St Thomas or St Johns?

[smrtypnts]

I have never been to either St Thomas or St Johns--Arriving by cruise ship in January. In port from 8am - 4pm. Just want to be lazy and spend time on the beach. Will be with 5 people including myself. None of us have ever been to either place. If we choose STJ (having read a lot on this board) assuming the best, we probably wouldn't be "ass on beach" until about 10am and we'd have to leave about 1:30 to catch the 2pm ferry. So should we do this since STJ is apparently "worth the trip"? Or should we just stop and smell the roses and stay on St Thomas and head to a beach there. I personally am a picture taker, so I'd be inclined to take pictures wherever we land, but not likely to stop everywhere for photo-ops.

[blue_water]

Sapphire Beach would be perfect for you in my opinion. Going to St John would not be a relaxing day and you'd lose 1.5 - 2 hrs from the travel there. Other beaches on STT are also nice (Secret Harbor, Magens, Smith Bay, and Coki) but none have the character, amenities, or less-busy vibe of Sapphire.

There are condos there and we rent there because it's such a gorgeous beach with nice island views and water colors - a photographer's paradise!

[blue_water]

smrtypnts I should clarify that STJ is beautiful and well worth a visit. You would love taking pictures while on a tour before being dropped at Trunk or Cinnamon Bay. And even the ferry ride from Red Hook to Cruz bay would be enjoyable on a nice day.

Yes your time would be limited to 2.5 or 3.5 hrs on the beach, and I would probably look at the 1PM return ferry since the 2PM could be cutting it very close (even with no ferry delays the return traffic from Red Hook can cause delays). So you'd have 2.5 hrs of beach time IF you don't take a tour and IF you make the 9AM ferry.

So definitely doable and worth the trip, just a little harder to enjoy on an 8-hour day in port. Another couple hours would be like gold...

[2PinaColadas]

I agree with blue water-- Sapphire Beach sounds like the ideal place for you. It is a gorgeous beach, perfect for limin', snorkeling and snapping pictures. We love it there. If you have time, you could even stop by Magen's or another beach. St. John is very pretty, but personally I would not waste the time on ferries.

 

BTW-- my avatar is Sapphire.

[OCruisers]

We love having a port stop in St. Thomas so we can go one way or the other to St. John! :D

 

LuLu

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[punkincc]

Just wanted to mention, you might want to check out two private catamaran excursions from St Thomas, Red Hook, to St John. There are two on Trip Advisor that are rated top 10. Sorry, I am out of town and don't have the info, not sure if it is 6 or 12 for private excursions, otherwise you are put with others, unless it a slow day and you are lucky!

 

The reviews were great. Wonderful lunch, and they customize the tour based on where you want to go in St John. Would save the transfer time to St John by ferry, and then travel time to the beach.

[blue_water]

New horizons, Yacht night wind, and others are excellent, but the request was for a relaxing beach day and the quietest would be Smith Bay on STT or Cinnamon on STJ.

[smrtypnts]

I want to thank everyone for their input. I was practically set for Sapphire when blue_water and 2PinaColadas both suggested it, but now with this additional information I have my research cut out for me. I will look into all the advice. :)