Have you ever walked into the airport with your family, about to set off on a long-awaited family vacation to the Caribbean, when you realize with horror that your oldest son, who is now ten, is holding an expired passport from when he was five? Of course, you don’t blame them. I mean, you just booked the hotels, flights, transfers, boat trips, uncovered seemingly kid-friendly, yet cool restaurants and simply thought maybe everyone could be responsible for their own passports. But then you remember he’s ten and can’t drive to a passport office. So you head home and recalibrate on how to save the family vacation. 

If that hasn’t happened to you, amazing. If it has, I’m so sorry and welcome to the club. If you don’t want that to happen to you then read on because I have the greatest trick to getting the gang to the Caribbean without a passport. 

Here’s the trick: You’re going to go to St. Thomas, St. John and Water Island.  You will still be in US territories, but you’re going to feel like you’re in a foreign land. You’re going to drive on the left. You’re going to take water ferries. You’re going to encounter miles of preserved park land and walk straight from the beach into a snorkeler’s paradise. You’re going to drink pina coladas. And you’re never going to need your passport. 

Of course, travelers have been heading to the US Virgin Islands for years. The U.S. Virgin Islands consist of St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas (and a whole host of mini islands including Water Island that I’ll describe in detail below). The islands are volcanic in origin and their hilly interiors are surrounded by white sandy beaches. Here’s the best of the best across the area: 

The Best Restaurant in the USVI: Fish Bar (St. Thomas)

It’s probably surprising to hear that I’m going to tell you to leave the white sand beaches of St. Thomas and drive 30 minutes into the middle of the island, up and down windy road after windy road, to head to the USVI’s best restaurant. But seriously, you need to go to Fish Bar and have their passion fruit ceviche. The captain and deckhands of our catamaran swore we had to try it and we couldn’t believe our luck we did. The restaurant feels like a treehouse tucked in the side of the island and people who know head early so they can watch the sun set over the island with a handcrafted daiquiri before diving into your baked oysters and nori seaweed wraps.