Powdery White Beach

[MiloAshesMadison]

Hello!

 

I will be porting here ( St John, / St. Thomas) and with the hundreds of beaches on these two islands I'm wondering if either St John or St Thomas has beaches that have talcum powder white sand that can be recommended?

 

Thank you!!

Erica Johnson

[Ms411]

I took sand from Barbados, which is known for its white sand, and compared it to sand from Virgin Islands beaches. Will post my opinion after hearing from others, and after finding my samples!

[floatinrocks]

Trunk Bay St. John's is just like corn starch it is so fine, I'd never experiences anything like it.

[sail7seas]

I agree about Trunk Bay, St. John.

Catch the ferry. It's easy.

[MiloAshesMadison]

Thanks guys!

 

I'm debating weather to buy the ship excursion that will ferry us over to st.John for the day (it's $40.00/pp) or to take a taxi to red hook and ferry it over on our own?

 

Any one know the price of a taxi for two to red hook from the cruise port and the cost of the ferry to get over to St. John?

 

How long does it take to drive via taxi from the cruise port to Red Hook?

 

Thank you!

Erica

[OCruisers]

Nice white sand at the beaches in St. John. :)

[vickykay]

Milo - we have done both and I would recommend the trip through the ship ( ours was with Celebrity). The cost difference was minimal and well worth the convience. We really enjoyed the boat ride over and the commentary.

[floatinrocks]

We took the ship excursion when we went to Trunk Bay. so have no idea of taxi and ferry costs. The ferry ride was rough so take motion sickness pill before you leave if it's a windy day and you are inclined to motion sickness. Otherwise, you will absolutely love the beach.

[blue_water]

No need to go through the ship, and going on your own you have so much more freedom. Also a much nicer and shorter ferry ride. Just taxi to the Red Hook ferry and taxi to the beach. Round trip price is about $48pp (+ tip for taxis).

[MiloAshesMadison]

Blue Water, I was under the impression that the ferry ride would be shorter if we booked through the cruise line as the ferry would take us directly from the cruise port. I was thinking it would save us time rather then driving to Red Hook and taking the ferry over from there.

 

So it takes longer to take the ferry from the cruise ship excursion then to drive to red hook and ferry it over?

 

I'm looking for the most time effective route, so we have more time on St. John

 

Thank you!!

[blue_water]

Blue Water, I was under the impression that the ferry ride would be shorter if we booked through the cruise line as the ferry would take us directly from the cruise port. I was thinking it would save us time rather then driving to Red Hook and taking the ferry over from there.

 

So it takes longer to take the ferry from the cruise ship excursion then to drive to red hook and ferry it over?

 

I'm looking for the most time effective route, so we have more time on St. John

 

Thank you!!

 

It's about the same travel time either way, and but the ferry ride from the ship is in open water for 45 minutes and usually a very rough ride. The ferry from Red Hook is 15 minutes and in more protected water. Most folks opt for the self-excursion for the utmost freedom, and it's just a better option for most of us...

[MiloAshesMadison]

That makes sense. Thank you for clarifying. I have read reviews from peolpe that talk about getting back from red hook you could run into traffic jam issues. This worries me a bit as I dont want to be late getting to our ship but I also don't want to cut our time off of 3 hours just so we can give tons of extra time for " just in cases" that may not be necessary .

 

Does traffic typically get jammed on the way back from red hook to the port?

 

Thanks again! This has been very helpful

 

Erica

[blue_water]

Erica there will be congestion coming back into the ports due to all of the folks returning not only from STJ, but from the different beaches around STT as well. Everyone will want to get the most from their day and return around the same time.

So a good rule of thumb is to take the return ferry from Cruz bay (STJ) 3 hrs before your ship departs or before your BOB time. If you're docked in Havensight many will take a later ferry (2 hrs before their ship departs, but that is a little riskier in the event of an unforseen incident. The ferries are very regular between Red Hook and Cruz Bay, and the taxi drivers make that trek almost every day of the year. But...:rolleyes:

 

Going to STJ versus Sapphire Beach on the East End of STT, for example adds another 1.5 - 2 hrs to your travel time and $28 from your wallet but it a very nice day. The taxi to the East End, the ferry to Cruz, and the taxi to the STJ beaches make for a nice experience! Another option is to take advantage of the ~$25pp island tours offered by the taxi drivers on STJ before being dropped at the beach. Less beach time, but a very nice tour and the total round trip cost with the tour is about $66 ($20 roundtrip Red Hook taxi, $14 roundtrip ferry, $25 tour, $7 one-way taxi back to ferry). Very reasonable IMHO for such a nice day!

Edited January 18, 2016 by blue_water