Bus to Sapphire beach

[diane52]

Can anyone give me information about the bus to Sapphire beach? I understand that I will have to walk to the beach from the road. What do the Busses look like? Where can I catch the bus from the Carnival Splendor? I am not sure which port we will be in. What is the cost of the bus and do they take American Dollars?

[monicajay]

The 'busses' look the same as the safari style taxis but a bit more beat up. They cost $2 per person and yes they take USD. Generally, people pay when they get out. You will need to walk down a big hill to get to Sapphire (and of course back up on the way back). When you go back you will get on the bus as the exact same spot you got off, meaning you will need to cross the road. The route is circular so you will start off going the wrong direction but it goes around and you will end up back in town.

 

Not sure where based on your ship you will get the bus.

 

We docked at Havensight and walked up past the K-mart to catch the bus.

[diane52]

Thanks for the info Monicajay. Does anyone else know where to catch the bus in the ports? Thanks

[TMS MT]

I haven't done it yet, but what I have written down from reading forums is to go out of main gate and cross the street, turn left, walk to a pullout area across from kmart, and cross over to the kmart side. I read that you can catch the jitney anywhere after Pueblo but on opposite side of street. There is reference to a Grant gas station across from Pueblo you can stand in front of. Maybe the kmart and pueblo are near each other? This is for Havensight. I read you can't tell the difference between the $2 jitney and regular taxis so have to ask. Hope somebody who has done it will confirm if these instructions I found make sense!

[monicajay]

I haven't done it yet, but what I have written down from reading forums is to go out of main gate and cross the street, turn left, walk to a pullout area across from kmart, and cross over to the kmart side. I read that you can catch the jitney anywhere after Pueblo but on opposite side of street. There is reference to a Grant gas station across from Pueblo you can stand in front of. Maybe the kmart and pueblo are near each other? This is for Havensight. I read you can't tell the difference between the $2 jitney and regular taxis so have to ask. Hope somebody who has done it will confirm if these instructions I found make sense!

 

We walked past the K-mart and got it on at the diagonal corner to the K-mart. It was easy to see it was a $2 jitney as it was far more beat up and we were the only tourists aboard.

[TMS MT]

Did you have to wait long for the bus, either leaving port area or leaving Sapphire? Is the ride about 30-40 minutes each way? We went to Coki last time but didn't use the jitney.

[monicajay]

Did you have to wait long for the bus, either leaving port area or leaving Sapphire? Is the ride about 30-40 minutes each way? We went to Coki last time but didn't use the jitney.

 

Walked about 10 minutes to where we caught the bus ( but now think we could have got it closer to port). Waited about 5-7 for a bus to come along. Trip took around 20 minutes to Sapphire. Walked down the big hill and into beach area, about 5 min. max.

 

Return: Walk back up the hill. Wait for jitney in exact same spot you get off. Waited about 5 minutes. Return trip took a little longer as you will go to Red Hook first. We almost got off at the wrong spot when we saw K-mart. Ooops, there are 2 K-marts - luckily others asked if we were cruisers and told us this was not our stop. trip about 30 minutes. Left us off much closer to ship. Walk less than 5 minutes back to ship.

 

Trip time could vary a lot depending on the number of people getting on and off your Jitney. Also, traffic could get very heavy with multiple ships in port. We were the only one that day and Summit is a small ship too so the town was pretty dead.

[diane52]

Thank you so much monicajay and tms mt. I think we will try the bus. One more question. From reading these boards I think Sapphire beach is as good as any for snorkeling in St Thomas.

Would you agree or would you have other suggestions?

[TMS MT]

Thanks Monicajay. Very helpful! Diane, I've only been to Coki so can't compare. Coki was awesome snorkeling. We want sapphire this time just to try a different place and the reviews and photos I've seen lead me to believe it will be good. We don't go until January.

[TMS MT]

Diane52, when do you go? Hope you report back how well, or not so well, it went trying to use the $2 bus.

[diane52]

We leave on Oct 24. I still have to convince my husband to take the bus, but if we do I will let you know,

[diane52]

OK we are back from our cruise and did indeed take the bus to Sapphire beach. By direction of the locals, we ended up catching the bus at the hospital which was past Kmart at the end of the street. On the return we were dropped off at a bus stop right at the end of the pier. I understand that the bus makes a figure 8 and that you could actually pick the bus up here even though you will initially be going in the wrong direction, and circling back to the hospital. The hospital is the center crossing of the 8. When I say end of the pier I mean directly in front of the bow of the ship; you can't walk directly there you have to go around a warehouse to Long Bay Rd.

The confusing part for us was figuring out which vehicles to catch. The regular looking small busses are city busses. You don't want them. You are looking for the bench seats on the back of a truck body. I think we missed several busses because they have a taxi light on the front and we didn't think we were looking for a taxi. These "busses" look just like their regular taxis except they are a little older looking. You have to ask for the $2 bus to Sapphire Beach. You need to get off the bus where the sign says Sapphire beach resort. You walk down the road past a guard shack, curving to the left to a small sign that says beach access. The busses only go in one direction so on the way back pick up the bus in the same spot where you got off and continue around the loop.

The beach was beautiful and we had a wonderful day. I highly recommend this beach. The snorkeling was excellent! If you are interested in seeing turtles, stingrays and spotted eagle rays swim out 100 yards directly in front of the dive shop into 10-15 ft of water. If you are interested in seeing fish and coral go to the right side of the beach by the rocks. There are shade trees, bathrooms and changing rooms there. There is also a dive shop to rent equipment, an open shower to rinse your feet and equipment and a security guard walking around. We loved this beach and will certainly return. We spent $8 total for transportation and stayed most of the day. You can't get better value than that for a shore excursion!!

If you have any more questions I will try to answer them. The best thing is just to head in the right direction and ask a few people. You will be able to pick up a bus at one of a few bus stops in the area.

[tpadul]

OK we are back from our cruise and did indeed take the bus to Sapphire beach. By direction of the locals, we ended up catching the bus at the hospital which was past Kmart at the end of the street. On the return we were dropped off at a bus stop right at the end of the pier. I understand that the bus makes a figure 8 and that you could actually pick the bus up here even though you will initially be going in the wrong direction, and circling back to the hospital. The hospital is the center crossing of the 8. When I say end of the pier I mean directly in front of the bow of the ship; you can't walk directly there you have to go around a warehouse to Long Bay Rd.

The confusing part for us was figuring out which vehicles to catch. The regular looking small busses are city busses. You don't want them. You are looking for the bench seats on the back of a truck body. I think we missed several busses because they have a taxi light on the front and we didn't think we were looking for a taxi. These "busses" look just like their regular taxis except they are a little older looking. You have to ask for the $2 bus to Sapphire Beach. You need to get off the bus where the sign says Sapphire beach resort. You walk down the road past a guard shack, curving to the left to a small sign that says beach access. The busses only go in one direction so on the way back pick up the bus in the same spot where you got off and continue around the loop.

The beach was beautiful and we had a wonderful day. I highly recommend this beach. The snorkeling was excellent! If you are interested in seeing turtles, stingrays and spotted eagle rays swim out 100 yards directly in front of the dive shop into 10-15 ft of water. If you are interested in seeing fish and coral go to the right side of the beach by the rocks. There are shade trees, bathrooms and changing rooms there. There is also a dive shop to rent equipment, an open shower to rinse your feet and equipment and a security guard walking around. We loved this beach and will certainly return. We spent $8 total for transportation and stayed most of the day. You can't get better value than that for a shore excursion!!

If you have any more questions I will try to answer them. The best thing is just to head in the right direction and ask a few people. You will be able to pick up a bus at one of a few bus stops in the area.

 

Thanks for this very detailed info!! We are going to be in St. Thomas this coming Sunday and we think we are going to try taking this cheap $2 bus to Sapphire Beach.

 

questions, how long did the bus ride take?

How long of a walk was it from the bus stop to the beach?

Was it a easy or strenuous walk?

What kind of restaurant/food was available at the beach?

 

I think the $8 total cost for 2 people is much more affordable than $40 total for a taxi for us. We are trying to maximize our money there and would rather spend that on some food or a bottle of rum to bring back!!

[diane52]

the ride is about 20 minutes there and 30 minutes back. Although we asked the driver for the stop he is in a different compartment than the passengers and he was not going to stop for us. We asked some locals (anyone else on the bus) for Sapphire beach and one of them pushed the button for us to get off.

The walk to the beach is about 5 minutes downhill to the beach, uphill away from the beach. I did not find it strenuous. We are in our mid 60's and in reasonable shape.

The dive shop was also a snack bar, I think they might have had hamburgers, I am not sure. We brought sandwiches from the ships deli and ate them on the beach.

I encourage you to give it a try. It was our favorite day of our cruise.

[TMS MT]

Thanks for reporting back. I think we're going to give it a try, even though I'm nervous about knowing which one is the $2 bus (just ask when one that has benches stops I guess) and knowing when to get off. I wouldn't know when to push the buzzer! It sounds like a fun day sunning and snorkeling!

[diane52]

We like to be a little adventurous when we travel. It makes for a much more memorable story than a taxi ride. when you talk to the driver just ask him to stop at Sapphire beach. I think he will. It is at the top of a hill on the left and there is a blue sign in the road that says Sapphire Beach Resort. If you ask the driver to stop and also ask some people in the back you should have no trouble. After all you are in an English speaking country so sit back and enjoy. Please let me know how you made out when you get back.

[tpadul]

Well we are back from our cruise and we did go to Sapphire beach, we had a hard time getting anyone to tell us where to pick up that $2 public bus to Sapphire. At first when we got out of the pier area we tried to get someone to point us in the right direction. The Taxi drivers were pretty rude to us, we only found one guy that was willing to tell us what direction to walk in. Some of them were bold enough to flat out tell us there was no such thing as a $2 public bus and that no cruise passengers can go to Sappire beach on any $2 bus. Then we reached the circle area where we saw the Wendy's and the one guy told us we could pick up the $2 bus across from Wendy's and we did confirm that with an older woman that was waiting for a bus as well. She was really nice.

 

Getting back was more difficult. Maybe because it was a Sunday there didn't seem to be many of the public buses running. We got a run around from people trying to get back. A couple of Taxi's tried to have us get in with them, can charge us $10 each and they got angry when we told them we were waiting for the $2 bus and said good luck trying to find one. Once we did eventually get one to stop for us we got on and got about halfway back and the driver pulled over and told us he wasn't going back in the direction of the pier and told us we had to get out and go back up to Sapphire Beach area and get on one of the busses going in the opposite direction and that did not make any sense at all. I just think he didn't want to take us any farther, and of course we were the only ones on the bus. I knew he was going back in the direction of the Pier as I saw the signs and recognized the route from the way up.

 

So we did end up paying $10 each to get back to the Pier because after trying to find another $2 bus to stop for us and give us correct information we were very hot and tired and just ended up flagging down an expensive Taxi.

 

So our experience getting there and back wasn't all that great :(:( And I was actually surprised at the rudeness of many of the Taxi drivers.. for a U.S. territory they certainly were not very hospitable at all. We found the Taxi drivers in Barbados to be the most professional and kind during our entire cruise.

 

Sapphire beach was beautiful by the way!! We got luck and got some free chairs and there was a really nice Australian woman working the beach cafe and she walked up and down the beach taking drink and food orders. The snorkeling that day was pretty non existent that day, the water wasn't very clear that day for snorkeling and hardly any fish at all and I swam out pretty far past the area where the large portions of sea grass was.

Edited November 17, 2014 by tpadul

[diane52]

sorry to hear about your experience. Our experience on the island was much nicer. It was actually our favorite stop on this cruise.

[tpadul]

sorry to hear about your experience. Our experience on the island was much nicer. It was actually our favorite stop on this cruise.

 

Thanks!! It's really OK, we had an amazing cruise!! It was just a little surprising to see the rudeness from some of the people but after getting that run around we decided to just stick with Taxi's and organized tours for the rest of the ports.

[Ms411]

The taxi drivers are usually nice only if you hire them to take you somewhere. They are not the people to approach if you want information without hiring a taxi.

 

The $2 "bus" can be very unpredictable, so it's not a good idea to rely on it. The locals don't consider it a "bus", and to them, since no public transportation goes directly to the beach, they will tell you no because technically that's correct.

 

I have used public transportation on almost all the islands, but I feel it takes too much time to get around. Usually if you take taxis, you can see twice as much as on public transportation.

[monicajay]

Diane52, glad it worked for you. Hopefully my advice helped you a bit.

 

tpadul, sorry to hear that you had difficulty on the return trip.

 

Since the taxi drivers make their living charging $10 per person (tourist) each way to and from the beach, it is only logical that they don't want to help tourists figure out how to do the same thing for $2 each way.

[beautifulbill]

Just a heads up, but the dive shop charges $9 for each chair. I think it is the most expensive of any of the beaches so what you save on the dollar bus you lose if you rent chairs.

[tpadul]

tpadul, sorry to hear that you had difficulty on the return trip.

 

Since the taxi drivers make their living charging $10 per person (tourist) each way to and from the beach, it is only logical that they don't want to help tourists figure out how to do the same thing for $2 each way.

 

that's Ok, :) it just made for an hour of a little frustration so that wasn't too bad because overall the rest of our cruise was outstanding and the Sushi at Beni Iguana's after we got back to the Pier made up for that!!

 

the outright lying is always something that rubs me the wrong way though, it's like they think I was born yesterday. And that frustration is probably from my job as an Immigration Officer for 18 years and I have people lying to my face daily about their marriages being valid and all that other stuff they lie about, so as I advance in years in my job any form of lying to me really gets under my skin :(:(

[O2B@Cagain]

This is why I do not recommend the $2 safari route. The drivers of the safari route are providing a service for locals, and the taxi drivers feel that that should not include visitors. The safari route is an unregulated business that should be shut down, but won't be. I'm sorry you were put into the middle of the ongoing fight. :(

[tpadul]

This is why I do not recommend the $2 safari route. The drivers of the safari route are providing a service for locals, and the taxi drivers feel that that should not include visitors. The safari route is an unregulated business that should be shut down, but won't be. I'm sorry you were put into the middle of the ongoing fight. :(

 

Ahhhh...so that's probably why the one safari driver after getting us about halfway down stopped and told us he wasn't going back toward the pier when I knew damn well he was he just didn't want to take us any farther, or yet maybe didn't want to be seen with two visitors in the back of his truck as we were the only ones on it at the time.