The Ultimate Guide of Things to do in Water Island Virgin Islands

Are you thinking of planning a vacation to Water Island Virgin Islands? I’m giving you the ultimate guide of how to spend your time there!

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I just got back form Water Island Virgin Islands and it was absolutely stunning!

The best part of the Virgin Islands as a whole is how easy it is to get from island to island. If you are traveling to Water Island, you will first have to fly into St. Thomas since there is no airport on Water Island – but don’t fret…it is only a 10 minute ferry ride to get to where you’re going.

This is part of the reason so many people do day trips to Water Island while they are staying in St. Thomas or even St. John. It’s so easy to get a round-trip pass and just hop over to the next island you want to visit.

Another reason people do it as a day trip…is well there are NO hotels on Water Island. There is literally only one public bathroom on the entire island. Water Island Virgin Islands only has less than 200 residents. The only method of transportation you’ll really see after you’ve taken the ferry over, will be golf carts.

Water Island is so stunning and I’m going to give you the ultimate guide on things to do in Water Island Virgin Islands.

This post is all about things to do in Water Island Virgin Islands!

Things to do in Water Island Virgin Islands!

1.) Wait for the Ferry to Water Island at Tickles or Scoops & Brew

Since you have to fly into St. Thomas to get to Water Island Virgin Islands, I thought we could start with something that is not technically on Water Island.

When you arrive at the airport you can take a taxi (or schedule a driver like we did, because they can also take you to a grocery store so you can stock up if you need anything for an Airbnb) to the ferry. The ferry leaves every hour, so it’s perfect that there is a little restaurant called “Tickles” right at the port. It’s open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner so if you happen to get there a little early for your ferry time you can stop for some food or a drink before you have to board.

In the same little area is a great place called Scoops & Brew. You can get some delicious ice cream or coffee to take with you on your short ferry ride.

2.) Rent Golf Cart from Rachel’s Rentals and Explore the Island

The primary way anyone gets around Water Island Virgin Islands is by golf cart. When you get off the ferry, Rachel’s Rentals is just a short walk. If you’ve got a decent amount of luggage (I do suggest packing light!!) usually there will be someone from Rachel’s Rentals waiting to drive you up the hill to retrieve your rental.

The golf carts are pretty inexpensive to rent. You can rent them for the day but if you are staying on Water Island like we did you should definitely book a golf cart for your entire stay!

If you are staying on Water Island, you’ll probably want to get your stuff settled and dropped off before you start going around the island, but once you have your luggage dropped off I highly recommend exploring the island in your golf cart. Not only is it just fun, it also is so helpful to get the lay of the land!

While exploring, especially in the evenings, you’ll see lots of Red Footed Tortoises. Make sure to leave them alone because they are a protected species – but they are fun to see!

3.) Hang out at your Airbnb! (or whatever style vacation home rental you have)

I know this probably sounds odd to mention, but so many of the homes on Water Island Virgin Islands are absolutely stunning. Ours had a pool and so many amazing views, so every morning I went swimming while looking over the ocean. Our kitchen was also basically outdoors so one night we grilled and ate. There’s nothing more calming than ocean views so make sure to take them in! (But also bring bug spray because I was getting eaten up like crazy until I was able to get my hands on some)

4.) Convenience Store

As I mentioned earlier, a lot of people stock up on groceries on St. Thomas before heading to Water Island, but there is a little convenience store that has some essentials right when you get off the ferry. They’ve got very basic breakfast foods, lots of snack items, alcohol, sunscreen, bug spray, and things along that nature. It’s super helpful if there’s anything you forgot or anything you need to restock on!

You’ll have no trouble finding it! It’s literally the first thing you’ll see when you arrive and you have to go right past it to get to your golf cart rental.

5.) Eat at Dighy’s Beach Bar and Grill

Water Island only has two “restaurants” – and one of them is Dinghy’s. I’ll talk more about the other one later – Heidi’s.

Something I enjoyed was there is a live webcam on their website if you want to check it out! It’s pretty much all outdoor seating right on Honeymoon Beach.

They’ve got some great food and some great drinks! I don’t even typically care for frozen drinks very much but they had several great options I took part in! Also make sure you try the Bang Bang Shrimp for an appetizer! They were so good we got them multiple days!

6.) Swim and Snorkel at Honeymoon Beach

When you are eating at Dighy’s, you’re sitting on Honeymoon Beach. This beach is absolutely stunning! If you are there on the weekends there is a good chance you’ll see lots of boats and yachts pulled up to hang out and do some partying fo the day. If you’re more of a person who likes to avoid crowds, I suggest going early in the morning! You’ll pretty much have the beach to yourself.

There are tons of beach chairs around if you’d like to lay by the water, but there are also rentals available if you want to get in the water. We rented snorkel gear (you can put it on your Dighy’s tab because Dighy’s rents out all the water sports equipment) but you can also rent kayaks, paddle boards, stuff for beach volleyball or tennis, and more! They’ve got you taken care of for all kinds of stuff to keep you occupied for the day!

7. ) Heidi’s Hilltop Grill

Although I wasn’t able to visit Heidi’s while I was on Water Island Virgin Islands, I have heard great things about it! Just make sure you check the times and days they are open before visiting because I heard it fluctatues a lot!

We did however drive past it while we were exploring on our golf cart. It’s got gorgeous views from it’s outdoor seating, so even if they are closed it’s a cool picture spot visit!

8.) Travel Over to St. Thomas or St. John

To end my suggestions I just want to remind you how close all these islands are to each other! With the ferry running throughout the day you can easily hop from island to island. There is a long list of things you can do (maybe soon I’ll make a whole post about some of the other islands as well!) but for now, I’ll just mention my highest suggestion!

My favorite thing we did was an LED nighttime kayaking tour in clear kayaks! When you first arrive they give you glow-in-the-dark face paint and glow-in-the-dark life jackets. It’s so much fun! Then you kayak around looking for all kinds of sea life around you and even underneath you since you can see through the kayaks. It truly was amazing and I highly recommend it!

Just a heads up though, the tour we did is on St. Thomas. The ferry typically stops running at 6 pm, so you will miss the last ferry by far. But no worries! There are people who offer private water taxis, they are a little expensive but so convenient cause you can schedule them for whatever time works best for you

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