Need more info on Travel between St. Thomas and Water Island

[Buffalofirsttimer4]

Looking for any help you can give on travel between St. Thomas and Water Island. Just read an article on CNN's website about Water Island being one of the ten most interesting beaches.

 

We have been to St Thomas before (2010) and we did a tour of the island-saw Megan's beach from a lookout point and got to stay at Coki beach for a short visit, it was a fun day for $30 a person - relatively cheap- my kind of day! ;)

 

This time I want to do something different, without breaking the bank, any info you can provide is greatly appreciated. I believe we have to catch a ferry- $10 per person roundtrip :confused:. Can we make a day at this beach? We are in port from 7am - 5pm (so we need to be back at the port by 4pm-right to play it safe?). We are coming in April (19) so I believe the weather should not be an issue-I hope.

 

Thanks for all the help & advice fellow CC's and Happy Sailing :)

[zqvol]

Looking for any help you can give on travel between St. Thomas and Water Island. Just read an article on CNN's website about Water Island being one of the ten most interesting beaches.

 

We have been to St Thomas before (2010) and we did a tour of the island-saw Megan's beach from a lookout point and got to stay at Coki beach for a short visit, it was a fun day for $30 a person - relatively cheap- my kind of day! ;)

 

This time I want to do something different, without breaking the bank, any info you can provide is greatly appreciated. I believe we have to catch a ferry- $10 per person roundtrip :confused:. Can we make a day at this beach? We are in port from 7am - 5pm (so we need to be back at the port by 4pm-right to play it safe?). We are coming in April (19) so I believe the weather should not be an issue-I hope.

 

Thanks for all the help & advice fellow CC's and Happy Sailing :)

 

"Visitors to Water Island must take the small Water Island ferry (max. 25 passengers) which operates daily between Crown Bay Marina on St. Thomas and Phillips Landing on Water Island. The ferry docks in front of Tickles Restaurant at the marina. Ferry service is reliable and takes about 10 minutes, one way. There is no car ferry. " (vinow dot com)

 

It is a small island with minimal facilities, a single beach and one store. Costs is $10 pp round trip.

[kcparrothead]

The Kon Tiki Glass Bottom "Barge" is back in service and goes over to Honeymoon Beach on Water Island if you don't want to take the ferry. I know it's offered through Royal Caribbean & Carnival.

 

http://cruiseshipexcursions.com/KON-TIKI.html

[Buffalofirsttimer4]

The Kon Tiki Glass Bottom "Barge" is back in service and goes over to Honeymoon Beach on Water Island if you don't want to take the ferry. I know it's offered through Royal Caribbean & Carnival.

 

http://cruiseshipexcursions.com/KON-TIKI.html

 

 

Sounds like fun but this excursion is not listed for Carnival...:(. Has anyone ever been to Water Island and can tell me their experience?

[vandals04]

A few years back we did a mountain bike/beach trip around the island (I believe through RCCL). It was run by a couple of locals and was very interesting. The island is pretty cool and feels like an oasis in contrast to the rest of St Thomas. If you are looking for a quiet trip to a nice beach I would highly recomend it. The locals we met were very odd people and love the seclusion.

 

I just found this link I'm pretty sure its the excursion we went on. http://www.waterislandadventures.com/

[kcparrothead]

Sounds like fun but this excursion is not listed for Carnival...:(.

 

yes it is:

http://www.carnival.com/Activities/Excursion/434087

[Buffalofirsttimer4]

yes it is:

http://www.carnival.com/Activities/Excursion/434087

 

 

Thanks for the info but I really wasn't looking to spend $60 per person on an excursion-just looking for a frugal safe way to get to Water Island & back but making sure its worth the trip.

[zqvol]

Thanks for the info but I really wasn't looking to spend $60 per person on an excursion-just looking for a frugal safe way to get to Water Island & back but making sure its worth the trip.

 

 

As I mentioned above the ferry is $10 pp round trip.

[kcparrothead]

There are a lot of reviews on Tripadvisor - the 6th review might be of help to you:

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147404-d147656-Reviews-Water_Island-St_Thomas_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

[Ms411]

Honeymoon Beach on Water Island is a beautiful, white sand beach that is usually very quiet with just a few people. However, now that the Kon Tiki is back in service, the beach may be busier than it's been the last 4 or so years. I've never been when an excursion was there.

 

You could make a day of Water Island if you got there early to enjoy the beach without crowds, and when/if crowds come, you could take the hike to Fort Serraga (sp?) You can google for the map. There are absolutely gorgeous views along the way and at the fort.

 

Hike back to the beach and take a quick dip before getting on the ferry to go back.

 

Emerald Beach on St Thomas is another beach you may want to consider. Lots of mention of it on cruisecritic.

[Buffalofirsttimer4]

MS411- thanks for the info. I think we are leaning toward Water Island.

 

kcparrothead: thanks for the info on tripadvisor.

 

Happy Sailing :)

[pghflyer]

Anyone know about getting from West Indian Dock (Carnival) to Crown Bay Marina to catch this ferry?

 

I had contacted the lady running the Water Island Bike Tour ($65 each) but it doesn't leave until 9:30 (we arrive 7) and is only available for standby reservation to be confirmed that morning.

[CaliforniaAC]

We are docking at Crown Bay at 8am, and will walk over to the ferry in front of Tickles. We looked at it on G....rth.

 

My question is- will they hold the 8:00am Ferry for the Cruise Ship pax?

 

If we get off the ship right at 8am, it will probably take us about 7-10 minutes to walk over there.

 

Does anyone have any experience with that????

 

Does anyone have a phone number for the ferry if no one knows if they hold it?

 

Thanks!

AC

[cricket_i]

Last year we took the ferry to Water Island and they do not wait on cruise passengers. There was a lady in one of the shops getting a sandwich to go and her friend came on board to ask the driver to wait for her friend but the driver said he leaves on schedule. The lady and her sandwich made the trip:) Hope this info helps.

[gail811]

We did it on our own when we sailed on Carnival Freedom. We caught a taxi and had him stop at a grocery store. We filed a rolling Carnival bag with ice/soda/beer/rum and headed to the ferry.

 

 

 

The dock on the other side. You can see the hill we had to walk up and over to get to the beach.

 

 

And this is the view from the top of the hill of Honeymoon Beach. Worth the trip!!! Take bug spray, we did have mosquitos. There is also a lady that sells burgers and other food there.

 

[pghflyer]

Thanks gail811!

[heanst]

Thanks for the info on Honeymoon beach. I love your idea about stopping at a grocery store before heading over to the water taxi - may I ask how much the taxi ride cost you? I keep readying reports that Honeymoon beach can be very busy with cruise ships. Did you find it that way? Was the walk from the ferry to the beach really 10 minutes and up and down hill I assume from your pics. I see golf carts available in your pics? any idea of cost?

[MNCruiser74]

GAIL811,

 

What day of the week were you in St. Thomas? I read somewhere that the restaurant on Honeymoon Beach is only open on weekends. I'm visiting in the middle of the week.

Thanks for the information/pictures. I also like the idea of stopping at a grocery store before heading to the beach.

[O2B@Cagain]

MN: Heidi's Honeymoon Grill is open week days this time of year (season). She has dinner on Saturday night only. If you are around in the summer, her hours may be different.

[MNCruiser74]

oh ok. Thanks O2B. I forgot to ask earlier...Any bathrooms on or around Honeymoon Beach?

[Ms411]

Yes, there are bathrooms near Joe's Beach Bar which is to your left if you're looking at the water.

[MNCruiser74]

Thanks Ms411.

 

I was thinking about the water taxi which (from what I've read) only has room for 25 people. We have a party of 12 planning to go to Water Island. (We wanted something fun for the kids with calm water and a beach that's easy and cheap to do and avoids the crowds.) Do we have to get in line well in advance of the scheduled departure in order to get a seat, or can we just buy a ticket upon arrival to the marina that will guarantee a seat on the taxi?

My concern is that there'll be a line forming an hour or something before the boat leaves and we're wasting time in port standing in line. I'm also concerned about getting back to St. Thomas via the water taxi as well.

I guess I should prepare myself for the fact that we may not get over there when we want to or at all.

Anybody have experience with lines waiting for the water taxi to or from Water Island?

[MNCruiser74]

 

 

 

 

Are those Water Island Ferry times in local time (Atlantic time zone)? So if the ship I'm on is on Eastern time, we'll be 1 hour ahead of local time, right?

 

I'm trying to plan when we can catch the first available ferry when we arrive at 9am (ship time).

 

Any help?

 

Chris

[NMJack]

Thanks for the info on Honeymoon beach. I love your idea about stopping at a grocery store before heading over to the water taxi - may I ask how much the taxi ride cost you? I keep readying reports that Honeymoon beach can be very busy with cruise ships. Did you find it that way? Was the walk from the ferry to the beach really 10 minutes and up and down hill I assume from your pics. I see golf carts available in your pics? any idea of cost?

 

I've been to Water Island also - 2 years ago. Going back next month.

 

The Golf carts are only for locals - no taxis on the island, and no rentals.

The beach is really nice, no cruise ship excursions (that may have changed). Just a handful of local teens - (Funniest part was that we were on this gorgeous beach and the local teens were envious one of another kid going on a trip to NYC- because then he could visit Wal-Mart!).

 

If snorkeling - not much to see in the water... it's mostly grassy bottom with little or no fish.

 

Walk from the Ferry to the beach was about 10~15 minutes - but that hill is STEEP. - I'd avoid it if you have problems walking.

[pghflyer]

Hmm, I had an epic fail on this excursion attempt. For some reason I had it in my head (not a good place to store things) that we wanted to catch an 8:20 ferry. We woke up early ran outside at 7:40, asked for a cab, and were placed on the back of one of the huge truck traxis (open air seating on about 4 benches)....where we proceeded to wait for 15 minutes and when no one else showed up needing a taxi, they decided to go with just us. It was about a 10 minute ride (or about a 2 mile/ 30 minute if you are fit walk) for $5 each.

 

Of course, when we arrived there (where Princess docks, far away from Carnival dock) the ferry was just returning at 8:10 from the 8:00 drop and wouldn't run again until 10:30. There was absolutely nothing going on there other than the little restaurant/ bar and no public restroom, so we threw in the towel and just enjoyed the day on the ship after walking back through town.

 

So, I guess my lesson to share is to make sure you know the departure time, and to allow atleast 30 minutes for a taxi to leave and get you there.