Water Island loungers?

[island284]

Has anyone been to Water Island lately and can verify if there are loungers for rent at the beach?  Also, should we bring our snorkeling mask even though we don’t swim out too far from land?
thanks for any information. 

[blue_water]

We’ve not been in a few years, at that time whatever lounges were by Dinghy’s were free but I’m reading they are rented now…conflicting feedback…
 

Would not recommend swimming out far or snorkeling off the beach there. Boat traffic is crazy there. Perhaps a resident there can recommend another spot, or conditions have changed there -
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g1899200-i21818-Water_Island_St_Thomas_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

Also you may want to research the water quality, not sure if the info in post 5 is accurate or just rumor…

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1899200-i21818-k13856601-Has_anyone_been_to_Honeymoon_beach_water_island_recently-Water_Island_St_Thomas_U_S_Virg.html

[island284]

blue_water…thank you so much for the information. 

[Ralphinsc]

Here's a good semi-recent vlog for water island / dinghy's / snorkeling. It is still in our plans as of right now. The boat traffic seems to be funneled into the north side of the beach; at least that which would interfere with snorkeling for sea turtles.

 

https://youtu.be/0AJ0vkCx5ss

[helensobol]

On 4/14/2022 at 1:07 AM, Ralphinsc said:

Here's a good semi-recent vlog for water island / dinghy's / snorkeling. It is still in our plans as of right now. The boat traffic seems to be funneled into the north side of the beach; at least that which would interfere with snorkeling for sea turtles.

 

https://youtu.be/0AJ0vkCx5ss

 

Curious when you will be heading to water island?   Would love to know your feedback after going. 

 

[blue_water]

Yes the boats tie up right by the sandy swimming area and you really need to take care when they start taking over that section…

[Ralphinsc]

On 5/12/2022 at 2:19 PM, helensobol said:

 

Curious when you will be heading to water island?   Would love to know your feedback after going. 

 

 

We should be there either the second or third week of June. We are going to St. Thomas on back to back weeks and will go for one of those weeks.

[perfect match]

@Ralphinsc, are you still planning to go to Water Island? I’m thinking it would be a great option for us when we’re in St Thomas in mid September. If the port schedule I looked at is correct, we may be the only ship in town on our scheduled day, so it shouldn’t be too crowded. I know, of course, that the port schedule could change at any time so I’ll keep checking, but I’d love to hear about your experience there.

[Ralphinsc]

On 6/7/2022 at 4:24 AM, perfect match said:

@Ralphinsc, are you still planning to go to Water Island? I’m thinking it would be a great option for us when we’re in St Thomas in mid September. If the port schedule I looked at is correct, we may be the only ship in town on our scheduled day, so it shouldn’t be too crowded. I know, of course, that the port schedule could change at any time so I’ll keep checking, but I’d love to hear about your experience there.

 

We went to water Island on June 8 of this year and had a wonderful time. There were two or three ships in that day, but the beach never felt crowded. The water taxi is cash only, $15 per person for a round trip. It goes on the hour from the Crown Bay marina beside Tickles restaurant and on the quarter after the hour from the ferry dock at Water Island. Dinghy's bar is located on Honeymoon Beach and they have a full menu as well as rentals available (chairs, umbrellas, snorkeling equipment). you can sit at the restaurant tables located on the beach for free as long as you are ordering and eating/drinking. The water is very clear and there are no real rocks or obstructions in the water, except for along the edge of the bay. What you want to go there for is the Sea Turtles. About 50-100 yards out in 8-10 feet of water, they can be found munching on grass and swimming around. We saw and swam with three in our 45 minutes of snorkeling and it made our whole trip worthwhile. Take a floatation vest unless you are extremely buoyant, because it is a decent swim out and you will not want to leave once you spot a turtle or a large ray.

 

Our total day ran for about $150 when you account for the $30 in water taxi fare, and the $120 in the restaurant/bar/snorkel rental tab (we rented on set of snorkeling gear, I brought my own). The food is not the greatest and kind of overpriced, but all things on the island are priced higher. We loved the Bushwackers and Paddlewackers to drink and we also got a bucket of local beer that was very good. 

 

All in all, our day on water Island was a 9.5/10 and we absolutely want to go back again and again. Those turtles were just as advertised as well as an uncrowded beach and tasty drinks. 

[perfect match]

@Ralphinsc, thank you very much! Just the information I’ve been looking for! I think I’ll be printing out your reply so I can have it readily available to refer to in my trip folder.
 

We will probably rent a couple of chairs and an umbrella. We may get some drinks, maybe a snack, but I think we’d be more comfortable with a couple of loungers and an umbrella. We’ll bring our own snorkel 🤿 gear.
 

I’ve had some great experiences snorkeling with turtles 🐢 in the past, but, at least in my world there can never be too many times snorkeling or diving with 🐢 turtles. 😀

 

I think Water Island will be just what we’re looking to do in St Thomas!  😎

Edited June 26, 2022 by perfect match

[blue_water]

Wow, that is a nice day! I’ve not read a report on HB in years! HB is usually so jam-packed with just one ship at Crown Bay that it is just not a nice day…So you weren’t even bothered by several excursion boats anchoring next to the swimming beach when they dropped folks at Dinghy’s? 
 

It’s also nice that they are now accepting $$ for the ferry, much easier for those without the tokens... The last time we ventured over we missed the ferry we had waited for because we had to go to the office across the parking lot to get tokens since cash was not allowed…
 

So to clarify, Dinghy’s is now renting lounges and umbrellas and they are no longer first come/first serve (free)?
 

Thanks for your report! Just so different from most experiences!
 

 

[perfect match]

On 6/23/2022 at 10:19 AM, wolfganghowell said:

We're on Harmony in October so looking forward to reading your review.  Interested in what you did for St Thomas and St Kitts.  We plan on going to Paradise Point in ST and probably the Marriott in St Kitts.  Not giant fans of St K.

We has an excursion booked through Royal Caribbean to Paradise Point for our cruise in September that was cancelled a while back. I thought it might just be a problem between the cruise line and Paradise Point, so I contacted Paradise Point through their website to find out if they would, in fact, be open when we are in St Thomas. We would have just hopped in a taxi and gone over there. They replied back that they would be closed in September (hurricane season?) and reopening at some point in October. They did not tell me why they’re closing, I’m just guessing hurricane season..They also didn’t specify when they’re reopening in October since that wasn’t relevant to my question. You may want to check with them to see if they will be open when you’re there in October.

[perfect match]

@blue_water, thanks for mentioning that tokens “might” be needed for the ferry. I don’t recall hearing that mentioned before. I’ll have cash ready, but will plan to arrive early in case we need at go get tokens for the ferry. I’d have a grumpy DH if we missed the ferry because we didn’t get there in time to go get tokens if we need to. 

[blue_water]

2 hours ago, perfect match said:

We has an excursion booked through Royal Caribbean to Paradise Point for our cruise in September that was cancelled a while back. I thought it might just be a problem between the cruise line and Paradise Point, so I contacted Paradise Point through their website to find out if they would, in fact, be open when we are in St Thomas. We would have just hopped in a taxi and gone over there. They replied back that they would be closed in September (hurricane season?) and reopening at some point in October. They did not tell me why they’re closing, I’m just guessing hurricane season..They also didn’t specify when they’re reopening in October since that wasn’t relevant to my question. You may want to check with them to see if they will be open when you’re there in October.

Hi Nancy,

Yes, many operations, restaurants, etc are closed on low season simply for economic reasons…

PP is an easy self-excursion (when open)! 😄

[blue_water]

2 hours ago, perfect match said:

@blue_water, thanks for mentioning that tokens “might” be needed for the ferry. I don’t recall hearing that mentioned before. I’ll have cash ready, but will plan to arrive early in case we need at go get tokens for the ferry. I’d have a grumpy DH if we missed the ferry because we didn’t get there in time to go get tokens if we need to. 

😄🥴…
From Ralph’s more recent report it sounds like the tokens are no more. Tokens eliminate any concern about $$ being pocketed, but they probably found another way to control that. We haven’t cruised to STT in a few (10!) years and we just stay on the island. I had always assumed the CB cruise ship excursion desks provided tokens but I never got that confirmation from anyone!

Anyway I’m sure Ralph’s current info is right on!

[renza]

We went in April and going again next month. We brought our own snorkeling stuff and did not rent any lounger just placed our stuff down and went in search of turtles. We had 4 right under us in maybe 15 feet of water. A few very large. Water was a little murky. No boats can go in roped off area. Only spent 2 hours. Paid $15 each for boat and tipped $10 for the truck ride