Magens or Coki Beach

[Harveycm]

Stopping in St. Thomas and would like to do a beach day for this port. What is the closest beach? How much does a taxi cost? Which beach would you prefer?

[w8ing2cruz]

COKI!! This place is beautiful and has great snorkeling!! Sorry I can't help you out on closest and cost of taxi - you can probably get those answers on the ports of call section of these boards. Lots of great info there!! Have fun whichever beach you decide!

[T&Dcruisers]

$9 pp each way to Coki.

[innola]

Either - they are both gorgeous. Snorkeling is probably better on Coki, but Magen's has better facilities such as bar and restaurant. I don't remember what cabs cost because we always rent a car, but there's a bus that'll take you all over the island for something like 2 bucks.

[Litewait]

At all with Megans Bay... Was there in August and that was my least favorite port on that cruise and least favorite beach I've ever been to including the Mex Riv. Have no idea what the hoopla about Megans bay is about. From a distance/Mnt. view it's beautiful, up close, not all that. And the food is outrageously priced. Just an FYI on that.

[*Luv2Cruz*]

Did Coki and Saphire and luved em both!:D

[Kevin Hort]

We always go to Morningstar. Great beach, pretty good snorkeling, nice facilities and NOT crowded. My favorite place on St. Thomas.

[scwhiner]

We did Coki beach and loved it. I can't compare to the others, but we chose based on the overall reviews of it being the best beach there for snorkeling from the beach when researching St. Thomas online. The snorkeling was awesome, beautiful colorful fish, stingray and barracuda. I'm sure there is better snorkeling off of a catamaran or excursion, but for the money we saved with just the taxi, it was perfect. The facilities were fair, and we got a drink at one of the shacks on the beach. We had a great time and would definitely do that again. Took about 20 minutes there and 1/2 hour back. The taxi drivers definitely start rounding you up to get you back to the ship on time.

[Harveycm]

Thanks everyone! I just didn't want to pick a beach that was an hour away! Thanks for all your input!

[beachgal58]

have not been to megans, i am a snorkeler, coki was great for snorkeling! if u want a beach to walk on, play in the waves type, try a different beach. it is very small, kinda dirty too. locals hang out alot, rumors r crack pipes laying all over on the far end, i dont know, we went thru the ship and went to snorkel.

i will say, if i went to coki again, i would take a cab! our friends r so afraid of missin the ship we HAD to got hru the ships excursion. omg! we stopped at a dive shop, everyone had to get fitted for fins and masks that did not bring any, we had to leave our sign/sail card at the shop, then we sat on the tram thing waiting for some kids to get on, a big waste of time, like usual for a ships excursion. u have to stop on the return too. so..a bit more than an hour ont he little beach.

went to saphire beach last time, it is farther than coki, but they have a better beach, not very clean bathrooms, used to be alot of coral, alot of it is dead now. but it was pretty, we sat on the loung chairs and didnt have to pay, or i should say, maybe they thought we had paid!

[firefly333]

We too went to Coki ..one more vote. We shared a taxi and he stopped at Megan's first and charged per head to join a big crowd of people. Coki was much more local and relaxed.

[Madelinefan]

Definitely COKI.

[cruzwpj]

How about Secret Harbor beach?

[hihosilvers]

At all with Megans Bay... Was there in August and that was my least favorite port on that cruise and least favorite beach I've ever been to including the Mex Riv. Have no idea what the hoopla about Megans bay is about. From a distance/Mnt. view it's beautiful, up close, not all that. And the food is outrageously priced. Just an FYI on that.

 

I agree completely. We were at Megans Bay in January, and didn't see what all the hype was about. Nice beach, but nothing more. Plus, they charge an entrance fee! I won't go there again.

[thesawch]

They are both nice beaches.However Coki was run up till last year down with low lifes but they fixed it all up and kicked the low lifes out..I would choose Coki over Meagans however meagans is better for pictures but to swim or spend the day I would choose Coki beach. I have not been back since the killing last year and after they spent a ton of money on the bathroom faciliteis and cleaning up the area. I am not sure how safe Coki is outside the beach area but you really don't have to leave the area anyways other then in a taxi.

Pictures-meagans bay beach . Fun and swimming- snorkling -Coki beach

[innola]

Magens does get crowded on days when there are lots of cruise ships in. We go to St. Thomas about once a year for a land vacation, and on days with fewer ships, Magens is very nice. We love Coki, but it's true that crime in that area has been a problem in the past. I think they have really cracked down in recent months, though. Someone mentioned Secret Harbour - that's another good choice. Sapphire Beach is also very pretty.

[nbsjcruiser]

Stopping in St. Thomas and would like to do a beach day for this port. What is the closest beach? How much does a taxi cost? Which beach would you prefer?

 

We really like Coki for the snorkeling. The amenities at Coki aren't the greatest but the snorkeling is fantastic and beach is very nice. We are going to St Thomas in a little over a week and were planning on going to MAgen's bay due to the gang troubles at Coki last year but decided to change our mind and instead are going to Emerald Beach. Apparently the locals prefer it which is all I need to hear.

 

On a side note, we also did Sapphire Beach once there and it was fantastic. Its in the same direction as Coki but a little closer.

 

Taxi to Coki will be about $8 per person each way to Coki.

[SadieN]

There are lockers between Coki and the aquarium. No lockers at Magens. (At least there weren't in 2010)

[matj2000]

I have been to several and they were all nice.

Coki Beach has better snorkeling, we sawa a ton of cool fish and the water was very clear. Also they had more vendors. The vendors will give beach chair service with food & drinks. It's also close to the Marine Aquarium. The downfall is that you have to go through what some might call a shady area to get there.

Secret beach is ok. It is basically a small hotel beach with a restaurant. It was nice but not good for snorkeling.

Megans was nice but the day we were there the water was cloudy due to the waves. The have very limit vendors there also. I think they had only 1 place near the entrance. They say it also gets very crowded when many ships are in..

[bougiet]

I have been to both Cocki and Magens Bay, if you want good snorkeling I would go to Cocki!! You can snorkel right off the beach and see beautiful fish. Magens Bay is very pretty but we found it boring.

[nobody000]

Have been to both and my vote goe to Coki. It fits our cruise style a tad more. We love it at Coki.

[golfgod003]

Another vote for Coki!

[Harveycm]

We really like Coki for the snorkeling. The amenities at Coki aren't the greatest but the snorkeling is fantastic and beach is very nice. We are going to St Thomas in a little over a week and were planning on going to MAgen's bay due to the gang troubles at Coki last year but decided to change our mind and instead are going to Emerald Beach. Apparently the locals prefer it which is all I need to hear.

 

On a side note, we also did Sapphire Beach once there and it was fantastic. Its in the same direction as Coki but a little closer.

 

Taxi to Coki will be about $8 per person each way to Coki.

 

 

Thanks for the Taxi price. I was just making sure it wasn't something outrageous! Thanks again!

[jennmaybe]

At all with Megans Bay... Was there in August and that was my least favorite port on that cruise and least favorite beach I've ever been to including the Mex Riv. Have no idea what the hoopla about Megans bay is about. From a distance/Mnt. view it's beautiful, up close, not all that. And the food is outrageously priced. Just an FYI on that.

I 2nd this! Snorkeling was not good at all at Megan's. We were there last Oct and it was not a beautiful beach at all. The restrooms were nasty and there were no chairs available. We had to put our stuff on a big rock.

[arpie05]

Sapphire! We went after our tour, which then picked us up too.