Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

One of our excursions was to Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas, the most populous of the three major U.S. Virgin Islands (population 19,000). St. Thomas is also one of the most popular cruise ship ports-of-call, with about 1.5 million cruise ship passengers landing there in 2004.


Steve, Jenn and Doris on the ferry to St. Thomas. (06/14/06)

St. Thomas is also the shopping capital of the islands. We thought it would be a great place to pick up souvenirs, since there wasn't very much shopping on St. John. We didn't find very many interesting souvenirs there, but if you are looking for alcohol, cigarettes, jewelry, sunglasses or perfume, St. Thomas is the place.


One of the main shopping streets. (06/14/06)

Charlotte Amalie is named after Charlotte Amelia of Hesse-Cassel (1650-1714), queen consort to King Christian V of Denmark. It is famous as a deep-water harbor that was once a haven for pirates. Charlotte Amalie has many buildings of historical importance and is home to the second-oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere (which we didn't see).


Charlotte Amalie from the ferry. (06/14/06)

It's a very interesting city, but based on the parts that I saw, I was a little unimpressed. But I'm glad we went.