Magen's Bay Beach????

[hopelea]

Family of six, all we want to do in St. Thomas is get off the ship, go to Magen's Bay, enjoy the beach & water for about four hours. Then travel back to the ship.

 

What is the best way for us to do this? We have a ship excursion booked right now at $47 PP to go to the beach. I would like to save some money and try to do this on our own.

 

I am nervous about just walking off the ship and trying to find someone to take us there......is it easy? Any suggestions?

 

How much should I plan on it costing me? I have read that it is $3 PP to enter & I have read $4 PP to enter.

 

I was also told that it was a protected area and they only allow a certain number of people on the beach at a time so if you arrive without a cruise ship excursion, you may not be able to get on the beach? Is that true?

 

Thanks

[Spurscorner]

I would do it on your own. $47 pp is way too much money.

Just grab a taxi write where you get off the ship, rates are posted for most destinations on the island $7 pp is what comes to mind then its 3 dollars for adults 25 cents for children under 12 to get in the park.

Don't know about limiting numbers in the park but it's a nice beach and can get crowded.

[marniegirl]

Spurscorner,

 

I just posted something very similar to the OP question, at just about the same time before reading this question...so I'll ask you here.

 

You say the cab ride is approx. $7pp? Is this round trip? To Sapphire beach or Coki as well?

[Spurscorner]

I think it's around $10 pp one way to those beaches

I tried posting a link but it would'nt work. vinow website has a rate chart.

[eh2zed]

You can hire a taxi at the pier to take you to the beach. Often they will arrange a time to take you back as well. On one occasion the driver refused payment on the first leg and wanted only to be paid on the return leg. Normally we would head to Megans Bay first thing and return early afternoon to the downtown to do shopping, then another taxi to the pier.

[Betsy's Mom]

The price of entry has risen as well as taxi rates. I am not sure what the current rates are. You could Goggle Magens Bay, St Thomas and fine current pricing. I believe your cab would be about $10.pp each way and beach entry about $5 pp. It also depends which port, Havensight or Crown Bay for taxi price. No fear of too many people, you will be fine.

B.

[hopelea]

well, then it would save me about $88 to do it on my own. Thought there would be a bigger savings. I didn't realize the taxi would be $10 PP each way. That seams steep.

[myraid]

We did exactly this in early December. We docked at Havensight and took a cab to Magen's Bay (it is really more like a van, and they try to get a few people in it before they leave). It was $8 PP one way. Our driver agreed to pick us up a few hours later, but I noticed lots of transportation if you don't pre-arrange for a trip back. Also $ 8 PP to go back and we had him drop us off downtown for some shopping. We took an open-air bus back to the pier and it was $ 4 pp.

 

Magen's Bay was $4 pp to get in. We rented lounge chairs and I honestly can't remember how much it was- I think it was $5 pp plus a $5 deposit which you got back when you returned the chair. We also got there really early (right off the ship) and managed to secure a couple of picnic tables. The beach gets really busy so I suggest you go early.

 

We had a great day there, and much cheaper to do this on your own than through the ship!:D

[mrspjotter]

We are in St Maarten next month on EOS - me and DH, DS aged 8 and twin DD's aged 5 - there are 4 ships in port that day so I wanted to book something in advance as I figured it would be busy.

 

We are going to Magen's bay in the morning - hoping we might miss the other cruise ship excursions and we have booked a company called islander taxi's who are picking us up from the pier at havensight at 9.30 and returning us to the ship for 1.30pm so we can grab a bite to eat before heading up to Paradise Point on the cable car and perhaps doing a bit of shopping at the mall in the afternoon.

 

I have pre-paid the taxi and it is costing us $70 plus we have the entry to the beach. We've never cruised before so i've no idea if I have done the right thing I guess the taxi firm might not turn up but that's a risk i've got to take!:confused:

[outcast]

I really don't think it's going to cost you $47.00 per person to get to Magens bay and back if you take a taxi, so how ever you look at it, it is best to take the taxi and not the ship tour.

[Georji]

So it sounds like we could do the beach and a little shopping and not miss our ship?

[Langley Cruisers]

I'm absolutely stunned that someone would be charged 47.00 for this excursion. What does it include? Lunch? Drinks? Massage? Please tell me yes, because that is WAY too much money to spend.

 

Magen's Bay is beautiful. We liked it because it was super easy to get to and, no offense, but because it is a pay-to-enter beach there are no locals selling their wares or asking to braid your hair. We had a perfectly relaxing beach day and didn't rent chairs or anything. We had one drink each from the bar there and it was a wonderful day.

 

The taxis are more like an open safari-style truck, if you will. They fit about 16 people and it's really fun. Lots of opportunities for picture taking.

 

Have a great cruise!

[138east]

With 6 people you will do much better booking a private tour. Check out this web site http://www.havefunwithus.net/packages.html (Air Force 1) as well as Godfrey and Bernard (?). All these tours have been discussed on this thread and have gotten good reviews.

 

Air Force 1 offers round trip to Magen's for $16 (admission extra). They also offer an island tour and beach trip for $25. Mrspjotter has found a good deal for $70 for 5 people round trip to the beach. You should check out her taxi company.

 

Taxi service for cruise ship passengers is big business in St. Thomas. They want your business both going and coming. If you can commit to a time, you should be able to save a lot of $$ over a ship's excursion or a casual taxi ride.

 

Of all the islands St. Thomas is one of the best to do it yourself, particularly if you are just going to a beach. It is a US possession and as a result seems a bit more comfortable for Americans.