Drake's Seat

So the view is amazing, but it's a 5 minute stay. The seat is just average, but if you were expecting an amazing seat in the first place...why? Perhaps you were hoping to sit where Sir Francis Drake's glutes had once christened this overlook? If you came with that expectation, I suspect you will be disappointed. But perhaps you can tell yourself that story anyway and spend hours looking for the loads of pirate treasure the he most likely would have hidden around every place he sat down. Enjoy!

Amazing view point for Magen's bay. There's always people here for sightseeing. Many tour taxis stop here briefly. If you plan on seeing this, get yourself a cab or rental car. Our property was close to this point so we stopped here at least once every day to take in the view and enjoy the breeze. Also a nice vantage point to take some drone shots. There's enough parking here, we never had to wait to get a spot. Traffic here is always moving.

It’s impossible not to stop while driving through this beautiful place. It’s easy to park the car and appreciate the spectacular views. We could see the next beach we were about to go and other islands too. Must take some beautiful pictures for the memories!

The view is breathtaking! Definitely worth the short drive. We did intend to watch the sunset there, I wouldn't recommend to try to see it there. Still an amazing spot to sit and relax though. My pictures don't do it justice.

A great view, no infrastructure. Not a lot of safety equipment, so it can be a touch challenging for young kids. Look for the iguanas! Road up is a bit hazardous.

Beautiful views. Visited on a weekday in the early afternoon. No crowd. Make sure to add this stop to your itinerary.

Amazing panoramic views. Limited parking, so may be best to go on non cruise days.

Great view but I'd recommend driving a little further to the Mountain Top souvenir shop and bar. They have an equally impressive view, more room to park, and you can enjoy a banana daiquiri and do a little shopping.

Drake's Seat is the vantage point where Sir Francis Drake supposedly watched for enemy ships of the Spanish fleet. I drove here after my beach day at Magens Bay Beach, it's about 5 mins away. This lookout is amazing and gives a panoramic and breathtaking view of Magens Bay and the Island..stop by for a few minutes and indulge on your way to or from another activity, it's worth it!

Absolutely breathtaking! Don't go to St.Thomas USVI and miss out on this epic view. It is truly magnificent for your soul.

Stop by for excellent views of St. Thomas and nearby islands and islets. You won't need to dedicate much to just stop, enjoy the view and snap a few photos.

Don't get me wrong, Drake's Seat has an amazing view of Magens Bay, but I wouldn't solely venture out to this overlook and then return to my starting destination. In most cases, many individuals will find themselves here for about 10 -15 minutes for a few minutes before continuing on their way down to the beaches below. Tips/Highlights: * There are only a handful of parking spots for this overlook * There are no facilities at this overlook ( Mountain Top is the spot you're looking for) * In the grassy area/trees near by, you may be able to spot an iguanas or 2+ * There is a green bench up some steps right across the road from the overlook. Make sure to take care crossing as there is a bend in the single lane road. "Traffic" can get a bit congested. * For more views of Magens Bay as well as a touristy environment with souvenir shop selling your standard goods and even banana daiquiri, I would recommend a visit to Mountain Top

Great views very peaceful. With the trip up. There isn't anything to do but check it out so don't put too much planning into this, do it on the day to something else. Could use some more signage but overall nice visit.

Drake's Seat is simply a roadside stop along Skyline Drive Overlook here in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. I had a whole day afforded to exploring St. Thomas and I had researched ahead of time that Drake's Seat was worth stopping for and viewing out onto the blue waters and panoramic surroundings. Well....alright, when I first arrived here I was relatively impressed by the stop, the scenery and the view. I was initially happy about what I was looking at. Standing on top of the ledge of bricks to get a higher view.....I did take some picturesque photographs of the landscape. And although this spot is surrounded by forest and vegetation, my pics were worthwhile.....for my initial visit and exploration of the island....... Yet here's where (as I look back on and recall) this roadside overlook was just average in the bigger scheme of my travels here. Ultimately....I found much better views and prettier spots and stops more worthwhile than this quick area to pull over right off the road. Let me explain..... Later on in the day, I ventured off to the World Famous MOUNTAIN TOP! Yes, here in the rear of the building near the bar was beautiful and much more attractive and inspiring sights peering out among St. Thomas. I was highly in awe of Mountain Top that (in my opinion) it put Drake's Seat to shame. Also, the following day I ventured over to St. John and Virgin Islands National Park....and trekking around there and the main NORTH SHORE ROAD drive.....I stumbled upon magnificent JAW DROPPING roadside stops gazing out upon the most CLEAR AND BLUE TURQUOISE WATERS that at this point it left Drake's Seat so far behind in the rear view mirror! The stunning landscape there was the ultimate highlight for me. So...Drake's Seat initially had me impressed until I witnessed much much better points summarizing what the views and waters were all about in the Virgin Islands. Finally, on my last day visit to St. Thomas....I ventured over and up on the SKYRIDE TO PARADISE POINT and the the wondrous scenery there was also one of my favorite gushing moments from touring around. This skyride to Paradise Point is an absolute must for any visitors. So....Drake's Seat for me was just a thing of the past compared to what else is out there. Some last notes....to arrive at Drake's Seat....I had a rental car. It wasn't difficult to navigate here. I easily plugged in Drake's Seat into Google Maps on my phone literally from Cyril E. King Airport the moment I arrived in St. Thomas. It was an easy 7 kilometer drive over here. Also for those interested, Charlotte Amalie Overlook is right next door to Drake's Seat....about a 2 kilometer drive away that (again) offers better views of St. Thomas even with a guard rail that measures waste high and sort of taints pictures (in the moment).... One last thing, lol. Also, if you look behind the Drake's Seat Overlook area....there is an actual green seat (I guess named after Drake) from where you can sit down and peer out into the distance. Though....the seat is across the road and sitting down and reflecting away was forgettable (not even worth it) as I was much better served standing on the ledge in front from where I parked. So....Drake's Seat was initially a pleasing overlook to start my journey of St. Thomas but....after discovering much more worthwhile scenic opportunities along my trip, this roadside attraction became a distant memory especially when recalling my time spent in St. John and the rest of the Virgin Islands.

Be careful pulling in and out into traffic to visit this scenic pirate lookout! So worth it for the majestic views and to see Magen's Bay from above. Legend says Drake would perch here and look out for plunderers and the like. Gorgeous views, but it's a quick pop out, take some pictures, look around and get back in the Jeep! Traffic is kinda crazy there on the morning of a cruise day.

This is a nice three minute stop on your way to Mountain top. Our group of 10 got out took a nice picture and then proceeded to mountaintop which is superior to this location. It's beautiful, but not necessarily a must stop.

Just a beautiful overlook and great picture spot. Incredible views. Was worth the drive for the views.

Really nothing more than an lookout on the side of the road, the draw is that the view is spectacular. It looks over the N side of the island and the view stretches out to the BVI. We were there in the shoulder season and mid-pandemic, so we thankfully missed what I expect were the van loads of cruise ship visitors cramming the place. For us, it was fairly empty and well worth the view. The view itself isn't that different than what you get from Mountain Top, so if you only want to hit one, Drake's Seat gets you away from the gift shop, but there is also no banana daquiri bar here, so pick what is more important.

So who is Drake and why do we care so much about his seat that this is a typical stop on all island tours of St. Thomas? Well many locals say this is the look out that Sir Francis Drake used to spy on enemy Spanish ships in the 1600's. Others say he never set foot on St. Thomas, and this landmark was given the name "Drakes Seat" in the early 1900's by philanthropist Arthur Fairchild (one time head of the NYSE) because he thought it was cool. I think in 2016 it's a neat detour on the North side of St. Thomas to take in breezy views of Tortola and the rest of the British Virgin Islands, while sipping on a Loco Coco from John the Coconut Man! Now you're wondering of what a Loco Coco is. Well its a 1/4 bottle of Cruzan rum dumped into a freshly macheted coconut for $10. The volume of drink you get is equivalent to two or three rounds of cocktails making this a pretty good deal for happy hour on the island. Yup there are no open container laws on this island, and parking lines are just a guideline that you cant expect to be followed. Wednesdays and Thursdays (the most cruise ships are in town) are when the car situation can get cray cray up here, so don't be afraid to be creative with your parking. Look both ways before crossing the street if you decide to sit on Drakes seat. I've seen a lot of close calls, and nope, pedestrians don't have the right of way here. I've read a few Yelp and TripAdvisor posts about a Donkey man that used to bring his donkeys up here to take photos with tourists, but we were told by one of our tour guides that he recently passed away and that is the reason for the purple ribbon tied to the fence. Super sad as it seems like generations of tourist folk have been taking photos with his donkeys, but it looks like he was replaced by John the coconut man. All in all I wouldn't go out of my way to get here, but luckily for most of you its a stop on the way to the majority of the interesting parts of the north side of St. Thomas.

Don't bother. This is a very dangerous location with people milling around and moving vehicles on a blind curve. Go to Mountain Top instead. It is free if you don't purchase drink or souvenirs and the view is much much better.

Talk about an amazing view! (Not that the island isn't full of them!) But, if you're visiting the island you should definitely stop here for your Instagram worthy shots. It's overlooking Magens Bay. They have several parking spots for easy stopping and photo taking. The tour buses stop here often for about 10 minutes or so. Hopefully you're visiting on your own and not with a tour group so you can take your time and really take in the views.

Stumbled upon this overlook while driving over to Magens Bay. Worth a stop to admire the view - you're on vacation after all! Do watch out for cars driving by! Not as impressive compared to paradise point gazing at cruise ships docked in the main bay, but beats paying $20 for the skyride there!

A definite MUST see if you are on the island. Taxis will take you here or if you have a car, do it! The views are spectacular. I took way too many photos here and came back twice, just because it is the best view of everything. Limited parking is available, but I never experienced any issues with that. It is quite the scenic drive here up the mountain!

Amazing views. Hard to get to but well worth it. Be careful not much keeping you from falling off the cliff.

Gorgeous view!!! This is a must when visiting the island! You're overlooking the beautiful Magens bay.

We must have passed the seat almost every day we were on the island but never noticed it! On our last day, we decided to stop at all the touristy landmarks, and when we stopped at the small parking lot, so were so confused and didn't know what we were looking for, since it's right next to the road and there aren't any markers to specify its importance (besides the actual chair). It is literally a small green bench on the side of the road with a nice view of the coast. The actual seat isn't very flashy, and while the view is quite nice, there are plenty of places around the island that offer nice views. I don't think this is a "must see" kind of stop, unless you're a history buff.

The highlight of this attraction is not the attraction itself (the bench), rather the view from the perch. It's breathtakingly beautiful. Magnificent. Exquisite. And there's a man with a donkey in the parking lot across the street who's been there for decades (the man, not the donkey). He requests donations to let folks take photos with his donkey. The donkey I was was photographed with on Monday was named Lady Gaga. I have to ask my momma for the donkey's name SHE was photographed with 35 years ago. Be careful crossing the street if you're from a country (cough, cough... America) that has a reverse traffic pattern than the island and you haven't yet gotten used to the island traffic situation. The roads up from both sides are hilly and drivers speed there. But the donkey keeper is nice and he'll help you cross over and back safely if he's not busy.

Really incredible photo op. Definitely recommend stopping (ample parking) to snap a few photos. The most gorgeous views of the island.

Nice spot to take some amazing pics. You can spent whole 5 minutes there.

As stated in the previous review, the real attraction here is the view from the seat. The bench itself is a hideous green construct, but I suppose part of the fun of going here is getting your picture sitting on it. Just make sure to take in the view while you're sitting here and you can realize what makes this place noteworthy to begin with. A panoramic view of several of the bays on the island is visible from the bench and it would have been easy to see any approaching ships. The place can get pretty packed though, so make sure to stay alert. The majority of people tend to stand on the ledge across the road for the view so you can go and check out the bench undisturbed.