Tolbert Travels

St. Croix was truly a tropical paradise that we will never forget and hope to return to soon. We flew into STX on June 26, 2021, after a 3.5-hour flight with no idea that our snorkeling dreams were about to come true. We LOVE water, so we spent as much time as possible in it! We swam with sea turtles, stingrays, tarpon, and squid, and spotted the most beautiful starfish, other tropical fish, coral & sponges.

Accommodation: Gentle Winds Condominiums on the north side of the island a few miles west of Christiansted (pic below)

Snorkeling Book Guide: click here!

 

What did we do while in St. Croix? Here’s a quick overview:

June 26th:

• Arrive and check in to AirBnb – Gentle Winds

June 27th:

• Snorkeled for over 3hrs at Cane’s Bay (all the way to the mooring ball)
• Snorkeled at Butler’s Bay

June 28th:

• Visited Buck Island Reef National Monument – phenomenal experience! We enjoyed the underwater trail and the second snorkeling spot on the tour where I saw a Barracuda. We also saw a nurse shark hiding underneath a rock. This was our FIRST visit to an underwater National Park that encompasses 176 acres above and below water. The island is accessible by boat only. Learn more here!
• We arrived back around 3PM from Buck Island & headed straight for Tamarind Reef Resort where we snorkeled more as a family.

June 29th:

• Hiked to Annaly tidal pools (Tip: Visit the Renaissance Beach Resort and spa in the AM and let them know at the guard house that you intend to hike to the Tide Pools. Don’t worry about hiring a guide, as it isn’t too bad to find and is super beautiful! We arrived in the afternoon and wished we had more time here.)
• Visited Captain Morgan Rum Distillery Tour & Mutiny Island Vodka

June 30th:

• Kristoff proposed to me on the beach at sunrise!! 🙂 I had NO idea that he was about to propose to me. It was extremely romantic, as we were the only humans in sight & the words he said … were just for me. Our sister took pics a few days later of us on the beach and I’m so thankful we have these photos forever. ❤

• Snorkeled at Isaac’s Bay – We were the only ones on the beach, so it was perfect for swimming and had a barrier reef for snorkeling!

July 1st-July 2nd:

• Visited Sandcastle Beach and dad built a sandcastle!
• Snorkeled at the Frederiksted Pier
• Snorkeled at other locations, but I just can’t remember where! 🙂

July 3rd:

• Snorkeled all day long
• Ate at Louie & Nacho’s Beach Bar for dinner. K and I ate chicken tacos, hangover nachos, and a shrimp BLT wrap. Here’s a picture of the nachos we devoured. So yummy!

July 4th:

• Swam for as long as possible at Grace Winds before putting real clothes on. I flew home with wet hair and memories I’ll never forget!!

Random fun fact: Two days later we toured our first & only wedding venue. On July 8th we signed the contract and put down our $500 deposit for June 2022!!