Coral World/Magens Bay

[sandybeach121]

We are on the Adventures of the Sea in June. I had planned to take my 10 & 13 year olds to Coral World and then Magens Bay. I found some posts from last year saying Coral World wasn't so great. Has anyone gone recently? What did you think?

 

Also, would anyone recommend or not recomment Magens Bay? I hear it is beautiful, but sometimes really crowded.

 

I considered going to St. Johns, but we are hitting so many beaches in places where there is little else, I thought Coral World would be a nice change of pace? Any recommendations.:confused:

[The Islander]

Hello,

 

Coral World can be explored in about 2 hours. Its not a huge marine center and if you go expecting that you might be disappointed... for example if you expect Seaworld - thats not what it is. Coral World has very neat exhibits of local tropical species... sharks, rays, sea horses, turtles... there is a show time where guests can touch a young shark that the trainer holds. There is a touch pond for holding sea stars, sea cucumbers, conch. Underwater observation tower. You can do sea trekkin which is neat for non-divers (extra fee).

 

Magens Bay has always been a favorite of mine. It does get crowded when lots of ships are in port. But June is not a busy cruise ship month for us; 1 or 2 ships rather then 6 or 7 during winter months.

 

--Islander

*****

[crisp1]

We enjoyed Coral World with our 13 yr old son on our first trip to St Thomas. If you time it right you can see the feedings. From the observation deck you can see the helmet divers and some nice fish etc. Afterward we walked over to Coki Beach and snorkeled. You can catch any of the cabs back with your return ticket, so you can spend as much/little time you want. Another option would be to take the tour with Godfrey and stop at Coki, once there you can decide whether or not to go into Coral world

[sandybeach121]

Thanks for the comments. I didn't really expect a Sea World, just lots of fish, sharks, eels, sting rays...the usual. I've never been to an aquarium that let you touch the sharks, that sounds neat. I just want to make sure it is well maintained and worth the time. Especially since I'm struggling with not going to St. Johns. But I think my kids would enjoy this more. Maybe I can make it back to St. Johns later. Thanks again!

[The Islander]

Hello,

 

Coral World is well maintained. If you are really wanting to go to St. John you might consider doing Snuba on St. John - the kids likely will enjoy that. You can do beach time and a little hiking. That would be a full day.

 

--Islander

*****

[lorrainesy]

I was at coral world last May with my mother, my 7 year old nephew andmy 14 year old cousin andwe all agree that it is the best thing that we have done on any of the islands. It was VERY clean and well kept. We all loved petting the shark and got some great pictures. you get to get up close with sting rays, turtles, lizards, star fish and much more. They have a nice gift shop and clean bathrooms. We did an island tour that stopped at Coral World for about two hours and we were highly entertained the whole time. I would highly recommend doing the Sea Trekkin.