Safe Beaches

[roosterman]

Hi All,

 

We are going on a cruise with a bunch of families and want to get some feedback on beaches that are considered safe to go to via a cab in the following ports of call. I ask as there is the question of safety while travelling outside an organized excursion. And if there was some snorking that could be done there as well that would be a big benefit. 8 adults and 6 kids ranging from 8 to 13. thanks

 

ST THOMAS

BARBADOS

ST LUCIA

ST KITTS

ST MAARTEN

[Lsimon]

Hi All,

 

We are going on a cruise with a bunch of families and want to get some feedback on beaches that are considered safe to go to via a cab in the following ports of call. I ask as there is the question of safety while travelling outside an organized excursion. And if there was some snorking that could be done there as well that would be a big benefit. 8 adults and 6 kids ranging from 8 to 13. thanks

 

ST THOMAS

BARBADOS

ST LUCIA

ST KITTS

ST MAARTEN

We've been to beaches in all of these islands on our own, via taxi, except for St. Kitts, and never felt there was any safety issues. In St. Kitts we've considered it but chose other activities but would have no issues planning a beach trip via taxi. For specific beach recommendations I'd suggest you look at the port of call forum here on Cruise Critic for each individual island. You'll find lots more discussion about the options at each island there than in any other general forum.

 

I'll even go so far as to say that I'd never even consider an organized excursion at any of these island just to go to a beach unless the beach trip was part of a larger tour or a day sail excursion. It is just too easy to take a taxi to a beach rather than be bogged down as part of an excursion. The only exception might be St. Lucia where there are some nice beaches pretty distant from the port that the best option for is through an organized tour either private or through the ship - but there are closer beaches easily reachable by taxi as well.

[jimw]

We were just in St Thomas and made a taxi trip to Coki Beach Dive Club. The dive was cheap, just rent a tank and go. But the cab fare for 2 both ways was about $45., so I would consider a tour with a beach stop which is what we did the first time at St Thomas--it might be less expensive that way!! They say Coki is the best snorkeling on that island, but possibly better snorkeling is found on other nearby islands reached by water taxi. The smallish beach at Coki was crowded the day we were there and lots of snorkelers, but we saw nobody else while diving. It's a very nice dive as well.

[Lsimon]

...They say Coki is the best snorkeling on that island, but possibly better snorkeling is found on other nearby islands reached by water taxi...

 

The best snorkeling we've had at St. Thomas port of call stops has been when we've hired a private excursion that was a day-sail which included snorkeling. They stopped at small areas not easily accessible by land or off of beaches on St. John which were a bit out of the way. Another plus is that the Captains of the day sail excursions know which snorkeling areas will be best given the changing conditions around the islands. This would prevent the problem of heading to one particular beach only to find the water there has poor, or no, visibility that day.

[mitsugirly]

If you want a beautiful beach and place to snorkel right off the beach (which is great for the kids) in not very deep water at all far out, check out my review I did at Sapphire Beach in St. Thomas. We loved it there:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=26210037&postcount=1