Lazy Day On Water Island
Yesterday my sister and I, along with several of her friends, spent a fun day on Water Island. The smallest of the four islands comprising the USVI, Water Island is a residential island with a population of less than 200 people. Because of its laidback beach it is a popular place for my sister (who lives on St. Thomas) to visit on the weekend.
The Water Island Ferry leaves from Crown Bay Marina on St. Thomas and runs several time a day. The trip takes only ten minutes and costs $10 round trip for adults and $5 round trip for children. You pay the captain on board and your return ticket includes the ferry schedule on the back so that you won't forget the time to be back at the dock.
We grabbed brunch at Tickles Dockside Pub at Crown Bay Marina and then hopped on the 10:30 am ferry. The views of St. Thomas as we pulled out were quite lovely.
Honeymoon Beach, where we spent the day, is only a few minutes walk from the Water Island Dock. You walk up the road from the dock, past a few charming homes and then you can see the beach off to the right down below.
Descending down the hill you are greeted by a lovely beach lined with palm trees that sits along beautiful Druif Bay.
Underneath the palm trees on Honeymoon Beach are little wooden umbrella huts topped with palm fronds to provide shade. Brightly colored benches are situated underneath them for seating. We snagged one of the umbrellas and set out our beach gear for the day.
For food and drinks there are two food truck options. On the far side of Honeymoon Beach sits Joe's Beach Bar which has a variety of tropical mixed drinks and some fried foods like corn dogs and french fries.
Heidi's Honeymoon Grill is on the close end of the beach and has grilled food like hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages. She also sells beer plus frozen drinks from the back of a little truck with solar panels on the roof. I had an Italian sausage and a frozen strawberry margarita which were both tasty.
We spent our day relaxing in the calm water, reading books and taking naps on beach towels in the sand. There really isn't anything like falling asleep to the sound of the water lapping the shore on a warm, lazy afternoon.
Of course, I also couldn't resist taking a few pictures. The water was especially clear taking on a brilliant teal color when the sun was out and turning a moodier blue when the clouds rolled in.
We also spent a bit of time scouring the rocks to look for sea glass and managed to find a handful of pretty green glass.
Before we knew it, it was 5:00. With the last ferry of the day departing at 5:15 we quickly packed up and I snapped a last shot of the deserted beach with the sun setting before we hurried back to the dock.
We managed to get to the dock just in time to see the ferry pull up. (Bonus points if you can spot the beached ship in the background)
Again we had some pretty views of St. Thomas on the way back and all too soon we were pulling in to Crown Bay Marina.
It was a perfect, relaxing day. If you ever find yourself on St. Thomas for a while and are looking for a low key day away on the beach, I would highly recommend visiting Water Island.
Monday, November 26, 2012 at 7:14AM | Posted by Lisa | 4 Comments | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article 
Reader Comments (4)
Love St. Thomas! Love St. Johns! Will have to check out that pretty island next time around!!
Thanks for sharing the gorgeous pix!
I want to be there. Beautiful photos - cannot wait to see these scrapped.
I am so jealous!! Looks like you had a lovely day. Does your sister, by any chance, offer spare bedroom space for complete strangers who promise to not be mass murders and only want time to soak in the sun and relax? If so, let me know. I'll sign up right away! :)
Kathy- Thank you! The Virgin Islands are pretty, aren't they? Water Island is nice because it is more locals and very laid back. It isn't as pristine as some of the beaches on St. John but you have some services (i.e. the food trucks and a bathroom) so it is a nice place to spend a day.
Mary-Lou- Thank you so much! I had fun taking those pictures.
Rene- Thank you! It was a really wonderful day. I will inquire to my sister and let her know that she should consider opening a B&B. :)