Private tour - not to miss sites in St. Thomas

After much waffling back and forth we have decided to do a private tour of St. Thomas. I'm not much into shopping and if there is no time for the beach that is fine too.... I'm sure our tour guide will take us to all of the scenic locations - but wanted to know if there were some other not to miss sites he may not take us to. We are in port 8-5 - would love an island tour and a nice lunch.

If you're not interested in beaches or shopping what are you interested in? What type of vehicle will your private tour provide? Some of the historic sites are hard for large vehicles to navigate.

When are you coming?

We leave in a couple of weeks. I don't dislike shopping or the beach. :) I just returned from a week at the beach. I don't mind shops that feature local crafts (I just hate going in those "made in China" stores). I would like to spend more time seeing the island. We have been to St. Thomas twice before, but have always headed straight to St. John and this time I would like to see St. Thomas. We plan to go with Stanley Coram as our driver - not sure what size of vehicle he uses.

Thanks for providing more details. What does Stanley suggest? I find it interesting that people book private recommended tours and then ask on forums where they should go. I always leave it up to the tour guides because I figure they know their island best.

We have booked private tours on other islands in the past - most guides have a "standard" tour they give. I have received MANY recommendations off the boards on things to see that the tour guide would never have taken us to - like hidden swimming spots, waterfalls, local shops, etc. Once we requested this be added to our tour they were very happy to include it. We have also found a lot of guides have a favorite place to take their customers for meals - perhaps getting a kick back for bringing them. So, for me that is why I have booked a private guide but asked these questions.

The places he talked about taking us were the standard places all tours go, but he also said he would be glad to take us any place we would like to see. Maybe St. Thomas isn't big enough to have hidden gems, I don't know.

Part of the problems with St Thomas is that sone of the roads can't accommodate the large taxi vehicles, there isn't parking everywhere, and many attractions charge a fee. The taxi drivers tend to include free attractions that can accommodate their vehicles with free parking.

Would love to hear what others recommend. I like the University of Virgin Islands campus. There's an old time house made of sticks and the library is really gorgeous. Not sure if you can tour the Marine Science building but that's also very interesting.

Thanks for your suggestions! On other islands some of the stops we have requested required admission fees so I have no problem with that.

For a nice lunch that's off the beaten path try The Left Banc near Market Square or Sugarcane Grill at Bunker Hill Hotel. Sugarcane is an open air restaurant with view of the harbor. Both have been reviewed on TripAdvisor.

If your tour takes you to the East End try De Coal Pot for lunch. If you want a vegan lunch go to Love Livin at Pilgrim's Terrace.

Some of the taxi drivers have a contact with a farmer and include a stop at a farm. I've never been on one of those tours but heard about them from a number of sources.

Oh! The St Johns Bay Rum factory in Havensight. You'll see how they make this famous fragrance. Very interesting history. The factory is tiny so not much time to be spent but I think this may be the only bay rum factory in the Caribbean that's open to the public.