St. John

It's not hard to fall in love with an island. In the 1950s an American sailor fell hard for the beautiful bays, beaches, and steep hills of St. John, and because the sailor happened to be Laurance Rockefeller, he bought more than half of the island. Luckily for all of us, Rockefeller gave away most of his purchase to help create Virgin Islands National Park. Today that 11,000-acre park is an oasis of untrammeled nature in the U. S. Virgin Islands. You'll need a 4X4 to cover most of the island, and seasoned visitors to the island often arrive with both hiking boots and swim fins in their suitcase. The boots come in handy for hiking more than 20 miles of trails (some leading to perhaps the most scenic secluded beaches in the Caribbean), and the fins are a ticket to fabulous snorkeling in the park's underwater territory (another 5,600 acres). Kayaking, windsurfing, mountain bike and horseback riding, rock climbing… there's no problem finding ways to burn calories here, but the emphasis is really life at a slower pace. St. John does have restaurants, waterfront bars, and shopping in the small town of Cruz Bay, although if that's really what you're looking for, St. Thomas, just 5 miles away by ferry, is a much better bet. But for a place to kick back on world-class beaches set against a serene natural setting and let time just stop for awhile, St. John is a love affair to remember.