Beaches

[ljzelenz]

Hello, we will be sailing on the Allure in early April and would like to do a beach day in St. Thomas?

 

How safe is transportation on your own with 2 small children?

 

How far is Emerald and Saphire beaches from the boat? Is Meghan's Bay Closer?

 

We would like to snorkel but are concerned with the length and safety of the taxi ride!

 

Any ideas and suggestions are welcome.

[coachnip13]

Hello, we will be sailing on the Allure in early April and would like to do a beach day in St. Thomas?

 

How safe is transportation on your own with 2 small children?

 

How far is Emerald and Saphire beaches from the boat? Is Meghan's Bay Closer?

 

We would like to snorkel but are concerned with the length and safety of the taxi ride!

 

Any ideas and suggestions are welcome.

 

Our daughter is now 11 but has grown up vacationing with us on St. Thomas. Safety has never been a concern, even when she was smaller. We now rent a Jeep and haven't been in a taxi there in a few years, but I would have no reservations at all with either mode of transportation. Like I wrote in another thread, they rely on tourist income and can't afford to have the reputation of an unsafe or unfriendly island, so they take care of you.

 

Magens Bay is probably closer, but it will be the most crowded. Many on here recommend Sapphire or Secret Harbour for high quality beaches and snorkeling without the huge cruise crowds.

[crisp1]

Emerald Beach is the closest to Crown Bay, but there isn't much to see snorkeling. Megan's has no snorkeling either and will be the most crowded. Secret Harbour probably has the best snorkeling but it's a way out- you can snorkel to the right but there are a ton of urchins. Sapphire is a good choice- nice beach, snorkeling to the left in the seagrass, you'll see turtles and rays. To the right is a reef. It has views of St John. There are iguanas and ducks that wander the beach. Taxis are very safe and the ride is about 30 minutes from CB.

[merinski]

Hello, we will be sailing on the Allure in early April and would like to do a beach day in St. Thomas?

 

How safe is transportation on your own with 2 small children?

 

How far is Emerald and Saphire beaches from the boat? Is Meghan's Bay Closer?

 

We would like to snorkel but are concerned with the length and safety of the taxi ride!

 

Any ideas and suggestions are welcome.

 

We were just there on Jan.16th. We went to Saphire beach. It is beautiful! The snorkeling is to the right. There are not alot of fish, but we did see some parot fish... The water is so clear & beautiful. I would sugest that you go on your roll call for your cruise , we ended up taking a taxi/van with 8 other people from our ship. However I'm sure it would be safe to take a taxi on your own. It is the USA & it seemed quite safe.

[Birdnutty]

We were just there on Jan.16th. We went to Saphire beach. It is beautiful! The snorkeling is to the right. There are not alot of fish, but we did see some parot fish... The water is so clear & beautiful. I would sugest that you go on your roll call for your cruise , we ended up taking a taxi/van with 8 other people from our ship. However I'm sure it would be safe to take a taxi on your own. It is the USA & it seemed quite safe.

 

There seem to be conflicting reports on Sapphire Beach, and I'm glad to hear that someone has been there recently. Godfrey Tours won't take visitors there because they say the amenities are down and the bathrooms are dirty.

 

What was your experience? Were there clean bathrooms? Any food or drink available? Chairs/umbrellas/etc available? Available shade?

 

You said there were not alot of fish... were you by the rocks and reef? They say Sapphire is the best beach for snorkeling, so "not alot of fish" is not very comforting. Were there areas you did not investigate?

 

Thank you in advance!

[merinski]

There seem to be conflicting reports on Sapphire Beach, and I'm glad to hear that someone has been there recently. Godfrey Tours won't take visitors there because they say the amenities are down and the bathrooms are dirty.

 

What was your experience? Were there clean bathrooms? Any food or drink available? Chairs/umbrellas/etc available? Available shade?

 

You said there were not alot of fish... were you by the rocks and reef? They say Sapphire is the best beach for snorkeling, so "not alot of fish" is not very comforting. Were there areas you did not investigate?

 

Thank you in advance!

 

I did use the bathroom, it was fine. I've used worse in Mexico. It's not a 5 star hotel, but decent. There is a place there that has some snacks & pop I believe, we didn't eat there, as we went back to the ship. I did see some people come around to take orders, but I don't know how long it would take or where they go to get the food. The place that is there does rent lounges for $7 for the day, they also rent snorkel gear.

We went just along side the coral reef area to the right, but we didn't go a long ways, so there may have been more. We did see some parrot fish. We also went over some of the grassy area in the middle, but we didn't go very far out there either.

We saw alot more fish in Barbados on a private tour with Shasa. Also swam with turtles! Saphire has beautiful white sand beach & the water color is beautiful. We really enjoyed it. Let me know if you have any other questions.:)

[Caribbean Beach Bum]

There seem to be conflicting reports on Sapphire Beach, and I'm glad to hear that someone has been there recently. Godfrey Tours won't take visitors there because they say the amenities are down and the bathrooms are dirty.

 

What was your experience? Were there clean bathrooms? Any food or drink available? Chairs/umbrellas/etc available? Available shade?

 

You said there were not alot of fish... were you by the rocks and reef? They say Sapphire is the best beach for snorkeling, so "not alot of fish" is not very comforting. Were there areas you did not investigate?

 

Thank you in advance!

Snorkeling is much better over on St John. Snorkeling at Sapphire was "ok" but not great. It's a beautiful beach however.

[ibcnusoon]

Which beach on St. John has the best snorkeling?

[blue_water]

No worries with the taxi ride. You will be in an open-sided safari-type pickup truck so just seat the kids between the adults and enjoy the ride. You will enjoy the scenery on the ride there and back. There are taxis stationed at the beaches for return to the ship.

 

We would highly recommend Sapphire over the other beaches mentioned, snorkeling at Sapphire is very good and it doesn't get as crowded as the others. The BVI has better snorkel options than the USVI, and Secret Harbor on St Thomas is another option. Coki is another great snorkel spot but Coki gets much busier because it is a very small bay.

But for snorkeling and gorgeous views of St John and Tortola and fewer crowds I would choose Sapphire.

 

There is a large reef area as well as a sea grass area where you may see sea turtles and rays. Go to the left of the dive center for the grass and straight out and to the right for the reef. There is also a rocky area further to the right by Pretty Kelp Point (by the freshwater pool), that area is better for experienced swimmers. There is also a sandy swimming area for the kids to enjoy.

 

The Sapphire Beach Resort & Marina is on the beach and there is a small grill called the Banana Cabana on the beach selling good burgers and mahi sandwiches and cold drinks. There are also runners on the beach taking orders for pizza from Red Hook or buckets of beer or food from the restaurant at Sapphire Village (behind the marina).

 

The reports about the bathrooms are somewhat exaggerated in my opinion. The tour operator may have been there on an extreme day or he may have an agenda for another resort. On a busier day the bathrooms can become quite "used" if not cleaned just as anywhere else. But some folks definitely exaggerate the situation and I would not hesitate to recommend Sapphire for a family for a day over any of the other beaches mentioned. We spent a week there last April, and even on heavy ship days Sapphire never got too crowded and the public bathrooms were fine.

 

Enjoy your day on the island!;)

[NANCYR2]

Could I have some feedback on Emerald Beach?

 

We will be docking at Crown Bay.

[Caribbean Beach Bum]

Which beach on St. John has the best snorkeling?

I've never been but I've read Leinster Bay and Haulover Bay are 2 of the best snorkeling sites. However, they are far from Cruz Bay where the ferry arrives. Trunk Bay is probably the most beautiful beach in the Caribbean but the snorkeling is only fair. Just down from Trunk is Cinnamon Bay-that's where I would go.

[blue_water]

IBCNU, Nancy, there are also several threads on the St Thomas forum on TA from folks who are destination experts and their insight is very helpful. Worth the time searching that forum to glean useful info from people who live or vacation on the islands.

[ibcnusoon]

We camped at Cinnamon Bay 20 years ago on a land vacation to St. John so I wasn't sure if that was still a good snorkel spot. Unfortunatley, we were on St. John and never ventured to Trunk Bay. That's why I'm wondering if we should just bypass Trunk Bay again (not a fan of crowded beaches) and head to Cinnamon, or give Trunk a chance.

[crisp1]

Could I have some feedback on Emerald Beach?

 

We will be docking at Crown Bay.

 

Emerald has very clam water. There's a restaurant right on the beach. Not good for snorkeling, maybe for beginners to the far left by the rocks, you can see some small fish and invertabrates. Short ride from CB- 5 minutes. There are chairs to rent and some shade under the palms

[blue_water]

We camped at Cinnamon Bay 20 years ago on a land vacation to St. John so I wasn't sure if that was still a good snorkel spot. Unfortunatley, we were on St. John and never ventured to Trunk Bay. That's why I'm wondering if we should just bypass Trunk Bay again (not a fan of crowded beaches) and head to Cinnamon, or give Trunk a chance.

 

Friends camped at Cinnamon last April while we stayed at Sapphire. They visited Trunk during the day and left because of the crowd and returned later in the day.

[kapcruiser]

How far is Sapphire Beach? Also, how much is the taxi? Is there a charge to get in the beach area?

[merinski]

How far is Sapphire Beach? Also, how much is the taxi? Is there a charge to get in the beach area?

 

We were just there! It is a 20 to 30min. drive to Sapphire Beach from Haven port. We paid $10 ea. Each Way. No charge to go on the beach. Lounges are $7 for the day. There is shade. It is a beautiful beach!:)