If you only had 1 beach?

[fweerilly]

Hi All, I will be on AOS in August visiting Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Thomas. If I go to only one beach out of all these islands, which is the most beautiful. I'm talking just laying on the beach, and sunning, so I am most interested in the beauty of the place. Thanks.

[CharmedOne]

The beach at Trunk Bay in St. John is the best. We took the ferry from St. Thomas to St. John and then a taxi to the beach. It is paradise - and if you (or whoever you're going with) likes to snorkel...it has a manmade underwater trail marked out. It's really lovely.

[maxs mom]

My vote is for Crane Beach in Barbados. It's about a 40 minute taxi ride, but is very doable. I would get another couple to go with you to split the cost. The taxi drivers will come back to get you at a specified time. You don't pay him until he comes back. This beach is simply stunning! Take a look:

 

 

 

 

If you go here.....do not go through the hotel. Take the public access to the beach. It won't cost you anything to do that.

[Kathy130]

Ditto to Trunk Bay in St. John's. Took an open-air taxi to the ferry, followed by another taxi. SO WORTH IT!The word spectacular isn't enough. Before seeing Trunk Bay, my other favorite was Orient Beach in St. Maarten. I'm glad I listened to someone else tell me what I am now telling you!!

[djandnic]

Hi All, I will be on AOS in August visiting Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Thomas. If I go to only one beach out of all these islands, which is the most beautiful. I'm talking just laying on the beach, and sunning, so I am most interested in the beauty of the place. Thanks.

 

Orient Beach on St. Maarten, it's our favorite of any island we have been to.

 

Antigua has nice beaches, but we had bad experiences with the people there. If we ever go back to that island we will most likely stay on the ship. JMO.

[cruiseguy1016]

Another vote for Trunk Bay.

[Buffettfan 225]

I too love St. John's Trunk Bay -the best, but it does take quite a bit of travel time. Here is part of my right up from my daily cruise review.

Last April we took open air taxi to Magen's Bay

St. Thomas- We wanted to have some time in afternoon to shop in downtown St. Thomas and since we had already been to Saphire Beach and Trunk Bay before decided to check out Magen’s Bay. Myself and DH I had not been there since a honeymoon cruise 23 years ago aboard the now defunct Kontiki tour!

 

We were told to load onto one of those open air taxis and once full were on our way. If one wants a good photo op make sure you are sitting on right side of bench seat as you face forward, this will give you views and photo op of the ship while traveling. Magen’s Bay is I think the only beach that charges admission- our total per person was $8 taxi + $4 admission. The taxi drives by the entry booth to beach and each row (family) has to pay for admission at this time as it passes booth- so prepare with small bills to make things go faster. We then exited taxi, paid fare. You will note the bathrooms will be on right side, and they have a small faucet outside for rinsing feet- this comes in handy later. As you head left you pass the rental area for lounges, sand chairs and floats. Do not stop here if you want one- keep going and go up onto deck and into gift shop to pay for whatever you want and get receipt. You will then be able to get rentals.

 

We chose two chairs and later went back for a float. The water was so calm- able to lie on float and not really be carried away. (next time I'd get one chair for belongings and a float) We chose spots on beach way down (left)and had some palms for shade, and noted beach has many lifeguards in stands; if one has children this is good to know. We noted later, way,way down towards left side a real show of Pelicans diving for fish over and over. Very entertaining.

There is also a gift shop, food for sale, bathrooms and shower here. I cannot say enough on serenity of lying on mat plus the water was a lot warmer than a few other beaches I had been to.

[Bee8]

Cinnamon Bay Beach in St. John. You can take the ferry from St. Thomas. Absolutely stunning!

[kittymom65]

The beach at Trunk Bay in St. John is the best. We took the ferry from St. Thomas to St. John and then a taxi to the beach. It is paradise - and if you (or whoever you're going with) likes to snorkel...it has a manmade underwater trail marked out. It's really lovely.

 

Exactly what I was going to say. It is the most gorgeous place I have ever seen.

[ruskatab]

I have to go with Trunk Bay. Its my favorite beach so far. Its so beautiful and you truly feel like your on a caribbean island away from civilization. We went to Malibu beach in Barbados in May. We liked it alot to. There is bar service on the beach and its very relaxing. The people were super friendly and the drink prices and food was very reasonable. There are a zillion beaches in Antigua. We were stupid and got days passes to the Pineapple beach resort. It was awful and we got overcharged. Next time in Antigua we will get in a taxi and go to the public beaches. I was not crazy about Megans Bay in St. Thomas or Orient Beach in St. Martin. We went to a beach in St. Lucia that was in between the Pitons. Hubby said it was really good snorkeling. Decisions...Decisions!

[barbarah33]

Another vote for Trunk Bay on St. John!!

[Garycruz]

Trunk Bay is absolutely stunning. It's the most beautiful beach I've ever seen. However, it does take some time and effort to get there so you might want to keep that in mind.

 

My personal favorite is Orient Beach in St. Maarten. Although it's not as aesthetically pleasing to the eye as Trunk Bay, I love the atmosphere there. There's something special about Orient beach.

 

But it since you asked specifically about beautiful beaches, it's hard to beat Trunk Bay.

[It'sRC4ME]

When we stopped in Antigua 2.5 years ago, we just asked a cab driver to take us to a good beach. He took us to Dickinson bay for $7 each and dropped us off at a little beach club there. They had chairs for $5, and restrooms, a bar that served lunch and drinks - it was pretty nice. I don't remember the name of it (sorry) but it was next door to Sandals.

[Sheils65]

Does anyone have pics from Trunk Bay? Would you be willing to share? We are thinking about going there on our upcoming cruise.

 

Any help or info woud be appreciated.

 

Sheilah

[plank]

Orient Beach for me!

[golfer1966]

We love it !! Soft sand, clear water...good snorkeling, not so commercialized

[maxs mom]

Some pictures of Trunk Bay:

 

 

[vacationhappy]

We love Orient Bay on Sint Martin - if you want great food and/or cocktails you can get them.

 

 

Trunk Bay comes in second for us....beautiful but basic beach food and no cocktails.

[Jrabbit128]

I LOVED Coki Beach in St. Thomas because it is so quiet and relaxing! There were hardly any people there and the water was beautiful. I have a picture of myself in the water in which you cannot see the backgroud mountains, and everyone who sees it thinks I am in a pool! The fish swimming around was an extra bonus added in.

Meghan's Bay was beautiful too, especially with the mountains surrounding you. More people were around but I loved that little diner on the beach that had the big sign that said "Please Do Not Feed the Iguanas." I looked at it and said "Iguanas???" I look up in the tree and I saw a ton of them!!! :eek:

My hubby loved Orient Beach in St. Maarten but only because it was a topless beach and was more interested in "that" view! :p

[happysinglemom]

The beach at Trunk Bay in St. John is the best. We took the ferry from St. Thomas to St. John and then a taxi to the beach. It is paradise - and if you (or whoever you're going with) likes to snorkel...it has a manmade underwater trail marked out. It's really lovely.

 

Totally agree with this post. Nothing else even comes close.

[fweerilly]

Wow, thanks everybody. One heck of a lot of info. If my wife wants more than one beach on cruise, we will do both Orient and Trunks Bay. If only one, I am leaning toward Trunks, only because I personally would like to spend more time off the beach in St. Martin.

[63galaxie]

You'll really be missing something spectacular if you do not go to Jalousie in St. Lucia. The white stretch of sand is in between the two Pitons which are GIGANTIC, GREEN, and LUSH! I'm telling you, it's not to be missed.

I've been to St. John's and it truly is an amazing place. We rented a car and found several small beaches with no one on them. The water...sigh...it's just heaven. But, you MUST see the beach in between the Pitons too. It's like being in Bora Bora or Fiji. SPECTACULAR and BREATHTAKING!

I agree that Crane's Beach in Barbados is another fabulous spot.

Those would be my favorite top three beaches. If you can, go to all of them!

Adventure of the Seas stops at St. Thomas (you can easily ferry over to St. John's), Barbados, AND St. Lucia (plus St. Maarten's and Antigua) all on one cruise. We just did this route in June. Even Antigua has some amazing beaches. Take a look at the ports of call boards for pictures of Prickly Point (I believe that's what it's called. It's a dinky island just off Antigua that is deserted and pristine.

IMHO, this is a beach-lovers dream cruise!!!!

Karen in Kentucky