St. Thomas Coki Beach question

Six of us (all adults) are heading to St. Thomas on Allure of the Seas in October. One of our group was told to head to Coki Beach. When I started researching it (on here mostly cause this is the best place ever) I found a lot of old posts that weren't so positive about Coki. Things like drug deals going on around you, read about some violent acts. These were very old posts so I wondered if anybody had a recent experience and how they would rate it now. My husband and I love Saphire Bay but we're willing to try somewhere new if it seems like a good choice, Just not sure.

Thanks for your help.

Also trying to decide on a beach in STT. Interested to read replies...

We have always avoided Coki Beach, mainly because I don't like crowds of people, and I had read Coki was full of people. So we usually went to Sapphire Beach.

Last year, I wanted to try scuba diving, so we signed up for an intro course on Coki, and I have to say that I was very impressed. I didn't find it terribly crowded, we sat just to the left of the dive area and we had lots of room to enjoy ourselves. I didn't see any drug deals or outrageous behaviour at all. We were there in April BTW.

Hope this helps!

We were there last week.

We had been a couple times over ten years ago and it had gotten increasingly crowded and we were continually visited by peddlers, so we have been going to other beaches.

We wanted to try it again and had a great time.

There were only three ships in port on our day so we felt this was a good time to go there.

It was a bit crowded but fun. There are still people selling stuff but it was not as bad. Chairs were $5 and umbrellas $10 if you wanted them. We did not try the bathrooms.

There was a couple in the row next to us that passed a joint back and forth. I think they were locals--you can tell the cruise passengers by the ship towels everyone has and they had their own. My husband said he had smelled it a few times earlier.

The snorkeling was amazing. It gets to about chest or shoulder deep pretty quickly so I don't think this is a good beach for younger kids.

I felt safe there and would go again.

I was at Coki this morning. Not crowded at all as ours was the only ship in port. No harassing peddlers. You could sit on beach or rent chairs. Bathrooms were very cean. Water and beach were beàutiful with sandy gradual entry. The snorkeling areas to each side of the beach around the rocks are quite small and coral is very minimal. There are lots of fish and you do not need to feed them as they swim all around you without food. I also saw a ray and octopus. Taxi each way there and back from Havensight was easy and cost $9 per person each way. A great way to spend a few hours.

I was at Coki this morning. Not crowded at all as ours was the only ship in port. No harassing peddlers. You could sit on beach or rent chairs. Bathrooms were very cean. Water and beach were beàutiful with sandy gradual entry. The snorkeling areas to each side of the beach around the rocks are quite small and coral is very minimal. There are lots of fish and you do not need to feed them as they swim all around you without food. I also saw a ray and octopus. Taxi each way there and back from Havensight was easy and cost $9 per person each way. A great way to spend a few hours.

Did you happen to notice if there were any lockers for rent?

Thanks !

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There are lockers for rent from some of the vendors and from the concession at Coral World.

LOVE Coki beach. It never seems crowded if you go there right after getting off the ship. It does get more crowded as the day goes by because it's a popular place...for the snorkeling.

It has amazing snorkeling! I have two reviews in my signature line. Check them out. The first time we went we snorkeled and the coral there was so amazing! Seriously! The second time we decided to scuba and see what more it had to offer. Beautiful. There's TONS of pictures in my review if you want to see some of the beauty under water there. :)

Been there twice. First time was beautiful weather with great snorkeling results. Second, bad weather with bad snorkeling results. 10 bucks a head to get there on one of those pick up truck taxis.

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We were there last week. We went to Coral World first and then to Coki Beach. As there were a few ships in port, the beach was packed! I paid for chairs from one woman and then had another woman scream at me telling me the chairs were already taken. Luckily, the original woman was nearby and vouched for me. The guys who were moving the chairs around and a couple of locals were sitting right behind us. They were smoking pot--pulled out the baggie and rolled the joint right out in the open. The smell was quite strong but would come and go. Since there was no where to move to, we stayed put. I decided this is my vacation, the weather and seas were beautiful, so I wasn't going to stress! There were plenty of vendors selling food, but they places didn't look all the great to me. I didn't want to risk getting sick. We bought canned sodas and had snacks we brought with us. They had bathrooms which were clean. All that being said, the beach and water was beautiful! My daughter and I went snorkeling and saw lots of fish. Despite all the issues, I would go back to Coki Beach. However, I would get there early so I could pick where I wanted to sit and I would make sure I had plenty of snacks with me.

Coki is a gorgeous, small beach with several vendors vying for your business. Many taxi drivers will suggest you go to Coki because they have friends or family vending there. It does get crowded because it's so small. There are also people feeding the fish there which makes a mess and isn't good for the fish. Sapphire, on the other hand, is a larger beach, with nice shaded areas and room to spread out and no vendors and never feels crowded to us.

You should definitely experience Coki or any other beach for yourself, and if it isn't to your liking taxis come and go and it's a short taxi to Sapphire. :)

Coki was beautiful. But I'd rather go somewhere else next time. It was really crowded, the bathrooms were disgusting, the food and drinks were crazy expensive and not that great. We paid for two chairs but people kept coming up and asking if we had paid and tried to make us pay again. So that made us feel uncomfortable. We kept having to trade off with who could swim and who could stay with our stuff because we didn't feel comfortable enough leaving it even though were close enough to watch it.

Coki was beautiful. But I'd rather go somewhere else next time. It was really crowded, the bathrooms were disgusting, the food and drinks were crazy expensive and not that great. We paid for two chairs but people kept coming up and asking if we had paid and tried to make us pay again. So that made us feel uncomfortable. We kept having to trade off with who could swim and who could stay with our stuff because we didn't feel comfortable enough leaving it even though were close enough to watch it.

Do you happen to know how many ships were in port the day you were there? We are debating between Coki and Saphire.... I think the teens would like Coki better but I would probably like Saphire for the less crowded aspect.... However I checked the port schedule and our ship is the only one there that day....it is Oasis so that is lot of people anyway but I was thinking Coki might be a little less crowded because we are the only ship there.

Do you happen to know how many ships were in port the day you were there? We are debating between Coki and Saphire.... I think the teens would like Coki better but I would probably like Saphire for the less crowded aspect.... However I checked the port schedule and our ship is the only one there that day....it is Oasis so that is lot of people anyway but I was thinking Coki might be a little less crowded because we are the only ship there.

I was there 2 weeks ago (went solo as hubby was laid up with a sore back). We were the only ship in port. Coki was almost deserted and no one hassled me for anything, I put my towel and bags down on the beach and went in snorkeling. Easy as can be. I caught one of the shared cabs right at the port as soon as I disembarked in the morning and then caught one back right from Coki. A beautiful few hours on the beach and snorkeling.

Do you happen to know how many ships were in port the day you were there? We are debating between Coki and Saphire.... I think the teens would like Coki better but I would probably like Saphire for the less crowded aspect.... However I checked the port schedule and our ship is the only one there that day....it is Oasis so that is lot of people anyway but I was thinking Coki might be a little less crowded because we are the only ship there.

Hi, jmaedcruise! I'm new to Cruise Critic. How do you check the port schedule? I'd like to see if anyone else will be in port the same day as us.

Thanks!

http://www.cruisett.com

Shows the port schedule, number of passengers the ships hold, AND the arrival/departure times for each ship which is very important.

The cruise ship schedule at vinow dot com shows where each ship is docked.

A map showing Crown Bay to the west of Charlotte Amalie and Havensight (WICO) to the east and the different beaches

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

Do you happen to know how many ships were in port the day you were there? We are debating between Coki and Saphire.... I think the teens would like Coki better but I would probably like Saphire for the less crowded aspect.... However I checked the port schedule and our ship is the only one there that day....it is Oasis so that is lot of people anyway but I was thinking Coki might be a little less crowded because we are the only ship there.

You are in port alone (with 5,000 fellow cruisers as you said) so it would be a good day to visit Coki. Coki is a small beach and very popular so it is rare for Coki to be "deserted" with even one ship in port docked at Crown, and that is why we only go there on non-ship days or after hours. But it may not be too bad that day, and the teens will probably like the livelier vibe there if it is busier.

[EDIT] You are right in thinking Sapphire is a quieter vibe and a great beach to snorkel or just relax on. On a big ship day you'll see other day visitors gather near the dive shop and the sandier section of the beach, but a short walk away is a quiet area with natural shade and runners taking your orders, Gorgeous water and island views top it off.

http://www.sapphireinthesun.com

But Coki is also a gorgeous beach, just a different experience.

Hi, jmaedcruise! I'm new to Cruise Critic. How do you check the port schedule? I'd like to see if anyone else will be in port the same day as us.

Thanks!

I have had good luck with the website cruisetimetables dot com.. under ports of call

 

[EDIT] You are right in thinking Sapphire is a quieter vibe and a great beach to snorkel or just relax on. On a big ship day you'll see other day visitors gather near the dive shop and the sandier section of the beach, but a short walk away is a quiet area with natural shade and runners taking your orders, Gorgeous water and island views top it off.

Is the quiet area with natural shade still stocked with chair rentals or is it more of a towel area? Looking at the water is that to the left or the right?

Is the quiet area with natural shade still stocked with chair rentals or is it more of a towel area? Looking at the water is that to the left or the right?

In the webcam you can just make out the dive center to the left with the blue-sided counter and white countertop, that's where you rent everything. The lounges are piled to the right of that as you face the water, and you can have your lounges moved to the shaded area where the volleyball net is. That is in front of the condos but you are not restricted to a specific area along the water. Runners take orders along the beach, or at least they did last time we stayed there.

Do you happen to know how many ships were in port the day you were there? We are debating between Coki and Saphire.... I think the teens would like Coki better but I would probably like Saphire for the less crowded aspect.... However I checked the port schedule and our ship is the only one there that day....it is Oasis so that is lot of people anyway but I was thinking Coki might be a little less crowded because we are the only ship there.

There were three ships in the day we were there.