Experience with bus to Sapphire?

[pandj24]

We are hoping to visit Sapphire Beach soon. Rather than paying $40-44 total one way for myself, husband, and our 7 and 4 year old boys in a taxi, we are thinking of using the public bus system for $1-2 per person each way. I'd love to hear from anyone with experience with this! Thanks :-)

[neetneet66]

We used the bus in Jan. 2013. Call us crazy but we enjoyed the adventure!! If I recall correctly we got off the ship and walked to the left a few blocks (wish I still had the directions) and picked up the bus (which is more like an open air van) told driver we wanted to go to Sapphire Beach and he took us there. You do have to walk down a hill to the beach and the walk back is a little strenuous since its all up hill. The driver told us the time, minute to the hour, he would back. After our day snorkeling we had him drop us off in town and we just walked back to the ship It was a great day. I hope this helps.

[blue_water]

These $2 buses are not as timely as that but they are economical. If you don;t mind walking and aren't in a hurry they're a good option.

The only experience we have is getting stuck behind them when they make stops, and seeing folks standing at the Sapphire entrance waiting in the heat for quite some time. Just a matter of luck...

[Livethelife]

Just a suggestion . . . I don’t post very often but I live here and travel this way frequently. I am happy when I see visitors enjoying the experience, but for every visitor who has enjoyed the freedom and adventure associated with travel via the local safari (described as the $2 bus) there is also one who has not appreciated this island mode of travel and has ended the day frazzled and stressed out. Each party must evaluate their own level of comfort for traveling this way.

 

The local safaris do not take passengers directly from point A to point B. They follow a route circling the east end of the island and make frequent stops but they do NOT have exact pick up times for any point. The amount of time one must wait for a safari to come by varies by day of week and time of day. Especially during mid to late afternoons I have waited as long as 35 minutes at a pick up stop until one came along that had room for additional passengers. Vehicles are often filled to capacity with workers and students returning home. You might have to wait for more than one vehicle to come by to find one with room for four people (and it would be unlikely that you will find a whole bench where the four of you will be able to sit together.)

 

If you enjoy an adventure and are NOT on a tight schedule this might work for you. If you consider yourself a nervous traveler or on a tight schedule I would not plan on using this method of transportation unless I carried enough cash to get my group back to the ship by taxi if time ran short. Hope this helps everyone have a relaxing day in beautiful St. Thomas! :)

[pandj24]

Thank you for the replies - especially to you, USVI resident! I like the idea of trying this on the way there, then utilizing a taxi on the way back, if needed. Is it correct that we can hop on near the K-Mart? Any signage to look for to make sure we are in the right place?

[blue_water]

Just a suggestion . . . I don’t post very often but I live here and travel this way frequently. I am happy when I see visitors enjoying the experience, but for every visitor who has enjoyed the freedom and adventure associated with travel via the local safari (described as the $2 bus) there is also one who has not appreciated this island mode of travel and has ended the day frazzled and stressed out. Each party must evaluate their own level of comfort for traveling this way.

 

The local safaris do not take passengers directly from point A to point B. They follow a route circling the east end of the island and make frequent stops but they do NOT have exact pick up times for any point. The amount of time one must wait for a safari to come by varies by day of week and time of day. Especially during mid to late afternoons I have waited as long as 35 minutes at a pick up stop until one came along that had room for additional passengers. Vehicles are often filled to capacity with workers and students returning home. You might have to wait for more than one vehicle to come by to find one with room for four people (and it would be unlikely that you will find a whole bench where the four of you will be able to sit together.)

 

If you enjoy an adventure and are NOT on a tight schedule this might work for you. If you consider yourself a nervous traveler or on a tight schedule I would not plan on using this method of transportation unless I carried enough cash to get my group back to the ship by taxi if time ran short. Hope this helps everyone have a relaxing day in beautiful St. Thomas! :)

 

Agree, well put. It would be much harder to find spots later in the day. This would be a good Top Question topic.

Edited March 15, 2015 by blue_water