Review of Sapphire Beach

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We just back from our Allure Cruise and went to Sapphire as planned. It was once again a wonderful experience. The main change we saw was that the crowds were so much more than before. Our little secret has been discovered!:eek: However, we got there as soon as we were able to disembark and still got nice loungers in the shade. I am working on my pictures and will post some when I am done.

[sangoofy]

We are docking at Havensight pier, how long of a taxi ride is it to Sapphire Beach from Havensight?

[blue_water]

20 - 30 min

[wdwcoltsfan]

Does anyone know how much the jet ski rental is and is it right at Sapphire?

 

Thanks!

Rachel:)

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We just back from our Allure Cruise and went to Sapphire as planned. It was once again a wonderful experience. The main change we saw was that the crowds were so much more than before. Our little secret has been discovered!:eek: However, we got there as soon as we were able to disembark and still got nice loungers in the shade. I am working on my pictures and will post some when I am done.

 

My pictures and my review are complete! Here is the link to the part of my pictorial review where we go to Sapphire Beach, as promised.

 

We are now booked on the Jewel of the Seas for next year with another day in St. Thomas. I plan to keep things loose that day since it will be the beginning of a port intensive B2B and see how we feel and how the weather conditions are that day before making plans. However, if it looks like a good beach day you can bet we will be heading to Sapphire. That is the perfect place to just relax.:) We will also be docking at Havensight, so we will be a tad closer = shorter taxi ride.:cool:

Edited May 31, 2013 by Sunny AZ Girl

[blue_water]

Don't have the price wdw but yes, they are at the marina to the far right of where you are dropped off, just follow the sidewalk to the closer side of the marina. There's an office in a trailer there.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I have never seen any motorized water sports anywhere near the beach itself, although I have heard repeatedly that there is a marina there. I have been to Sapphire three times and haven't seen it.:confused:

[blue_water]

Sunny there are jet skis going by Sapphire all the time. The marina is to the south end of the bay (to your right when facing the water). You'll see many boats coming and going with fishing and snorkel excursions. The New Horizons and other ops are out of Sapphire. If you walk to bldg D (bldg A is by tue dive center) you'll see the marina. We like staying in bldg D because it's further from the beach and ppl

Edited June 1, 2013 by blue_water
Typo

[JandBR_PHX]

OK, Sapphire looks great but I need one more comparison, please. The beach bar at Megans serves a GREAT Pain Killer, what about Sapphire? DS wants to return to Megans to repeat the great time we had there last time, with a few Pain Killers.

 

Are all the facilities open on Sunday?

 

Also I saw a mention of Bud Light at the dive center, but do they have beer? :D

Edited June 2, 2013 by JandBR_PHX

[blue_water]

Sapphire is much different and actually everyone we've ever met while staying on STT who have been to both would not go back to Magens. But if you are happy with Magen's you should stick with that.

All operations are open everyday at all beaches.

The Banana Cabana, Sapphire Restaurant, and dive center sell beer and rum punches, and the BC sells tropical drinks too.

[JandBR_PHX]

Thanks, Blue_Water... we will probably be going to Sapphire, since we want to do some snorkeling, too. We were just happy with the Pain Killers there ;)

Edited June 2, 2013 by JandBR_PHX

[blue_water]

Yes they are good! The rum punches and beers are cheaper at the dive center at Sapphire, and the painkillers are good at the Banana Cabana which is a small grill between condo bldgs B and C. They also have a great grilled mahi mahi sandwich. There's also a lady who sells great drinks I heear. We rent a condo there and have never seen her but others say her drinks are great.

 

Let us know what you think when you get back, I think you will like Sapphire. Great snorkeling if the seas aren't too rough with a sea grass area, a sandy swimming area, and a reef. Magens is much calmer but we like Sapphire because it just has more "character" - beautiful water colors and nice island views.

[PeanutBudder]

We took a taxi from our cruise port to Sapphire Beach ($6 pp) and we're so glad we did! The beach is beautiful and the views of St. John from the shore are stunning. The weather wasn't really on our side and we had some clouds, some sun and lots and lots of wind. Because of the wind, the water was quite rough and a bit chillier than we had hoped for. Other than that, it was the perfect place to go. It was not crowded, there's a place to rent chairs and umbrellas. You can rent snorkel gear by the hour or the day, along with kayaks. (We rented snorkel gear but had to give up since it was so rough.) There are beautiful Seagrape trees lining the beach, so if it were sunnier out, there would have been plenty of shade and it was quiet scenic overall. We set up under the trees and had a very nice day. We did eat there, though we were told the hotel had a snack bar (which looked liked burgers and dogs) and they said we could order pizza from a local pizza place that would be delivered. We got a few beers from them ($3 each! Can't complain about that!) and had a very nice time. We didn't stay as long as we'd hoped due to the weather, but we would go back in a heartbeat again when in St. Thomas.

 

 

Do you remember the approximate cost for the snorkel gear rental? As well, do you know if they rent out youth sized gear? Thanks!