Sapphire Beach review

[pg.]

hello, after researching on this board, we decided to go to Sapphire Beach this past week ( cruising on Caribbean Princess). We are a family of five, and although we would have loved to go to St Johns we just feel the cost is not worth it to us.. so we went to Sapphire.

 

I loved it. It cost us exactly 11 dollars each from our ships pier ( Crown Bay, not Havensight) one way by taxi. It took about 15- 20 minutes.

The taxi drops you off right in front of the resort , steps from a beach access path. The beach has beautiful white sand, lots of trees lining down the beach for shade,( important as they don't rent umbrellas there) and chairs were 7 dollars a day. There was some good snorkling, you do have to go to the right areas though, we tried one area and didn't see much, but then thanks to some nice Americans we met, they showed us where to enter the water and we were in an aquirium of fish before we were even chest deep!

There is a little store for beers ,sodas, and snack food. Right outside this little store is a patio area with serveral large trees ,, which we discovered were loaded with iguanas,, picture taking time folks!The iguanas will come down to munch if tempted.

We did find the sports rentals overpriced, they actually charged 5 dollars an HOUR for seriously the worst crappiest boogie board I have ever seen, it was all chipped foam, and they wanted my id for deposit, as if the board itself was worth more then 5 dollars period,, ,,, oh well. We did have a 5 dollar a DAY boogie board rental the day before in St Martin so perhaps we were spoiled.

The view of off shore islands was so pretty.

The beach is long enough that if one keeps walking down to the left as you face water, it becomes alot quieter.

In some areas it is rocky under the water, coral etc, since you aren't supposed to walk on the coral( duh) don't go in that area unless snorkling.

 

Overall it was a great find, and the couple we have been chatting with said they prefered it to Coki ( they were staying on the island) as they found Coki very small and the area around it not very nice(??)

[lazygal]

Thank you for your review. It's always great when people report back to help those who are still making plans.

 

Did you see a variety of fish? I know at Coki they were all the same.

 

What beach did you go to in St. Maarten, and of the two, which was better?

[Tyskie]

Thanks for the info! Looking at the water, was the best spot for snorkeling to the left or right? Did you notice the fee for parasailing? Was it a single or double person parasail? We went to Coki for the first time in 2002. It was great, clean & uncrowded. In 2004 we were extremely disappointed. :( Alot of vendors, not so clean and very crowded, probably because it was the weekend. Looking forward to trying Sapphire. Can't wait until May !!!:D

[YaMamma]

Thanks for helping me make up my mind! I'll be heading over to Sapphire beach when we are in St. Thomas in 10 days! We will snorkel as well, so I'm interested in which side of the beach to head to (right or left?)

[pg.]

We sat to the left hand side of the beach( quieter) but the snorkling seemed to be more to the right hand side of beach( facing water) . You can see where is dark under the water( indicating rocks and coral) as opposed to light colored sandy bottom. Fish were not in the sandy areas.

 

Didn't notice parasailing at all, wind surfing, etc, but no para sailing. We felt all the equipment rentals were very exspenisve and were glad we at least had our own snorkle gear.

 

In St Marten we went to Divi Beach Resort Beach. We have previously gone to Orient Beach. This time since we went as a family of five we felt Divi was closer( taxi only $ 4 pp) and would only take 10 minutes, Orient is right on the other side of island so can take alot longer, and our kids really were not into long driving times.

We like both beaches... Dive is definately more family orientated, no nudity etc. only one beach bar, one restaurant( at far end) and a store( as opposed to Orient which is lined with bar shacks) and as I said closer and cheaper to get to. Orient is longer as I recall.

Water nice both places, nice sand etc. Chairs were cheap at Divi , we paid 5 bucks for chair. I think Orient varies more depending on where you rent chairs.

There was a outdoor shower at Divi , right on the steps of a low rise hotel building.

Orient has parasailing, Divi did not that we saw. Divi did have equipment rentals , boards, snorkle, and jet skis, reasonalbe prices as I recall. Orient has all that too, but I think more expsensive. I haven't been to Orient in three years so there are changes there I am sure.

Divi being so close and cheap made a beach day with time to return to ship for "free lunch" and change of clothes before time for shopping in town practical, Orient being on the other side of the island, well we did beach had to eat there, very expensive to eat there!, then taxied into town and shopped and returned to ship at end of day.

 

Taxis easy to get on return from both places.

[JerseyGem]

Have a great cruise- Randy & I wish you a Happy 10th Anniversary! We're also considering Sapphire, so let us know your opinion when you return. Magens Bay is beautiful- but so crowded the last time we were there. Plus we didn't see any snorkeling area until it was time to leave (to the far left, for those who are going there). On our last visit, we went to Frenchmens Reef- pretty but no snorkeling. Randy thinks he read something about Sapphire having a strong current- any one have any experience on this? I guess any beach has that potential if there's a storm somewhere out to sea.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

[YaMamma]

Have a great cruise- Randy & I wish you a Happy 10th Anniversary! We're also considering Sapphire, so let us know your opinion when you return. Magens Bay is beautiful- but so crowded the last time we were there. Plus we didn't see any snorkeling area until it was time to leave (to the far left, for those who are going there). On our last visit, we went to Frenchmens Reef- pretty but no snorkeling. Randy thinks he read something about Sapphire having a strong current- any one have any experience on this? I guess any beach has that potential if there's a storm somewhere out to sea.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

 

Lynn!! What a pleasant surprise! :D We're hoping to "rough it" and hop the $2 bus over to Sapphire. We like to experience the "local thing" as much as possible. I've read about Sapphire's current as well. I think it may be a hit or miss. I'll be in touch!

[pg.]

I was snorkling mostly with my ten yr old daughter, and we don't wear vests( we are good swimmers) so we did stay fairly close to shore where we experienced no current,, , BUT, the couple we met went out farther to snorkle and did say it was more tiring as they had to be "strong swimmers" I guess that means they were dealing with a bit of current. Like us they wore no vests.

Near shore it is fine though, even for just wading about, but I think by the time you are out about twenty feet you may encounter something.

[count400@yahoo.com]

Can you swim at this beach? Is it rocky in the water?

[pg.]

Yes of course you can swim at this beach. There are some rocky/corally areas, but you also clearly see the sandy areas.

[finoky]

Thanks for your review. What was the surf like at Sapphire?

[The Islander]

Sapphire usually only has some gentle wave action. Storms in the area can change that but typically its calm to gentle waves.

 

--Islander

[kaykelrosa]

HI, do any of the beaches there rent water bikes?

I want to go to Sapphire beach but would like to know if they have water bikes.

Thanks in advance!

[The Islander]

Hello Kaykelrosa,

 

Sapphire doesn't have waterbikes. Bolongo & Cowpet have waterbikes and/or paddleboats. Magens does too.

 

--Islander

[cruisegal40]

Islander, do you know if Sapphire has parasailing and about how much it costs? If not Sapphire what beach might have it?

[Ilovesummer]

Pg

Just wanted to thank you for the review. It is such a big help to me and a pleasant surprise today. We are leaving Saturday, a family of 6. I do all the planning and you always hope what I plan works out good. Your review gives me the piece of mind I am taking us to the right place. Just can't wait. It sounds just like everything we were hoping for. Thanks again!!!!!

[The Islander]

Cruisegal,

 

Yes you can arrange for Parasailing at Sapphire. If its something you really really want to do you'd likely want to call the watersports desk at Sapphire and see if reservations are necessary.

 

--Islander

[Indiana cruisers]

Hi, 2 weeks ago when we were at Sapphire beach, there was little or no surf. Snorkeling was good just off the beach to the right, but if you had the time and stamina people were 20 feet or more out and seeing turtles.

Indiana cruiser

[maofthree]

so are you sayin sapphire beach is a close 2ed to magens bay, trunk and cinnamon... so dh isn;t goin to say , we should of gone to magens bay... in pics looks like the water is dark at sapphire , 7 to 6 we could probably hit both...:rolleyes: .magens all blue turquise...

[cruisegal40]

Islander, thank you for the information. My son wants to try it w/ this aunt, but not sure if I want to pay an arm and a leg for 5-6 minutes in the air. Do they have a website ?

[Jeanne B]

so are you sayin sapphire beach is a close 2ed to magens bay, trunk and cinnamon... so dh isn;t goin to say , we should of gone to magens bay... in pics looks like the water is dark at sapphire , 7 to 6 we could probably hit both...:rolleyes: .magens all blue turquise...

 

Sapphire is VERY blue, the dark areas you see are where the coral reefs are (which is why snorkeling at Sapphire is so much better than Magens).

[crisp1]

I've snorkeled at Coki and Secret Harbour, so decided to try Sapphire Beach this time. We were there this past Saturday and the snorkeling to the right as you enter the beach is very good. You may not see as much coral as Secret Harbour, but I was impressed with the fish. I swam along with a school of blue tangs for several minutes- must have been at least a hundred hand sized ones within arms reach- not afraid of me at all. This is in very shallow water ( you could actually scrape yourself on the coral if you're not careful). Also sow large parrot fish and the usual wrasses and damsel fish. The beach is much nicer than Coki, and although a bit more crowded than SH, still not that bad. There's an iguana about 3 ft long that walks along the beach looking for handouts and a bunch of beautiful ducks that waddle almost up to your face.

The only drawback of the beach is that there are NO FACILITIES. No restroom, no shower, no restuarant, there is a small shop to the left that sells inexpensive items and has sandwiches, bottled water and soda

I hope that they can straighten the restroom/restuarant thing out soon

[richczarnecki]

Does Sapphire have bathrooms?

[Gardendog]

Both my DH and I used the rest room when we were at Sapphire beach a few weeks back. It is to the right when the water is behind you. There are some buildings there, the lounge rental "shack", behind and to the right you will find the bathroom. They were clean and plentiful.

 

However, I much preferred Magen's bay, but that is off this topic.

[crisp1]

Both my DH and I used the rest room when we were at Sapphire beach a few weeks back. It is to the right when the water is behind you. There are some buildings there, the lounge rental "shack", behind and to the right you will find the bathroom. They were clean and plentiful.

 

However, I much preferred Magen's bay, but that is off this topic.

 

On April 7th, there was no running water, no bathrooms, no showers, no restaurant