Frederiksted

Frederiksted is a town on the island of Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Get in

Frederiksted is best accessed by rental car from the island's airport, (STX ^IATA). Cruise ships also occasionally dock at its pier.

See

• Cruzan Rum Distillery, 3A Estate Diamond, ☏ +1 340-692-2280. M–F 9AM–4PM, Sa, Su 10AM–2PM. Tour the distillery and participate in the tasting after. Cruzan Rum is available just about everywhere, but there are certain flavors (i.e., Clipper) that are not sold on the U.S. mainland, so take a bottle back with you. $8 (credit or debit card only). 
• 1 St. George Village Botanical Garden, 127 George Rd, Frederiksted, ☏ +1 340-692-2874. George/Kingshill, just north, off Centerline Road, near Frederiksted. Stroll about the grounds of the former plantation. 
• 2 Whim Plantation (Whim Great House) (South of Centerline Rd between Good Hope Rd (Hwy 63) and Whim Rd (Hwy 703)), ☏ +1 340 772-0598. M W F Sa: Nov-Apr 10AM-4PM and May-Oct 10AM-3PM. A restored plantation that was once a prospering sugar plantation on the Virgin Islands for 300 years (17th-19th centuries). (updated Jan 2020)

Do

• 1 Frederiksted Pier. The pier at Frederiksted is said to be one of the best natural wildlife dives in the Caribbean, and is certainly one of the best in the U.S. Critters to be seen include various species of eel, crab and lobster, playful, color-shifting Caribbean octopus and seahorses. If you're very lucky, you might run into Erl, the resident seven-foot lime-green moray eel. Tons of critters have taken up residence in the artificial reef formed by the town's cruise ship pier. Because the dive skirts the pier and never goes below 10 m (30 ft), it is a great way for inexperienced divers to see a wide variety of undersea wildlife without venturing too deep or too far from shore, while the sheer abundance of that nocturnal wildlife makes the trip out worth it for more seasoned divers, too. 
• 2 Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge. Sa Su 10AM-4PM. Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge preserves habitat for threatened and endangered species, with particular emphasis on the leatherback sea turtle. Its two miles of sandy beaches on the southwest corner of Saint Croix is an ideal nesting place for leatherbacks. Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge is closed to the public April through August to protect leatherback sea turtle nests and hatchlings. The final scene and end credits of Shawshank Redemption (1994) were filmed at the refuge in place of "Zihuatanejo". (updated Jan 2020)

Sleep

• Renaissance St. Croix Carambola Beach Resort & Spa (Carambola Beach Resort), Estate Davis Bay (16 km NE of Frederiksted), ☏ +1 340-778-3800. With golf course. (updated Dec 2022)

Go next

• Christiansted – toward the eastern end of the island