St. Thomas & St. Maarten

Hello :)

I'm going to go on board GEM this Saturday with 2 & 3 years old babies.

Can anyone recommend me nice beaches for me and daughters at St. Thomas, St. Marteen & Tortola?

Thank you and have happy holiday season~!!!

Hello :)

 

I'm going to go on board GEM this Saturday with 2 & 3 years old babies.

 

Can anyone recommend me nice beaches for me and daughters at St. Thomas, St. Marteen & Tortola?

 

Thank you and have happy holiday season~!!!

Coki is the better of the two beaches... The water in Megan's bay is in a trapped cove, while Coki beach is much more fresh and clearer. What this means is that whatever comes into Megan's Bay tends to stay in Megan's Bay and can't get flushed out, so the water tends to be a little cloudier and not as clean.

On Saint Maarten, Dawn Beach can be very nice as well, and it's not overally crowded usually.

We went to Koki via taxi when we sailed Dec 13th and we had a 6 and a 4 year old in our group. It was great! And we ordered food and had a nice lunch. Plus, there is an aquarium next door...Nothing big and special but the kids liked it. It's about a 2in ride from the pier though. St Maarten we always go to the beach at the boardwalk. Water is always nice and calm and the guys go jet skiing there. Then there is food and shopping right there. We took the water ferry there from the pier $7 roundtrip. Can't beat it!

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Sapphire on St. Thomas.

Cane Garden Bay Beach on Tortola.

Hello :)

 

I'm going to go on board GEM this Saturday with 2 & 3 years old babies.

 

Can anyone recommend me nice beaches for me and daughters at St. Thomas, St. Marteen & Tortola?

 

Thank you and have happy holiday season~!!!

Hope you mean Friday!

I'll add another vote for Sapphire Beach in St. Thomas. Enjoy your adventure!

Emerald Beach in St. Thomas with little ones. Megan's Bay is gorgeous but crowded and confusing and a hike. Emerald Beach is close to one of the cruise ports. It is affiliated with the Best Western. Nice beach, small, secluded, chaise rentals and food service. Easy with little ones and convenient.;)

On Saint Maarten, Dawn Beach can be very nice as well, and it's not overally crowded usually.

For the Dutch side, I second this - unless it's windy. Dawn Beach is on the windward side of the island, and the waves can get quite large - not good when the little ones want to play in the water. Check the weather beforehand!

Quite frankly, I also really enjoy the beach at Great Bay. It's right next to the cruise pier, and if you walk down to the end of the sidewalk, it becomes MUCH less crowded. Plus, it's fun to gaze out over the bay at all the cruise ships.

Avoid Maho Beach (at the end of the airport runway). It might look cool in pictures, but it's pretty narrow and the jet wash will sandblast every last bit of skin from your flesh.

On the French side, Orient Beach is crowded. Very crowded. Like, awfully horribly crowded. Still, there are bathrooms generally available and the lounge chairs and beachside wait staff at all the little joints scattered along its length are efficient, friendly, and fairly cheap (think I paid $20 for a bucket of el Presidentes and 2 lounge chairs and an umbrella for the afternoon). Waters are usually quite calm - there's a reason it's often listed among the best beaches in the world.

A little tougher to get to, but definitely worth the hassle is Friar's Bay. There's 2 little beach shack bars, and not much in the way of crowds. Super relaxing in the afternoon sun watching a few local yachts toodle around the bay - if you're up for a quarter mile hike over a hill, it's right next to Happy Bay beach, which is almost completely unvisited (only ever saw like 2 people there in the 3-4 times I've made the hike).

:)

Hello :)

 

I'm going to go on board GEM this Saturday with 2 & 3 years old babies.

 

Can anyone recommend me nice beaches for me and daughters at St. Thomas, St. Marteen & Tortola?

 

Thank you and have happy holiday season~!!!

And our itinerary for that trip no longer includes Tortola just as a reminder :)

To summarize the responses to date:

Coki, no Megans, no Sapphire, no Emerald, no Boardwalk, oh... just any beach...

You've missed your ship, it left yesterday.

Don't worry about it, it wasn't going where you thought it was...anyway.

:eek:

Stephen

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Please check your schedule. The Gem leaves Friday January 2.

LeGaleon (sp) in St.Maarten. Quiet and calm - great for small children.