Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
71.6km²
Area
101km
Coastline
473m
Highest point
Crown Mountain
42,261
People
29°C
Warmest sea
September
846km
To the mainland
When to go to Saint Thomas
Best for the beach from January to May.
The sea is warmest in September (29 °C) and coolest in February (26 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
One of the main islands of the United States Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas is an island in United States. It belongs to Lesser Antilles. It covers 71.6 km², with 101 km of coastline. Its highest point, Crown Mountain, rises to 473 m. About 42,261 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 846 km away.
Getting there
- Cyril E. King Airport (STT)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at STX airport (Christiansted)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesRed Hook, Saint Thomas - Cruz Bay, Saint John, Crown Bay - Water Island Ferry, Frenchman’s Cove - Charlotte Amalie Waterfront, Red Hook, Saint Thomas - Enighed Pond, Saint John
- 846 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Saint Thomas.
- 27beachesBordeaux Beach, Cabrita Point Beach, Fortuna Bay Beach and 24 more
- 6viewpointsDrake's Seat, 99 Steps (102 w/concrete steps added), St Thomas Airport Outlook and 3 more
- 4ferry terminalsCrown Bay Marina, Frenchman’s Cove, Charlotte Amalie Waterfront and 1 more
- 6marinasCrown Bay Marina, American Yacht Harbor, Yacht Haven Grande and 3 more
- 41named peaksCrown Mountain, Signal Hill, Saint Peter and 38 more
- 3castles and fortsBlackbeard's Castle (99 steps (102) + 35 steps), Bluebeard's Castle, Fort Christian
- 2ruins and archaeological sitesEstate Brewers Bay
- 1dive centresCoki Dive Center
- 17hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 40restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Saint Thomas in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Saint Thomas, each with its own numbers.
16beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
28.9°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
16 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Bluebeard Beach28.9°C
- Lindberg Beach28.9°C
- Long-Bay Beach28.9°C
- Morningstar Beach28.9°C
- Pineapple Beach28.9°C
- Coki Beach28.9°C
- Limetree Beach28.9°C
- Magens Bay Beach28.9°C
8 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 105 m above the sea. 85 % of it is below 200 m.
- 34 %0–50 m
- 51 %50–200 m
- 15 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Charlotte Amalie20,000 people
- Tutu5,519 people
- Altona1,316 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
| Night low (°C) | 26 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 |
| Sea (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
| Rain (mm) | 40 | 29 | 38 | 54 | 99 | 73 | 88 | 113 | 146 | 142 | 122 | 59 |
| Wet days | 15 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 21 | 20 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 21 | 18 |
| Sun h/day | 8.1 | 8.8 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 8.7 | 8.8 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 8.5 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 7.6 |
| Wind (km/h) | 24 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 23 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 24 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.4 |
| 2021 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.5 |
| 2022 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | ±0.0 |
| 2023 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.5 |
| 2024 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +1.5 | +1.6 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +1.6 | +1.0 | +1.1 |
| 2025 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.7 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Saint John
United States50 km²121 m18 km away
Tortola
United Kingdom57 km²523 m36 km away
Jost Van DykeUnited Kingdom8.5 km²321 m23 km away
CulebraUnited States27 km²3 m39 km away
Vieques
Puerto Rico133 km²37 m59 km away
Saint CroixUnited States218 km²354 m69 km away
Virgin GordaUnited Kingdom22 km²117 m57 km away
AnegadaUnited Kingdom40 km²9 m76 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q463937) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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