Sapphire Beach and Magen's Bay on the same day

[nyctravelerwithkids]

Hello everyone!

 

I have a couple of quetions for those who visited both these beaches.

 

1. We will be on St. Thomas on Wednesday, April 16, 2014 on Royal Princess ship. We would like to visit (and stay there for around 1 hour to swim) Sapphire Beach and Magen's Bay - both beaches on the same day.

We will be in port from 8AM to 6PM. Is it possible to do?

Can we take taxi from port to Magen's first, stay there for an hour, then take a taxi to Sapphire, stay there for an hour and, finally, take a taxi back to port?

 

2. On the previous cruise we visited Sapphire Beach but didn't have time to swim (it was just 5 min tour stop). We liked it a lot, but it seemed very small to me. Am I correct and it is indeed small?

 

3. On the same tour we saw Magen's Bay from the top of the island and were very impressed - it looked sooo beautiful. Why many people on this forum prefer Sapphire Beach over Magen's?

 

4. If we don't want to snorkel and just looking for the beach with the most beautiful water (color, calmness) then what beach would you choose?

 

Thank you.

[O2B@Cagain]

IMHO, pick one and relax, enjoy and smile. You are going to spend a bunch of time traveling and extra money on transportation with your scheme. Sapphire is better for snorkeling, but Magens has a raw beauty.

[Langley Cruisers]

Agreed; I think you should do only one beach and relax there for the day and enjoy yourselves. Have been to both and would not go back to Sapphire, although you are right, it is popular here on the boards. We just did not love it, although the food was great. We had Mahi mahi sandwiches from the little stand there and they were fabulous.

[caribsun]

10 hours of port time will give you plenty of time to visit both beaches. I would do Sapphire 1st and then Magen's, its about a 20 min ride between the two.

Edited December 15, 2013 by caribsun

[LEtue]

I would agree that 10 hours of port time is enough to see both since they are relatively close to each other. If you really want to see both - do it. :)

 

Personally, I only need about 2 hours at the beach before I'm ready to leave and enjoy something else - so decide what is best for you.

[blue_water]

I would agree that 10 hours of port time is enough to see both since they are relatively close to each other..

 

 

Actually they are not close to one another. Magens is on the north shore, while Sapphire is on the East End along with Coki, Smith's Bay, and Secret Harbor. Here's a map to help you see their locations -

 

http://www.virginislandsthisweek.com/us_virgin_islands_maps/st_thomas_island_road_map.html#.Uq25lWt5mK0

 

Magens is beautiful as seen from Drake's Seat and from Mountaintop, and many people like Magens. It is the most famous bay on STT for cruisers to visit. Nice calm bay and good beach for toddlers. We find the East End beaches to be more beautiful and to just have more character, but that is just our opinion.

 

Sapphire is actually not small but has quite a bit f room to spread out and is home to 3 condo resorts and a full-service marina. Arguably the best off-the-beach snorkeling is there, and not only soft sand and gorgeous sapphire-colored watercolors but something that Magens doesn't have, nice island views and abundant natural shade right anong the shore. Magens has some shady areas but those areas will be crowded.

 

So for the beauty and abundant natural shade and food and drink choices we like Sapphire. For dead calm water Secret Harbor is our second beach choice but there is no shade for day visitors.

For a more lively vibe with several vendors try Coki, and for the quietest and most natural beach it's Smith's.

These are all the nicest beaches on STT and you won't have a bad day at any of these. But it can be an even nicer day if you choose the beach that's right for you. You also have plenty of time to enjoy St John, or even go to beautiful White Bay on Jost Van Dyke with a charter. Or you can just head for Coki and rnjoy that before it gets too busy then take a short taxi to Sapphire as they are very close.

Edited December 15, 2013 by blue_water

[blue_water]

And I should correct myself, you can definitely do both Magens and one of the East End beaches with 10 hrs in port as everyone said. I just think that the East End beaches and the STJ beaches have the real natural beauty that many people just never see because they return to Magens or Lindbergh every visit. But have a great beach day wherever you go, and Langley is right - the mahi mahi sandwich at the Banana Cabana is excellent! We always have a couple when we stay at Sapphire.