Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

St. Thomas & Tortola

Mandy412

By Mandy412,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

 Share

Recommended Posts

Oldgoat61

Oldgoat61

Posted
Posted

If you can do it, take an excursion to St Johns', and go to Trunk Bay. Beautiful beach and water, and some OK snorkeling. If you take this excursion, take the ship excursion. You can only get to the island by ferry....if you miss the ferry going back, you miss your ship.

 

As far as Tortola is concerned, there are several beaches, but I can't give you a name. We took an excursion from the ship which included snorkeling and a beach brake. That excursion is near the top of any we have done. We took a catamaran to snorkel first, and then they took us to a deserted beach (had to be a good day...no other ships in port).

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Toliverair

Toliverair

Posted
Posted
Wanting to just do our own beach excursions and need suggestions for the best beaches in both places. Thank you kindly for any help you can provide.

 

 

It depends on what you are looking for in a beach. Our very favorite beach at St Thomas is "Secret Harbor." It's quant, the water is extremely calm, and they have the coolest dive shop where you can rent umbrellas and chairs, paddle boards, snorkeling equipment, etc. There is also a great restaurant on the beach. Best hamburger on the island...for $10. Not a bad price for island dining. I had a kale salad that I enjoyed immensely. I tried the lobster quesadillas but I wouldn't recommend them, I've had better quesadillas. Should've known, we weren't in Mexico. 🤔 We have been there several times and when we try other places, we always wish we would have went back to Secret Harbor.

 

That being said, St John is wonderful. If you have the time, you can't go wrong with St John.

 

I've been to Tortola twice. The beaches are very rough. If you want to surf, you're in luck. Otherwise, be prepared to jump those waves. Overall, Josiah's Bay was our favorite. The beach is magnificent! It's quite a drive, but it's beautiful and worth the time. Take snacks, I didn't feel safe eating the food there. The sodas and water would be okay.

 

We took a cab to Josiah's Bay for $10 or $20 rt per person. When we went to smuggler's cove and the other end of the island, we rented a car for around $60 and did some exploring on our own. The road to smuggler's cove is a pig trail! We contemplated renting a scooter, but there are some steep hills, so we decided against it and we were glad we did when we saw the size of the hills/mountains. [emoji15]

 

The people on Tortola, were some of the friendliest people we have meet in the Caribbean. You'll love it there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
iceman2a

iceman2a

Posted
Posted
Wanting to just do our own beach excursions and need suggestions for the best beaches in both places. Thank you kindly for any help you can provide.

 

Mandy412

 

If you plan it right you can go to St. Johns on your own!

Do what Turtles06 suggested, go to the ports of call boards and

do some reading. St. Johns beaches are beautiful and may be a little

less crowded.

NCL excursions may not spend enough time at the beach but they will get you back on time. If you go on your own, like oldgoat61 said "MAKE SURE YOU MAKE THE FERRY"

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mandy412

Mandy412

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Hey everyone, if the OP tries to go to "St. Johns" on her own from St. Thomas, I doubt she'll make it back to the ship on time all the way from Antigua.

 

But going to St. John from St. Thomas, do-able. :)

 

Ha!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mandy412

Mandy412

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Mandy, you would find going to the Ports of Call Board here on CC and checking under both St. Thomas and Tortola to be very helpful and you can ask questions there as well. :)

 

Duh I thought this was it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
HarpHarp

HarpHarp

Posted
Posted

I lived in St Thomas for several years & agree that you can't go wrong with any beach on St John. If you want to stay on St. T. there are many options. Sapphire was my favorite beach there, snorkeling by the reef & sandy beach with many amenities & usually not very crowded. Web cam here:

http://www.sapphireinthesun.com/

 

Coki is great especially since it is right next to Coral world if you need a break from the beach The snorkeling is good.

 

Magens is the most popular beach but tends to be very crowded. I'd grab a picnic at the Deli at Havensight & go to the other beach in the Magens authority, Lindquist/ Smith bay.

 

If you want the Magens view, but without the crowds, head next door to Hull. with the coolest beach bar on the island

 

Tortola- try Cane Garden or Brewers, Brewers if you want to snorkel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lilybean

lilybean

Posted
Posted

Virgin Gorda Baths in Tortola are amazing. You can take Speedys ferry and do the trip on your own. We took the 745am ferry and were back at the port by 1230 before the baths got too crowded with excursion groups.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
karenpstok

karenpstok

Posted
Posted

just got off the escape and did beach days in port. In st thomas i went to megans beach. Was $8 taxi each way and $5 to get in. Nice beach, calm water. Went to cane garden bay in tortola. $8 by taxi, no fee to get in. again nice beach, calm water. Then went to nassau and went to cabbage beach on paradise island and that was my favorite as there were some waves which i like. But all in all amazing beach days! Enjoy the cruise!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mandy412

Mandy412

Posted
  • Author
Posted
just got off the escape and did beach days in port. In st thomas i went to megans beach. Was $8 taxi each way and $5 to get in. Nice beach, calm water. Went to cane garden bay in tortola. $8 by taxi, no fee to get in. again nice beach, calm water. Then went to nassau and went to cabbage beach on paradise island and that was my favorite as there were some waves which i like. But all in all amazing beach days! Enjoy the cruise!!

 

3 more days and I think we are going to do what you did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jackparts

jackparts

Posted
Posted

Ihave done Coki Beach numerous times. Coral World next door has many things to do at a price. Helmet walk, swim with sea lions etc. Also has lockers and free showers (all Coral World) Many iguanas all over and and some ok food but pricey also. Coki beach is nice, they tell you not to feed the fish but everyone brings dog biscuits or cereal even though it hurts the fish, supposedly. Beach vendors sell their goods and the local have huts(?) selling their wares and drinks. Like a stronger drink, just tell them. Since my food was given to someone else by mistake, the girl kept giving me samples of shots of all kind. I was hoping my food would never come. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Laszlo

Laszlo

Posted
Posted
Anyone do Coki beach? It's right near the aquarium, so I was planning on making it a "double" excursion on my own.

 

Easily doable, Coki is small, very small and gets very, very crowded. We got there early and it was OK for about an hour.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mandy412

Mandy412

Posted
  • Author
Posted
We love meghan's Bay beach in St. Thomas. There are lunch and bathroom facilities there.

 

Be very careful about doing your own thing in Tortola. Our cruise was there only between 7am and 1pm. You'll have to keep an eye on the clock.

 

The site says we are there until 3. If there isn't enough time we can always just tool around the construction to say we were there and chill on the ship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
oregonian123

oregonian123

Posted
Posted
just got off the escape and did beach days in port. In st thomas i went to megans beach. Was $8 taxi each way and $5 to get in. Nice beach, calm water. Went to cane garden bay in tortola. $8 by taxi, no fee to get in. again nice beach, calm water. Then went to nassau and went to cabbage beach on paradise island and that was my favorite as there were some waves which i like. But all in all amazing beach days! Enjoy the cruise!!

 

 

Hi, does Cane Garden Bay have shade and chairs?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
karenpstok

karenpstok

Posted
Posted
Hi, does Cane Garden Bay have shade and chairs?

Yes for a fee there are chairs and umbrellas. But just so you know if you walk a little way down the beach they are cheaper. Where the taxis drop you off if you rent right where you walk in it costs more than a few feet down the beach. Very nice beach. Calm water if you like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
karenpstok

karenpstok

Posted
Posted
The site says we are there until 3. If there isn't enough time we can always just tool around the construction to say we were there and chill on the ship.

If you do a beach day in Tortola there are taxis there all the time to take you back. I had no issue getting back in plenty of time. Went to the beach from 9-1230. In the heat that was lots of time!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...