St. Thomas- St. John or Magens Bay?

[mjadse]

My husband and I are taking the kids (young adults/teenagers) on the Caribbean Princess in July. At the ports, they want to hang out at a great beach. On St. Thomas- should we go to St. John or Magens Bay? How do we get there from the port- taxi or sign up for the excursion on the ship?

Thanks for info to anyone who has done this!!!

[viennacruiser]

We have gone from St Thomas to St John twice, it is easy but does take some time, we took a taxi to Red Hook and than the Ferry to St John and another taxi to Trunk Bay once and Cinnamon Bay. :)

We were able to get to Red Hook in time for the 10AM ferry, but had to really hustle off the ship. One suggestion is to buy your round trip Ferry tickets so you do not have to wait in line at the end of the day:)

[crisp1]

First time to St Thomas? I'd go with Coki beach. even with a crowd it's got good snorkeling, facilities, across the street you can go parasailing. There is Coral world right next door if you get tired of the beach. If you do one of the independant tours, you'll get 2 hrs at the beach along with an island tour for $20pp. You can take a cab directly to any of the beaches ( check the St Thomas board- I think it's around $8 each way. On the other hand, Trunk Bay is absolutely beautiful, with better snorkeling ( a nicely marked trail), good facilities, some palms for shade if you've had enough sun, but no water sports, and it'll take you a good 45 minutes each way to get there. We did a ships excursion there and ended up with only 1 hr at the beach. You can do this on your own, but timing is everthing- the ferry- if you miss it, you end up waiting for another one.

[amagar]

if you think the kids would enjoy snorkeling, head to st. john. the underwater trail there is a kick...and the ferry ride is a primitive hoot. it can be stifling hot, though, getting there.

 

if they just want to hang out on a really gorgeous beach and meet some kids, too...magens bay couldn't be better. there is a very popular snack bar there...lots of kids (especially when lots of ships are in port)...and for the adults, some really stiff, tasty drinks. a day here would also give you time to stop in town or whatever else you wanted to do.

 

for us, we often decide by seeing how many ships are in port the day we're there. if there are more than four, we'll head ot st. john...because not so many are willign to make the journey. but wow. the first time we were at magens, we were the only ship. that was paradise, to be sure.

[travelgirl913]

We went to St. John for the day and rented a car and explored the whole islands adn all the beaches. Very nice day. It can be tricky with ferry times and such though.

[johnnycruise]

I would suggest two options: stay on St. Thomas and go to Sapphire Beach (less crowded than Magen's with decent snorkeling) or go to St. John. On St. John, yet another two options: walk to Honeymoon beach (about 45 minutes from the NPS headquarthers) or take a taxi to Cinnamon Beach (much less crowded than Trunk Bay). You will have a great time whichever option you choose!

[calicruzer]

Trunk BAy on St John was amazing. BEst snorkling ever! Boat ride over was fun as well.

[ckornuta]

Trunk Bay is beautiful and the boat ride is fun but as some one who has done this excursion it does take up most your time in port . I would opt for Megans Bay and save ST. John for your 2nd visit, Have fun!