St. Thomas to St. John? Or Magens Bay again?

[Jayla]

We will arrive in St. Thomas on Carnival Glory in early February. I have been to St. Thomas before and took a taxi to Magens Bay to spend the day there and then a Taxi back to the port to walk around a bit before getting back on the ship. My Husband wants to go to Magens Bay again, but I am kind of interested in seeing St. John. He will be ok either way, he just remembers Magens Bay being beautiful where as I really dont. It was a bit rainy when we were there...water was not clear and it was BUSY. Husband on the other hand had quite a few Presidente's and apparently had an amazing time.

 

Should I give Magens Bay another chance? I read such great things about it, but feel the weather and rain may have not impressed me. OR, do we visit St. John. My worry with St. John is that we will not have as much time to explore since we have to ferry over and are in port from 7am-4pm. I'm not interested in booking an excursion and would prefer to do the trip on our own.

 

Are there other must see's that I should be thinking about?! Magens Bay was so easy to get too...UGH, I hate having to make decisions :D

[Ms411]

Try another St Thomas beach. Emerald Beach is closer than Magens and has more than one bar.

[O2B@Cagain]

When people suggest that you go to St John, you have to take into consideration that you will be in transit for at *least* an hour and a half to two hours plus waiting time for the ferry on each end. Only you can decide how precious your time is. ;)

[Sh1035]

In may I spent 2 weeks on sapphire beach and went to Megan's bay one day. I couldn't wait to leave it was packed and the drunks singing and simulating sex were an added bonus! I couldn't wait to get back to sapphire.

 

I think a St. John trip is too much of an amazing race for a day trip unless you do a ship excursion.

 

My vote is sapphire but then again I was there when the cruisers were kind of banned. But read its all back to normal. In fact the number one restaurant ( food truck) is at the top of the hill. Off the grid, it's very reasonable and great bbq!

 

But have the taxi drop you off at the top of the hill to eat and walk down after. After day 4 I refused to do that walk!

Edited January 14, 2015 by Sh1035

[2PinaColadas]

We have spent 3 land vacations on STT and spent time at most of the major beaches both in STT and STJ. Sapphire is our favorite beach in the USVI. The water is pretty, the views are amazing and it is big enough that it never seems too crowded.

 

St. John has Trunk and Cinnamon Bays -- both are very pretty, but as some of the others on this post have said, it does require a lot of rushing around and waiting on taxis and ferries.

 

Sapphire Beach (sorry for the tiny pic, it's my bedtime, LOL) My avatar is also Sapphire.

 

Edited January 14, 2015 by 2PinaColadas

[ciera123]

St John is our favorite island in the Caribbean, and we head over every time we port in St Thomas. We've done it on our own, and it was time consuming as previously stated, so now we choose a ship excursion to use ONLY for transport purposes. Most of these excursions have a "ferry" right at the dock to take you over, so no need to taxi over to Red Hook, wait for the ferry, then ride over to St John. And the price is in line with what we'd pay for getting there on our own. The ride over is very pretty and relaxing, and St John is absolutely gorgeous!!!! Just what we love to do....:)

Edited January 14, 2015 by ciera123

[kendon]

I agree with many of the posters here that the actual time spent on St. John may not be worth the time (and certainly the expense!) of getting there and back. Check out other beaches on St. Thomas, or even Water Island...a twenty minute or so water taxi service that departs regularly from the Crown Bay marina.

[Steftacular]

I had read that Sapphire Beach had no amenities (no bathroom, food, bar, etc) - has that changed?

[Jayla]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm thinking we may have to save St. John for another time as I definitely don't want to be rushed. Carnivals excursion just dos not give as much time as I would want. Will look into sapphire beach!

[rob&tam]

We always do St John on our own. If you commit to being the first group off the ship and grab a taxi to the ferry, you maximize time there. We love the ferry ride over and the taxi ride on St John as a part of the experience so the hour or so you lose each way is part of the experience. We have spent the day at Honeymoon, Trunk, and Cinnamon Bays... Each simply heaven on earth!

 

 

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[Jacey1971]

I have been watching posts for a bit, and I have read that a taxi or dollar taxi to Red Hook and then a ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay is quite doable for a day in port. I found prices and schedules. We are still tossing ideas around, but I think we may give the ferry a shot.

I can't get the links to go on the window, but Google

"St thomas ferry schedule"...

 

"St thomas dollar taxis"...

 

Hope that helps. Jayla, I am like you -- having a terrible time deciding. And the day we arrive it is my birthday and our anniversary. On the up side, we're the only ship in port on that Sunday. Happy choosing!:D

Edited January 17, 2015 by Jacey1971
Links didn't work.

[Boatingmom]

Try Coki Beach. Great snorkeling, and if your husband likes the Presidente's he will like the atmosphere there. Great snorkeling, bar service, a few kiosks for beach shopping. I have been to Maegan's beach and found it beautiful but it was quiet. I floated all day. I have considered St Johns but didn't want to spend 45 min each way traveling. Plus I like Havensight shopping so if you stay on St Thomas you can combine the two. Good Luck!

[2PinaColadas]

Ferry Schedule

 

Red Hook → Cruz Bay

5:30 am ** | 6:30 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 9:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | Noon | 1:00 | 2:00 | 3:00 | 4:00 | 5:00 | 6:00 | 7:00 | 8:00 | 9:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | Midnight

 

It is very doable, especially if you are one of the first off the ship. Just allow for plenty of time on the way back. The ferries run on time, but the cab ride back may be very slow-- traffic can get pretty congested in the afternoons when ships are in port.

 

We really like St. John, but in March when we dock in STT, we are staying on STT. Too many pretty beaches there to go to, especially with limited time.

[ciera123]

Ferry Schedule

 

 

It is very doable, especially if you are one of the first off the ship. Just allow for plenty of time on the way back. The ferries run on time, but the cab ride back may be very slow-- traffic can get pretty congested in the afternoons when ships are in port.

 

The taxi ride back is what made us start taking a ship excursion. We left on a ferry 4 hours before we had to be back in the ship, which should have been plenty of time, but there was a traffic backup for whatever reason, and it took us 2 1/2 hours to get from Red Hook to the ship. We made it in time, but it was very hot sitting in traffic without any air conditioning all that time, and very stressful! We love the convenience of being picked up and dropped right near the ship.

Edited January 18, 2015 by ciera123

[2PinaColadas]

The taxi ride back is what made us start taking a ship excursion. We left on a ferry 4 hours before we had to be back in the ship, which should have been plenty of time, but there was a traffic backup for whatever reason, and it took us 2 1/2 hours to get from Red Hook to the ship. We made it in time, but it was very hot sitting in traffic without any air conditioning all that time, and very stressful! We love the convenience of being picked up and dropped right near the ship.

 

Ugh, I cannot stand being stuck in traffic, especially when I am on vacation. It took us over an hour & 1/2 to get to from Sapphire to the airport one time, after reading your post, I will not complain about that again.:eek:

Edited January 18, 2015 by 2PinaColadas

[Jayla]

Try Coki Beach. Great snorkeling, and if your husband likes the Presidente's he will like the atmosphere there. Great snorkeling, bar service, a few kiosks for beach shopping. I have been to Maegan's beach and found it beautiful but it was quiet. I floated all day. I have considered St Johns but didn't want to spend 45 min each way traveling. Plus I like Havensight shopping so if you stay on St Thomas you can combine the two. Good Luck!

 

Is it doable to visit both Coki Beach and Sapphire beach? We have ruled St John out. Found that there are 5 ships including ours in port that day and would be really worried about traffic. I recently started a post asking questions about Sapphire and Honeymoon over at water island because I forgot about this one. :eek:

[2PinaColadas]

Is it doable to visit both Coki Beach and Sapphire beach? We have ruled St John out. Found that there are 5 ships including ours in port that day and would be really worried about traffic. I recently started a post asking questions about Sapphire and Honeymoon over at water island because I forgot about this one. :eek:

 

Yes, both are easily doable. They are only about 10-15 minutes from one another. In between the two is Lindqvist. It is gorgeous but no food, drink or chairs.

 

Just FYI, Coki will probably be packed with 5 ships in port --it is not a big beach.

[mcm1970]

Can anyone on this thread tell me which of the St Thomas beaches is the most fun. We want to go somewhere that has access to food and drinks and bathrooms of course.

Thanks in advance!

Michele

[kendon]

When people suggest that you go to St John, you have to take into consideration that you will be in transit for at *least* an hour and a half to two hours plus waiting time for the ferry on each end. Only you can decide how precious your time is. ;)

 

That's it in a nutshell. Stay on St. Thomas, find a water taxi to Water Island to the beach, or take a ship's catamaran excursion. BTW, the water taxi leaves Crown Bay to get to Water Island.

 

As nice as St. John is, getting there and back is lengthy and pricey.