St Thomas or St. Maarten Beach Suggestions

[dolphinod]

Hello all,

We are starting to plan our spring break getaway days while on the Oasis. Plan to stay on the boat in Nassau, but really want beach days in St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Any suggestions? My husband and I like gentle surf for swimming, chairs, a restaurant. My 14 yr old son will want some more activity since Mom and Dad are BORING! ie,snorkeling, maybe rental of a kayak or paddleboat or banana boat ride. Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[bigque]

In St. Maarten go to Orient Beach! It has all of what you mentioned! :cool:

[taxgal]

Or try Divi Little Bay. I does not have waves but it does not that the crowds either. It is also closer to the ship so takes less time in transit.

[muskokacruizerz]

In St. Maarten go to Orient Beach! It has all of what you mentioned! :cool:

 

I don't know that I'd take a 14 year-old to Orient Beach.... lots of nudity...

[Ms411]

St Thomas beaches. Magens and Coki are in protected coves so water is generally calmer than beaches open to direct waves from the sea. Orient Beach on St Marten is not in a protected cove so water can get rougher than other beaches depending on conditions. You need to look at maps for both islands to better understand the concept.

 

Coki has more options for teens with jet skis, banana boat, paddle boards, kayaks, discover scuba, snorkeling and lots of food options. Magens is not known for snorkeling and doesn't have motor toys.

 

Some people are put off by Coki because there is usually loud, local music, vendors, and some weed smoking, but this is the Caribbean. Just say no and you should be fine if you choose this beach!

[blue_water]

For St Maarten Orient has the activities and is a very busy/lively beach, you're fine to the north end as far as the topless question goes. We'd prefer one of the nicer beaches like Bai Rouge or Happy Bay but most folks go to Orient and then Maho for the jets.

Another nice day is with the Golden Eagle, a wonderful cat with an excellent crew. A great way to enjoy the coast and relax after shopping Philipsburg.

sailingsxm.com

 

For St Thomas, as mentioned Magens and Coki are popular and are the busiest beaches. For a possibly less crowded beach with amenities, natural shade, and jet ski, kayak, and floatie rentals Sapphire beach is also a good choice. You'll find a thread "The Beauutiful Beaches of STT" which has a lot more detail on each beach.

[nik1009]

St Maarten Randomwind sailing done it 3 times

[Blue skys and white sand]

Coki or Sapphire Beach for peaceful snorkeling and fish?

 

 

 

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[blue_water]

For peaceful snorkeling Sapphire or Cowpet, taxis will be going to Sapphire and picking up there so it's the best option IMHO.

Enjoy!

[Blue skys and white sand]

Thank you. Researched a bit and Sapphire it is!

[blue_water]

We love renting there and I know you'll really enjoy your day there!

[2PinaColadas]

Sapphire would be our choice too. We love it there. We also enjoyed Orient when we were in St. Martin. As long as we stayed to the left we did not see nudity.

[bandp407]

Hello all,

 

We are starting to plan our spring break getaway days while on the Oasis. Plan to stay on the boat in Nassau, but really want beach days in St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Any suggestions? My husband and I like gentle surf for swimming, chairs, a restaurant. My 14 yr old son will want some more activity since Mom and Dad are BORING! ie,snorkeling, maybe rental of a kayak or paddleboat or banana boat ride. Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

 

For St Maarten you might consider the Sonesta Great Bay. We're on the Oasis this past July and bought an all inclusive day pass for $60pp directly from the hotel. Our niece & nephew ( 21 & 18) said it was their favorite port stop-ours too!! The lunch buffet was actually quite good & drinks were included. You can rent jet skis. It's about a 10 min taxi ride.

 

For St Thomas we made the mistake of going to a Trunk at st John's . Took the ship's excursion for ease as they leave right from Crown Bay. While Trunk has beautiful water the facilities were a disgrace! No chairs for rent, bathrooms were FILTHY, and no food to speak of. Wanted to have lunch in Cruz Bay but not enough time as the boat from St Thomas left late. It was an expensive and frustrating day for all of us & the water was very very choppy going over. Magen's is equally as pretty with less hassle & cost. Our next trip to St Thomas we may try the beach at the Best Western- hear it is quite nice. Enjoy!

 

 

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[blue_water]

Trunk Bay is one of the busiest excursion destinations and we've never seen it as bad as described except for how the tourists leave it (disgraceful).

 

For a nice beach on St Thomas we'd avoid Magens Bay since there is no snorkeling there and it can be quite boring (in our opinion). Lindbergh Bay (Emerald beach) has amenities but not a lot for th kids to do and would also be boring I'm afraid.

The East End beaches are gorgeous, Coki has the liveliest vibe and offers snorkeling, while Sapphire is less lively being home to condos and offers snorkeling, kayacks, and floats and good snorkelig. Secret Harbor adds a nicer beach restaurant but a much smaller bay and probably quieter than Sapphire. For relaxing on a gorgeous beach we'd choose Sapphire or Coki, the kids would probably enjoy either.

[Taylor95]

We really didn't care for Orient Beach in St. Maarten. The day we were there the ocean was very rough with big waves, there was a lot of seaweed and the vendors were so bad you couldn't relax. We may have just been there on a bad day, but was really disappointed.

 

 

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