A Tour of St Thomas Island
On December 24th, 2018 we enjoyed an incredible tour of the Caribbean island of St. Thomas on the Sweet Like Honey Tour Bus.
How did we book the tour?
When arriving at the main shopping district in St. Thomas, a kind gentleman named Luen approached us with a non aggressive and non pushy nature, something we find commendable.
Within 5 minutes Luen told us, where we would go, what we would see, how long it would be and the cost… oh and that he’s also a fireman.
We booked the tour and went off to enjoy lunch and some shopping before joining the tour bus!
Lunch at Cafe Amalia
After a spot of shopping in the local stores like Effy, Little Switzerland, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger we went to Cafe Amalia in the Palm Passage in St. Thomas.
Palm Passage, along with Cafe Amalia has a number of lovely stores including Luryx, Ralph Lauren, Just Imagine, Fish Face and more.
After our mini shopping spree we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Cafe Amalia.
Honestly, I wish we could upload taste and smell because the lunch was absolutely delicious, we enjoyed the vegetarian pizza with red onion, mushrooms, arugula and aioli.
The food was prepared fresh, it was warm, inviting and I just can’t say enough good things about Cafe Amalia! Definitely worth grabbing lunch there if you visit St. Thomas.
The Tour of St. Thomas Begins
After our wonderful lunch, we head back to the ‘Sweet Like Honey’ tour bus to meet Luen… The bus left right on time and we made our way towards the top of the mountain.
Our first stop took about 20-25 minutes to get to and gave us a beautiful view of St. Thomas, the islands and water below.
After taking photo’s and learning about the areas we could see below, we hopped back in the bus and headed to the highest point – Mountain Top.
Mountain Top in St. Thomas is home to the world famous banana daiquiri and was approximately 45 minutes from when our tour began. Made from St. Thomas’ Cruzan Rum, bananas, sugar cane, a splash of lime and a little banana liqueur and is said to be enjoyed by over 3 million people every year at Mountain Top. Not being fans of banana’s we didn’t try these however we heard from fellow tour passengers they were delicious and cost around $10.95 and up.
In addition to the banana daiquiri, Mountain Top also has a great range of souvenir items and a beautiful view of St.Thomas!
Where do people live in St.Thomas?
Over 60% of the population of St. Thomas live in an area called Anna’s Retreat.
Anna’s Retreat is a town in St. Thomas with a population of 7,600 and it is the second largest town in the US Virgin Islands.
As we made our way back down the mountain, we first stopped so that Luen could show us the plants and trees that grow on St. Thomas. He pulled a leaf and handed it around, creating a silly and fun competition of ‘guess the smell.
We made our way onwards and stopped at a small market area where Luen introduced us to a guy playing the Steel Drum.
Rather than going for the hard sell like most markets, we were taught the history of the steel drum, how it is made, how they get the different sounds and then enjoyed some Christmas and Caribbean music. What a wonderful thing to show us. In fact people found this so enjoyable that without the usual buy it pressure, we and many others ended up buying a cd of the steel drums, one because it brings us so much joy but also to support someone so kind, friendly and entertaining.
Emerald Beach Resort
Our final stop of the tour was at Emerald Beach Resort. Luen gave everyone two options, one was to be dropped at Emerald Beach Resort and dip our feet in the ocean for 20 minutes and he would come back for us, or we could be taken back to the port straight away.
We of course chose to enjoy Emerald Beach Resort! A small resort with a hotel, restaurant, pool, pool bar and of course the beach.
We took a lovely walk around the resort and dipped our feet in the ocean!
Soon after, Luen, had returned and we got back on the bus to head back to the port.
Did I mention St. Thomas has chickens? Perhaps we should call them feral chickens running around the island… yep!
We had such a wonderful tour with Luen and would definitely recommend taking a tour of St. Thomas with him.
www.stthomastour.com