St. Thomas beach close to cruise ship terminal?

[Katar]

Looking for a good, quiet and toddler-friendly beach close to a cruise ship terminal in St. Thomas. We have been to St. Thomas twice before and loved it. However, while Saphire beach is probably one of the best we ever visited anywhere, we want to avoid the travel to and from the beach. We (DW, 3yo DD and myself) will be going back to St. Thomas on Carnival Splendor next month. Is there a place close to the ship, preferably within a walking distance? Thanks

[blue_water]

There are 2 ports at St Thomas, Crown Bay and Havensight (Yacht Haven Grande). The Splendor will be docked at Havensight on Monday, May 13. There are no beaches within walking distance of the two ports, but you have 2 choices for the closest beaches:

 

Morningstar Beach is a short taxi to the east of the dock and you'll see it is home to the Marriott Frenchman's Reef resort.

 

Lindbergh Bay (aka Emerald Beach for the Best Western Emerald Resort located there along with the BW Carib Beach hotel and the Beachcomber Hotel) is to the west closer to the Crown Bay port and the airport. Neither are as nice as Sapphire but are more convenient and offer chair rentals, restrooms, and other amenities.

 

Here's a map showing the location of the 2 beaches in relation to the Havensight dock. You can enlarge the map and see where you're at in relation to these beaches.

http://www.virginislandsthisweek.com/us_virgin_islands_maps/st_thomas_island_road_map.html

[O2B@Cagain]

Blue is correct that you cannot walk to a beach from Havensight. And since you can't, you might consider the taxi ride over the mountain to Magens which is the quintessential calm toddler beach.

[Katar]

Thanks! What if we wanted to hit the beach and visit the Butterfly Garden between the hours of 8am and 1pm? Which beach would be better/closer to go to, and should we see the butterflies or do the beach first?

[blue_water]

The Butterfly Farm is located right in Havensight near your pier so you can go to either beach first and then taxi back to the Havensight dock for the BF or the reverse. Morningstar is the closest beach to Havensight and is your best option (look at the map), Lindbergh will be a longer ride, and Magens even further of course.

 

Have a great day and don't miss the Bird Lady's show at the BF!