Beaches

I need suggestions please, I am going to St Thomas and I am having a hard time deciding on a beach. Been to Beautiful Megan's Bay (too crowded). Coki Beach looks also beautiful but small and crowded... Looking at Sapphire Beach? My hubby snorkels and since I can't swim I just enjoy the beach(laying in the chair soaking up the sun, with a cold one in hand) walking along the shore to get sea shells and of course I do get in the ocean just not to far [;)] Don't like rocky beaches or quick drop offs... Not to excited about going to St John's this trip...So Sapphire for this picky beach girl?

If you do not like crowds and want to be on a beautiful beach then you might want to visit Smith Bay Park. It is an undeveloped beach no hotels, condos or restaurants.

There are picnic tables and bathrooms but that is it- just you and the beach. It is near both Coki and Sapphire on the east end.

We're going to Sapphire Beach for the day.

Here are my webpages I put together for Sapphire Beach and for St. Thomas.

Just be sure to heed my "warning" in red print at the top of each webpage!

We're going to Sapphire Beach for the day.

 

Here are my webpages I put together for Sapphire Beach and for St. Thomas.

 

Just be sure to heed my "warning" in red print at the top of each webpage!

WOW! Thank you, great job

Just be sure to heed my "warning" in red print at the top of each webpage!

;)

Nana Bill is right on, for an unspoilt beach Smith's Bay is still fairly undeveloped and retains its natural beauty. Limited amenities = few people, and you can grab an excellent lunch and drinks at the Gourmet Gallery at the cruise docks.

I would consider Cowpet Bay (Elysian beach), there's a beach bar there and snorkeling (Not sure about snorkel and chair rentals), and because it's home to a condo resort and not as popular as the other East End beaches you'd be sharing it with just condo folks there.

And Secret Harbor is also a good option for snorkeling and just beaching it, although it too can get busy because it's a smaller bay.

Don't get me wrong, we love renting at Sapphire and I always recommend it as a beach. It's a gorgeous beach with lots of character, beautiful sapphire-colored water, and nice island views. But it is also one of the more popular snorkeling beaches for cruisers and may not meet your expectations if therer are a lot of ships in port that day. How busy is the port that day?

Just be sure to heed my "warning" in red print at the top of each webpage!

;)

 

Nana Bill is right on, for an unspoilt beach Smith's Bay is still fairly undeveloped and retains its natural beauty. Limited amenities = few people, and you can grab an excellent lunch and drinks at the Gourmet Gallery at the cruise docks.

 

I would consider Cowpet Bay (Elysian beach), there's a beach bar there and snorkeling (Not sure about snorkel and chair rentals), and because it's home to a condo resort and not as popular as the other East End beaches you'd be sharing it with just condo folks there.

And Secret Harbor is also a good option for snorkeling and just beaching it, although it too can get busy because it's a smaller bay.

 

Don't get me wrong, we love renting at Sapphire and I always recommend it as a beach. It's a gorgeous beach with lots of character, beautiful sapphire-colored water, and nice island views. But it is also one of the more popular snorkeling beaches for cruisers and may not meet your expectations if therer are a lot of ships in port that day. How busy is the port that day?

As of now there is no other ship in port that day but.... not only is it St Thomas (seems all ships go there) Lol but it is also not until next October 2015. Can you tell me if there is a quick drop off at Sapphire, if it is a rocky beach and rocky entrance to the ocean and one more question...if there is a lot of sea weed? I am finding reviews that are saying that stuff ...but this was back in Aug. before it was re-opened. most of the reviews from October are great!Still leaning toward Sapphire as I have wanted to go there the last 2 times we have been to St Thomas but things got in our way each time. ;) Thanks in advance for all your assistance.

Yes you should "complete your mission" and go to Sapphire. :D it is one of our favorite beaches and with just 1 or 2 ships on port it should be a beautiful day with lots of shaded spots available. There are some rocky areas to the right and a seagrass area to the left, but the swimming area is pretty sandy. No drop offs when we were there but conditions do change with sea swells and storm surges.

The owners there are invaluable and don't mind answering questions about the best snorkeling spots.If you're lucky Beautiful Bill will be there. There's a web cam at this site to get you through the winter, and also a drone video -

http://www.sapphireinthesun.com

Have a great day!

If you do not like crowds and want to be on a beautiful beach then you might want to visit Smith Bay Park. It is an undeveloped beach no hotels, condos or restaurants.

 

There are picnic tables and bathrooms but that is it- just you and the beach. It is near both Coki and Sapphire on the east end.

But will her husband be able to enjoy snorkeling there???

Yes you should "complete your mission" and go to Sapphire. :D it is one of our favorite beaches and with just 1 or 2 ships on port it should be a beautiful day with lots of shaded spots available. There are some rocky areas to the right and a seagrass area to the left, but the swimming area is pretty sandy. No drop offs when we were there but conditions do change with sea swells and storm surges.

The owners there are invaluable and don't mind answering questions about the best snorkeling spots.If you're lucky Beautiful Bill will be there. There's a web cam at this site to get you through the winter, and also a drone video -

http://www.sapphireinthesun.com

Have a great day!

Blue Water, In your professional opinion, where is the best place to snorkel in STT? There are going to be 21,000 passengers in port that day. Thank you.

La

Blue Water, In your professional opinion, where is the best place to snorkel in STT? There are going to be 21,000 passengers in port that day. Thank you.

La

La, these are just my personal opinions, I am not an expert on snorkeling STT and STJ, and everyone will offer different opinions.

I agree with posters in other threads that Trunk Bay (and even more so Cinnamon Bay) is very nice, but I don't agree that that's the best snorkeling STJ has to offer or that it's as good as it once was. It does have the underwater trail but it's also one of the busier beaches because it's touted so much. On a big ship day like yours you can find great snorkeling if you want to go further away from the crowds as noted in another thread.

You can also find very good snorkeling on the East End of STT. Our favorite spot is Sapphire with the reef and seagrass areas, and we'd recommend Secret Harbor as an alternative. Others consider Coki the best for off the beach snorkeling. So it's hard to choose one as the best. But yes, Coki and SH will be crowded that day, and although Sapphire has more room to spread out it could be busy as well.

I think you would be happy at any of these, and as long as your husband is ok on the 20 minute ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay, STJ, I'm sure you would enjoy your day at Trunk as it is beautiful. And the taxi and ferry transportation is part of the adventure. You will spend another 1.5 - 2 hours in travel time versus going to an East End beach, so for someone with just 8 hrs in port that's a consideration. I can say that we've rented at Sapphire and on days with 20k passengers in port we never felt crowded there. But we also spent some time on our balcony, and ya just never know from day to day.

If you want good snorkeling and also want to enjoy a nice, quiet beach while everyone else is on the other beaches consider Cowpet Bay (Elysian Beach). There are food & drink and restrooms, I'm just not sure about snorkel gear rental. If you need that perhaps someone else can help, or folks on the St Thomas forum on tripadvisor can.

Have you seen a map showing the beach locations? Doesn't help in choosing a beach but...

http://www.virginislandsthisweek.com/st-thomas/maps/st-thomas-island-road-map.html

Good luck!

La, here are a couple helpful reviews (out of hundreds here and on TA) that may help you decide. Keep in mind conditions vary from one day to another, and one person may not be able to enjoy one beach on a certain day. These are also personal opinions. But thanks to Mitsugirly and Slabeaume for taking the time to post these!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1280889

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147404-i172-k6984499-A_snorkelers_review_of_St_Thomas-St_Thomas_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

La, these are just my personal opinions, I am not an expert on snorkeling STT and STJ, and everyone will offer different opinions.

 

I agree with posters in other threads that Trunk Bay (and even more so Cinnamon Bay) is very nice, but I don't agree that that's the best snorkeling STJ has to offer or that it's as good as it once was. It does have the underwater trail but it's also one of the busier beaches because it's touted so much. On a big ship day like yours you can find great snorkeling if you want to go further away from the crowds as noted in another thread.

 

You can also find very good snorkeling on the East End of STT. Our favorite spot is Sapphire with the reef and seagrass areas, and we'd recommend Secret Harbor as an alternative. Others consider Coki the best for off the beach snorkeling. So it's hard to choose one as the best. But yes, Coki and SH will be crowded that day, and although Sapphire has more room to spread out it could be busy as well.

 

I think you would be happy at any of these, and as long as your husband is ok on the 20 minute ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay, STJ, I'm sure you would enjoy your day at Trunk as it is beautiful. And the taxi and ferry transportation is part of the adventure. You will spend another 1.5 - 2 hours in travel time versus going to an East End beach, so for someone with just 8 hrs in port that's a consideration. I can say that we've rented at Sapphire and on days with 20k passengers in port we never felt crowded there. But we also spent some time on our balcony, and ya just never know from day to day.

 

If you want good snorkeling and also want to enjoy a nice, quiet beach while everyone else is on the other beaches consider Cowpet Bay (Elysian Beach). There are food & drink and restrooms, I'm just not sure about snorkel gear rental. If you need that perhaps someone else can help, or folks on the St Thomas forum on tripadvisor can.

 

Have you seen a map showing the beach locations? Doesn't help in choosing a beach but...

http://www.virginislandsthisweek.com/st-thomas/maps/st-thomas-island-road-map.html

 

Good luck!

La, here are a couple helpful reviews (out of hundreds here and on TA) that may help you decide. Keep in mind conditions vary from one day to another, and one person may not be able to enjoy one beach on a certain day. These are also personal opinions. But thanks to Mitsugirly and Slabeaume for taking the time to post these!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1280889

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147404-i172-k6984499-A_snorkelers_review_of_St_Thomas-St_Thomas_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

Blue Water....thank you for your opinion and for the two websites you provided. We were going to Sapphire Beach until we read in the last blog that the reef in Sapphire is further out....

Also, we loved the pictures the blogger took in Cowpet Beach.

So....we are going to Cowpet Beach and then maybe Sapphire Beach if we can easily get a cab there. We have our own snorkel gear...

I believe that a taxi is $10/pp to Cowpet from the cruise port. We will be docking in the new port. Do you think it would be difficult to get a taxi from Cowpet to Sapphire. Thank you for assisting us. As a result of our search, we decided not to take the $2.00 Shuttle. I notice that lots of CC members are so compassionate and assist one in seeing both sides of a discussion.

We decided that St. John was not worth the time being that we were only going to be there for a day. Again, thanks for helping us see that. My husband is ok on a ferry ...its when we take a snorkeling boat and then it bounces on the water.

However, Blue Water, I truly appreciate your assistance with giving information on all the beaches (that is how you came under my radar), including a link with a great map of STT and then taking the time to explain all the different beaches from a snorkeling point of view. Your last comment with the two references was awesome.

So Cowpet it is.... and a HUGE THANK YOU.

Blue Water....thank you for your opinion and for the two websites you provided. We were going to Sapphire Beach until we read in the last blog that the reef in Sapphire is further out....

Also, we loved the pictures the blogger took in Cowpet Beach.

So....we are going to Cowpet Beach and then maybe Sapphire Beach if we can easily get a cab there. We have our own snorkel gear...

 

I believe that a taxi is $10/pp to Cowpet from the cruise port. We will be docking in the new port. Do you think it would be difficult to get a taxi from Cowpet to Sapphire. Thank you for assisting us. As a result of our search, we decided not to take the $2.00 Shuttle. I notice that lots of CC members are so compassionate and assist one in seeing both sides of a discussion.

 

We decided that St. John was not worth the time being that we were only going to be there for a day. Again, thanks for helping us see that. My husband is ok on a ferry ...its when we take a snorkeling boat and then it bounces on the water.

 

However, Blue Water, I truly appreciate your assistance with giving information on all the beaches (that is how you came under my radar), including a link with a great map of STT and then taking the time to explain all the different beaches from a snorkeling point of view. Your last comment with the two references was awesome.

So Cowpet it is.... and a HUGE THANK YOU.

 

Thank you La! Just try to share as others shared with us. I think there's better snorkeling closer to shorer at Sapphire, but I also think your choice of Cowpet is a great one. Regarding taxis, you may have to call one from the bar or restaurant, and you can also ask the driver to return.

is Saphire still a good beach or are there others to choose from if you just want to be near some lovley water with a nice beach bar .

Even better if it is quite shallow water .

Scotslizzy

Sapphire does not have a nice beach bar. It has a tent covered sandwich and beverage stand that has tables near the beach. If you don't want to snorkel, Emerald Beach is better, IMO. Two nice bars to choose from.

I will check out Emerald Beach

Scotslizzy

You're welcome!

So as of current, December 2014, there are restrooms to use, a food/drink option and you can rent snorkel gear at Sapphire Beach? I just want to make sure before I take a cab there. Thanks!!! Great info!