St. Croix's Buck Island is featured in two international publications this month, Coastal Living and the online women's magazine Viv Mag.

Buck Island was included in a list of the top 10 places to snorkel in the July/August publication of Coastal Living.

"This piece got a lot of attention," freelance writer and photographer Tanya Burnett said. "I got so many calls and e-mails."

Burnett spent several of her childhood years on St. Thomas, which she said inspired her current career as a Caribbean lifestyle and underwater photographer.

When she decided to create a list of 10 places to visit for Coastal Living, Buck Island was a natural choice, as she had just been there for the first time while on assignment for Sport Diver magazine.

"It's just felt so private and pristine," she said.

She said there was no garbage to detract from the natural beauty and it was without the throngs of tourists that flood popular Caribbean destinations.

Coastal Living has a circulation of about 650,000 and appears in print and online.

Buck Island also was featured in Viv Mag, which describes itself as the first all-digital luxury magazine for women. The "Animal Attractions" spread in the magazine's July/August edition features a number of destinations where visitors can interact with nature.

"We thought Buck Island was a really great example of that," editor in chief Anne Russell said.

She said the fact that it is a national park was appealing because it does not exploit the animals found there, rather it protects them.

"We think that's a really important element of a trip, that when they come to a place, they do no harm," she said.

The story highlighted unique places all over the world, from African safaris to farms in Vermont, but Russell specifically requested that an underwater excursion be included. She said writer Melissa Biggs Bradley chose St. Croix.

Russell said her magazine strives to highlight travel experiences that are off the beaten path, yet still accessible to her readers. The U.S. Virgin Islands fits that bill perfectly, she said.

"The Virgin Islands is a convenient, safe destination," Russell said.

Viv Mag has 250,000 subscribers.

- Contact reporter Aldeth Lewin at 774-8772 ext. 311 or e-mail alewin@dailynews.vi.