St Thomas for the Family

The US Virgin Islands as a sailing family's ideal base — Magens Bay for the morning, a catamaran to St John for the reef, a snorkelling charter to the BVI for the older children, and the Saturday market in Charlotte Amalie for the adults. A private, tailored journey of 8 Days · 7 Nights in St Thomas, The Caribbean, designed end to end by a Forest Travel advisor — with Virtuoso privileges at the finest luxury hotels, from US$12,500 per traveler.

Few places pair such effortless turquoise beauty with the depth of privacy and service the islands quietly reserve for their most discerning guests.

When to go

December through April brings dry, sun-warmed days and calm seas, the ideal window before the summer humidity and hurricane months arrive. Your advisor times it to the light, the crowds and your own calendar.

The experiences

A sense of what this journey can hold — each one arranged privately and shaped to you:

• A privately chartered catamaran from Red Hook carries the family to the pristine shores of Trunk Bay in St John, where a guide leads children through a marked underwater snorkel trail with identification cards for reef fish.
• An exclusive BVI day crossing — customs pre-cleared through a specialist agent — puts the older children on mooring balls above the Indians and the Caves at Norman Island, dive sites rarely reached on a standard charter day.
• A Saturday morning in Charlotte Amalie's market, followed by a privately guided walk through the Danish-era warehouse district and a stop at Vendor's Plaza, gives adults an unhurried sense of the island's layered colonial history.
• Magens Bay reserved as a standing morning ritual: the finest luxury hotels on the island can arrange early beach setup with paddleboards, kayaks and a packed cooler before the general public arrives at nine.

A sense of the rhythm

Mornings belong to the water — Magens Bay, Red Hook, or already aboard before breakfast. Early afternoons slow down at the pool or on a shaded terrace, keeping younger children rested for the longer BVI excursion days. Evenings settle into Charlotte Amalie's waterfront restaurants or a private dinner arranged at the villa tier of your accommodation.

Whether to base the family entirely on St Thomas or split nights between St Thomas and St John

St Thomas holds the infrastructure — the international airport, the widest choice of family-suited luxury accommodation, and Charlotte Amalie's Saturday market — that makes it the natural anchor for a multi-generational group arriving from different cities. St John, reached in twenty minutes by ferry from Red Hook, is better experienced as a day destination: its national park beaches are spectacular precisely because no large resort development crowds them. Splitting your nights means packing and unpacking across a water crossing with children, and losing the seamless rhythm that defines this archetype. We recommend overnighting on St Thomas and treating St John and the BVI as curated day excursions, each privately arranged.

How to do it well

The counsel our advisors give travelers planning this journey:

• Book your BVI day-crossing charter at least eight weeks in advance for winter travel — December through March — as USVI-based operators with the correct British territory permits fill quickly and the customs pre-clearance paperwork requires a minimum five business days.
• Request a family suite or connecting-room configuration at the finest luxury hotels on the Northside or East End as soon as your travel dates are confirmed; these configurations are limited and sell out before standard rooms across the holiday school-break calendar.
• Schedule the Charlotte Amalie market excursion for a Saturday morning early in the trip, not the last day — it is a practical provisioning stop as much as a cultural one, and local hot-sauce, rum and spice purchases travel best with checked luggage rather than carry-on.
• The reef at Trunk Bay is best snorkelled between late April and early July before summer swells reduce visibility; if your travel window is December to February, redirect the snorkel day to Waterlemon Cay off St John's Leinster Bay, where visibility and marine life are equally reliable in the winter months.

What only your advisor can open

The difference between a good trip and an unrepeatable one is access — and access is a relationship, not a booking. Every guide, room and moment is chosen and sequenced for you.

Who it's for

Travelers who value privacy, time and doing it once — beautifully — and who would rather have one trusted advisor orchestrate every detail than assemble it themselves.

Estimated investment

From US$12,500 per traveler, based on double occupancy — scaled to your dates, party size and level of privacy. A starting point, not a final quote; confirmed once your advisor tailors the itinerary.

Designed entirely around you

Nothing here is a package. A Forest Travel advisor shapes the whole journey and stays one message away before and throughout your trip.

Your Virtuoso privileges

As a Virtuoso member, Forest Travel includes benefits reserved for Virtuoso guests at the finest luxury hotels, at no added cost: a room upgrade on arrival when available, daily breakfast for two, a property credit toward dining or spa, and early check-in with late check-out when the hotel allows.

Continue exploring St Thomas

Part of our St Thomas travel guide. Related private journeys:

• St Thomas by Sail
• St Thomas by Yacht
• Winter Sun in St Thomas

Begin the conversation

Tell a Forest Travel advisor how you like to travel and they will design St Thomas for the Family around you — privately, every Virtuoso privilege included. Request your private consultation →