"THE" beach in St. Thomas?

[Yooper38]

Can anyone tell me what beach would be the best place to go to. I'm not too interested in the excursions offered because of their time constraints. We would like to be more on our own schedule. Are there any populated beaches where you can find food, good swimming for kids, snorkelling or maybe even parasailing.

[howard6933]

There are many beach choices in St Thomas. My favorite is Trunk Bay, but for that one you have to take a trip of maybe 45 minutes to an hour to get there. The closest beach to the pier is probably Megan's Bay which I believe is on the list of "world's best beaches". Also a nice beach is Morningstar right next to Frenchmans Reef hotel. And another one which is pretty nice is Coki Beach which I think has a place for snorkeling as well. No matter which one you decide on, you will not go wrong, they're all good. ;)

[atlcple2]

If you don't want to spend a lot of time getting to Trunk Bay, Megans Bay is beautiful! It is on the north side of the island and takes about 20 minutes as I recall to get there. Very quiet beach, bar with pizza and burgers, bathrooms and lots of cabs to/from the port. We have been there twice and plan on going again on our cruise 2/19. We usually spend the day there.

[leno]

I second Trunk Bay in St. John. Its a nice Ferry ride over. Megans Bay is pretty to see but usually crowded. We have gone to Trunk Bay early in the morning and had the beach to ourselves. Love it there.

Leno

[GCBCKat57]

Another beach in St. Thomas that we head to for good snorkeling is Sapphire Beach. The reef is right off the shore and we usually spend hours snorkeling over it. The resort also has a nice pool and restaurant/bar to use.

[HurricaneSally]

I also vote for Trunk Bay. Went to Coki Beach this past October and were swarmed with vendors. That drives me nuts. Every two seconds somebody trying to sell you something. Some lady even wanted to sell me a prayer. Go figure.

[Yellowlily]

Trunk Bay!!!! :)

[OliverTheCat]

Trunk Bay and Megans Bay!

[Ms.Fixit]

Trunk Bay is absolutely beautiful. If you go, grab a taxi from the pier to Red Hook, purchase ferry tickets that will take you to Cruiz Bay. Get another taxi to Trunk Bay....very beautiful photo opportunity. There are always taxis waiting to take you to Red Hook and Trunk Bay. Definitely get to Trunk Bay by 9 a.m. to catch that ferry, as the most time you can spend there the better. There is a small admission fee to the beach and there is a food concession and showers/changing rooms. Note to bring a towel for the beach, as there are no chairs. I purchased one of those "Neat Sheets" back at the end of summer, which works very well for those beaches without chairs.

 

Also bring snorkel equipment (goggles, etc, and don't forget your underwater camera!!!!!)

 

have fun

[ebrener]

We were there in January and due to high tides, the lady at the entrance recommended no to go in, as there wouldn't be much dry sand, and snorkeling would be impossible. We ended up going to Caneel Bay, through the hotel, to Hoenymoon Beach, which was also beautiful. The hotel has 7 beaches, so you can choose between isolated (Honeymoon) or some with a restaurant, restrooms, etc. Facilities are supposed to be for guests of the hotel (beaches are public) but I don't think they'd mind if you also have lunch at the restaurant...

 

Regards,

 

Enrique

[allisons]

Megan's Bay!

[andnickali]

I'm in St. Thomas from 1pm to 7pm, is Trunk Bay still be worth going over to see that late in the day? I'm guessing 1 hour to get there and 1 hour to get back.

[Mattismom]

Trunk Bay in St. John is wonderful--you can't go wrong there!!:D

[Giorgi-one]

Definitely Sapphirie Beach. Get there early if you want shade. $5 for a chair. It was not crowded, but there are only a few shady areas.

 

Megans Bay is beautiful, but we went there last summer and it looked like Coney Island. Chairs and people as far as the eye could see.

 

Coki beach area looked like a depository for wrecked cars last time we were there.

[*erika*]

Definitely Sapphirie Beach. Get there early if you want shade. $5 for a chair. It was not crowded, but there are only a few shady areas.

 

Megans Bay is beautiful, but we went there last summer and it looked like Coney Island. Chairs and people as far as the eye could see.

 

Coki beach area looked like a depository for wrecked cars last time we were there.

 

 

I've been to all 3 and loved each of them, never experienced too many people or looking like a depository for cars. Sapphire seemed to be the least crowded however. I would definitely go back to any of these.

[Lauriebugg]

For the most beautiful, not populated beach go to Cinnamon Bay on St. John. I have been many places, and this is my favorite beach of all spots. You need enough time though with the ferry time and all. We stayed on St. Thomas for a week (not cruise) and visited Megan's Bay, Coki Beach, and Cinnamon Bay. Megan's Bay would be my choice for staying on St. Thomas from the cruise. Enjoy!

[lovemylab]

We took a cab to Magen's Bay. It was $16 one way for two of us. Neither one of us found it crowded. I have not mastered being able to post pics yet but here are some links to the ones I took at Magen's Bay:

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf29b3127cce957560224f6a00000016102AaNnLNk1ZMf

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf29b3127cce957560e7ce9f00000016102AaNnLNk1ZMf

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf29b3127cce957560d7ceaf00000016102AaNnLNk1ZMf

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf29b3127cce957560a7cedf00000016102AaNnLNk1ZMf

[Yooper38]

Hey thanks for all the tips. I will copy these tips for the others in my group. We have 4 kids all between the ages of 8 and 11 travelling with us and they would like to swim, snorkel and maybe even try parasailing. Are any of these beaches topless or clothing optional? It's not something I'm ready for my 8 year old to experience.:o

[ArataCPA]

Megan's Bay for seclusion, and Sapphire Beach for music and snorkeling.

[*erika*]

Hey thanks for all the tips. I will copy these tips for the others in my group. We have 4 kids all between the ages of 8 and 11 travelling with us and they would like to swim, snorkel and maybe even try parasailing. Are any of these beaches topless or clothing optional? It's not something I'm ready for my 8 year old to experience.:o

 

I'm almost 100% positive St Thomas doesn't have any topless/clothing optional beaches. That is more St Martin (French side).

[k2]

There were a ton of jelly fish at Saphire Beach when we were there. The limited food was very expensive. There were bathrooms and they were decent, but of course there was a line. The reef was ok. I would not reccomend or return there, but any beach in that region is better than here :D .

[sailor moon]

We are trying to figure out which beach to go with a 14 and 12 year old. We honeymooned at Caneel Bay in 1990 and thought it would be fun for the kids to see where we spent our honeymoon. Can you tour the property? I thought we might also try Trunk Bay.

[twinkletoes204]

I'm almost 100% positive St Thomas doesn't have any topless/clothing optional beaches. That is more St Martin (French side).

 

Any suggestions for beaches in St. Martin?? Not for the topless beaches (well....I AM on vacation! :D)...but just in general??