Water Island is about 1 mile south of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is nestled snugly in the harbor of the main town, Charlotte Amalie. You can only get to Water Island by ferry.

St. Thomas itself is located about 70 miles east of Puerto Rico. On a really clear day, you can see the mountains of Puerto Rico from the porch of the house. The U.S. Virgin islands are comprised of St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John. In 1997, Water Island officially became the fourth one, but no one calls it that.

Water Island is about 500 acres, with nearly 100 houses on it. The population fluctuates between 50 - 75 in the summer months to up to 200 in the winter.

Well, there are practically no amenities on Water Island (other than those offered by nature). If you're looking for a partying nightlife, bars, clubs, etc, this is not the place. Yes, you can do all that stuff on St. Thomas, but you are limited by the ferry schedule.

Also, there is only one small store on the island. This means that you can either buy your food and bring it over with you, or choose to have the house provisioned for you before you arrive. It is not difficult, but it does take some planning. For example, if you're cooking dinner and suddenly realize that you forgot the butter, you can't just rush out to the 7/11 and get some. We learn to be creative and improvise in these cases.

Water Island presents a unique opportunity to re-connect with yourself, a loved one or your family without any outside pressures. It is not "roughing it" in any way, but it is also not being pampered like a big resort hotel. You will get the experience of what it is actually like to live in paradise.

Right now? 82 degrees, mostly sunny, moderate trade winds. It is always 82 degrees, mostly sunny, moderate trades.

Seriously, there is about a 7 or 8 degree difference between winter and summer in the Caribbean. It never gets cold, and never seems to get too hot (even in the middle of summer)

In winter, the temperature ranges from the early 70's in the evening to around 82 in the middle of the day. At most, you might need a very light sweater in the evenings. This is also the dry season. A light shower in the afternoon is not uncommon, but it is usually sunny and dry. The water temperature gets all the way down to 79 degrees. Most locals consider this far to cold to swim. Yeah, right. I swim all year round.

In summer, the range is about 75 at night to 90 in the day. But because you're surrounded by water and there is constant breeze, it never seems that hot. I find that summer in the Caribbean is far more pleasant than summer in New York City. My house is not air conditioned, and I've never felt that it was necessary. Ceiling fans work great. Water temperature climbs to about 82 degrees. Locals will start to swim again.

Hurricane season runs from June to the end of November. This is the season where all the locals become amateur weather forecasters, and talk is all about tropical waves off Africa, isobars, and pressure ridges. This is also the wet season. It is not uncommon for a tropical wave to bring several days of rain showers. Again, it usually doesn't rain all day, just more than the average afternoon shower.

But if you want to check what the weather is like right now, check out NOAA. I'll bet is is 82 degrees, mostly sunny, moderate trades.

Bring Sunscreen!

Generally, no. During the dry season (winter), there are a few mosquitoes but not too many. During the wet season, the mosquito population picks up a little and can become annoying. This usually happens about a week after a heavy rain. Mosquitoes are morning and evening feeders. They usually won't bother you during the daytime.

On the beach around sunset there are the ever-present 'No-see-ums'. These won't bother you during the daytime, or after sunset.

Of course, being in the tropics, there are a few cockroaches. You have to be slightly fanatical about keeping food and garbage under control. If you do that, you probably won't see any. Anyway, the lizards keep the cockroach population under control.

Relax on the beach, search the windward side beach for cool shells and other washed up stuff, hike, bike, talk, enjoy the sunsets, snorkel, SCUBA dive, drink fruity blender drinks, etc. See the Day Trips suggestion page for some more ideas.

Technically, any proof of citizenship will do... drivers license and birth certificate, passport, green card, etc. I always bring my passport, because it seems to make the Customs/Immigration thing go a little quicker. Also, if you plan to try one of the day trips to the British Virgin Islands, then a passport is highly recommended and you'll get a cool new stamp in it.

Well, not exactly. Every Saturday night one of the local residents (Heidi) brings her restaurant, Heidi's Honeymoon Grill, to the beach. She will usually serve 3 entrees, a meat dish (usually a great steak grilled to perfection), a chicken or fish dish and a vegetarian dish. Most of the island residents and their guests come down for her gourmet food served on the beach. Heidi is an excellent chef!

So picture yourself sitting on a white sandy beach, eating a gourmet meal by the light of tiki torches, listening to the gentle waves lapping the shore nearby and looking at the moon and stars through the palm trees. It really is an incredible experience!

Then on Sundays, Heidi grills burgers, chicken, and other stuff all day on the beach.

Prices are reasonable, the food is great and the libations flow freely.

There is a new small store on Water Island! They stock a variety of the basics (milk, bread), beer, rum, vodka, etc and mixers. There is a Deli counter where you can get custom made sandwiches, and a pizza oven. The will also be glad to get you anything special that you may need.

There are several other options for food shopping as well. First, there is the Gourmet Gallery, which is right next to Tickles where the Water Island ferry docks. This can't be beat for convenience. It is very pricey, though. It mostly caters to the Mega Yachts (yachts over 100ft) that stay in Crown Bay Marina, so it carries some very exclusive and exotic foods. You can get almost anything here, even that $500.00 bottle of wine you wanted for dinner tonight

The other option is the Pueblo store. It is about 1/4 mile walk from Crown Bay. This is a sort of normal grocery store. Prices are better here, but the quality of the meats and vegetables can be hit or miss. And you have to carry whatever you buy back to the Ferry.

I've gotten into the habit of buying most 'basics' at the Pueblo, and then finishing off at the Gourmet Gallery for the better quality stuff. I also tend to buy the lighter stuff at Pueblo, and heaver stuff at Gourmet Gallery. It's worth it to me to pay a little extra and not have to carry heavy stuff.

Good question. Like many Caribbean islands, there is no ground water, well water, or municipal water system on Water Island. All water is rain water, caught off the roof and stored in large cisterns under the house. I've never had a problem drinking it, and none of my guests have reported any problems. If you have a weak stomach however, you might want to consider bringing bottled water from St. Thomas.

Which brings up another interesting point. The house has cistern storage for over 20,000 gallons of rain water. If it doesn't rain, that's all there is. So us locals tend to be fairly conservative on water usage, and ask that our guests be the same. Take short showers, don't leave the water running while brushing the teeth, don't waste water while washing the dishes, that kinda thing.

You don't have to go crazy. I mean, 20,000 gallons is actually a lot of water. But I do ask that you be aware of your water usage.

By the way, this is how you tell a local from a tourist. When it rains, the locals are the ones that are smiling and happy. All that water is going into our cisterns. It means that we can actually take a shower and flush the toilet! It takes so little to keep us happy.

The Virgin Islands were owned by, at any given time, Spain, France, England, Holland, Denmark and the US. In the 1600's St. Thomas was a major slave trading port and a pirate refuge, and Water Island probably played a role in that. No treasure has been found. Yet. But there are a few interesting pirate legends.

More recently, the US bought the Virgins from Denmark during WWI to keep them from becoming a submarine base for the Germans. The US Army built a small fort, Fort Segara, on Water Island (ruins of which can still be explored at the top of the highest hill).

Water Island was turned over to the US Department of the Interior after WWII. Somewhere in the '50s, a guy named Walter Phillips came to the USVI, saw Water Island and fell in love with it, left New York and moved down. He leased the island from the Dept. Of the Interior, started a small hotel, got some friends down and cleaned up the place and the Water Island community began. Mr. Phillips stayed down on Water Island until his death a few years ago.

In 1997, the US Dept of the Interior turned Water island over to the government of St. Thomas.

A wise man once said, "Everything is within walking distance, if you have the time". On Water Island, a car is supplied with the house. You can drive (on the left!) or walk anywhere

On St. Thomas, things get a little more complicated. You can call a taxi to take you just about anywhere, but it'll cost you. Calling a taxi is a little strange. They are sometimes difficult to understand, as they're all radio dispatched. When you call, tell them where you are (probably at Tickles in Crown Bay if you just got off the ferry), where you're going, and how many people in your party. Then wait while he broadcasts to all his units to see if any can get there. You'll hear all sides of the conversation. Hopefully he'll have someone available. He will tell you the van number and color. Do not get into any other taxi. You can also ask the bartender at Tickles to call a taxi for you.

For the more intrepid (or frugal), another option exists. These are called 'Safari Buses'. These are open covered pickup trucks with seats in the back for up to 15 people. They run a specific route... either "town" or "country". The country route will take you all the way to the east end (RedHook, for the St. John ferry or Duffy's Love Shack) and around the island. These only cost a dollar.

There are two types of Safari buses, ones that pick up the cruise ship passengers and take them from the ship to town and back (these are expensive), and the local ones. There is no visible difference between these types. If the driver leans out the window and yells "Back to the ship?" at you, it is a tourist safari. Don't get on it. You're not going back to the ship.

Pick up the local type safari to town on the road just north of Niski Plaza. Have someone at Tickles show you where.

Walking into town is another option. It will take just under an hour, and the sun can be brutal! Wear sunscreen. This shouldn't be attempted after dark.

Generally, as long as you stay in the 'tourist' areas it is safe. If you stray into some of the stranger areas it could get a little dangerous. But that's like everywhere. New York City is safe as long as you don't stray.

That being said, avoid walking around too much after dark.

Water Island is completely safe. There is usually no need to lock the house, and we all leave the keys in the cars (not like anyone would want to steal a typical Water Island Car)

Not exactly sure why you would want to do that.

The USVI are part of the US Postal system, zip code 00802. No international stamps required. Phones are part of the US as well, area code 340. Internet connections are available through ATT WorldNet and others. Internet access is available in Crown Bay (St. Thomas Communications, next to Tickles) and there are several Internet cafes downtown. The house has a TV, but there are only 2 stations available. VCR and DVD are hooked up, so you can rent movies.

In the near future, the house will be wired for high speed Internet access. I hope. Things happen slow down here

Me? Well, I'm just another bozo on the beach