What to Pack for the U.S. Virgin Islands

Pack for a park, because most of St John is one.

The National Park Service records that Virgin Islands National Park is comprised of 7,259 acres of terrestrial habitat, which is about 60 percent of the island land mass, together with 5,650 acres of adjacent submerged lands and some 800 species of plants.

Sixty percent is the number that should shape your bag. A visit to St John is a visit to a national park whether or not you planned one, which argues for shoes you can walk a rough trail in, water you carry rather than buy, and sun cover you put on before you set out.

The water is half the park, so pack for it.

Those 5,650 acres of submerged land are not scenery, they are the park. Buck Island Reef National Monument, off St Croix, is described by the Park Service as holding a famous underwater trail and endangered elkhorn coral reefs, and President John F. Kennedy called it the finest marine garden in the Caribbean Sea.

Bring your own mask and snorkel if you have them; they fit better than rented ones and you will use them more. Bring a rash guard rather than relying on repeated sunscreen over a reef, and a dry bag for anything that must stay dry on a boat.

Reef-safe, and the reason it is not a slogan here.

These reefs are federally protected and the Park Service names the elkhorn coral on them as endangered. Choosing sunscreen accordingly is a small decision with a direct object, and it costs you nothing.

Emergency numbers, written down rather than remembered.

The Park Service publishes that in case of emergency you should dial 911, and from a cell phone dial 340 776-9110. Put both in your phone before you go rather than looking for them when you need them. The second is the park's own number and is not a substitute for the first.

Documents, and the two worth copying.

Carry proof of your insurance and read the evacuation clause rather than assuming it. Keep a separate copy of whatever identification you are traveling on, stored somewhere that is not the same bag.

And keep your receipts together. Customs and Border Protection publishes a duty-free personal exemption of up to 1,600 dollars for unaccompanied purchases from an insular possession imported within 30 days, and an allowance is only useful to a traveler who can show what they spent. Our money guide sets out both figures.

What the accessible facilities tell you to bring.

The Park Service records that Trunk Beach has beach wheelchairs, accessible parking, restrooms, changing rooms and accessible paths to water, and that the Cinnamon boardwalk is wheelchair accessible. Those are specific places with specific provision, and knowing which ones they are changes what a traveler needs to carry. Our accessibility guide goes through them, and through the sites where the Park Service says the opposite.

Sources

• National Park Service: Virgin Islands National Park basic information: the instruction that we drive on the left here in the Virgin Islands, that a visitor should pay extra attention when making turns, pulling out into traffic or crossing the road, and that a pedestrian should walk facing traffic, which here is the right side of the road; and that the park is comprised of 7,259 acres of terrestrial habitat, about 60 percent of the island land mass, together with 5,650 acres of adjacent submerged lands and some 800 species of plants. Accessed 18 September 2026.
• National Park Service: Virgin Islands National Park safety: the instruction in case of emergency to dial 911, and from a cell phone to dial 340 776-9110. Accessed 18 September 2026.
• National Park Service: Buck Island Reef National Monument: that President John F. Kennedy called it the finest marine garden in the Caribbean Sea, that it holds a famous underwater trail and endangered elkhorn coral reefs, and that there are trails on the 176-acre island leading to an observation platform. Accessed 18 September 2026.
• National Park Service: Virgin Islands National Park accessibility: that the Cinnamon boardwalk is wheelchair accessible and provides access to the ruins of Cinnamon Bay Plantation, with a wheelchair-accessible entrance, parking and restrooms, and that Trunk Beach has beach wheelchairs, wheelchair-accessible parking, restrooms, changing rooms and accessible paths to water. Accessed 18 September 2026.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Customs duty information for returning residents: that up to 1,600 dollars in goods will be duty-free under a personal exemption where unaccompanied purchases are from an insular possession and are imported within 30 days, and that a returning resident is otherwise eligible for the 800 dollar duty-free personal exemption every 31 days having remained for no less than 48 hours beyond the territorial limits of the United States, except the U.S. Virgin Islands. Accessed 18 September 2026.