Magen's Bay Beach Crowded?

I heard that Magen's Bay Beach gets really crowded when a lot of ships are in port. Is this true? I looked up the port schedule for the day that I will be there and it looks like the following ships will be in port:

Carnival Dream WICO

Carnival Freedom WICO

Oasis of the Seas CB

Would you consider this a busy day and not worth it to go to Magen's Bay Beach?

When I went to Magen's Bay there were at least 2 ships in port. I can't remember if there were more. But the beach was not crowded.

Consider going to another beach. Sapphire is nice and they don't charge to get in like they do at Megans bay.

I've never seen Magen's "crowded" the 2 times we've been there. We will be in port this time with RCCL Explorer so I think that's around 6000 people between the 2 ships. I believe we may just try Sapphire to see another beautiful beach in St. Thomas. Don't let the crowded talk scare you away if you want to go to Magens, it's worth it very beautiful!!!

Consider going to another beach. Sapphire is nice and they don't charge to get in like they do at Megans bay.

Magens Bay is part of a territorial park system and is operated by the Magens Bay Authority. The "charge" is a fee to help with caring for the beach, the facilities, etc.

The most crowded area at Magens is near the restaurant/bathrooms/showers/taxi drop off. If you venture further down the beach, it will probably not be crowded in those areas.

It's hard to say on any given day whether a beach will be crowded. Emerald Beach, though, is probably the least crowded, tourist-friendly beach.

Magens is the most publicized beach in the USVI and BVI area of the Caribbean and so receives the most tourists on any given day. You are in port with 3 large ships, the Dream and Oasis are huge, and we just got off the Freedom today and that holds 2,974 guests. So yes Magens and Emerald will be very crowded. I would consider a beach on the East End of STT like Sapphire which doesn' get as crowded yet is very beautiful and offers great snorkeling. $18pp for roundtrip taxi.

Crowded? Nah

What date was that pic taken?

There's plenty of room at Megan's Bay with the ships in port. When we were there this week, there was our ship (Carnival Miracle), then the Carnival Dream docked a couple hours later, and the Oasis of the Sea was already there, which I believe is the largest ship on Earth. No problem at all. MB is a nice beach and really enjoyable.

You can walk to a less crowded area at Magens and it is nice there but there are other choices. Just depends on what experience you want.

The most crowded area at Magens is near the restaurant/bathrooms/showers/taxi drop off. If you venture further down the beach, it will probably not be crowded in those areas.

 

It's hard to say on any given day whether a beach will be crowded. Emerald Beach, though, is probably the least crowded, tourist-friendly beach.

That's true. It's more crowded near the taxi drop off, restaurant, and the showers area. But further down to the left was quite open. In fact, the left area is where people have weddings which is a nice thing to see as well.

Consider going to another beach. Sapphire is nice and they don't charge to get in like they do at Megans bay.

Well, just because there is a charge doesn't mean it's not nice, or not worth going to. :)

Magens Bay is part of a territorial park system and is operated by the Magens Bay Authority. The "charge" is a fee to help with caring for the beach, the facilities, etc.

^ This. Exactly, We have been to MB 3 times now and obviously don't mind paying the $4 admission charge. We will go somewhere else next time but MB is beautiful and for us the 3 times, not crowded.

Magens is beautiful and well-maintained, like Doctors Cave Beach in MoBay, we don;t think twice about the $5 fee there.

Sapphire and Coki are excellent alternates if you want something different or if you're interested in snorkeling. Coki is actually the nicest beach on STT, with Sapphire a close second in our opinion...

It's only a $4 fee into Megan's Bay. Considering what you spend on just one drink on the ship, I can't see how anyone can argue with forking out $4 for a superb well maintained beach. It's definitely one of the best beaches I've been to and I'll definitely go there in the future.

Consider going to another beach. Sapphire is nice and they don't charge to get in like they do at Megans bay.

I agree---not because of the fee though.

We did Magen's and for the life of me, I can't figure out why so many people love this beach. The day we were there (only ship in port), the water was not blue of even clear. We could not do any snorkeling it was so cloudy.

It was not crowded at all. We are going back to St. Thomas in December and again next April, but we will not go back to Magen's.

Anybody know how much a taxi is to Magens Bay?

Anybody know how much a taxi is to Magens Bay?

I believe it was $8 per person.

Does Sapphire rent snorkel equipment? Do you know how much they charge? To get to Sappire Beach, does the taxi usually take you on a scenic route through some of the pretty areas of the island? I've never been there before and I'm looking forward to our trip in June!:)

Yes they rent snorkel equipment, lounges and floaties/pads for the water as well as other stuff. Price is in line with other beaches. Typically you will board an open-sided safari-type pickup and ride with 12 - 20 other folks. The normal taxi route is along Rt 38 and stop at Coki Beach first then past Lindquist and on to Sapphire Beach. The return may be along Rts 38 & 30 through Red Hook and past Bolongo Bay. See map below.

Nice scenic ride and probably 1/2 hr or so, cost is $8 - 9 pp each way.

Enjoy your day! We'll be heading to Bermuda in June and we're also excited!:D

http://www.virginislandsthisweek.com/us_virgin_islands_maps/st_thomas_island_road_map.html

We stayed on St. Thomas last week and drove out to Magen's Bay on a day when there were three cruise ships in port. The place was packed by 11:00 a.m. and all the picnic tables and shady spots were long gone. The bay is beautiful but not worth the $18.00 it cost me to see it ($4.00 per adult + $2.00 for a car). We also visited Sapphire and Coki Beach during our stay and preferred both over Magen's.

Yes when we stay on STT we too prefer Coki and Sapphire. Coki also tends to get busy around midday because it's so small but Sapphire is usually very comfortable. Both great beaches!

We were at Magens Bay in April while on the Emerald Princess. There were 2 other ships in port that day as well. We did not find Magens Bay at all crowded. There was a higher concentration of people near the washrooms and food concession, but all we did was walk down the beach to the left (when facing the water) and there was tons of room and we found spots in the shade.

Do any of the beaches (Magen's Bay, Sapphire or Coki) rent umbrellas?

Yes; all three do.