Sapphire Beach or Cowpet Bay

[oceancruiser1]

Based on previous reviews and the St. Thomas Beach guide we are trying to decide between Sapphire Beach and Cowpet Bay. We are arriving on NCL Gem and would like to spend the morning at a good beach for sunbathing and a little snorkling (though we are not experts)... How much would a cab be to either beach? How far are they from the port? Is it difficult to find a cab "home" - back to the ship? How much is it to rent a beach chair? Any other useful info would be greatly appreciated.

[Salt air hair]

Based on previous reviews and the St. Thomas Beach guide we are trying to decide between Sapphire Beach and Cowpet Bay. We are arriving on NCL Gem and would like to spend the morning at a good beach for sunbathing and a little snorkling (though we are not experts)... How much would a cab be to either beach? How far are they from the port? Is it difficult to find a cab "home" - back to the ship? How much is it to rent a beach chair? Any other useful info would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hello and Happy New Year to you.....Can only help with Sapphire Beach. went last year on RCL. Had plenty of time to get to Sapphire Beach and plenty to do while there. Sunbathing excellent although no umbrellas. Tree shade is avaiable and near the water. I went kyaking (resonable rates $15 hour) and my friends went snorkling. They said plenty of fish and coral. Windsurfing is available too, but I don't know what the fee is. A beach bar is there for beers and soda. A little market is also in the near by location. I believe the taxi ride was less than $10 pp one way and the taxi cab will come back for you just decide on a time before he/she leaves. Again, my memory is good....just short.....I think lounges were about $5 each. The ride there was less than 1/2 hour, but that was NO traffic. The driver we had stopped ontop of the hill and let us out to takes pictures of Sapphire Beach below. The view was breathtaking. The Island of St John was in complete view from the beach. I hope someone can give the points of Cowpet Bay. Have a wonderful time....we're headed back in March 2010....:D

[Betsy's Mom]

Cowpett would not be my choice as the beach is small,rocky entry to water and boats from the next door yacht club anchored off shore. However there are 2 good restaurants, rental chairs etc. The snorkeling is not as good or as accessable as Saphire or Coki. You can get cabs at all the beaches, hotels will call them for you if there are none on property. Saphire is closer to the pier, but not by much.Enjoy:)

B.

[oceancruiser1]

Thanks Salt air hair and Betsy's Mom, great information. I think with your help we are leaning towards Sapphire beach. We did Coki beach the last time we were there and wanted to try somewhere different this time.

Really looking forward the this trip.

[Buckeyebrd]

We went to Sapphire Beach on our December cruise. I don't know anything about Cowpet beach. We did not have the best weather, but it was still very nice. When you get off the boat, there are open air waiting as you get off the port. Plenty of them. Alot of the taxi drivers will come up to you asking if you need a ride. They will try to fill their open van up before they leave so try to get into one that has people in it already and hopefully going to the same place you are. It cost $10 a person each way for us. I think that is the going rate. It took 1/2 hour to get to the beach. We were in with another family going to Megan's Bay which the driver dropped off first. The beach is a hotel resort (not like an US hotel resort). There is watersports, food, restaurant. We ate hamburgers and hot dogs and it was really good. We rented chairs for $7 a person. They have a sports activity booth that also rents snorkeling equipment. We did not snorkel so can't tell you about that part. We did see people snorkeling. We did not have a problem getting a taxi going back to the boat. We left at 3:30pm. The hotel has taxi drivers waiting and also had a person that could call for one if you needed. There was a lot of traffic on the way back to the boat so plan accordingly. It took about 45 minutes. I have some pictures, but do not know how to upload them. We enjoyed our day even though the weather was not the greatest.

 

We would go back to Sapphire Beach the next time we have the opportunity.

Have fun!!

[Springermom]

Buckeyebrd

Someone on another thread refernce Sapphire beach in disray. We are thinking of going there in Feb. Did you see any problems with the beach or ammenities?

Thanks

[Buckeyebrd]

No, we did not see a problem. But, we did not do a lot of exploring once we got there. We walked up, rented chairs and relaxed for a few hours. We had lunch which my husband brought back to our chairs. This was our first day where we had some sort of sun so we did not do much at this beach but try and catch some rays and relax. It was not very crowded because the weather was off and on clouds. Sorry if this is not a help, but we did not have any perception of what the beach was going to be like before we got there so not sure if the beach was considered in disarray? Enjoy your trip!!! We love to cruise!!!