St. Thomas- St. John or Magens Bay?

[mjadse]

My husband and I are taking the kids (young adults/teenagers) on the Caribbean Princess in July. At the ports, they want to hang out at a great beach. On St. Thomas- should we go to St. John or Magens Bay? How do we get there from the port- taxi or sign up for the excursion on the ship?

Thanks for info to anyone who has done this!!!

[cherylandtk]

My vote is for St. Johns. If you don't want to use the ship excursion, grab a taxi to Red Hook, and take the ferry. Taxi is set price per person, details in Frommers guidebooks or online website.

[Mbouck1]

Also agree with going to St. John. Meagans bay is nice but it gets too crowded with people. St. John has plenty of nice beaches like Trunk Bay in which you can snorkel (rent equipment, chairs and they have showers and snack bar). It is not as crowded as Meagns Bay.

Cheryl is right, just take taxi to Red Hook and then ferry over. I belive it was $8 pp for a one way ride over but I could be wrong about the price.

[snowmen]

Absolutely go to St. Johns...loved it!

[Tarheelbelle]

St. Johns---definitely!

[sunprincess]

St. John - Truck Bay for sure :)

[yancycruiser]

Make it unanimous so far. St Johns is less crowded and the beaches are beautiful. Go for it!

[mjadse]

You guys are GREAT! This is my first time here and you all gave me great info- Thanks!

[Totally Addicted]

We took the Champayne Catamarand to St. John, excursion! 12 stars out of 10!!! It was absolutely wonderful for everyone from grandparents to 8 yr olds were on. We had a wonderful time!! Highlight of our cruise!!! Worth every penny!! We stopped at Honeymoon beach on St. Johns, pretty much had it to ourselves!!

 

Whatever you do, hope you have an absolutely wonderful time!!! I could go back tomorrow -- and the day after..and day after...

Barbara :D

[chriscruise]

Does Trunk Bay have beach chairs? What about Magen's Bay?

[macmax]

Does Trunk Bay have beach chairs? What about Magen's Bay?

 

Magen's had chairs for rent ($12 for 2, I think) but no umbrellas and the sun can get pretty intense. There are a lot of shade trees though. Haven't been to Trunk bay yet.

[Aquarian]

We didn't use chairs at either beach but my vote is for Trunk Bay also. Here is my "Trunk Bay for Dummies" which was graciously given to me for my first trip there:

Have breakfast on the ship, then leave the ship early to spend the morning at the beach. After getting off the ship at Havensight, look for the tall fellow in charge of transportation, he will direct you to a safari bus. $8pp for a ride to the other side of the island to Red Hook. Get off the safari bus and go to the ticket booth for tickets to Cruz Bay, St. John ($3pp). 1/2 hour ferry ride to Cruz Bay. At Cruz Bay, there will be fellows there standing around waiting to take you in a safari bus to any beach you pick. We chose Trunk Bay and it was $4pp. At Trunk Bay, admission is $4pp as it is run by the US Park Service. At Trunk Bay, you can simply enjoy the beach or you can rent snorkle equipment. They have a snack bar which is good for lunch. The beach starts to get a bit crowded around 1 pm. When you're ready to leave, just go back to the parking lot and wait for another safari bus to come along and repeat your trip back. If you don't want to have to watch your things on the beach, take a disposable underwater camera along and invest in a dry box for your cruise card, cash and/or credit card. It hangs around your neck and makes for a relaxing day. You won't believe how clean and clear the water is! Have fun and make happy memories.

[PhillyCruiser]

One more vote for Trunk Bay!