Need help thinking my options through here....PLEEEASE?! lol

[MamaParrotHead]

What I seem to be reading is that (inspire of recent events) Coki beach is safe, clean and has good snorkeling. Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm trying to come up with an alternative to hoofing it to St. John, I can't decide if the hassle and blown port time is worth making the trek. May not be able to catch the 10:00 a.m. ferry (someone is actually flying to St. Thomas to join us on the cruise) and would have to take the 11 a.m. ferry. Judging from what I've read, I need to make the 3:30 ferry from St. John at the latest, giving us maybe 3 hours at the beach and almost 2 hours of round trip travel time, correct? If all goes well with her being processed on to the ship (she's been advised to arrive at the pier at 9, which is when we're scheduled to arrive) we may be able to still catch the 10 a.m. ferry. Anyone know what the VERY LATEST we can leave Havensight and still catch the 10:00 ferry? Anything past that and should we just plan on hitting Coki?

 

Argh. I was nervous enough about the trek over to St. John before this last minute hiccup to the plan with the late arrival of one in our party.

 

Can anyone help me think this through? I'm the "official planner" in our group and nobody else gets what I'm trying to communicate on this particular subject.

[MamaParrotHead]

Or maybe Secret Harbor instead? Cost of taxi to Secret Harbor, anyone?

[pokergirl34]

Ugh I know what it's like to be the "official planner"!!! No one will listen and offer opinions to me either!!

 

I don't have a perfect answer for you. I can only go off what I decided for our upcoming trip. We were just in St Thomas in August and will be there again a week from today to St John seemed like the perfect idea. We, however, are not under the time constraints you are under, and we may taxi to Red Hook to catch the shorter ferry. I think the limits on your time really might be working against you. You will give up a lot of your day traveling. This is just my opinion. I still don't know if we will go to St John or not but if I had your time limitations, I wouldn't consider it. Now, I have never done it so it is just my opinion on what I would do.

 

Check out http://www.vinow DOT com/stthomas/getting_around_stt/taxi_stt/ for taxi rates. (Obviously replace the DOT with .)

 

Good luck and enjoy your day in St Thomas, whatever you decide.

[Betsy's Mom]

The cost from Havensight to Secret Harbour (or at least is was in 2009) is $10.00 per person each way.

A lovely generally quiet beach, good food and drink and no hastle with cabs, ferry etc. The cab driver owns his vehicle so no need to tip. The water is shallow for non swimmers, fish are generally abundant and there is shade.Enjoy:)

B.

[jimf41]

Or maybe Secret Harbor instead? Cost of taxi to Secret Harbor, anyone?

 

 

Personally I think you're really pushing the time constraints. It's $10 pp each way to Secret Harbor. About 15 minutes from Havensight. While Secret Harbor is one of my favorite STT beaches it's not Trunk Bay. Nor is it Hawksnest, Cinnamon or Maho. There is only one beach on STT that is easily accessed and compares to the St John North Shore beaches. That's Smith Bay ( AKA Lindquist). Unfortunately for cruisers there is nothing there but some porta-potties and a few picnic benches.

 

My advice is to stick with Secret Harbor. Great bar, great restaurant, clean bathrooms, freshwater outdoor shower, good to great snorkeling, shade, chairs for rent, dive shop, never very crowded and easy access to taxi's.

[MamaParrotHead]

Thanks everyone!

 

Well, we rearranged some things and now are just going to meet our "late arrival" over on St. John, so that frees us up to take the 10 a.m. ferry. Does 10:00 ferry over and the 3:00 ferry back seem more "doable"?

 

Also debating Trunk Bay to Cinnamon Bay, mostly due to the fact I just read that the coral at Trunk bay is "dead" and the snorkeling is limited. Any thoughts on that?

 

Or does Secret Harbor still seem to be the best bet?

[MamaParrotHead]

found some youtube video of secret harbor. looks awesome. hmmmmmmm....

[augie]

Also debating Trunk Bay to Cinnamon Bay, mostly due to the fact I just read that the coral at Trunk bay is "dead" and the snorkeling is limited. Any thoughts on that?

 

I like snorkeling at Cinnamon better than at Trunk. That being said, if you and/or any of your group aren't very comfortable and confident in the water, then Trunk may be a better bet. There are lifeguards that watch/patrol the cay area there, and it's a short swim from the cay to shallow water. And, if you take your time, you can still see a good deal of fish and coral life there. If you head out away from the cay over the sand and seagrass beds you have a good chance of seeing stingrays and turtles.

 

If you're very experienced snorkelers, then you may find the snorkeling at Trunk "limited" due to the fact that the ease of snorkeling there has made it very popular for years with folks that aren't that experienced, and that group does tend to "beat up" the reef more, due to a combination of not being aware of how it can be damaged coupled with a snorkeling "style" that lends itself to being more damaging to the coral.

 

If you go all of the way down to the left end of Trunk Bay Beach, not only will it be less crowded, there are some rocks and coral formations that are much less utilized than the cay (no lifeguards here though).

 

At Cinnamon, the swim out to, and around the cay, can be fantastic, but as you will be in water that is significantly deeper than overhead, it's important that you all are comfortable in the water.

[MamaParrotHead]

thanks, we'll have kids with us so the lifeguards' presence (or lack there of) is a deal breaker. any opinions on my time frame? now i'm back to debating trunk vs. coki vs. secret harbor. argh.

[augie]

thanks, we'll have kids with us so the lifeguards' presence (or lack there of) is a deal breaker. any opinions on my time frame? now i'm back to debating trunk vs. coki vs. secret harbor. argh.

 

Obviously you'd have more beach time if you stay on STT. But if your group is one that will enjoy, rather than endure, the journey TO the beach (including the stops at the scenic overlooks, the charm of Cruz Bay, etc) then it may well be worth it to you to go to STJ.

 

While everyone loves to go to the beach, three hours may be more than you really want to do, especially with kids - they typically don't appreciate the "relax and enjoy the scenery factor" as much as, or as long as adults can and do.

 

Someone more familiar with getting to the beaches on STT may want to chime in, but I think that walking around Cruz Bay before you get back on the ferry may interest them - there are places to eat, get a smoothie, do some local craft shopping in the park. If everyone is hot and wants to cool off there are shops at Mongoose Junction and Wharfside where you can browse in the A/C.

 

You know your group better than any of us. I will say this - when I've been the designated planner and no one else will give me any input on the activities, then I just go ahead and choose. If they complain, they get to plan the next time!

[pghsteelerfan]

I've seen a lot of posts recently that mention that the coral at Trunk Bay in St. John is "dead" and some say it's not even worth snorkeling there. I'm not an expert on snorkeling (this was my 4th time overall) or what "dead" coral looks like, but there was a lot to see when we were there this past May and I was amazed. I'm attaching a few pictures that I took while snorkeling the underwater trail at Trunk Bay just to give you some idea of what there is to see, so you can decide if it's worth it or not. There were a lot more fish than my pictures show, but I had a hard time getting them to stay still long enough for a picture. I did get a couple decent ones, which are attached. I'm sure bread or cereal off the ship would have helped, but I forgot to bring some.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KAWS]

The cost from Havensight to Secret Harbour (or at least is was in 2009) is $10.00 per person each way.

A lovely generally quiet beach' date=' good food and drink and no hastle with cabs, ferry etc. The cab driver owns his vehicle so no need to tip. The water is shallow for non swimmers, fish are generally abundant and there is shade.Enjoy:)

B.[/quote']

 

Excellent! This is where we are planning to go next March (after some shopping of course).

[O2B@Cagain]

MamaPH: The only beaches that have lifeguards are the territorial park beaches: Magens and Lindquist/Smith Bay Beach on St Thomas and Trunk on St John, which is in the National Park. Secret Harbour has a condominium/hotel/bar/restaurant but no lifeguards.

[MamaParrotHead]

Thanks, guys. Think maybe St. John will have to wait until we cruise without an "entourage" or have more time in port. Playing it safe and staying on St. Thomas and heading to Coki.

[Got2Cruise]

Thanks, guys. Think maybe St. John will have to wait until we cruise without an "entourage" or have more time in port. Playing it safe and staying on St. Thomas and heading to Coki.

 

I think you will be happy with Coki. Our local paper had a travel section article about snorkeling, and listed Coki as one of the best places for beginner snorkelers.