Questions about Sapphire Beach, arriving via Eurodam

[dannymac41]

Hi, I have a couple questions regarding Sapphire Beach that I was hoping someone could help me with. My wife and I will be arriving via the Eurodam and will likely want to just cab it to Sapphire to explore on our own. Does anyone know how far, how much a cab from the Eurodam's pier is to Sapphire. And is it easy to find a cab ride back to the ship from Sapphire?

 

Also, when at the beach I hear there's a dive shop, a place to rent masks/snorkels, get loungers, and some basic food and drinks. I'm assuming these are cash only businesses? Also, is there any place to keep your bag(s), possessions so someone doesn't walk off with them?

 

Any information is appreciated, also if anyone has other suggestions or info that I may find useful, please let me know. Thanks!!

[xplor97]

I can’t answer your specific question on getting to Sapphire or cost...but I'll lend you some honest advice. If I were you I'd choose another beach. We chose Sapphire to visit our last time in St Thomas and I regret it. The beach is not that nice. The shoreline was filled with rocks. The amenities (dive shop, a place to rent masks/snorkels, get loungers, and some basic food and drinks) were poor. We had gone on an excursion and after viewing Magens Bay we wish we had gone there.

[blue_water]

I can’t answer your specific question on getting to Sapphire or cost...but I'll lend you some honest advice. If I were you I'd choose another beach. We chose Sapphire to visit our last time in St Thomas and I regret it. The beach is not that nice. The shoreline was filled with rocks. The amenities (dive shop, a place to rent masks/snorkels, get loungers, and some basic food and drinks) were poor. We had gone on an excursion and after viewing Magens Bay we wish we had gone there.

 

 

Wow - that's such a misleading description of Sapphire - I am really shocked! We spent a week there in April and it was a very nice resort situated on a gorgeous beach.

 

Sapphire is a gorgeous beach with a very nice, sandy swimming area as well as a reef and sea grass area for snorkeling. There is a rocky area to the far right in front of bldgs D & E of the Sapphire Resort, but that's well known and is a popular snorkel spot for the experts. The swimming and snorkeling areas are to the north (left) of the dive center. If you were near the rocky area by the swimming pool and Pretty Kelp Point I'm surprised you weren't escorted from the resort!

 

The dive center is more than adequate, they rent everything you need. Not sure why you felt the amenities were poor, perhaps you were looking for a 5* resort like Dreams or something. Regardless they have anything you want to rent. The staff is very helpful with the snorkeling and they are just a great crew.

 

The snorkeling is very good there, the reef is vibrant and the sea grass to the left is a great spot to see sea turtles and rays.

 

There is a small grill (Banana Cabana) at the resort serving great cheeseburgers and mahi mahi sandwiches and snacks, as well as cold beers. There are also runners on the beach taking orders for a nearby restaurant at the Village and pizza shop in Red Hook. And Red Hook is also a 3 minute drive away and is a great spot to stop for a cocktail, try the Big Bambooz right by the ferry terminal.

 

I have to say disregard the previous post as it just is not an accurate description of Sapphire Beach. Sapphire is a beautiful beach with gorgeous views of Tortola and St John and beautiful water colors you can stare at for hours.

 

Taxi each way is around $10pp, and taxis are available at the resort all day long. You will see some taxis dropping other cruisers off throughout the day but Sapphire remains very quiet on cruise ship days as compared to Magens and Coki. We like Coki for its beauty too, but it's a small bay and becomes very crowded when ships are in. Magens also attracts the bulk of the tourists and gets crowded. I would highly recommend Sapphire over either of these for a beach day. Then either stop in Red Hook or at Iggie's Beach Bar at the Bolongo Bay Resort, or head back to Havensight and go to Paradise Point. Paradise Point is the ultimate spot to end your day in the USVI!

 

Enjoy your day on STT!

[islandmandan]

We've been to Magen's bay, Sapphire (twice), and Coki (twice), and I have to agree that Sapphire has it all. Magen's is way too crowded and snorkeling there would just be a waste of time. Coki beach was very nice but I just felt a bit uneasy there (bad vibe). It also can get very crowded there. Sapphire has areas to swim (left side of beach), snorkel (center and right side of beach), and has the prettiest views of the three and it never got crowded there. The dive shop there seemed to have everything we needed for the day

[dannymac41]

Thank you all for your input, very much appreciated! I don't mind rocky beaches as I like to snorkel and rocks mean fish.

 

Just curious also if some of the beaches go by multiple names. I've heard another beach called Emerald and/or Lindberg which is supposed to be good also. Any thoughts?

[luv2trvlnow]

We were in St Thomas in Nov. Since we were there from 7am to 8pm we decided to go to both Megans and Sapphire. First we went to Megans. It it very nice. I would say it is nicer than Sapphire but doesn't have good snorkeling. If snorkeling is important to you, go to Sapphire. The big problem with Megans - it gets really crowded if there are several ships in port. We went early to Megans and we were happy to get out of there around noon. Way too crowded!

 

We took a taxi to Sapphire and we liked it. Yes there are more rocks but there is also sand. It has a coral reef for snorkeling. I also like the views of the the other islands. If there are alot of ships in port I would definitely choose Sapphire. We had 5 or 6 ships (including Oasis of the Seas). The ships held around 17,000 people.

 

When it came time to leave we headed towards to parking lot and were directed to join a tour group that was ending and heading back to the port. It cost us $10pp to get back to the port.

 

It cost $8pp for the taxi to Megans, $4pp entrance fee for Megans (no entrance fee at Sapphire), and $10pp taxi from Megans to Sapphire.

 

Sharon

[crisp1]

Thank you all for your input, very much appreciated! I don't mind rocky beaches as I like to snorkel and rocks mean fish.

 

Just curious also if some of the beaches go by multiple names. I've heard another beach called Emerald and/or Lindberg which is supposed to be good also. Any thoughts?

 

Emerald/ Lindberg is not Sapphire. It is west of Charlotte Amalie near the airport- close to Crown Bay. The water is very calm there. Emerald has a resort with a restaurant on the beach- good food. You could snorkel to the far left when facing the water, there are some rocks and the water is shallow- good for first timers. The snorkeling is much better at Sapphire or Secret Harbour

[blue_water]

Yes often posters will add the bay name to the beach name -

 

Emerald Beach is in Lindberg Bay, ergo the confusing name switching. It is a little closer to port if time is an issue. We prefer Sapphire because it has amazing views of Tortola and STJ as well as beautiful water and a swimming area. We spent a week there and on heavy cruise ship days (20k+) Sapphire remained comfortable as there is alot of room for swimming and snorkeling. Emerald, Magens, Secret Harbor and Coki tend to get very crowded, some because they're small, and Magens because it's lauded as the best on STT. It's all in the eye of the beholder of course. You can walk to a less busy spot at Magens too. But Sapphire offers fine snorkelking. There are other less-traveled beaches that are also very nice if you like more seclusion but they're not as secluded as some beaches in Tortola and VG, for example.

 

Lindquist Beach is in Smith Bay Park and these names are sometimes interchanged as well.

[O2B@Cagain]

Emerald Beach is a hotel that is situated on Lindbergh Bay beach. Island Beachcomber is another hotel on the the same beach.

 

Lindquist was named Lindquist until the territorial government bought the land and changed the name to Smith Bay. It was a political move.

 

And just as a point of information: Magens is not a possesive so has no apostrophe. It is named for a family named Magens, not a girl named Megan!;)

[blue_water]

Emerald Beach is a hotel that is situated on Lindbergh Bay beach. Island Beachcomber is another hotel on the the same beach.

 

Lindquist was named Lindquist until the territorial government bought the land and changed the name to Smith Bay. It was a political move.

 

And just as a point of information: Magens is not a possesive so has no apostrophe. It is named for a family named Magens, not a girl named Megan!;)

 

People do sometimes associate resort names with beaches, and some bays have multiple beaches which contributes to the confusion...

[Eileen G]

Anyone know if you can walk directly from the beach at Saphire to Red Hook without going back to the road?

[blue_water]

You will need to walk back up to the road and walk along the road. Can be dangerous because of the curves and the fact that drivers in the islands often stop just to chat or to avoid goats or chickens and another car may veer off to the shoulder and into you!

Take a taxi, the $5 (or whatever it is) is worth the peace of mind.

[mscruise64]

Can you tell me what you know about Emerald Bay I hear that is a nice place and not so crowded.

[mscruise64]

We've been to Magen's bay, Sapphire (twice), and Coki (twice), and I have to agree that Sapphire has it all. Magen's is way too crowded and snorkeling there would just be a waste of time. Coki beach was very nice but I just felt a bit uneasy there (bad vibe). It also can get very crowded there. Sapphire has areas to swim (left side of beach), snorkel (center and right side of beach), and has the prettiest views of the three and it never got crowded there. The dive shop there seemed to have everything we needed for the day

 

Can you tell my why you felt uneasy? I have heard ST. thomas is kinda dangerous of the beaten path.

[islandmandan]

Can you tell my why you felt uneasy? I have heard ST. thomas is kinda dangerous of the beaten path.

Coki beach is or at least was where the locals hangout. When we were there we could smell the marijuana smoke in the air, heard vulgar language from some, and seen alot of seedy characters. It's a shame because it's such a beautiful beach. Now we haven't been there in 7 years, so things may have changed