Our day at St. Thomas and Sapphire Beach

We visited the beautiful port of St. Thomas recently. This was our 3rd trip there. We absolutely loved Coki Beach during our last visit. Just wanted to try something different. We've also been to Magen's. We decided on Sapphire. Mistake!

We hopped a taxi to Sapphire once we got off the ship - about 6 of us from our group of 15. Other folks went in other directions. Anyway, the trip took about 25 minutes from Havensight dock. It was $10pp each way.

Sapphire is indeed a beautiful beach with pretty tropical mountainous views as you look beyond the water. But aside from that, I didn't like single thing about it. For starters, at least for me, the buildings in disrepair are an eye sore and takes away from the beauty of the place. Exactly what is the reason these buildings are in this condition and how long have they been like that? Just curious if anyone knows.

We got there and walked along the beach - looking for shade and a place to rent some chairs under a tree. We went past the more crowded area (although I will say in fairness that the place really wasn't "crowded" at all) and found a spot. There was a lady there will a slew of loungers and chairs that she had tied around a tree and wasn't renting to anyone. She was quick to let us know that those chairs weren't available - even if we were willing to pay. We totally didn't expect to get the chairs without paying for them, but I'm guessing she's a condo owner or something and that part of the beach was hers maybe??? I really didn't get it. Not that she stopped us from making that area around her our base, but hell if you wanted to be there, you had to go find chairs elsewhere and drag them back or sit in the sand, which I don't like. I started to realize why everyone was basically in the same area.

So with that, we picked up our things and headed back towards where more people were. A very nice guy rented us chairs for $9 each and we were finally set. I had no idea Sapphire was somewhat sectioned off like that or whatever it was.

The most disappointing thing about Sapphire; however, was the water. Rocky is an understatement. Seriously. It was impossible to enjoy the water, because of the rocks/coral at the shoreline. My daughter had on water shoes and still found it very difficult to maneuver in the water. It was also full of seaweed. Now I don't know if it's always like that or if it had anything to do with the storm. The water wasn't really rough but it was full of seaweed and huge chunks of coral and rock. Totally unenjoyable. We wound up staying an hour, called our cabbie (I was so glad we had his #), then left. In addition, I expect beach bathrooms to be wet and sandy, but the restrooms at Sapphire are deplorable in my opinion. They are in an old building and filthy dirty.

I was sorry I chose Sapphire. Coki would have been better and was I believe a bit closer. Others may have a different opinion and that's fine, but having been to other beaches in STT, Sapphire is the only one I wouldn't recommend to anyone.

Some of the ships offer an excursion that goes to Sapphire so those chairs were for the excursion. People on the excursion also get snorkeling equipment and a free drink. Not sure what that excursion is called.

Sorry you didn't enjoy your day at Sapphire.

Some of the ships offer an excursion that goes to Sapphire so those chairs were for the excursion. People on the excursion also get snorkeling equipment and a free drink. Not sure what that excursion is called.

 

Sorry you didn't enjoy your day at Sapphire.

Ok. Maybe that was it. We didn't see any excursion and we were the second to arrive of the only 2 ships in port that day. Maybe after we left there was an excursion. Thanks.

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We were planning on Saphire Beach because of the Windsurfing and SUP availability. Did you see any of that? Was that available at Coki?

Thanks for the heads up.

Use Goggle Earth to check out a beach. It is very clear from Google Earth that Saphire is not a beach worth visiting, especially compared with Coki, if one wants a nice sandy beach. Generally, the best beaches face north west; there are exceptions.

We were planning on Saphire Beach because of the Windsurfing and SUP availability. Did you see any of that? Was that available at Coki?

 

Thanks for the heads up.

I didn't see anything like that to be honest. I know there was a rental booth for snorkeling. And some people rented mats for the kids to use in the water.

Use Goggle Earth to check out a beach. It is very clear from Google Earth that Saphire is not a beach worth visiting, especially compared with Coki, if one wants a nice sandy beach. Generally, the best beaches face north west; there are exceptions.

I relied on word of mouth recommendations from this board and others. I don't know how I would be able to tell from google earth about some of the issues that were a turn off for me anyway. Besides, I wouldn't say it wasn't worth visiting. I've heard good things about Sapphire and it was beautiful. Other people have reported liking it. But the rocky water and seaweed are understated IMO. I don't see how anyone can enjoy that water unless you're snorkeling or wearing really thick water shoes. And I never would have taken kids there. I do agree that's there's no comparison to Coki.

Flyngirl, what made you think Sapphire has windsurfing and SUP? There's a windsurfing concession at Vessup Beach (Google for name) and SUPs are available at the calmer beaches like Coki and Magens. You would have to contact the dive shop at Sapphire, Dive In!, to see if they offer SUPs, but I don't think so.

Sapphire seldom has seaweed. Because that beach gets more wind than some of the others, the seaweed sometimes drifts there but not as much to other beaches. They usually do a good job of cleaning it up, but if bathrooms were deplorable during your visit, maintenance may be slacking again. That has happened in the past.

There is a sandy entrance into the water at Sapphire, but it may be in the area of the "guarded" chairs. The entire stretch of the beach is not sandy like Coki.

>> It is very clear from Google Earth that Saphire is not a beach worth visiting, especially compared with Coki, if one wants a nice sandy beach <<

Actually not clear at all to us...??? There are rocky areas that are away from the sandier swimming areas, you need to be aware of that. The area around Dive In attracts more people because that is the sandy section. We like to set our chairs away from that area under the palm trees for the views and quiet.

>> Generally, the best beaches face north west; there are exceptions <<

There are definitely exceptions... If you want a beach guaranteed to be sandy everywhere along the shore you'll want to go to Magens. In our opinion the nicest beaches are actually on the East End. They just exude the natural beauty we look for in a beach. We find Sapphire to be one of the nicest beaches we've visited and we expect to see some rocks in the more gorgeous bays like Sapphire. Shifting sand also changes the conditions almost daily in any beach.

The sargassum that was mentioned in the report affected not only the beaches of STT but the entire Caribbean including Mexico and was the worst in recent memory. Sea swells can also bring in new waves of the sargassum, we are at the mercy of the seas...

There are lounges rented from Dive In where you are dropped, and there are lounges limited to condo owners and guests. Most ownersd and regular guests are very helpful in directing you to a good spot to relax and to snorkel if you are interested (some guests are new to staying at Sapphire and won't help you like that). You just need to rent your lounges and have the guy carry them (or you carry them if able) to the shaded spot you want. There is no real segregation and sorry you weren't able to do that.

And there have been a couple other reports where the OP was distracted by the condition of the closed building. That's understandable to some extent, but certainly not something we would even mention as compared to the overall beauty there and the comments from aljudy are obviously not based on personal experience...

I grant you that I have not been there. However, I am from the Caribbean and know about what a good sandy beach is like. It is pretty clear to me from my Google Earth view that Saphire is not a sandy beach to visit. While cruising, one has a few hours to enjoy a nice sandy beach, and Google Earth is your friend to decide along with others' opinions. Best beaches on the north islands of the Caribbean face northwest. Again, if you have already visited, then you know what you like, but use Google Earth if you want to reduce the risk of having a bad experience.

I grant you that I have not been there. However, I am from the Caribbean and know about what a good sandy beach is like. It is pretty clear to me from my Google Earth view that Saphire is not a sandy beach to visit. While cruising, one has a few hours to enjoy a nice sandy beach, and Google Earth is your friend to decide along with others' opinions. Best beaches on the north islands of the Caribbean face northwest. Again, if you have already visited, then you know what you like, but use Google Earth if you want to reduce the risk of having a bad experience.

What would I be looking for on Google Earth? I never used it to do any beach research, but I did look up both Coki and Sapphire last night out of curiosity. Looks like the same pics for one. And I couldn't tell how I would know it was a rocky vs. Sandy beach. Please help.

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We've been to Sapphire twice fairly recently. The first was in May 2013 and the most recent was last September. Through comments on this thread and through reviews on the Carnival boards, we were able to figure out that at Sapphire Beach, the right side was rock and coral and was also considered the area for the best snorkeling. The left side of the beach was sandy and grassy if you went further out.

We did notice a change in the beach from 2013 and 2015. When we went in 2015, it was after recent storms which we also found out affected beaches in St. Kitts and also Maho Bay in St. Maarten (sand washed away exposing boulders...no beach). Off subject, but sand at Maho comes and goes and there is currently sand. The conditions of Sapphire in 2015 were as the OP described...a lot of rocks/coral exposed when entering the water on the sandy side. There was also some seaweed, but as someone else mentioned, that affected the whole Caribbean. In 2013, it was all sand and never felt any rocks there.

Adding a couple of pictures for comparison.

Following two pictures are Sapphire Beach in May 2013...notice how sandy it was. This was the left side of the beach. Never felt any rocks or coral.

May 2013 again...this was the right side of the beach. For anyone who likes snorkeling, this is where you want to go. If I can recall correctly, there were signs posted asking visitors to please stay off the coral.

Sapphire Beach in September 2015...this was the left side of the beach, the same spot as above photos. We found this was due to recent storms. The further you got to the left of this spot, it was easier to get into the water.

September 2015...right side of the beach, snorkeling area.

I will still continue to recommend Sapphire...the snorkeling is pretty decent, there are others but it's not crowded, and we just love those views. I would recommend water shoes just in case. The only comment I have on the restrooms is that they were pretty clean, with the exception for some sand on the floors, during both our visits but had seen reports that they aren't always that way. Maybe it just depends who is on bathroom cleaning duty that day. The remodeling was going on while we were there in September 2015 as well. Over to the left and behind the trees, I could also hear a lot of construction but don't know if that was also remodeling or if it was new. There are more condos back there.

What would I be looking for on Google Earth? I never used it to do any beach research, but I did look up both Coki and Sapphire last night out of curiosity. Looks like the same pics for one. And I couldn't tell how I would know it was a rocky vs. Sandy beach. Please help.

 

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I always check out Google Earth as well by going through Google Maps, then at the bottom left I click on Satellite view. There is a section where others post their own pictures. That is down on the lower right side, you'll see very small picture icons. Click on them and at the bottom of the page, the pictures show up and to see the larger versions, just click on them. I use that sometimes when planning a cruise and looking for decent beaches to actually "see" what they look like.

But to answer your question on how to tell if it's rocky or sandy, it's actually hard to tell since you're only able to zoom in so much. The images from Google Earth aren't always very recent and may be a few years old until updated again, so that would also make it hard to determine because beaches can change with seasons/because of recent storms. You will notice the actual beach and different shades of water. The darker shades could be grass, coral, rocks, or just deeper water.

Yes satellite images are not very useful or timely, and every day can be a different experience. The rocky/shoal areas are under the trees or further to the right where Pretty Klip Point just out. The sandy swimming area is in front of the dive center area, and there's a sea grass area to the left of that where you can often see rays or sea turtles.

You can always ask for current beach conditions on the STT tripadvisor forum before sailing but still not very current info by the time you get there. And some cab drivers are aware of the beach conditions more than others...We rent a condo on Sapphire and love it there but would recommend water shoes at any of these beaches...

www.sapphireinthesun.com

What would I be looking for on Google Earth? I never used it to do any beach research, but I did look up both Coki and Sapphire last night out of curiosity. Looks like the same pics for one. And I couldn't tell how I would know it was a rocky vs. Sandy beach. Please help.

Several posts above have given you good answers. I have Google Earth installed in my pc's, they are much better than going through the browsers and they can be set to retain your prior searches, you can set notes and places prior to a trip. I am attaching two photos snapped from Google Earth display in my pc: one of Saphire Beach, and the second to what I consider one of the best sandy beaches Cayo Coco in Cuba to show you what I mean.

Thanks everyone. Very helpful information. Learned alot!

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In general, if you want to snorkel, you don't want sand in the cove. You want fringing reef, which is what Sapphire has. The beach at Sapphire is nice and sandy. :D

The prevailing winds in the Caribbean are from the east; in the winter, north of east, in the summer, south of east. So, yes, typically westerly facing beaches are more protected from wind and waves. However, sometimes there are other islands protecting a beach. ;)

The pics make me yearn for the islands in the distance off STJ...:rolleyes:

Crazingthebest you have done a great job warning other cruise visitors about visiting Sapphire Your one day there reflects the conditions so hopefully your warning will prevent other cruisers from going there

The owners and guests of the condos thank you