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St Thomas or St Kitts?


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Which do you prefer and why?

 

Wife and I planning to do a relaxing 7 day eastern caribbean with Celebrity and they offer 2 options: San Juan, St Thomas, St Maarten -OR- San Juan, St Kitts, St Maarten. So 4 sea days and 3 islands seems like a nice mix of relaxation and island time. For a little background we are around 40, my wife loves being in the water, scuba diving, dolphin / sting ray encounters (we did that last year in Grand Cayman and it was fun), snorkeling, beaches, etc. Me, Im more into sitting on a beach or boat, jet skiing, ATV's, tours, local foods, etc. Oh and of course my wife loves shopping, especially for jewelry (she didn't exactly go home empty handed last year!).

 

About 20 years ago I was in St Thomas on a cruise and really only remember 2 things seeing Meagan's Bay (and wanting to go) and there was a lot of shopping in one area downtown, especially jewelry.

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We went to both St Thomas and St Kitts last year on our Celebrity cruise and I think if I were to choose one, St Thomas would be it. I think you'll have better beach options there. We enjoyed St Kitts and ended up taking a cab to a pretty secluded beach for the day but the town area was dirtier and there really weren't many walking around options. In St Thomas, we took a open air tour of the island and saw a number of great beaches - I wish we'd gone to Megan's Bay for the day. Seems like the water was calmer there too - could have just been the weather though.

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I read another post about the monkey's on St Kitts and that is really making me think St Thomas is the best bet. Did you get to any of the Beach's? I heard Coti Beach is a pretty nice place to go with good near shore snorkling and a bit more local "flavor". Anyway, thanks for your reply!

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Yes, I do have a photo of me with a couple of monkeys on my head in St Kitts. You slow down your pace and before you know it, someone's putting a monkey on you. It wasn't a big deal - I just went with it.

 

We did stop at Coki Beach on our tour of St Thomas. It was beautiful but pretty crowded. There were several restaurants there and a few rental shacks. From what I understand, Magen's Bay is accessible by a small trail and is more secluded and much larger. After the tour dropped us off, we decided to try Frenchman's Reef at the Marriott and took a cab there. I definitely wouldn't do that again - the water was too deep/rough to wade and it's one of those places you have to rent everything.

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Not a fan of monkeys! Do they take no for an answer on St Kitts if you dont want to be showered with monkeys? That is the weirdest thing Ive ever said in my life I think. :)

 

Megans Bay is gorgeous, at least it was 20 years ago but Ive heard its the most crowded beach normally on St Thomas?

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So yes, they'll take no for an answer but they are pretty persistent. We seriously just stopped to decide where to go next and I was approached and next thing I know...

IMG_3399.jpg

 

Here is Coki Beach looking in both directions standing in virtually the same spot:

IMG_3309.jpg

 

IMG_3307.jpg

 

Here is Magen's Bay from a distance. Since we weren't standing on the beach, I can't comment on the crowds. It's significantly larger than Coki though. It sounds like (given the monkey issue) St Thomas is definitely your island though!

IMG_3320.jpg

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I don't know where the monkeys are that are a problem, and Basseterre was a nice little town to explore. But for your interests (and your wife's) I would recommend St Thomas. For a snorkeling beach Sapphire is the nicest but currently there are no restrooms or rentals. If that's not a problem I would highly recommend Sapphire, $10pp taxi each way. There is abundant natural shade at Sapphire, and abundant duty free shopping in Charlotte Amalie.

 

To fit both your requests I would consider a boat to STJ such as the New Horizons sloop out of Sapphire, or the champagne cat through the ship.

I would avoid Magens and Coki as they will be very crowded. You could also rent a jet ski at the Sapphire marina while your wife enjoys snorkeling and relaxing on the beach. Another option is the cat sail from Basseterre to Nevis.

Edited by blue_water
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