Sapphire Beach or Secret Harbour

[dblane]

We just got back from a cruise on Voyager of the Sea and took Sonny Liston's tour, great tour, but wished we'd picked a different beach than Coki for our last three hours. It was small, crowded, and very little beach area.

I didn't snorkel, but those that did said there were fish in the area. Should have gone on to Sapphire.

[pigfarmer]

just wondering when you say it is an 5-8 minutes walk from the bus stop can you get a cab the whole way there. my mom may come off the boat with us and i am not sure if the ground is uneven if she could do it, she just had surgery. thanks

[The Islander]

Hello Pigfarmer,

 

The 5-8 minute walk is from the bus stop at the main road to the resort/beach, this applies if you are using public transportation. It is not flat, the main road is on the side of the hill and the resort/beach is at sea level so you are walking down a somewhat steep road for about half of the distance. If you take a taxi they will drop you off right in front of the resort lobby/path to the beach.

 

--Islander

[pigfarmer]

excellent. a cab to sapphire beach it is. thanks so much for your help.

[mamaofami]

No one mentioned if there are restrooms on Sapphire? Also, how rocky is the sand?

 

 

What resort is at Sapphire?

 

We've always gone to Magen's. How do you find out how many ships will be in port that day?

[The Islander]

Hello,

 

Yes there are restrooms at Sapphire. The sand is not rocky accross the whole beach, however on the right side there are lots of pebbles on the shore so better to swim on the left. The resort on Sapphire Beach is called the same name Sapphire Beach Resort and the condos also have the same name.

 

--Islander

[whitewhale2]

Hello, Someone posted that a taxi to Sapphire beach would be 10pp is that $10 for children as well. We are trying to figure out where to go where it might not be to costly. How much is parasailing at Sapphire beach? Thank you for your help. Is there anyone in St. Thomas, St. Maarten, or Tortola that you can go snorkling and see sea turtles?

Thanks again!

[over the edge]

Hello,

 

Yes there are restrooms at Sapphire. The sand is not rocky accross the whole beach, however on the right side there are lots of pebbles on the shore so better to swim on the left. The resort on Sapphire Beach is called the same name Sapphire Beach Resort and the condos also have the same name.

 

--Islander

 

I have been reading the threads on St. Thomas beaches for two hours, and now I'm lost. Can you help?

 

We are looking for a beach (maybe Sapphire) that has some water activities for kids (jet ski, banana boats) and something for mom, like a nice cold alcoholic drink and a chair for rent! I guess maybe a bit of food, doesn't have to be anything fancy, maybe a burger and some fries.

 

We are docking at Charlotte Amalie.

 

What do you suggest?

[mjea35]

Hello Islander,

 

I am also looking for a beautiful beach in St. Thomas that's not mobbed with beachgoers. I will be there President's Week, when I am sure there will be several ships in port. I would like to find a beach with chair rentals, restroom access, restaurant and floats/water toys etc to satisfy my children.

 

There are so many beaches in St. Thomas it's difficult to keep track of them all. What do you suggest?

 

Thank you! Smiling Jamie

[The Islander]

Hello,

 

Whitewhale - the taxi rate sheet (which contains the set fares for taxis to charge) doesn't have discounts for children... so yes its $10 pp. There are some taxis that give a discount for small children but its not something that is set so be prepared for $10 pp. There is an island off of St. Thomas called Buck Island and there is a snorkel area some charters go to around there called Turtle Cove where snorkeling with turtles is possiable.

 

Over the Edge and Jamie - if Mom wants the drinks and food to be beach front then Sapphire is a no go as the beachfront restaurant and bar is currently closed. There is a gift shop there with cold beers, sodas and water, snacks and frozen foods (microwave for heating it). There is a restaurant about 10 minutes walk from the beach, past the marina and up to the condos. There are watersports at Sapphire. Other options for watersports and beachfront restaurant/bar are Morningstar, Bolongo, Sugar Bay and Cowpet. Magens has paddle boats, kayaks and small sail boats and there is a beach front conession with food/drinks.

 

--Islander

[Rainbowlover]

Islander:

 

Thank you for all the info that you share on these boards. It has been very helpful.

 

You seem to like Cowpet quite a bit. We are looking for a less crowded beautiful beach (sand and water) for sunning and swimming, restaurant/bar options, chair and watersport rentals, etc. and it sounds like Cowpet might be a good choice. Besides these boards and all your wonderful info, I have done some research on-line. It appears that most of the Cowpet resorts are timeshare properties/private rather than hotels. Could you describe where and how to access Cowpet Bay beach that would not be intrusive on the private resorts? I realize the beaches are public but would just want to enter where it would be appropriate as we are a group of 15, adults and children. We would want to be near the restaurants (one is called Bonnie's I believe) and the chair and watersport rental area.

 

We have all been to Sapphire and Coki looks like it gets crowded and is a small stretch of beach, and Maegans looks like it can also get really crowded although I have always wanted to go to that beach. I have been to St. John on a ship excursion and would love to take my friends there but the beach time and tour is so limited based on the travel time to and from. On board for our ship is at the latest 4:30pm.

 

Any recommmendations based on our beach day description above that you might have would also be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you in advance for your help and all the help that you have given to everyone here on the boards.

 

Rainbowlover

[The Islander]

Hello Rainbowlover,

 

You'd enter through the Elysian Resort entrance, the road goes down to the beach. If you look at the reply to Over the Edge and Jamie just above your post - the beaches with the amenities are looking for as far as watersports, beach front restaurant etc. are mentioned.

 

--Islander

[udjohan]

We are going on our first cruise in February and are bringing two of our children (14 and 16). We have booked a couple of tours through NCL in Tortola and Samana but thought we'd just go to the beach on our own for St. Thomas. I have read that a taxi ride is $10pp. Do we need our own snorkel equipment, or is that something you can rent? If so, how much does it cost to rent? Thanks!

[The Islander]

Hello udjohan,

 

The taxi fare depends on where you are starting from and where you are going. Snorkel equipment can be rented at some beaches, which beach are you thinking of going to? The average for renting snorkel gear is around $10.

 

--Islander

[Rainbowlover]

Islander:

 

Thanks so much for the info re the Elysian Resort beach access.

 

Over the past few weeks I have researched each of the resorts you mentioned to Over the Edge and Jamie plus Secret Harbour, Emerald Bay, and Elysian. Is there one that you feel has the best beach (size and sand) and water quality for swimming? It seems as if every beach or resort that I have researched has different pros and cons and varied reviews and unfortunately I have not been able to narrow it down. We all have been to Sapphire and although the view from Sapphire was absolutely gorgeous, the beach was rather small, very, very crowded, and the water was choppy, filled with seaweed and had a big drop off. Maybe it was just the day I was there.

 

I'm looking for that beach that when you walk on it, it just gives you that "wow" factor!

 

Looking forward to your advice.

 

Thanks again,

Rainbowlover

[whitewhale2]

Thank you for all your help Islander! Is there a way to get to Buck Island and Turtle Cove on your own? Or would it be difficult to snokel there with kids without assistance. The cruise ship excursion states the children have to be 12, which mine are not. Thank you.

[Jeanne B]

[quote name='Rainbowlover']Islander:

Thanks so much for the info re the Elysian Resort beach access.

Over the past few weeks I have researched each of the resorts you mentioned to Over the Edge and Jamie plus Secret Harbour, Emerald Bay, and Elysian. Is there one that you feel has the best beach (size and sand) and water quality for swimming? It seems as if every beach or resort that I have researched has different pros and cons and varied reviews and unfortunately I have not been able to narrow it down. We all have been to Sapphire and although the view from Sapphire was absolutely gorgeous, the beach was rather small, very, very crowded, and the water was choppy, filled with seaweed and had a big drop off. Maybe it was just the day I was there.

I'm looking for that beach that when you walk on it, it just gives you that "wow" factor!

Looking forward to your advice.

Thanks again,
Rainbowlover[/quote]

Have you considered going to St John? It seems like Cinnamon Bay would be a good fit for you. And you definitely get the wow factor on St John beaches. If you've already been to Sapphire my next recommendation on St Thomas would have been Secret Harbour but it doesn't have the beautiful view that Sapphire has and it's quite a bit smaller than Sapphire.

I don't think the link is allowed anymore but a great beach resource is vinow dot com. There's a beach guide for both St Thomas and St John.

I've got a crooked horizon I have to fix on the first pic :D but here's a couple of pictures taken at Cinnamon Bay during our land vacation this past June.

[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y124/jtbonin/usvi_jun062292.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y124/jtbonin/USVI_JUN06227.jpg[/IMG]

[The Islander]

Hello -

rainbowlover, I like Magens Bay for being able to walk the lenght of the beach and feel wowed, but it gets crowded when there are multiple ships in port; it has nice sand, is usually very calm, deepens gradually, no seaweed.

whitewhale, you can take a non-ship excursion... private charter. There are a few that go out to Buck Island/Turtle Cove like [url]http://www.jollymonstthomas.com/[/url]. You'd need to find out from them about the age recommendations.

--Islander

[BaltimoreCruise]

Islander, or anyone else reading this thread-

What about Honeymoon Beach on Water Island? I will be on the Zuiderdam in early April and was thinking about Honeymoon Beach instead of one of the more popular/tourist beaches. Is there any way to confirm if restroom facilities are available at the beach?

BaltimoreCruise

[Rainbowlover]

Thank you Jeanne B and Islander for your help.

Jeanne B - I would love to go over to St. John again with this group as I have been there but the other families have not. Unfortunately our ship leaves St. Thomas at 4:45 with last on-board at 4:30 so I believe the latest ferry we can take back out of Red Hook would be 2:00pm due to the traffic possibilities from Red Hook back to the ship. The 3:00 might be pushing our luck if something unexpected happened. The earliest ferry we can catch going over to St. John would likely be 9:00am if everything went perfect in the morning as we have to deal with customs. I'm afraid since I am the one planning for this group of 15 I would spend my whole day worrying about getting everyone back!! So I think if we go to St. John we will likely stick with the ship excursion which goes out of Charlotte Amalie (long ferry ride) and has only 1 and a half hours at the beach and no tour of the island. I did this excursion before and although somewhat limited it does at least allow one to see a bit of St. John. I wish it went to Cinnamon Bay but it of course goes to Trunk Bay.

Islander - Thanks for the info on Magen's Beach. I have heard it is beautiful from so many people but the crowds intimidate me. We are going during a busy vacation time so I am sure there will be a lot of ships in port that day. You have mentioned Cowpet a number of times and if we don't go to St. John we may go there for a beach day.

Thanks again.
rainbowlover

[The Islander]

Hello,

rainbowlover - Cowpet is a pretty beach, lots of palm trees and it has restaurants nearby, nice selection of watersports if you are interested.

Baltimore Cruise - there is a restroom at Honeymoon Beach but the door isn't always unlocked.

--Islander

[NYJean]

Hi thanks islander

I have been doing a search on beaches in st thomas. and I think cowpet may work for us a couple of questions..

1. can we use bathroom at time share/restaurants nearby?

2. what water sports are there?

3. snorkeling is it ok there?

4. taxi fare from crown bay?? any idea? can we easily get one back??

5. is the all of cowpet filled up with boats? I've seen some pix that have the whole bay filled with sailboats..

6. Does it get very crowded?

thanks so much! jean

[The Islander]

Hello Jean,

I don't know if there is a 'public' restroom. If you are buying drinks/food from the restaurants then it will be ok to use the restroom. Watersports: snorkel gear, kayaks, aquafins, windsurfing, paddleboats. Ok snorkeling.

$10-$11 pp, one way for taxi. There are usually a couple taxis at Cowpet and some in the general area as there are several resorts along the coast. If there aren't any at the beach/restaurant parking area you can ask someone at the restaurant to call a taxi for you.

There is a buoy line and yes boats do anchor outside that area. The STT Yacht club is right next door.

Doesn't get really crowded.

--Islander

[Peggy13]

Hi Islander - we are debating between Secret Harbor and Sapphire Bay Beach for our June cruise on the Mariner. I know you say the restaurant at Sapphire is currently closed - do you know if it will reopen by summer? They both look like beautiful beaches - my boys would like the water sports - would you say more water sports at Sapphire Bay? Do you rent the chairs at both beaches?

[The Islander]

Hello Peggy,

I don't know if the restaurant will be open by summer. When I call Sapphire they say they don't have a reopen date. Last time I called was a couple weeks ago. There is a restaurant there, its about a 10 minute walk from the beach. Its up by the condo area pool. There are chairs for rent at both beaches. If Secret Harbor is busy (with hotel guest and owners) then there may not be chairs available to rent. Sapphire has more watersports.

--Islander