Which beach for a weak swimmer?

[Cruisesfun65]

We're visiting St Thomas soon and we want to spend the morning at a beach. One elderly family member can't really swim so I'm searching for a beach that has calm, shallow waters and an easy entrance. Like HMC.

Any suggestions?

[Ms411]

What is HMC? Secret Harbor, Magens, and Coki are mostly calm and not too deep. Magens has lifeguards.

[Cruisesfun65]

17 hours ago, Ms411 said:

What is HMC? 

Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. 

[Ms411]

😅Never been there. Thanks.

[crewsweeper]

I think Magens would be your best bet.  Water is usually calm and lots of sand.  Not a spot for snorkeling .  Secret Harbor is very nice but relatively small and can get crowded.  Coki tends to attract a younger crowd, as I recall.  

[Cruisesfun65]

2 hours ago, Ms411 said:

😅Never been there. Thanks.

 

[Ms411]

Beautiful photo! Thanks for posting. I've been to Nassau several times but not HMC. 

[FLcruisergrl]

Magens or Secret Harbour. Coki was rough when we were there, as was Sapphire.

[nimbex1970]

On 1/16/2023 at 5:10 PM, FLcruisergrl said:

Magens or Secret Harbour. Coki was rough when we were there, as was Sapphire.

what time of year was this please?

[FLcruisergrl]

27 minutes ago, nimbex1970 said:

what time of year was this please?

Coki was December, Sapphire was June. Magens was June, Secret Harbour was both December and June.

[Green4me]

Second on Megan's Bay, easy walk into shallow water, no waves.  Good food and restrooms.

[Paris334]

On 1/13/2023 at 2:07 PM, Ms411 said:

Beautiful photo! Thanks for posting. I've been to Nassau several times but not HMC. 

I'm 99% sure that Half Moon Cay is Carnival's private island.  I went there on a Holland America (owned by Carnival) cruise a good 15 years ago and it was so gorgeous!

[AwesomO]

Not sure if you've been yet, but we went to Coki beach in February and the water was much rougher than expected. We had been once before and it was fine, but this time it wasn't. The grade to enter the water seemed fairly steep so you couldn't go too far out. And the waves were rough. one knocked my 5 year old over and down into the water (he had a life jacket on, and I was righ near him). It got a little better as the day got later, so I'm sure it was weather related (clear and sunny, but a bit windy). But yeah, I wouldn't consider it good for a weak swimmer. Even with less waves, the slope into the water just wasn't gradual enough. 

[LobsterStalker]

On 1/12/2023 at 9:21 PM, Ms411 said:

What is HMC? Secret Harbor, Magens, and Coki are mostly calm and not too deep. Magens has lifeguards.

Lifeguard , LOL

Theres your lifeguard at Magen’s on a recent visit there …! 
Ya , if u look really close you can see him there

 

Cheers

[Ms411]

That's a good point to mention lifeguards, and yes, I see him. Wonder why there's junk around him???

 

Thank you for posting.

[LobsterStalker]

1 minute ago, Ms411 said:

That's a good point to mention lifeguards, and yes, I see him. Wonder why there's junk around him???

 

Thank you for posting.

What junk? 

He has his rescue can , rescue board , and a lounger at the ready incase he gets tired of facebook and need a nap !

[Ms411]

The lounger and whatever that raggedy looking thing is to the right of it. He needs those for rescue?

[LobsterStalker]

1 minute ago, Ms411 said:

The lounger and whatever that raggedy looking thing is to the right of it. He needs those for rescue?

LOL

That raggedy looking thing to the right is his paddleboard for rescue yes

[mitsugirly]

I'm also going to say Magens for calm water (we seen sea turtles there and did snorkel along the right hand side and seen a few thing) Magens Review Here

 

We've been to Secret Harbour and it's really calm and there is snorkeling along the side there. The water is crystal clear. But if looking for chairs, you'd have to rent probably beforehand at the dive shop. Otherwise, if you don't have a problem throwing a towel down, there's plenty of shade along the other side as well. Secret Harbour review here   and also here

 

There's also Brewer Bay. There's tons of shade along the tree line, but again, you'd need to throw down a towel. There also plenty of sea turtles there too. The water has always been calm when we were there. Review here  and here