Saint Croix is the southernmost and largest of the US Virgin Islands, separated from the main USVI cluster by 40 miles of open water and possessing a distinct, unhurried character that sets it apart from the busier charter circuit to the north. A motor yacht charter here covers two well-developed harbours, Christiansted and Frederiksted, a wall dive on the north shore that drops to over 1,000 metres within a few hundred metres of the beach, and a series of secluded anchorages along the east end that motor yachts can reach in minutes.
The motor charter fleet based in and transiting through the USVI numbers around 162 published yachts, ranging from 25-metre sportscruisers to 60-metre displacement vessels with full beach club facilities. Saint Croix’s calm west coast allows large motor yachts to anchor close to Frederiksted Pier, where the wall dive beneath the pier is considered one of the top night dives in the Caribbean. Buck Island National Monument, reached in under 30 minutes by motor tender, holds a designated underwater snorkel trail through a barrier reef.
Weekly motor charter rates in the USVI range from 50,000 to 215,000 euros depending on vessel size. The advance provisioning allowance of 30 percent covers fuel, marina fees and provisioning. The USVI requires no cruising permit for US-flagged vessels and customs entry is straightforward for foreign-registered yachts. The peak season runs from December to April, with February and March delivering the most settled conditions.
From Christiansted a motor yacht is well positioned to run south toward Puerto Rico on an overnight passage, explore the east end’s Cotton Valley coves by tender, and reach Buck Island for the snorkel trail before the daily tour boats arrive. The Cruzan Rum Distillery in Frederiksted is reachable by tender from the west anchorage, adding a different kind of island experience to the itinerary.
