Best beach for experienced snorkelers.

[houseflipper48]

Hi, we will be in St Thomas from 11-7 and are looking for a great beach for snorkeling. We have our own gear and if we could rent some chairs there that would be an added bonus. THX!

[OCruisers]

Goning to St. John is your best option for snorkeling on your St. Thomas port stop.  

[houseflipper48]

15 hours ago, OCruisers said:

Goning to St. John is your best option for snorkeling on your St. Thomas port stop.  

Thank you! We are considering that option as well. Do you think we would have enough time there and catch the 5pm ferry back?

[caribbean2000]

Yes, you would have enough time if you do your best to make the 9 a.m. ferry from Red Hook. But the south facing beaches (Hawksnest, Oppenheimer, Trunk, Cinnamon) are totally at there mercy of the wind direction as far as the snorkeling is concerned. Strong on-shore winds make the water very murky and you won't see much of anything. A better bet may be to stay on St. Thomas and go to Secret Harbour. Nice little resort with above average snorkeling right off the beach, plus a great little beach bar/restaurant and chairs and rental snorkel gear available through the dive shop.

[houseflipper48]

2 hours ago, caribbean2000 said:

Yes, you would have enough time if you do your best to make the 9 a.m. ferry from Red Hook. But the south facing beaches (Hawksnest, Oppenheimer, Trunk, Cinnamon) are totally at there mercy of the wind direction as far as the snorkeling is concerned. Strong on-shore winds make the water very murky and you won't see much of anything. A better bet may be to stay on St. Thomas and go to Secret Harbour. Nice little resort with above average snorkeling right off the beach, plus a great little beach bar/restaurant and chairs and rental snorkel gear available through the dive shop.

Thank you! We don't dock until 11:00, so we would have to catch the 12:00 ferry there and the 5:00 ferry back if we went to St John. I will look into Secret Harbour. Would that beach be as good as Linquist or Sapphire as far as snorkeling?

Edited February 21, 2019 by houseflipper48
left a word out

[caribbean2000]

Secret Harbour:  Better in our experience than the other two and almost always calm water due to its orientation and the fact that it's in a bay protected on three sides. Also, no strong currents to deal with as can be the case at Sapphire. And because it is a resort you won't be hassled by beach vendors. Only issue could be with you arriving so late in the day beach space may be at a premium; the majority of the beach is reserved for people staying at the resort but there is a smaller area to sit to the right as you face the water. FWIW, the dive shop there also runs snorkeling excursions on their boat (moored right there) that go out to Buck Island. Not too expensive, good snorkeling (although you'll be in fairly deep water along the edge of the island. It's primarily  for scuba people). We love Secret Harbour, have stayed there for a week and returned many times off ships. It's our go-to destination if the wind direction promises to make the conditions murky off the south side beaches on St. John. Have fun!!

Edited February 24, 2019 by caribbean2000

[houseflipper48]

8 hours ago, caribbean2000 said:

Secret Harbour:  Better in our experience than the other two and almost always calm water due to its orientation and the fact that it's in a bay protected on three sides. Also, no strong currents to deal with as can be the case at Sapphire. And because it is a resort you won't be hassled by beach vendors. Only issue could be with you arriving so late in the day beach space may be at a premium; the majority of the beach is reserved for people staying at the resort but there is a smaller area to sit to the right as you face the water. FWIW, the dive shop there also runs snorkeling excursions on their boat (moored right there) that go out to Buck Island. Not too expensive, good snorkeling (although you'll be in fairly deep water along the edge of the island. It's primarily  for scuba people). We love Secret Harbour, have stayed there for a week and returned many times off ships. It's our go-to destination if the wind direction promises to make the conditions murky off the south side beaches on St. John. Have fun!!

Thank you! Do you know if we could reserve some chairs, with a deposit of course for our party of 7?

[caribbean2000]

I doubt it, it's a pretty loose set-up there. You pay for the chairs (which have seen their duty, if you know what I mean!) at the dive shop and then drag them to where you want to be. But..... a party of seven may be a bit cramped there as the beach area for day-trippers to use is only maybe 100 or so feet long and not very deep. It's likely that it will be crowded with you arriving in early afternoon. All beaches on St. Thomas are open to the public - below the high water line. Which means you can enter the water wherever you like but in the case of SH, cannot lay down in the larger area reserved for guests of the resort.

 

You may want to reconsider the other ones you asked about so you're not disappointed. Or go over to St. John assuming you can get the 12:00 noon ferry from Red Hook. You then take a taxi/jitney to the south side beach you select - there are taxis running all the time. But keep in mind that the traffic from Red Hook back to your ship can be pretty heavy in the late afternoon especially if there are a lot of ships in port. We've had it take 45 minutes; a little less from Secret Harbour. There is always at least one taxi waiting at SH.

[Sheffie]

If you go to St. John, Cinnamon Bay has MUCH better snorkeling than Trunk Bay. 

[caribbean2000]

On 3/18/2019 at 2:20 PM, Sheffie said:

If you go to St. John, Cinnamon Bay has MUCH better snorkeling than Trunk Bay. 

Agree, to a point. Cinnamon is our favorite beach for snorkeling on that side of STJ (much better might be a bit of an exaggeration however, but it is definitely better is you know where to go). If you had the time to rent a jeep and go over to the other side, Salt Pond Bay and Lamshur have excellent snorkeling). We will be heading over to Cinnamon in less than two weeks when we visit off the Regal Princess. But - and this is a big but - if the wind is strong and onshore none of the beaches on the south side of STJ - Trunk, Hawksnest, Cinnamon, others.... - will have good snorkeling because the water will be churned up and you won't be able to see much of anything. It is a real bummer if you make the effort to get over to STJ and find the snorkeling poor. If you do go to Cinnamon and water is calm, walk all the way down the beach to the right and snorkel along the rocks out to the point, this is where you'll see the most fish. Or swim out to the small island off the beach and make your way around it, you'll see fish out there. But so check the wind direction and force when you dock in STT, if it's brisk from the south or SW, Secret Harbor is still your best bet for good snorkeling. Have fun!!

Gene & Kathy from Cape Cod