jimf41

17 hours ago, rxgirl05 said:

Do you need water shoes for the beach/water? 

Unnecessary at Megans it's very sandy with an occasional stray coral rock here and there.

It's actually not officially Lindqvist beach anymore. The Megans Bay park system bought it and renamed it Smith Bay Park. All the locals and some long time visitors still call it Lindqvist. You pay to get in but keep your ticket because you can use it same day at Megans. Lots of natural shade.

To the OP about stairs at  PP, no there are no stairs as of the last time I was there in February 2019. I'm not sure if the bar that served the Bushwhackers is open though as it was closed when we went t the new steakhouse Prime. There are stairs to get to the steakhouse.

Not a fan of Sapphire or Coki for that matter but I would disagree strongly about the quality of the view. I would rate the view as excellent to semi-spectacular. Not much else to like about either IMO but the views are great.

Ok, thanks for your thoughts and opinions. If anyone out there can actually answer my question, it'd be much appreciated!

Brewers Bay would probably be a good choice. No lifeguards so nobody to tell you not to do it. Smith Bay would be the same rules as Megans. Hull Bay, Sapphire, Great Bay would also be places to try. You are never going to find someplace that allows metal detectors on public land. As Ms411 has told you finding a valuable item and keeping it is not legal anywhere in the USA. In fact it is a Misdemeanor of a Felony depending on the value of the item. You can however turn the found item in to the local police. In most jurisdictions if no one claims it in 30-90 days the item is yours to keep legally.

It is no longer part of the St Thomas Restaurant group. An option for wonderful dining in town is Cafe Amalia in Palm Passage. Yum!

I'll give a second vote for that one. One of the best eateries on the Island.

It's still there. Right next to the AH Riise mall

There is really no such thing as a "walk-on" in the USVI. All the beaches are walk-on's. As far as chair rentals the availability is great at 9 AM and gradually gets narrower till about 12 PM when it's pretty much filled to capacity as far as chair/umbrella rentals. At that point it gradually opens up again as folks start going back to the ships or shopping.

Resort for a day seems a bit expensive. You could just show up at the beach, grab a lounger and wait for the attendant to walk over and collect the daily fee. I believe it's $25 per lounge and $15 for an umbrella. There is only one concession on the Morningstar Beach. The bathrooms are public and so is the bar.

It was a neat thing to see, once. Very expensive and overrated IMO. It was unique walking in from 83 deg. and dressing for 20 minutes in below freezing. The ice sculptures were fun to look at.

The Reef & Morningstar are 5 minutes from Havensite. The beach is free but you have to pay for the chair rentals. If you get a room however you have a place to shower and change and the chairs, umbrellas and some beach sports equipment are free. The problem would be the checkin time. They probably won't have the room ready before noon. Regardless of when you actually get the room as soon as you register you can use the amenities.

If you mainly want to use the beach I would request Morningstar. If you want to use the pools then register at the Reef.

Could you give directions to Gourmet Galley please and thank you. :D

Look on the map in this thread. The bldgs are marked in Roman Numerals. If you look at bldg VI Gourmet Galley is in that bldg exactly where the "E" in entrance is.

Wondering what is the best thing to do on St Thomas? We are thinking either snorkeling or zip lining. Any other ideas? We are two families with 4 kids under age 13, Thanks

Since all my grandkids are under 13 I just like taking them to the beach and teaching them to snorkel and build sandcastles. They are a little young for zip lining.

As far as what beach see Blue Waters thread on the beach reviews. I'm not a fan of Sapphire but he did a pretty good job of describing them.

I use a litre of GG vodka as my standard of comparison,

Pueblo $31.95

Food Center $29.95

K-Mart $29.95

Gourmet Galley $28.95

K&L (internet) $49.99

If you take a taxi there are no deals. The prices are per person by location one-way. They are fixed by the government and published widely. If you take a tour such as Godfrey, then you can use your best negotiating skills. Don't expect to get too much off the published taxi price.

The $1 circuit taxi is operating well this year and from what I've been told it operates in both directions.

There is a Payless shoe store at Havensite. Several shops also sell sandals and boat shoes in Havensite. The K Mart is a 4-5 minute walk from Havensite.

Lindquist charges $2 for adults, under 12 are free. Trunk is part of the NPS so if you have an annual pass it's free otherwise $4.

I've never seen umbrellas and didn't ask for them. There is plenty of shade on the south end of the beach. Unfortunately that's where we like to sit and the construction is right behind you.

I looked for the thread where this was discussed before but couldn't find it. I am confirming that there are chairs at Lindquist to rent. They don't have a sign anymore but the attendant does rent them if you ask. That's the good news. The bad news is that they are building permanent restrooms with showers just like at Megans Bay. Unfortunately this is causing a lot of construction noise and it's not the quiet peaceful place it used to be.

Given the construction time frames I've seen before I expect this will be ongoing for some time. I expect they will still be building it next year when I return. When it's done they'll have full service restrooms, a taxi stand and a snack bar similar to what's at Megans.

I didn't realize that you were an experienced boater and had been to Jost van Dyke before and were familiar with the waters. I still think it's risky but you have good skills evidently. Have a safe trip.

You won't need a day pass and you won't get one if you ask. All the beaches in the USVI are public even the one around the corner from Morningstar at the timeshare. You can rent chairs and umbrellas at Morningstar, just sit at an empty one and an attendant will be right over to take payment. There is a bar at the Morningstar but they don't take cash, CC's only unless you are a guest.

CBELL,

I'm not going to try to rain on your parade but what you are planning is highly dangerous. To get to Jost van Dyke you have to travel about 8 miles into the atlantic ocean. I wouldn't do that in a 15' boat. You have to clear customs when you get there and then again when you return.

As far as St John the only beach on the west side is the one at the Westin and it's not worth going to IMO. Trunk, Cinnamon, Hawks Nest and Maho are all on the north side of St John.

SH has a complete dive shop and they rent snorkling/scuba gear. You can get lounge chairs but no umbrella. The chairs are rented from the dive shop on the right side of the beach facing the water. When you rent them they tell you not to drag them over to the left side of the beach where all the shade trees are. This is a dive shop restriction and has nothing to do with where you can put them as far as the resort is concerned. The reason for this is the dive shop has to collect the chairs at the end of the day and the one girl that works there doesn't want to go drag them 100 yards back where they belong.

The first time we were there she let me take them to the shady part if I agreed to take them back which I did. Since then we bring our own chairs and sit wherever we want. Buying chairs is expensive and probably not feasible for a one day visit.

There are a few beaches where you can rent chairs and umbrellas if needed but they really don't have good snorkeling. Coki has great snorkeling but I'm not sure if they rent chairs there. I know they don't have umbrellas. It's a north facing beach so if you get there before the crowds you should have no problem finding some shade. With the facilities at Sapphire closed for the time being the other beaches on the Island are going to become a lot more crowded. Understanding that I would reverse your plan and go to the beach first as the available shade, chairs and umbrellas are going to be in short supply as the day goes on.

The other alternative is to head right to St John. The snorkeling is good, two of the main beaches rent chairs and gear. The beaches are north facing so there should be ample shade available and the shopping and food in Cruz Bay is pretty good.

I can't speak for last year as we didn't make it down there due to a family illness. For the three years before that the first year they didn't have chairs and then in 2011 & 2012 they had a sign at the attendant's booth advertising them.

We'll be there in a few days and I'll report back on the current status. I expect it will be a lot more populated with Sapphire going through some management difficulties.

There are chairs for rent at $5 per day. The folks that run the park and charge the $2 admission are the ones that rent them. I don't think they have a lot of them maybe twenty or so and they are only on the north side where you enter the park. I've never seen any vendors selling food or drink. There are lifeguards and two ports-potties and maybe a dozen or so picnic benches all in the shade.

The park has been given to the Megans Bay Authority and they are gradually improving it. In 2012 they paved the entrance and put up a small sign. If you want to see what St Thomas was like 30 years ago I suggest a visit here. In a few years they will have a snack bar and all of the rental stuff you find at Megans. It will never be the same. IMO it is the nicest beach in the USVI.