My review of Sapphire Beach & Paradise Point

[hockeypapa]

Thank you for the info!!!!

[KCMarie]

Good day all!

We will be in St Thomas on December 1 with a group of 5 and we are wondering about the current conditions at Sapphire Bay. We were there in 2012 and loved it.

Our ship is in port 1:00 - 9:00 so we are also wondering how long is the sun out in St Thomas this time of year.

We'd like to do snorkeling again, is the rental shack open for business?

Still food available from the delightful ladies that come around? Had the best grouper and chips last time we were there. Drinks too, three daiquiris for $20 if I recall rightly. The banana one was exquisite!

 

Thanks in advance!

[blue_water]

Hi Marie,

 

Basically no change other than the condo exteriors being renovated during low season which shouldn't affect you. The gal from the Banana Cabana (the beach grill located between condo bldgs B & C if I remember) and a guy or gal from the Sapphire Village restaurant run orders to the beach, and the BC still has that great mahi mahi sandwich and others. Dive In is back open for rentals.

Still a gorgeous spot for the day!

[Livethelife]

In early December the sun sets about 5:40pm. We also have very little twilight. It goes from daylight to dark in about 10-15 minutes so you may wish to consider this in your planning.

[KCMarie]

Hi Marie,

 

Basically no change other than the condo exteriors being renovated during low season which shouldn't affect you. The gal from the Banana Cabana (the beach grill located between condo bldgs B & C if I remember) and a guy or gal from the Sapphire Village restaurant run orders to the beach, and the BC still has that great mahi mahi sandwich and others. Dive In is back open for rentals.

Still a gorgeous spot for the day!

 

Thank you so much Blue Water!

[KCMarie]

In early December the sun sets about 5:40pm. We also have very little twilight. It goes from daylight to dark in about 10-15 minutes so you may wish to consider this in your planning.

 

Ahh, this is such good info! Thank you so much. We'll have to definitely do some more planning.

[mitsugirly]

I feel like I haven't looked at my own thread in so long...and when I did, I noticed that my picture link for this thread is no longer working. I must have moved them into another folder and it broke the original link. Grrrr

 

 

For anyone that might need the picture link (I know this is probably never going to be found by most since this is pages and pages into the "review" page, but I guess it's worth a shot), it's located

 

 

PICTURES LINK

[hockeypapa]

I hear to get to sapphire beach you have to walk down a big hill to get there after the taxi drops you off!!! Is this true and if it is how long would it take to get back up the hill as i have a leg problem... Thanking you in advance for any info!!!!

[mitsugirly]

I hear to get to sapphire beach you have to walk down a big hill to get there after the taxi drops you off!!! Is this true and if it is how long would it take to get back up the hill as i have a leg problem... Thanking you in advance for any info!!!!

 

 

No, the taxi drops you off right at the resort. The only way you would have to walk up or down the big hill is if you planned on trying to take the bus to save money and (to me) it's so not worth it. :)

[tpadul]

I feel like I haven't looked at my own thread in so long...and when I did, I noticed that my picture link for this thread is no longer working. I must have moved them into another folder and it broke the original link. Grrrr

 

 

For anyone that might need the picture link (I know this is probably never going to be found by most since this is pages and pages into the "review" page, but I guess it's worth a shot), it's located

 

 

PICTURES LINK

 

Thanks for updating your post and putting the link in again with the pictures!~! they came out great!! I'm bringing my Canon D20 camera for the beach/underwater pics and my other Canon 50D for my land photos and I'm happy to see how well the Canon D10 handles underwater, the D20 is the newer model so I'm assuming the quality will be just as good.

 

I am pretty sure we are going to take a Taxi to Sapphire beach after reading all the great reviews. We will be in St. Thomas on Sunday Nov 9th with a Royal Caribbean Cruise.

[mitsugirly]

Thanks for updating your post and putting the link in again with the pictures!~! they came out great!! I'm bringing my Canon D20 camera for the beach/underwater pics and my other Canon 50D for my land photos and I'm happy to see how well the Canon D10 handles underwater, the D20 is the newer model so I'm assuming the quality will be just as good.

 

I am pretty sure we are going to take a Taxi to Sapphire beach after reading all the great reviews. We will be in St. Thomas on Sunday Nov 9th with a Royal Caribbean Cruise.

 

 

I absolutely loved my Canon D10 so much that I had purchased another one as a back up and so that each of us could have one while snorkeling. It sucks that they both quit working within a 2 year time frame after purchasing them. :( Hopefully you will have better luck than I did with yours. I have since moved on to an Olympus Tough and have 2 of them. They are a lot more slender than the Canon and have a lot more settings (which the one I really love it the Tilt Shift option).

 

I hope you have a wonderful day at Sapphire. Please come back and share your pics and how your day went.

[BarleyBear]

I am trying to decide between Coki beach and Sapphire beach come March 20415 when I go. Any opinions? Good snorkelling is a must.

 

I LOVE snorkelling and Mitsugirly I appreciate every single review that you do! You should get an award!

 

I also will have two young boys with me 5 and 6. My son is 6 and an avid swimmer and can snorkel but the 5 year old is not mine and I don't think he can swim but will enjoy playing in the sand. Any difference between Coki and Sapphire for the kiddies?

[ladybug1s]

Your pictures are amazing, went a few years ago in March and the water was rough and we could not even snorkel. We looked for the Geico / Lizards and could not find any ? What month did you and your family go to Sapphire. I hear the little food shack is now torn down?

[mitsugirly]

I am trying to decide between Coki beach and Sapphire beach come March 20415 when I go. Any opinions? Good snorkelling is a must.

 

I LOVE snorkelling and Mitsugirly I appreciate every single review that you do! You should get an award!

 

I also will have two young boys with me 5 and 6. My son is 6 and an avid swimmer and can snorkel but the 5 year old is not mine and I don't think he can swim but will enjoy playing in the sand. Any difference between Coki and Sapphire for the kiddies?

 

You will find good snorkeling at either one of these places. We loved them both. Coki is probably a little more crowded than Sapphire, but the snorkeling was just out of this world when we went. I liked the snorkeling there at Coki a little better, but both was good.

 

They both have areas of easy entry and shallow water with snorkeling along the sides which make it nice. I just seen more of a variety when we were at Coki than at Sapphire. But of course it is the ocean and sea life can change daily.

 

The beauty at Sapphire is just unbelievable. I think I like it so much because of the beach being lined with grape trees. It just gives it that "feeling" of a little slice of heaven. Coki's beach is a lot more lively and IMO not as "pretty", but it's still nice. I don't think you can go wrong with either place.

 

Your pictures are amazing, went a few years ago in March and the water was rough and we could not even snorkel. We looked for the Geico / Lizards and could not find any ? What month did you and your family go to Sapphire. I hear the little food shack is now torn down?

 

We were at Sapphire in the month of September and Coki in the month of May. I'm surprised you didn't see any Iguana's at Sapphire. Everyone has always talked about how many there are and they just roam the beach looking for a hand out. There were a lot of them in the grape trees.

 

I'm not sure about the food shack. Sapphire went through a period were they shut down the food/snorkeling shack there in front of the condo's and they attempted to keep the public out by not letting people use their facilities. Although it is a public beach, so people did still come there. Now I have heard that the shack is back open and running business as normal :confused:. I'm sure Bluewater can probably answer most of your questions once it's seen. :)

[tpadul]

I absolutely loved my Canon D10 so much that I had purchased another one as a back up and so that each of us could have one while snorkeling. It sucks that they both quit working within a 2 year time frame after purchasing them. :( Hopefully you will have better luck than I did with yours. I have since moved on to an Olympus Tough and have 2 of them. They are a lot more slender than the Canon and have a lot more settings (which the one I really love it the Tilt Shift option).

 

I hope you have a wonderful day at Sapphire. Please come back and share your pics and how your day went.

 

I will definitely update with photos, this is my Flickr page and I'll be posting them here once I get back.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mpadula/

[amibelle]

∅& Hugo y

[amibelle]

Sorry folks that last post was my pocket talking. I'm torn between going to Sapphire Beach for great snorkeling, going to Magan's Bay for great relaxation or going to Emerald Beach for convenience and still being a nice beach. This will be our last port of 5 ports, so I'm not sure what we'll feel like by then. I'd also like to get a bit of shopping in. I think we'll take the info for all with us and then decide day of based on how the rest of our week went. Thanks so much for all the great thoughts everyone's posted. It helps to get others perspectives.

[blue_water]

Thanks for explaining that! :p

 

Yes, with a busy 5 port cruise we're usually ready to just relax at the last port too, and Lindbergh would be perfect.

[OSUMOM]

You sent me pictures on a link for Coki Beach. Thanks. I did get them. They were awesome. Again trying to see your pics from Sapphire Beach and again they are not coming up. If you have another link to send, I would appreciate seeing them too. So after reading both review, did you like Sapphire or Coki Beach better? Your review of Sapphire Beach sounded amazing...Where did you see more fish...unusual fish? Thanks

[mitsugirly]

You sent me pictures on a link for Coki Beach. Thanks. I did get them. They were awesome. Again trying to see your pics from Sapphire Beach and again they are not coming up. If you have another link to send, I would appreciate seeing them too. So after reading both review, did you like Sapphire or Coki Beach better? Your review of Sapphire Beach sounded amazing...Where did you see more fish...unusual fish? Thanks

 

 

Whoops, sorry about that.

 

HERE'S the link to my pictures from Sapphire Beach.

 

Honestly, they are 2 totally different places to me. Sapphire is SO beautiful and peaceful. The water is beautiful as well...they don't call it sapphire for nothing. :D The snorkeling there was awesome as well, but IMO, I think the snorkeling we did at Coki was a lot better. It had more colorful coral and we did see a lot more fish and sea animals there than Sapphire. Of course with any place you go, you can not predict this since they are...well wild animals and come and go as they please. :p

[OSUMOM]

Wow....your pictures are amazing...which beach is closer to the port? You're right...I think you saw cooler fish at Coki but the scenery is amazing at Sapphire... Thanks. Your posts are incredible...Have you been to St. Kitts, St. Croix, Antiqua, St. Maarten snorkeling? If so, any recommendations? Best posts I've seen....

[mitsugirly]

Wow....your pictures are amazing...which beach is closer to the port? You're right...I think you saw cooler fish at Coki but the scenery is amazing at Sapphire... Thanks. Your posts are incredible...Have you been to St. Kitts, St. Croix, Antiqua, St. Maarten snorkeling? If so, any recommendations? Best posts I've seen....

 

 

I think the purple coral at coki just sent me in to complete amazement! :D I had never seen that color before...oh, and the eel. :eek:

 

I have only been to St Maarten out of that list. I didn't really go to places for snorkeling. I have just been to Orient, Maho twice for the planes and Mullet which is right by Maho. There was a lot of spiny sea urchins at Mullet and a few fish, but not at all snorkeling there. :(

[Mirrasi]

Mitsugirly, I wanted to ask you some dumb questions in a PM but can't work out how to do it so I will just ask my newbie questions here. :D

 

Looking at your Saphire Beach pics, I see a lot of dark areas. Is that reef or seaweed? When you snorkel, do you have to stay horizontal? I am new to snorkeling. I only tried it once off a boat with my 9 year old who doesn't swim. He just has fun swimming about in a life vest but I'm paranoid and need to keep him at arms length. So if I need to stay completely horizontal, I can't do it.

 

I like the idea of this beach though and being able to wade out with him and let him have a look under the water. Also, he is more interested in playing with sand than anything else. Do you think this area is safe enough I could go out a short way while he plays on the sand? Or do you have to go very far to see anything. I'm one of those helicopter moms so if I have to go out too far, I won't go LOL.

 

But Im thinking we might have beginner luck on a beach like this verses being dropped off in the water like last time. (But if that's sea weed, he won't go near it lol)

 

 

And Im leaning towards this beach based on some of your reviews. Coki sounds nice but I really don't like crowds.

Edited February 3, 2015 by Mirrasi

[mitsugirly]

Mitsugirly, I wanted to ask you some dumb questions in a PM but can't work out how to do it so I will just ask my newbie questions here. :D

 

Looking at your Saphire Beach pics, I see a lot of dark areas. Is that reef or seaweed? When you snorkel, do you have to stay horizontal? I am new to snorkeling. I only tried it once off a boat with my 9 year old who doesn't swim. He just has fun swimming about in a life vest but I'm paranoid and need to keep him at arms length. So if I need to stay completely horizontal, I can't do it.

 

I like the idea of this beach though and being able to wade out with him and let him have a look under the water. Also, he is more interested in playing with sand than anything else. Do you think this area is safe enough I could go out a short way while he plays on the sand? Or do you have to go very far to see anything. I'm one of those helicopter moms so if I have to go out too far, I won't go LOL.

 

But Im thinking we might have beginner luck on a beach like this verses being dropped off in the water like last time. (But if that's sea weed, he won't go near it lol)

 

 

And Im leaning towards this beach based on some of your reviews. Coki sounds nice but I really don't like crowds.

 

 

There is no PM function on these boards. They won't allow it. So that's why you're not finding it.

 

Ok, so for instance this picture:

 

 

 

The darker areas you see would be sea grass (not sea weed really). It's in areas here and there but there is plenty of sandy bottom areas in the water. If your son wants to wade in and put his head in the water, he will see fish. They swarm you and will even follow you. (It's like this at a lot of places). He will probably see the more common fish you find out in the sandy areas:

 

 

 

 

If you are standing in front to the condos, facing the ocean, to the right of you is an area that has a bunch of snorkeling. You can actually walk right in beside it on the sand and look over to the rocks and see plenty of fish.

 

If you are to swim over that area, I can tell you that you will see a lot of amazing things. When we were there (and I'm sure it depends on the tide and water conditions) we were able to swim WAY WAY out and it was still pretty shallow water (I'm guessing maybe 5' at the most). However, just know that when you are over top of this not to put your feet down or stand on the coral or rocks. They are living creatures and will break and die.

 

So, my advice to you is that if your son does not do well in water or isn't a swimmer, you might not want to adventure out that far. I know with little ones splashing around, it does have a tendency to scare off some of the "good" things you might see if you are laying horizontal and just kind of floating along. When it's fairly calm (meaning you) things start to come out of the water that you normally wouldn't see. You also have to make sure that you are aware of your surroundings. You can be floating along and before you know it you are too close to the beach edge and it's hard to get turned around. The coral/rocks do come all the way up to the surface and beach edge in some places in this area so it can get tricky. I'm always popping my head up every so often to take note of where I'm at in relationship to everything.

 

I would never say that any area is "safe enough" for you to leave your son up at the beach and you in the water...that statement goes for even being at home at a pool. Even though this area may be fairly "safe", you just never know what could happen. Accidents happen quickly. Children are quick. If you are in the water, that makes it harder to get to a child that might have wandered off or for someone to come along and grab him...just saying. Also, with your head down in the water, that's another distraction. Just saying...

 

Take him out with you and and just go along the edges if you have to and stay close to the edge because you will see things. My daughter started snorkeling with us when she was 3 years old. She's a pro now and loves it. I would keep one hand holding her hand while we snorkeled and the other to move myself along and using my fins. Whenever she would get tired, we would go horizontal and have her sit on our backs to rest until she was ready to get back in for more. It worked out good. She learn to swim when she was 4 and I still don't trust her snorkeling unless I'm right by her side and the water is shallow enough that if I need to grab her, I can stand up in sand. Otherwise, she wears her life vest. :) She is now 6 and has been on I think 9 cruises and we snorkel everywhere. She even dives down now.

Edited February 4, 2015 by mitsugirly

[Mirrasi]

It's not him I am worried about. He's 9 and extremely well behaved and wouldn't dream of wandering. It's not him I wouldn't trust, it's other adults if you know what I mean. I need to be close enough that someone couldn't nab off with my kid because I'm paranoid! lol It's also why I'm considering booking a small sail excursion. But they are expensive and it means I'd be tugging him along again. Fun for him but kind of hard for me to see anything. I don't know, I'm sure I'll figure it out. It's never been just the two of us.

 

I had a good time last time in the 10 foot deep water, but I sure never saw anything like what you did in your pics! I love coral. I used to have a small tank as well so I would give anything to see some of that. Maybe I can get closer on the beach to where everything is so I don't have to go far and just be happy with what I can see.

 

Your Coki beach pics now has me reconsidering it. Those pics are amazing! But the less crowded beach appeals.

 

What would you recommend?....actually, which beach has the reef nearest the beach so maybe I can at least see something?

 

I'm already doing a boat in St. Maarten so I think I'll stick to a beach here.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Mirrasi