Stress slips away with your first glimpse of the Caribbean Sea as you fly into the USVI. This let-go feeling is the essence of a trip to the tropics, distilled to its purest form at a spa.

You'll find well-equipped spas throughout these islands, where for generations "weed women" have passed down the benefits of applying restorative herbs to the body.

Start with a basic massage to ease the knots caused by hoisting bags. After you've hiked through plantation ruins and power-shopped in town, tired feet will welcome a reflexology treatment. If you've worked too hard on your tennis serve, muscles will respond to a deep-tissue sports massage. And when you've stayed too long at the beach, sun-kissed skin won't peel when coated with aloe in a body wrap.

Plan to arrive about 15 minutes before your time slot to check in and change into a robe. Some spas have steam rooms and saunas, and all offer or arrange for salon services like manicures, pedicures, waxing and hair styling.

If you can't bear the idea of staying indoors, arrange a breezy beach massage to the sound of lapping waves.

Seaweed wrap or stone massage? Mango scrub or papaya mask? The treatments are all delicious. They'll indulge your senses, leaving you restored and refreshed - the goal, after all, of an island vacation.

Most people are familiar with massage, the hands-down favorite treatment at spas here and elsewhere. Spa menus may also offer additional services:

BODY SCRUBS: Great before you hit the beach, body scrubs are like facials for the whole body. A therapist buffs off the top layer of your tired, pre-vacation skin with an exfoliating concoction such as sea salt or a mango scrub. The freshly exposed skin gets a rich lotion treatment, and you walk out polished and tingling.

BODY WRAPS: Spa staffers apply poultices and hydrating oils to your skin, and then wrap your body in fabric strips with a blanket layer over top. If you're claustrophobic, ask to have your arms left free. The therapist will dim the lights and leave you to meditate for a while, or she may massage your scalp and neck.

FACIALS: A therapist applies extracts of fruits, herbs or flowers to your face, then gently massages and deep-cleans your skin. A concluding mask treatment leaves your face toned up and glowing. Many men enjoy facials designed to soothe skin irritated by shaving.

REFLEXOLOGY: Joggers love this ancient massage technique that stimulates the feet and hands. A therapist applies pressure with thumbs and fingers to specific reflex points on the palms and soles, which are said to affect specific organs throughout the body.

STONE THERAPY: Spas on all three of the U.S. Virgin Islands added this popular thermal treatment during the past decade. Therapists employ warm river rocks and cool marble stones in combination with massage oils to ease muscles and chase away tensions.

WATER TREATMENTS: The largest local spas offer hydrotherapy showers to relax your back and legs with rain-like sprays that alternate temperature and pressure, or huge soaking tubs for the ultimate in bubble baths.