calabash Market and park across the street.

Calabash Market
Calabash Market

This market has all kinds of prepared foods, but we have our lunch and we just need drinks. I get 2 bottles of Gatorade for now, and 2 bottles of Smart Water for later. Once back at the Jeep I hand Becky her Gatorade. Before we get going I look over to see she downed the whole thing. We really needed it! Once back to Coral Bay I turn right, the wrong way. We pass another donkey walking on the other side of the road before we decide to turn back. So, we map us to Annaberg and make it back to Centerline Road.

Coral Bay from the overlook
Coral Bay from the overlook

We pass the same overlook of Coral Bay, but this time we stop to admire the view. After a few pics, we continue on Centerline Road until we make it to the turn for North Shore Road. This is a hairpin turn coming from this way and it’s hard to see if another car is coming. But I master the turn staying on the left side of the road. Once on North Shore Road, we find another turn for Annaberg passing Francis Bay. And it’s almost an hour before we get to the Annaberg parking lot.

Our Epic Virgin Islands Itinerary – Annaberg Sugar Plantation Ruins

The next part of our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary is at the Annaberg Sugar Plantation Ruins. The park’s most accessible historic plantation site contains the remains of a Danish sugar factory, windmill, slave quarters and more. Here you can learn about the sugar production and the brutal conditions of the slaves who worked here. You can also learn more here: Annaberg Sugar Plantation | CyArk.

Parking and getting to the ruins

The parking lot is pretty large and there’s only a couple cars here. We park close to the end and find a sign that provides a map and information about the ruins. From here you have to take a walking trail and stairs up to the ruins. However, there is a visitor drop-off area you can drive to if you need to drop off someone.

Reading the sign at the Annaberg parking lot
Reading the sign at the Annaberg parking lot

Just to the left of the sign is the beginning of walking trail that takes us up to the ruins. I ask Becky if she wants to bring our lunch and find a picnic table here. But she says we can eat lunch when we get back. So, we start out on the paved path and it’s only a minute before we find the stairs.

Stairs up to Annaberg Ruins, part of our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary
Stairs up to Annaberg Ruins

The stairs are a wooden boardwalk that goes through the woods. It starts off with only a few stairs, but then we see we have a climb ahead of us. We are up for it after having a couple snacks in the car. And we are feeling refreshed after all the water and Gatorade we drank. Though intimidating, the boardwalk is actually a nice walk through the woods and only takes us 5 minutes. It lets out at the visitor drop-off area. And on the other side of the loop is a wooden hut that has a warning signs about bees. As I tell Becky about the bees, a family is walking down and hears me. They tells us they didn’t see bees, but there are mosquitoes.

The Annaberg Ruins

Just past the wooden hut we see a map of the ruins. We decide to take a left toward the 1st location on the map, the enslaved people’s quarters. There’s not much left but remnants. However, there is a sign that said 65 houses were here in 1809 housing 154 slaves. Just past it we can see the beautiful Leinster Bay below. It’s hard to believe these people had to work and live in such terrible conditions with such beauty around them.

Views of Leinster Bay from the slave quarters
Views of Leinster Bay from the slave quarters

As we continue toward the bagasse shed, animal mill, and cook house there are more signs. One sign talks about native waterlemon and hog plums, as well as the introduced mongoose. Apparently mongoose were brought here in the 1800s to control rat populations on sugar plantations. I saw one briefly dart into a road in St. Thomas yesterday, and didn’t realize there are more here. Though all we see here are mosquitoes, so we don’t stop for too long.

The windmill at Annaberg Ruins
The windmill at Annaberg Ruins

The most noticeable building remaining is the windmill. At the time this was a state-of-the-art piece of machinery for harvesting sugar cane. Though no sails remain, what is left is impressive and we can only imagine what it was like when working. I find some picnic tables past it under some trees, but with the mosquitoes I’m glad we didn’t bring our lunch.

At the Annaberg Plantation Ruins, part of our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary
At the Annaberg Plantation Ruins

We continue to other buildings like the bake oven, dungeon and sugar factory. And after 15 minutes of walking around, we’re done with the mosquitoes and ready to head back.

Annaberg to Francis Bay

After we cross the road back to the boardwalk, we take the stairs down. It’s much easier going down and Becky points out a tree with thorns all over it. We find out it’s one of 4 trees on the island referred to as a “Monkey No Climb” for obvious reasons.

Monkey No Climb tree at Annaberg
Monkey No Climb tree at Annaberg

At the bottom of the stairs, we hear something in the brush. It’s a deer, and once it sees us it goes further into the woods. We watch it for a couple minutes until we head back to the parking lot. Once in the Jeep, we turn left to go back on North Shore Road and turnoff toward Francis Bay. And we pull into the parking lot in only a few minutes.

Our Epic Virgin Islands Itinerary – Start of Francis Bay Trail

As soon as we pull up to the parking lot we see an old building. And grazing in front of it are 3 more deer. So, we park the Jeep to get a closer look. We watch the deer as they head toward the start of the trail. And then they jump through some bushes and are gone.

Deer at the start of the Francis Bay Trail, part of our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary
Deer at the start of the Francis Bay Trail

Excited about the wildlife sighting, we decide to go on the short 0.7 mile loop around another salt pond. We find out the building here is the last sugar factory built on St. John in 1874 by George Francis. He was born enslaved at the Annaberg Plantation. But after slavery was abolished in 1848, he stayed at Annaberg and was willed some land by its owner in 1862. And once we start the trail, we see the ruins of his Mary Point estate. You can read more about it here: Francis Bay Trail (nps.gov).

Walking past ruins on Francis Bay Trail
Walking past ruins on the Francis Bay Trail

After checking out the ruins for a few minutes we continue on the trail. This path is relatively flat and much easier than the previous trails we have hiked. The trail does have a little elevation which allows us to look down on the salt pond below. We can even see the turquoise waters of Francis Bay beyond the trees.

The salt pond and Francis Bay beyond
The salt pond and Francis Bay beyond

As we continue through the woods, we can’t see much more of the pond. However, we spot a huge ball up in a tree. Becky looks at her phone and tells me it’s a termite nest.

Termite nest in a tree
Termite nest in a tree

Once past the pond, the trail turns to the left and becomes sandier. And after 15 minutes of hiking, we see the beach.

Continuing on the Francis Bay Trail

The trail takes us to an opening at the beach. Here we can see all of Francis Bay. There’s a picnic table so, we stop for a minute to check it out. It’s another gorgeous beach, but it’s actually rocky here.

The beach from the Francis Bay Trail
The beach from the Francis Bay Trail

Though the beach is rocky, to our left we can see people further down on a sandy beach. That’s where we’ll head next. But first we have to continue on the Francis Bay Trail. We look back and see where the trail continues on a boardwalk.

On the boardwalk portion of the Francis Bay Trail
On the boardwalk portion of the Francis Bay Trail

We love boardwalk trails for obvious reasons. They’re flat and you’re protected from what’s off the boardwalk. But you can also get really close to cool areas and wildlife. We walk straight through the mangrove forest. And we see many more termite nests in here including one close to the boardwalk. I poke at it to see what would happen, and I see a couple termites. Yep that’s what they are.

2nd viewing platform on the Francis Bay Trail
2nd viewing platform

There are also 2 viewing platforms to see Salt Pond. It’s like walking to the end of a dock where we’re surrounded by the brown water. It’s interesting, but we don’t see any wildlife. However back on the trail, Becky says “mongoose!” and says she saw one dart off in the woods. Sure you did I think, but then I see something a little further off the trail. I’m pretty sure it was a mongoose too, just like the sign at Annaberg mentioned. After a couple minutes, we’re back on the road. To the right is the beach, but we walk to the left back to our Jeep. From start to finish, the trail took us about 30 minutes.

Our Epic Virgin Islands Itinerary – Francis Bay Beach

By the time we get back the Jeep it is now 2:30PM, and we are ready for our lunch. But before we do that, I drive down to the beach parking lot down the road. We then change into our bathing suits and apply more reef-safe sunscreen. We grab our snorkel gear, and after 15 minutes we head to the beach.

Our view from our picnic table at Francis Bay Beach, part of our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary
Our view from our picnic table at Francis Bay Beach

There are a group of people out right, so we walk to the left and find a picnic table. We put our stuff down and finally eat our lunch. After a quick break, we grab our snorkel gear and head to the water.

Snorkeling at Francis Bay

Since Francis Bay is next to Maho Bay, it’s good place to spot sea turtles. And we hope to spot a smaller hawksbill this time. So, once in the water we head left toward some rocks between Francis and Maho Bays. We see a lot of small fish and coral around the many rocks. Becky points out a fish to me and I tell her it’s a juvenile barracuda which freaks her out.

Juvenile barracuda at Francis Bay
Juvenile barracuda at Francis Bay

As we continue snorkeling past the rocks, we make it near some boats just outside of Maho Bay. Here we see some large fish I recognize as tarpon that also freaks her out. But what she points out next is totally unexpected. I look down to see an octopus camouflaged below. It was hard to take a picture of it, but check out a video on our Instagram @workingfamilytravels. Octopus are very rare to spot and it is easy to overlook them.

School of fish while snorkeling in Francis Bay
School of fish while snorkeling

Becky is great at finding things though she is ready to head back. Though we are amazed that we always seem to see something different each time we snorkel. And on the way we spot some schools of fish and a stingray trying to bury itself in the sand.

Sea turtle at Francis Bay, part of our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary
Sea turtle at Francis Bay

Once back in Francis Bay, we finally spot a sea turtle. It’s a smaller one and think it may be a hawksbill. And unlike the green sea turtles we saw in Maho Bay earlier this week, this one seems to be hiding from me. The other ones were bigger and didn’t care if I was near it. But this one is skittish and decides to swim away. I follow it for a little bit before it swims out of sight.

Leaving Francis Bay

After a nice long snorkel for about an hour, we head back to our picnic table on the beach. And we hear something behind us in the woods. It’s another deer foraging for food.

A deer behind our picnic table at Francis Bay Beach
A deer behind our picnic table

We’re amazed at how much wildlife we’ve seen at Francis Bay. But it’s now after 4:00PM and unfortunately we have to return the Jeep.

Jeep Return and Ferry back

Becky maps us back to Cruz Bay and we take North Shore Road past all the beaches we went to last time. We’re doing a big loop back to return the Jeep rental. But, we don’t see any gas stations along the way. So, we go straight back to Cool Breeze Jeep Rentals to get there before 5:00PM. But when we get back they tell us we still need to fill it up with gas. And they direct us to the roundabout where we started our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary. It takes us a few loops around before we find the right exit and gas station. Once back we return the Jeep and still have time to catch the 6:00PM ferry back to St. Thomas.

Sun setting over Cruz Bay, part of our epic Virgin Islands National Park itinerary
Sun setting over Cruz Bay

We purchase our tickets on my phone and check in about 10 minutes early. And we head up to the top to get a seat. The 6:00PM ferry happens to be a perfect time to catch the boat back to St. Thomas. The Sun is already starting to set over Cruz Bay. And on the way to St. Thomas, we enjoy watching the Sun set over a perfect day. But once back, there’s a place known for its drinks and within walking distance.

Dinner at Duffy’s Love Shack

Since we’re staying on St. Thomas, we planned 1 last stop on our epic Virgin Islands itinerary. Duffy’s Love Shack is a popular hangout in the Red Hook area just minutes from the ferry terminal. And this lively bar is known for their popular drinks and reasonable dinner options. To read more about them check out: Duffy’s Love Shack (duffysloveshack.com).

Our 1st round at Duffy's Love Shack
Our 1st round at Duffy’s Love Shack

We easily walk from the ferry terminal to Duffy’s in the Red Hook Plaza shopping center. The bar is in the parking lot with tables inside and out. We choose an inside table look at their cocktail menu. They have a good selection of drinks, and you can get them in souvenir glasses. I order the Mellow Marlin in a fighting marlin and Becky orders the Hula Boola in a hula babe glass. We both love them.

My fish tacos at Duffy's Love Shack
My fish tacos at Duffy’s

For food, Becky orders the Lava Bowl of Guacamole with tri-color chips to start.  It’s a large portion, but tastes store-bought and is just ok.  And for our entrees, we order grilled fish tacos and jerk chicken tacos.  My fish tacos come with 3 large pieces of Mahi over some lettuce and tomatoes.  And Becky’s tacos are also big and we can’t eat them all.  They’re not bad for bar food, but we want more drinks.  So, I order their Lime in Dee Coconut.  And Becky orders their Berry Berry in a parrot cup. 

Our 2nd round at Duffy's Love Shack
Our 2nd round at Duffy’s

Becky was hoping for a pink parrot, but gets a yellow one and her drink is very tart. But mine was tasty though no souvenir cup. Overall we enjoyed celebrating the end of our anniversary day and epic Virgin Islands itinerary at this lively bar.

Summary of our Epic Virgin Islands National Park Itinerary

  1. Ferry and Jeep Rental – If you’re staying on St. Thomas, you can easily take the ferry over to St. John. But finding a Jeep rental is more difficult.
  2. Driving to Salt Pond Bay – Driving on the left side of the road through the center of the island is fun. Make sure to keep an eye out for wild donkeys on the way.
  3. Ram Head Trail Hike – An absolute epic hike past 2 beautiful beaches to an overlook with 360 degree views all around. Get here early and bring extra water.
  4. Annaberg Ruins – This is the best place to see Danish Sugar Plantation ruins in the national park. And it offers some great views of Leinster Bay below.
  5. Francis Bay Trail – This short easy trail around a salt pond also has a lot to offer. Explore more ruins and look for wildlife before heading to the beach.
  6. Francis Bay Beach – Another gorgeous beach, but smaller and less crowded. A great place for a picnic lunch and for snorkeling. Look for sea turtles and more.
  7. Jeep Return and Ferry back – Remember to get gas before returning a Jeep. And if you time it right, you can see the Sun set on the ferry ride back.
  8. Dinner at Duffy’s Love Shack – Back on St. Thomas, check out this lively bar/restaurant for some fun times. And don’t forget the souvenir drink glasses.

Our thoughts on our Epic Virgin Islands Itinerary

Though I almost killed Becky, our epic Virgin Islands National Park was a perfect day. It started slow, but it was fun driving our Jeep to Salt Pond Bay. We even saw wild donkeys on the way. But the highlight of our day was hiking the Ram Head Trail. This epic hike has it all going past 2 beautiful but different beaches to a remote overlook. Ram Head was an outstanding place to see 360 degree views of the sea and the islands beyond. However we definitely did not bring enough water. But Becky survived to continue our epic day. In all seriousness, the Ram Head Trail was difficult but worth it. Just bring water, then bring extra water (and snacks). You’ll need it.

Enjoying the Virgin Islands National Park
Enjoying the Virgin Islands National Park

The stop at Annaberg Sugar Plantation ruins was interesting and provided a lot of history. And we spotted our 1st deer. But at the start of the Francis Bay Trail we saw even more. And the short trail was great, and we even spotted 2 mongoose as well. Francis Bay Beach was gorgeous and snorkeling there was fantastic. We wound up spotting a smaller green sea turtle and a rare octopus! After dropping off the Jeep, we enjoyed the Sunset on the ferry ride back. And finished with dinner at Duffy’s Love Shack, a lively place with good souvenir drinks. Overall it was an epic day exploring the Virgin Islands National Park!

If you haven’t already, make sure to check out our other post: The Best Virgin Islands National Park Itinerary.

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