Sapphire Beach - Update

We visited Sapphire last week and it was perfect. The shuttle was $10 each from main port. The public beach is nestled between resorts so the drive up to the beach is nice compared to other beaches. When you arrive there is a small stand to rent chairs or scuba gear, chairs are $9 each and they put them anywhere on the beach you want, scuba gear was relatively inexpensive, I think $15 to rent the set. There is also nice bathrooms and change rooms and a nice little bar that has reasonable priced drinks, beer $ 3, waters $ 2 and exotic drinks for $10. They also had a nice little menu with a bbq going, with hot dogs for $7 and burgers for $10. The beach is clean and very quite. There were 4 ships in the day we were there and the beach was not very busy. If you want a nice relaxing, safe and secure beach for the day this is the place.

Thanks. This is where we had planned to head after much research next month. Great report. Was the shuttle price roundtrip? Or each way? Either way, that's a good deal and better price than a ship-based excursion!

Thank you for the update and detailed information. We are planning to visit this beach on our next cruise.

It was $10 each way per person. Most of the beaches are $8 - $10. If you have been spending time researching the beaches you won't be disappointed in this beach. It had everything needed for a nice day at the beach for considerably less than a ship excursion. I forgot to mention there also is a cab stand where you are dropped so there is no worry about getting a shuttle back to the ships. Enjoy your day:cool:

Thank you. We have been planning to go to Sapphire Beach and have been concerned that there will be crowds and no chair/umbrella availability when we arrive. We are one of the last ships in port that day, so we plan to head right to the beach.

Can you tell me how cold the water seemed to be? We will be there in 2 weeks. Last March, we went to NCL's private island and the water was freezing !! We will also be stopping for a day in St. Maarten also.

We visited Sapphire last week and it was perfect. The shuttle was $10 each from main port. The public beach is nestled between resorts so the drive up to the beach is nice compared to other beaches. When you arrive there is a small stand to rent chairs or scuba gear, chairs are $9 each and they put them anywhere on the beach you want, scuba gear was relatively inexpensive, I think $15 to rent the set. There is also nice bathrooms and change rooms and a nice little bar that has reasonable priced drinks, beer $ 3, waters $ 2 and exotic drinks for $10. They also had a nice little menu with a bbq going, with hot dogs for $7 and burgers for $10. The beach is clean and very quite. There were 4 ships in the day we were there and the beach was not very busy. If you want a nice relaxing, safe and secure beach for the day this is the place.

We went to Sapphire beach many years ago, and although the beach was gorgeous, the only bathrooms were more like outhouses - tiny, no toilet paper, dark, not clean - and because of that we never went back. Sounds like the bathroom facilities have been upgraded?

We went to Sapphire beach many years ago, and although the beach was gorgeous, the only bathrooms were more like outhouses - tiny, no toilet paper, dark, not clean - and because of that we never went back. Sounds like the bathroom facilities have been upgraded?

Definitely weren't upgraded in August 2016 when we went. Probably the most deplorable bathroom I've ever used. Beach is beautiful but doesn't make up for Sapphires shortcomings; especially when there are so many other beautiful beaches on this island. Just my opinion. Glad to hear it has gotten better.

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What beaches do you prefer? We need ones that provide chairs to rent.

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I'm so glad to hear this! We just booked a RC excursion to Sapphire Beach for our first trip to St. Thomas!

Can you tell me....are they are restaurants (other than the burgers/hot dogs sold seaside) that are close by Sapphire Beach?

Definitely weren't upgraded in August 2016 when we went. Probably the most deplorable bathroom I've ever used. Beach is beautiful but doesn't make up for Sapphires shortcomings; especially when there are so many other beautiful beaches on this island. Just my opinion. Glad to hear it has gotten better.

 

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So which would you suggest instead?

There will be taxis at both docks to take you to any beach. They're all licensed and insured and are considered safe by VI govt. The dispatcher will show you a taxi going to Sapphire and other East End destinations.

So which would you suggest instead?

Coki or Magen's

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Sapphire has seen a number of improvements but IMHO the rest rooms leave a lot to be desired

Thank you for this report! We will be renting a car when we go and I know that are definitely going to Coki to snorkel and, now, I think we will head to Sapphire afterwards.

And thanks to you cruizinisthebest as well, I will look into Magen's also

Very limited parking at Coki, fyi.

Very limited parking at Coki, fyi.

I didn't know that. Thank you! I had put in my notes that Coki has a $5 parking fee but I didn't note that there was limited parking. I will be to get there early then. But if parking is full, is there anywhere nearby to park? Thanks

There are free spaces and fee spaces. Naturally the free spaces fill up first and then people either park further away or try the fee lot. There's usually somewhere to park along the road but you may not be as close as you would like. Pay close attention to the signs as to not get towed.

There are free spaces and fee spaces. Naturally the free spaces fill up first and then people either park further away or try the fee lot. There's usually somewhere to park along the road but you may not be as close as you would like. Pay close attention to the signs as to not get towed.

Oh, OK. I guess you were talking about the free lot that fills up quickly then. I didn't even know that there was a free lot. Gotcha! We're a "young" family with kids that are full of energy so walking is no problem. Thanks so much

Definitely weren't upgraded in August 2016 when we went. Probably the most deplorable bathroom I've ever used. Beach is beautiful but doesn't make up for Sapphires shortcomings; especially when there are so many other beautiful beaches on this island. Just my opinion. Glad to hear it has gotten better.

 

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I don't find them deplorable at all. They're not as nice as facilities at a resort where the staff is constantly cleaning, but we've seen much, much worse! Certainly not a reason for settling for less gorgeous and/or more crowded beaches.

I don't find them deplorable at all. They're not as nice as facilities at a resort where the staff is constantly cleaning, but we've seen much, much worse! Certainly not a reason for settling for less gorgeous and/or more crowded beaches.

My wife is pretty picky when it comes to bathrooms and she did not complain about them when we were there. She is already looking forward to returning to Sapphire next time.