Best Family Friendly beach

[acceber32]

Ok, I'm sorry, I know this has been asked so many times before but after reading and reading posts I can't make up my mind (I think there are too many choices, lol). We are looking for a beach to go to on our cruise in January. We will be on the Carnival Dream and there are two other ships in port the same day (one being the Oasis). We would like soft sand, clean bathrooms, chairs to rent, beautiful clear calm water and enough room for my 17 month old son to have fun. Any beaches we should avoid with a little one? Any that are amazing and we shouldn't miss? I have read great things about Magen's but I'm worried about crowds. Would it be way too overly crowded? Are the fish at Coki's really visible from shore? Thinking my DS might find this interesting and I like to snorkel a little. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[MamaParrotHead]

I went through that phase of "chasing my tail" regarding which beach to choose as well. We ended up picking Coki. I'm not sure about the bathroom cleanliness, but it has everything else you're listing. The youtube videos that are out there clinched it for me. :)

[rummenroman]

I went through that phase of "chasing my tail" regarding which beach to choose as well. We ended up picking Coki. I'm not sure about the bathroom cleanliness, but it has everything else you're listing. The youtube videos that are out there clinched it for me. :)

 

I will second this. Coki does have everything you could wish for, except the bathrooms....they have them, but they aren't the cleanest things in the world, but it doesn't stop me from going there every time I'm in St. Thomas

[azkcruizers]

I enjoyed Coki Beach with my family but there were a few drawbacks you should be aware of. There is a charge for chairs...and it did get very crowded. The bathrooms were very dirty..be sure to not go in barefoot! You are approached a lot for hairbraiding and food, etc. The worst part though was when one of the girls serving drinks told my husband to not leave any of our things unguarded. There were around ten of us there and we had several cameras and snorkel gear and odds and ends. My husband turned and looked...and behind us in the woods there were guys hanging out...kind of lurking and watching...waiting for things to be left unattended I'm guessing.

That being said the snorkeling was fantastic and you could see fish very close to shore. We all had a great time except for my husband who stayed guarding all of our things. He didn't miss out so much on the water and snorkeling but just felt uncomfortable being watched.

As long as you know this and are ok with it you will be fine. I was there almost two years ago now. My kids loved it there.

[wd2crv]

I absolutely loved Megan's Beach! We were swimming with the fish around us and the pelican's were dive bombing the water for fish not 10 feet from us. It wasn't too crowded and the bathrooms were sandy but not filthy. I didn't feel unsafe and there are so many safari drivers standing around that I didn't notice anyone else. But there were no people selling things or hairbraiding, etc. perhaps cause there is a cost to enter the beach.

An amazing experience - I'm heading there again in a month!

[mrspjotter]

I have to agree Megan's Bay is amazing although we haven't been to Coki. We are on another cruise in a few weeks and so disappointed that St Thomas is not on our itinerary.

 

Me, dh and the kids loved it and the turtles were swimming round us just a few feet from the shore it was amazing!

[mderaba]

I've been to both Coki and Magen's Beach many times, as we own a timeshare in St. Thomas, and I highly recommend going to Magen's over Coki. Magen's beach stretches far and wide, while Coki is rather small and a little claustrophobic, in my opinion. And the warnings from other posters about the possible criminal element is true...it is NOT the safest beach, especially with a 17-month old. Magen's has better bathrooms, a restaurant/bar and is much cleaner. The only drawback is you have to pay for Magen's but it's worth it. It also has some snorkeling on the sides and you will still see some fish if you wander out far enough in the nice, clear, calm water. If I had a baby with me, I'd definitely go to Magen's. The nice shallow entry with soft sand is the best place for kids and adults. Coki has good snorkeling, for sure, but there is a little more wave action and definitely more locals hanging around looking and watching, which I don't like. Coki is right beside Coral World, too, so you get the ship passengers who go there going for beach time after the tour, and so it can get really crowded. Magen's can be busy but is miles wider so you can spread out.

[MrZoey]

Magens Bay is the first beach we ever went to in St. Thomas.....great place for smaller kids! We have been to Coki, and I was very uncomfortable the whole time we were there.....a close friend of ours had a very negative ( and dangerous) experience there while doing an early evening dive. Too much "shady dealings" seem to be going on.:eek:

[laser110]

I would forget both Magen's and Coki and head to Secret Harbor. The beach is clean and there is a resturant there- Blue Moon Cafe, along with nice restroom facilities. You can rent chairs at the Dive Shop.

 

I would suggest when you come on to the beach going to the left. There will be a big tree that over hangs into the water. The beach down that way is a little bit more sandy as you enter the water, and it stays fairly shallow for a good distance out. If you stay close to the restaurant the beach at the shoreline tends to be a bit more rocky.

 

Snorkling is good at Secret Harbor on either side of the beach near the rocks. Last time I was there there was a barracuda, about 2' in length just limin' under the swim platform.

 

Scott

[Luke gs Daddy]

I would forget both Magen's and Coki and head to Secret Harbor. The beach is clean and there is a resturant there- Blue Moon Cafe, along with nice restroom facilities. You can rent chairs at the Dive Shop.

 

I would suggest when you come on to the beach going to the left. There will be a big tree that over hangs into the water. The beach down that way is a little bit more sandy as you enter the water, and it stays fairly shallow for a good distance out. If you stay close to the restaurant the beach at the shoreline tends to be a bit more rocky.

 

Snorkling is good at Secret Harbor on either side of the beach near the rocks. Last time I was there there was a barracuda, about 2' in length just limin' under the swim platform.

 

Scott

 

 

How far is it from the cruise piers?

[jimf41]

How far is it from the cruise piers?

 

 

20 minutes from WICO and about $10 PP each way. It is the best family beach IMO. It also has an outdoor open air freshwater shower.

[debruss]

We were in St. Thomas right before Christmas. We were going to go to Secret Harbour, because it had good reviews about snorkeling and was a quiet beach. When our ship arrived, we found out there was only 1 other ship in port that day. We asked someone when we got off the ship - they recommended Coki or Sapphire, since there would be no crowds - and I had read alot about Sapphire, so we decided to try it. What a beautiful beach! Lots of trees right on the beach (but watch out for huge iguana's in them!). Unfortunately, there were big waves that day (unusual), so we couldn't snorkel, but had a fun time in the waves. You can rent lounge chairs for $7 and they have a small outside place to eat (get the mahi mahi sandwhich). We loved it.

[CMJFamily]

Have been to Coki Beach twice but after our second time we switched to Secret Harbor and loved it. Last time we were at Coki, we did not feel safe. It looked very rundown and as we were walking to Coral World, I had to ask some of the locals to not smoke pot around our son who was 5 at the time. They complied but I was uncomfortable with all the people hanging around. I also heard there was a shooting there a while ago??