Best beach in St. Thomas?

Will be visiting St Thomas in July and would like to tour the island a bit before or after the beach. I keep hearing great things between Coki, Sapphire, and Meaghans... so which is better?

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What are you looking for in your beach day? Meagan's Bay is the most frequented of them. Developed, calm waters but gets busy depending of the amount of ships in port. Coki is the better one for snorkeling and has about half a dozen or so beach bar packed together in a small stretch of beach. It has crystal clear water and usually calm waves. Sapphire has good shade right near the water, a water sports rental hut and one beach bar. It also has restrooms and changing rooms. Taxis are readily available to/from all three places.

I prefer Coki. Clear water with good view of different sea life. You also have Coral World next to it, if you want other things to do like Sea Lions etc. Meagan's Bay is a little overrated IMO.

If it is a busy cruise day, generally would Sapphire or Coki attract more crowds?

Coki is smaller than Sapphire so gets crowded quicker. Until more hotels reopen the beaches will be less crowded than in previous years.

Coki is smaller than Sapphire so gets crowded quicker. Until more hotels reopen the beaches will be less crowded than in previous years.

Thank you Ms411! We will be there in December. It’s been a long while since we visited this island.

I prefer Coki. Clear water with good view of different sea life. You also have Coral World next to it, if you want other things to do like Sea Lions etc. Meagan's Bay is a little overrated IMO.

Your not comparing Coki, to Meagan's are you??? If you consider Meagan's Bay overrated what do you call Coki!!!

Coki Beach I thought they were kidding, the first and last time I was there lasted hmmmmm maybe 10 minutes, grabbed the first taxi to Redhook hopped on the ferry and went over to Trunk for the day, to a REAL beach!!! Hope that helps Todd.......Coki Beach I obviously missed something, any comparison to Meagans I'm not real sure I would buy that.

Your not comparing Coki, to Meagan's are you??? If you consider Meagan's Bay overrated what do you call Coki!!!

 

Coki Beach I thought they were kidding, the first and last time I was there lasted hmmmmm maybe 10 minutes, grabbed the first taxi to Redhook hopped on the ferry and went over to Trunk for the day, to a REAL beach!!! Hope that helps Todd.......Coki Beach I obviously missed something, any comparison to Meagans I'm not real sure I would buy that.

X2....

Coki Beach is a joke. Once and never again. If I had to choose between either Coki or Meagans... I have been to both, Meagans hands down.

Good luck!!!

I vote for Magen's - last time I was there, I had pelicans dive bombing the water around us to get to the fish. It was a great experience.

Edit: It has been years since I was there, and it was before the hurricane. Reading comments from others, I think this beach may have changed sadly.

I prefer Sapphire Beach. Not nearly as crowded as the other two. The views of the neighboring islands and the water there is gorgeous! Plus, Red Hook is nearby if you get tired of the beach. Several restaurants/bars there that have good drinks and food. Coki would be my last choice of these three-- gets WAY too crowded when there are cruise ships in port.

Might be a crazy question, but is it possible to rent a beach umbrella at Sapphire beach? We burn so easily and need shade.

What about Honeymoon beach on Water Island? :confused:

Might be a crazy question, but is it possible to rent a beach umbrella at Sapphire beach? We burn so easily and need shade.

No-- they do not rent umbrellas at Sapphire. There is some natural shade there however.

What about Secret Harbor? Are there chaise and umbrellas combo? I was fairly set on Saphire until reading this post that there are not these combinations available- unless the shade is in enough quantity to use the chaise with for the larger percentage of beach goers?

Emerald, Magens, and Coki are the only beaches that rent umbrellas.

Thank you. I guess that is partly the reason for the crowds at these three beaches. Is it fairly easy to place a lounger in the shade at Saphire?

Emerald, Magens, and Coki are the only beaches that rent umbrellas.

Are loungers available too for rent? If so, what is the cost?

You can rent loungers at Secret Harbor for about $10 each.

Secret Harbor provides shade for their guests and limits the shade for the public because if they rent chairs they are limited as to where they can be placed on the beach.

From what I have read over the years the USVI tries to emphasize the natural environment and tries to limit stress on beaches by limiting potential number of guests.

The USVI can only protect the off beach snorkeling if they limit number of people at some beaches.