We are going to go to St. John's but...???

Which beach has white sand and clear blue water??? We will have 4 children with us so bathrooms, chairs and umbrellas are a must. Not to be to picky but less crowded would be best, we would like something unique and off the beaten path:)

Thanks for your help...

I am sure they all have blue water and white sands there. It has been many years since I have been there but Trunk Bay on St. John's was by far our favorite. It was soooooooooooooooooooooo beautiful and lush too. The island is very pretty and you will see some of that on your way to that beach. It is so pretty. At the time we went it was not crowded at all but I do not know how that is now days. St. Thomas has a lot of pretty beaches too.

I would guess Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay have chairs...maybe umbrellas, too. I just looked back at my pics from St. John, and I can't see anyone using them. Chairs, yes, umbrellas, no. There is vegetation at the back of the beach that most people use for shade, I think. We never really thought the sun was too overwhelming.

But as far as nice beaches, both are wonderful, although they are the most crowded of the north shore beaches (and that's a false sense of "crowded"....it never really gets "crowded" there). But they are the primary tourist beaches on St. John, so they have bathrooms, rentals, etc. The more off-the-beaten-path beaches (which I liked very much) only have bathrooms, if that.

Any of the beaches on St. John were about a billion times nicer than the ones anywhere else I've been. If you want pics, let me know---I'll post from one of the days we had cruise ships in, so it was busier. (I was there on vacation for a week).

Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay have restrooms/showers, food/drinks and chairs for rent. Cinnamon Bay has a watersports booth, non-motorized watersports. Hawksnest has restrooms, but no other amenities.

Caneel Bay/Caneel Bay Resort and Great Cruz Bay Bay/Westin Resort have restrooms and the resorts have food/drink, chairs/umbrellas at these beaches are for hotel guests, don't think they rent them to non-guests. Both have watersports booths.

Off the beaten track beaches generally don't have any amenities, some have PortaJohns such as Francis, Leinster, Salt Pond and Lameshur.

Try a St. John beach guide for photos and info. to help you make your choice, try: http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=st.+john+guide+%2B+beaches&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8.

--Islander

Thank you for all of your help... I would LOVE to see pictures:)

Thank you for all of your help... I would LOVE to see pictures

Wish, command, etc. Here you go, I think I got all the pics labeled with the right place.

Trunk Bay, a "busy" day in March:

Trunk Bay, a pic I took at 9:30am--there was never anyone there when we arrived:

Here's a "crowded cruise-ship-day" from the busiest part of Trunk Bay beach:

Looking out toward the snorkeling trail, Trunk Bay:

Cinnamon Bay:

Cruz Bay, the main town on St. John, where the ferry docks:

Those pics are great! Now I am even more confused about what to do when we're in St. Thomas. :confused:

Those pictures were outstanding!!!!!!!!!! Was there a lot of fish swimming around your legs at either beach??? That's one of the things we didn't like about Megan's Bay;). I can't wait to show the rest of the family your pictures:)

Thanks again for your help.

Which beach has white sand and clear blue water??? We will have 4 children with us so bathrooms, chairs and umbrellas are a must. Not to be to picky but less crowded would be best, we would like something unique and off the beaten path:)

 

Thanks for your help...

Until you said you wanted less crowded I was going to suggest Trunk Bay as it has a great beach, an underwater snorkel trail, changing facilities and eating facilities. Unfortunately when cruise ships are in port it tends to get crowded (not Coney Island crowded but certainly Caribbean crowded). There are some great beach alternatives such as Hawknest and Francis Bay (actually my favorite) but they don't have all the other facilities that you are looking for.