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A table on the balcony at 3 Palms looks down toward the boats at American Yacht Harbor. Across the island, snorkelers are kicking out from the beach at Secret Harbour, and a few miles west, shoppers are walking between the old Danish buildings of Charlotte Amalie. St. Thomas gives you plenty of ways to fill a week, from beach days and boat trips to ambitious Caribbean cooking.
Next March, getting there from Tennessee will become considerably simpler.
Southwest Airlines is launching nonstop flights from Nashville to St. Thomas, adding another Caribbean route from an increasingly important U.S city. The new service is scheduled to begin March 13, 2027, linking Nashville International Airport with Cyril E. King Airport on Saturdays. The published schedule currently shows one flight each week beginning in mid-March.
It gives Nashville travelers a rare nonstop option to the U.S. Virgin Islands and opens the door to a very straightforward Saturday-to-Saturday Caribbean vacation. Once you land, you have an island with very different hotel choices, one of the region’s deepest restaurant scenes and easy ways to add St. John to the same trip.
Southwest Is Growing Its St. Thomas Network
The Nashville flight follows Southwest’s arrival in St. Thomas earlier this year. The airline launched Orlando-St. Thomas service in February, followed by service from Baltimore, bringing Cyril E. King Airport into the Southwest network.
The Nashville addition is especially useful because it creates a nonstop from a major Southwest city deep in the central United States. If you live in Middle Tennessee, a Caribbean trip that previously required a connection can now begin with one Saturday flight.
There is another practical advantage for U.S. citizens: you do not need a passport to visit the U.S. Virgin Islands. St. Thomas is a U.S. territory, so you can make the trip with the identification required for domestic air travel.
Once you arrive, Cyril E. King Airport puts you close to Charlotte Amalie and within taxi distance of the island’s major beach areas. St. Thomas is compact enough to explore several parts of the island during a week, and each one offers a different experience.
Start With Magens Bay, Then See More of the Island
You should make time for Magens Bay, particularly if this is your first trip to St. Thomas. The long beach is one of the island’s signature stops, with a protected bay, swimming and plenty of room to spend several hours.
Charlotte Amalie deserves its own afternoon. The historic center still carries visible remnants of the island’s Danish period in its architecture, stairways and old commercial buildings. You can walk the streets around Main Street, stop at the historic sites and then head uphill for a broader look across the harbor.
If you want a beach day with snorkeling, Secret Harbour is an excellent choice. The bay is a designated marine sanctuary, and the resort promotes snorkeling directly from the beach, with coral, tropical fish, sea turtles and other marine life in the bay.
The eastern end of St. Thomas also puts you near Red Hook, where restaurants, bars and the ferry terminal cluster around the harbor. Ferries from Red Hook make St. John an easy day trip. You can cross over, take a taxi into Virgin Islands National Park and spend part of the day at beaches such as Trunk Bay before returning to St. Thomas for dinner.
A boat day is another strong option. Charter operators leave from several points around the island for snorkeling trips, sailing excursions and trips around the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Stay All-Inclusive at the Bolongo Bay Beach Resort
If you want a straightforward Caribbean resort vacation, the Bolongo Bay Beach Resort is one of the most distinctive choices on St. Thomas.
The family-owned resort has 65 rooms, including 25 beachfront rooms on the ground floor and 40 ocean-view rooms on the upper floors. It also offers an all-inclusive plan covering meals and most drinks, something still relatively unusual on St. Thomas.
You are directly on the beach here, with kayaking, paddleboarding, snorkeling and Hobie Cat sailing among the activities offered by the resort. Bolongo Bay also operates excursions aboard its Heavenly Days catamaran, including sailing and snorkeling trips.
Meals center on Iggies’ Oasis, the resort’s oceanfront restaurant and bar, with nightly specials, cocktails and a swim-up pool bar nearby.
Bolongo Bay makes particular sense if you want most of your vacation expenses handled in advance while keeping the option to spend a few days exploring St. Thomas.
The Botany Is a New Luxury Option Coming to Western St. Thomas
The Botany is a new resort on the western end of St. Thomas that is still preparing to open. The project is taking shape at Botany Bay, about 10 miles west of Charlotte Amalie, with one- and two-bedroom villas and suites ranging from roughly 850 to 1,400 square feet. Some accommodations are planned with kitchenettes, indoor and outdoor baths, and private pools.
The resort is also planning chef-driven Caribbean menus, private beach picnics, culinary classes, sailing trips, snorkeling excursions and guest wellness experiences.
If the Botany is open by the time Southwest begins its Nashville service in March, it will give travelers a new luxury choice on a quieter part of St. Thomas, with larger accommodations and a strong emphasis on privacy. Check the resort’s opening status before making travel plans, since it has not yet begun welcoming guests.
Secret Harbour Gives You a Beachfront Home Base
On the East End, the Secret Harbour Beach Resort has another approach: condo-style accommodations directly around one of the island’s best swimming and snorkeling bays.
The resort has studios plus one-, two- and three-bedroom condominium suites. Units come with kitchens and private patios or balconies, an especially useful feature if you are staying for a full week or traveling with children.
You also have a swimming beach right outside the resort. Snorkeling is a major reason to stay here, and paddleboards, kayaks and other watersports are available nearby. There is also a pool, hot tub, fitness center and tennis court.
Secret Harbour also puts you close to Red Hook, making it convenient for a St. John ferry day, a boat charter or dinner on the East End.
If you are looking at Southwest’s Saturday schedule as the basis for a weeklong family trip, having a kitchen and separate bedrooms can be especially useful.
Make a Dinner Reservation at 3 Palms
You should reserve at least one night for 3 Palms in Red Hook.
The restaurant is at American Yacht Harbor, with indoor seating and an outdoor balcony overlooking the marina. The kitchen focuses on local seafood and prime meats, with French, contemporary American and New Orleans influences appearing across the menu.
The menu can change according to local catch and available produce, so the exact choices vary. Seafood is a strong place to start, and the restaurant also has an extensive wine list and cocktail program.
Its Red Hook location makes 3 Palms particularly convenient if you are staying at Secret Harbour or elsewhere on the eastern end of St. Thomas.
Blue 11 Is the Dinner to Plan Ahead
Then there is Blue 11, one of the island’s most ambitious culinary experiences.
Located at Yacht Haven Grande, Blue 11 offers chef-led Caribbean tasting menus featuring local ingredients. You choose among seven-, nine- or 11-course menus, with optional wine pairings. The restaurant’s current schedule lists service Wednesday through Sunday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
This is a reservation to plan rather than a casual stop after the beach. The tasting-menu format gives you a very different look at Virgin Islands ingredients and Caribbean flavors, and Yacht Haven Grande is close to central Charlotte Amalie.
A week on St. Thomas can easily include both ends of the spectrum: fish or a casual lunch near the beach during the day, then a multi-course dinner at Blue 11.
Why a Saturday Flight Makes Sense Here
Southwest’s schedule gives Nashville travelers a natural framework for a St. Thomas vacation.
You fly down Saturday, spend a week splitting your time among beaches, Charlotte Amalie, Red Hook, boat trips and St. John, then return the following Saturday. A rental car gives you greater flexibility if you plan to explore extensively, while taxis are widely used between the airport, hotels, restaurants and beaches.
Hotel choice can shape the trip. The Bolongo Bay Beach Resort gives you the all-inclusive option. The Botany gives you private villas and a quieter western location. The Secret Harbour Beach Resort gives you condominium-style rooms beside a snorkeling beach and close proximity to Red Hook.
Then you can build the rest around a handful of places worth planning in advance: Magens Bay, a ferry trip to St. John, dinner at 3 Palms and a tasting menu at Blue 11.
Beginning March 13, 2027, Southwest’s new Nashville flight puts all of it on the other end of a nonstop Saturday departure.
The post Southwest Airlines Is Launching a New Nonstop Flight From Nashville to St. Thomas in March appeared first on Caribbean Journal.
