Water Island

Highly recommended side trip if you are in STT! This fourth largest island in the USVI (but with less than 200 permanent residents) is a hidden gem of beautiful beaches (especially Honeymoon Beach and Limestone Bay), a few wartime ruins, and a couple of restaurants/bars (I highly recommend Dinghy's on Honeymoon, a bucket list beach bar). The Water Island Ferry is a short walk from the cruise pier in Charlotte and a short taxi ride from the Havensight Cruise Pier. Once off the ferry, rent a golf cart (rez recommended) to explore the island or take my advice and jump on the free shuttle to Dinghy's!

Fun day of sitting on beach, snorkeling, and drinking at Dinghy’s. Easy trip over in water taxi ($20 pp)! Honeymoon Beach is beautiful!

Very nice, I took a water taxi from St Thomas to Water Island to check out honeymoon beach. I brought my own snorkel gear and saw sting rays. Some people said they saw sea turtles but I didnt see any myself. I did see beautiful colored fish. I also rented a go cart, it was $40. I recommend spending a couple hours on the beach the jump on the go cart to drive around the island. Beautiful place. You wont regret going. They do have ATMs on the island, just in case your wondering. Food was good as well.

I wanted to love this place. The snorkeling was definitely not what it was hyped to be. We did see some fish, and maybe there were weather patterns causing it to be so blah? It was a nice a relaxing place. After taking the water taxi over from the marina, they have a shuttle that will take you straight to the beach (I previously thought we would need to rent a golf cart). Unfortunately it seemed more like a tourist trap than an authentic beach encounter.

I can't even begin to tell you how much we loved Water Island! Just 2 moms, kidless, ready for a bit of adventure and relaxation. Took the ferry from Crown Bay, the gentleman who run it are terrific & Kind. When You arrive, you can just walk down to Honeymoon Beach. We rented beach chairs , snorkel gear, and an umbrella, definitely a must. Rent a golf cart for a few hours. The adventure is worth it! We had a speaker and a packed cooler of beverages, and off went went! Get shaved ice from the lovey couple! And have fun! Beep beep! Water was perfectly blue and had sea turtles swimming around. We did not eat at the bar, brought a few snacks. Local musicians showed up around 4ish too! It was our favorite day of our trip.

Beautiful and exceptionally easy access with the short ride on Water Island Ferry! Highly recommend Heidi’s hillside for food :)

This was a lovely experience. The 10 minute ferry runs from St. Thomas every hour on the hour. Once we docked on Water Island, Rachel’s Rentals greeted us to take us to the golf cart rental place. We rented a golf cart for the day. We toured Honeymoon Beach which is absolutely gorgeous and then took a stroll to the Fort which is quite neglected and a tad dangerous if not wearing the proper shoes. Then we stopped off and had some shaved ice, said hi to an adorable puppy and bought some local art work. People do live here and it’s interesting to watch how they live their day going to the open air mail drop off right beside the dock, the mini grocery stores, etc. There are some fabulous homes here. It’s a gorgeous island with a “world’s away” laid back attitude. It’s considered the 4th US Virgin Island and if you get a chance to spend the day here, do it.

Rent the golf cart from Rachel’s!! Take a tour of this oasis and stop by the crossings for a beverage and some island made Souvenirs Handmade soap from Water Island a perfect gift. Then off to Honeymoon beach for drinks , food and Fun…..

Best snorkeling, quiet and great food, good golf carts, maps and eats! Check the water taxi schedule and reserve a golf cart from Rachel's Rentals or Dingy's!

It was fun to drive around Water Island in a golf cart but that activity took only a couple of hours inclusive of a beach walk at Limestone Beach. The highlight of the day trip was Honeymoon Beach where we got to swim with sea turtles. It was an amazing experience. The beachside restaurant was excellent and reasonably priced for the Virgin Islands. We also rented snorkel equipment which made our turtle exploration much easier. All in all, we spent about six relaxing hours on the island and enjoyed our time immensely.

The beach is a 4 the food is a 3. It is really over priced for some items on the menu I spent more here then at a 4 star restaurant but it's supply and demand. The beach is such a cute getaway we spent the afternoon here and had a blast. There's a beach bar and tons of things you can rent to enhance your experience. You do have to take a ferry to the island which is $15 round trip.

Loved this place - driver Jeff was friendly and helpful. Easy water taxi $10pp RT to the beach ... Food at Dinghy's - And rent snorkel gear buy the hour ... they have other items too. Cash only as credit card didn't work due to hurricane Free beach chair

We really enjoyed our visit to this residential island which is the smallest of the fourth island to make up the US Virgin Islands. In 1944, the U.S. purchased Water Island from Denmark for $10,000 to protect the submarine base on Saint Thomas during World War II. In 1948, the US Army used sections of Water Island to test chemical warfare agents including predecessors of Agent Orange. A few years later, it was leased to residential tenants and later (1996) fully developed the island to deal with the chronic shortages in St. Thomas. St. Thomas is a ten minute water taxi ride away. Board in St. Thomas at Crown Bay Marina. Dinghy's Bar offers a free shuttle from the Water Island water taxi drop off to Honeymoon Beach which offers super clean water, lots of turtles, beautiful fish and a relaxing place to enjoy the sun. Chairs and restrooms are available for patrons. Kayaks, snorkeling gear and floaters are available for rent. Definitely worth the $10 roundtrip taxi ride. It was one of the highlights of our trip.

This is a nice little private island. It's not commercialized or a tourist trap. Our small tour boat pulled up and we had to get into the water about 4 feet deep since there was no dock in sight. I'm not sure how other tour boats do it.

02.20.2023 If you are healthy and have no limitations walking here is worth it...there are signs to the Fort or Beach. If you have limitations or just want a fun experience rent a golf cart from Rachel's Rentals...make reservations...she's not a secret anymore and gets booked quickly! You can catch the ferry behind Tickles Bar on St. Thomas. The Beach can get overcrowded with Cruise Ships in port so be sure to plan accordingly if you can (cruisedig.com helped us with this)

So let me share with you our routine in going to water island, and for those of you that are tourists on vacation this will help and save time. If you have a car you're going to have to get a permit to park at crown bay at the marina office which is right across of AT&T above the pet supply store. Don't try to park there without one security is fierce in this parking lot. It's $5 in cash and you'll need to only know the make and model of your car. Drive to the end of the marina first for this then go to the parking area for water island visitors which is the first unpaved lot on the right upon entering. If there is no parking ask the security officer at the front and they will assist you in making one up. The ferry departs on time folks, get in line 15 minutes early to ensure you get on. It only take 30 people so you might have to wait for the next one if they are full. Hubby and I typically have breakfast at Tickles (which is where the ferry docks)while we wait, if you let them know you're on a schedule because of the ferry they'll rush your food . Make sure you have cash because the ferry only takes cash and your pay for your ticket when you get on board. it's $5 each way and you'll have to pay for your return ticket in advanced and get a card to show the crew to board on the way back. The ferry isn't anything fancy but it is a very scenic 10 minute ride over to water Island. If it's your first time on the island I highly recommend renting a golf cart from Rachels. There will be a representative at the ferry dock. If not walk up the hill and the golf cart rental place is on the right. It's $40 in cash to rent all day and is a fun way to explore all parts of the island. There is a free shuttle from the ferry to Honeymoon beach but the drive along the east side looking at St. Thomas and buck island is absolutely gorgeous and the 360 view from the bunker/ fort is out of this world. But the biggest attraction on Water island is Honemoon beach and Dinghys restaurant and bar. Honeymoon beach has some of the friendliest fish I've seen. They literally come up and hang out with you. Although the Phillips Landing area where the ferry docks next to the overturned boat has some great sea life. For the return trip back try to get to the dock 15 minutes to a half an hour early especially for the 5pm or 6pm runs back, they are typically very full. Overall I love the friendly vibe of water island. Everyone will wave at you in passing golf carts, stop to help you find your way or explain parts of the island. Such a different hospitality feel than St. Thomas. We try to go every month and this is a must see if you're visiting usvi!

Acquired in the 90's by the US, Water Island is the 4th of the USVIs. It has two main beaches, Limestone and Honeymoon. Limestone is a shell beach not really for swimming or hanging on the beach. Honeymoon is a great beach to swim, snorkel and sunbath. The island has a fort which itself has 360 view of the area which is pretty amazing. I would recommend renting a golf cart if you want to check out the island, otherwise just hop a taxi down to Honeymoon Beach. We enjoyed our day here!

We took the water ferry ($30 for my hubby and I and two kids under 13) from Crown Marina. Rented a golf cart from Rachel's for $40 and explored the island. This was overrated and in hindsight should have just taken the free shuttle to Honeymoon beach. The golf carts are run down and the island doesn't have much to see. We hiked to Limestone beach. It was very dirty and stinky, lots of trash and the beach was rocky...not a place you would spend the day. We ate lunch at Heide's. The fish tacos, pasta salad and burger were delicious. No charge to rest in the shade of the palm frond umbrellas.

We looked for an excursion cruise that would accommodate my daughters (12 & 14) and my mother (86) and found that this accommodated both. My daughters got to snorkel and my mom was helped on and off the boat by the crew. I highly recommend this excursion for young and old.