Blackbeard’s Castle

My wife and I absolutely loved seeing Blackbeard’s Castle on our last cruise to St. Thomas. We came upon it by accident after walking up the famous «99 steps». What a treat — definitely worth the money.
Insider Tip: This is a very easy walk from the pier, but wear comfortable shoes.
Highly recommend! Be sure to pay for a full priced ticket (~$ 15 per person) to have the opportunity to see the historic homes on the property, too.

Yeah, it’s not really a castle. It’s an old lookout tower that was used by Blackbeard, but the pirate never owned it. Tour buses take people up there all the time. The history is nothing really too new, but the view of the island is pretty good. Just know that they only let eight people into the lookout tower they call «Blackbeard’s Castle» at a time. So, if you are in a large group, you’ll have to wait a while.
The best part of this tour is going down the steps on the other side. There are a few stops on the way where you will encounter other, great history like the statue of the Three Queens of the Virgin Islands who organized the successful slave insurrection that led to better lives, and more prosperity for the many slaves in the region.
The «castle» is the weakest of the attractions here. The beauty, and the interest is going down the backside of the hill, and, of course, just being in that beautiful part of the world.

Climbing the 99 steps was the best part of the Blackbeard’s caste tour. The castle itself (the tower mainly), was beautiful and it offered fantastic views of St. Thomas, but the many stops of the walking tour made it a complete experience, otherwise the Blackbeard’s Castle alone, would not have been much to see and/​or do.

Part of our self-​guided walking beer tour of downtown. The hills are not so bad as everyone says, neither is the heat. Yeah you will sweat walking up there but it’s not bad. The view is worth the walk, plus you get to walk the 99 steps (really 103). They are located just past Hotel 1829 which is now closed, leads you up to the castle for some good photos and a cold drink.

I wanted to see a castle … I wanted rum … we were headed to St. Thomas on a cruise. Why not?
It was worth the money and was a part of our tour stops … we learned about Blackbeard, we learned how to make rum and got to take amazing photographs from a top of the mountain.
Reasonably priced and a must stop if you are into pirates/​rum/​beautiful scenery.
I really don’t know why the other people are giving this place such low reviews.

We managed to do the trek up to Blackbeard’s Castle on our last day in St. Thomas. I really wanted to do the steps and see the tower because it’s kind of a famous landmark for the island, but I figured we would skip the $ 14 «ticket» that gets you into the historic houses that are along the way to the tower. It was nice to get a little exercise and see some sights.
First, you should know that while it’s called the 99 Steps, you will walk up many many more than that from town up to the tower. First, you have steps from the shopping area to the actual «99 steps». The 99 Steps are actually more like 102 steps and once you get to the top of them, there are more flights of steps to get to the tower/​hotel. What I’m saying, is plan for a lot of steps. Which aren’t bad, but it’s freaking hot and humid there! Luckily at the top there is a bar called the Salty Dog that sells cold drinks! The bartender while we were there was very friendly, which was nice.
Along the 99 steps there are historic homes. With the exception of the first one where they try to sell you the ticket and which is a gift shop, you need a wristband to go into the historic homes that are open. Once you get to the top, in addition to the tower and the bar, you’ll also find a cute little pirate store (with excellent AC!!!), a bunch of pirate statues and other pirate related photo ops. You also get a really beautiful view of the harbors from up there.
It’s worth doing, especially if you’re looking for something to do in St. Thomas/.Charlotte Amalie when you don’t have a lot of time… like if you’re on a cruise ship! I’m really glad we did it even though I was sooo sweaty afterwards!
I did find out that it’s possible to get to the tower even if you are unable to walk up the steps. There are roads that go up to the tower because it is also part of a hotel. The tricky part is that it’s hard to find and once you get there, parking can be a real challenge if you aren’t staying at the hotel (maybe even if you are!). So it’s possible, but might be tricky.

We were told it was 14 $ each by a guide downstairs to do everything in the complex, but then when we got to the entrance we were told that it was free, but if you wanted to go into the historic houses it would be 14 $. We opted for the free experience, which included the blackbeard tower, amber museum, gardens, pools.
Very nice views from the top of the tower, but only 8 people are allowed in at once so if there are cruise ships in town you might have a wait.

Blackbeard’s Castle is a great tourist attraction on St Thomas, USVI. It is engineered to make you shop while you enjoy the history of the area. Bring your walking shoes because you’ll be walking up and/​or down the entire hill as you make your way through the different levels. The «castle» is only a single tower (seen in the pix below) but the area is make up of gardens, vistas and houses belonging to historic individuals important to the history of the islands.
It’s more of a shopping trip than a history lesson but it is worth the day trip if you’re in the area. They have «home made rum» for sale that is very very good. I suggest the frute flavored rums! VERY GOOD. They will wrap them for you to take home — but remember to pack them in your checked baggage as you canNOT take them on the plane with you.

$ 14/​person to be shuffled through several jewelry stores and a bar. Plus 2 run down historic «houses” – really a couple of rooms each. The view from the top of the «castle» was good, but the castlle is really only a 2-​story stone watchtower with a narrow spiral staircase. I felt as if we were fully taken advantage of by this operation. Spend your $ 14 on an overly sweet tourist drink at the bottom of the hill and don’t waste your time on Blackbeard’s so-​called Castle.

I wish I could give this place ZERO stars! On my honeymoon, I convinced my husband to go to Blackbeard’s Castle when our cruise ship docked in St. Thomas. After a crammed taxi ride through the island at morning rush hour — we arrived at Blackbeard’s Castle only to find out we were an hour early for their opening. I thought we were in the clear when we found an ex-​pat worker on his way in to start his shift. How nice he was… he escorted us to the bar (because it’s also a hotel too), and told us to get a coffee and wait.
Then my dreams were quickly shattered. After sitting down, we were immediately questioned by the «bartender» who demanded our room number. When I confessed we were just waiting for the site to open — he quickly escorted us out! He wouldn’t even sell me a cup of coffee!
Even though Blackbeard’s Castle sounds like a fun and interesting place — it’s a SCAM and TOURIST TRAP!
If you’ve seen pictures of Blackbeard’s Castle, you’ve seen it all. Even if your kids beg you to go there, just take them to the beautiful beaches of St. Thomas and enjoy the true island culture.