Can tourists visit the Epstein Island? Netizens recommend 'pizza' spots and 'snorkelling' trips

Jeffrey Epstein, disgraced financier and child sex offender owned multiple abodes across the world. From a ranch in New Mexico to an apartment in New York and of course, his famous island, Little Saint James in the US Virgin Islands.

The enormous 72-acre private territory was owned by the late convicted criminal from 1998 until he died in 2019, when he was found dead in his New York jail cell. The western side of the island was equipped with a huge swimming pool while the eastern side featured a helipad for the elite guests. Purchased for $8 million in 1998, it contained a main house, three guest cottages, a helipad and a dock. However, by 2010, Epstein had completely renovated his secret island by restructuring the main villa and building four more along with a new pool, a sundial, a temple and stone cabins.The Department of Justice released some photographs of Epstein's personal abode where he executed his sex trafficking operations. From a mysterious 3,500 square feet building to large bedrooms, it has some inexplicable structures whose purpose remains unknown to date. But can you visit the Epstein Island?Well, as the freezing temperatures grip the nation, many have been planning a coastal summer retreat. And for some travellers, visiting the mysterious island seems like the perfect summer escape.

Can you visit Little Saint James?

Access to Little Saint James is restricted to aircraft and watercraft only. Plans to open the island as a tourist destination have received major setbacks, but curious travellers have been sneaking in information from TripAdvisor, as per a report from The Mirror US. A prospective visitor asked about access to the location, writing, "Do any boat charters leave from Red Hook to tour the waters around Epstein's island? Is there any decent snorkelling/diving in the area, or is it restricted?"To this, a traveller surprisingly replied, "Many charters go to Little St James/Christmas Cove and the snorkelling is good."The initial poster on the website revealed plans to visit in December. Apparently, tourists can swim in the waters surrounding the notorious island and enjoy a pizza from the local eateries. "When Pizza Pi is closed, Ocean Surfari provides pizza from either Senor Frogs in Red Hook or Ronnie's on St John. People rave about Pizza Pi, so I will go in November," one TripAdvisor user commented.

The Epstein files

The Epstein island is also known as the paedophile island, it was considered to be the hub of Epstein's sex trafficking operations.

Last week, the DOJ released another three million documents from the Epstein Files. From royal princes to tech billionaires and even politicians, Jeffrey Epstein had every person with power and money visiting his island and attending his parties. Over the course of the past two decades, when Epstein's operations have gained political and media prominence and social attention, the files and the island have come into great scrutiny and interest. It was in March 2005, that Epstein was first accused of sexual abuse. A 14-year-old girl accused Epstein of sexual molestation at his home in Palm Beach, Florida, leading to an investigation that uncovered years of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of dozens of underage women. In July 2019, he was arrested in New Jersey and pleaded not guilty to the accusations of the abuse. While awaiting his trial for the federal sex trafficking charges, he was found dead in his jail cell.A year following his death, in July 2020, Ghislaine Maxwell was charged with six counts relating to Epstein's sex trafficking ring. After the trial, Maxwell was found guilty on five of the six charges on December 29, 2021. She now faces up to sixty-five years in prison at sentencing. The world wants to know the reality of what truly happened on the island, who was involved in the operations and how. This is probably why numerous tourists want to visit the island themselves and understand the reality of one of the most controversial and eye-opening scandals in American history.