Sapphire Beach and Shopping in town: possible

[limace]

We'll be there from 8-5 on the Noordam 1/30/14 and I'd love to spend a few hours at Sapphire Beach as well as doing a little shopping in town. Is that practical? What order should we do them in, if so? And how long between them?

 

Thanks!

[Ms411]

Beach in the morning, shop in afternoon. Beach will be less crowded and when it does start to get crowded, take a cab to town.

[blue_water]

Yes grab the earliest taxi you can and enjoy the beach until 1PM or so then grab a taxi back to town, there will be taxis coming and going throughout the day.

[limace]

Thanks! How long does taxi to town take?

 

 

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[blue_water]

20 - 30 minutes to Sapphire but can take a little longer with traffic. But you should be pretty good midday. I'd allow an hour to be safe though, taxi may not take off right away...

[daydreamer16]

How much for a taxi to Sapphire Beach for two people?

[blue_water]

Taxi from Havensight to the East End is $9pp each way or $36 total for 2 ppl.

[Ms411]

Expect to pay $10 pp each way. Most people who have posted about their trip to Sapphire paid $10.

[mrsfuzzmo]

That's exactly what we did, but we went from Crown Bay dock. Hopped in an open air taxi to Sapphire at around 8:15 am. After a few drop offs along the way we were on the beach by about 9:00 am. Swam, snorkeled, sunned, relaxed until about 12:30 pm. Got a taxi back to town and met up with some friends who didn't want to beach at about 2:00 pm. Shopped a little, then ate and drank our way through town for a couple hours and headed back to the ship at around 4 pm. We had a blast.

[blue_water]

Expect to pay $10 pp each way. Most people who have posted about their trip to Sapphire paid $10.

 

I agree you can expect to pay $10, but many report paying $9 to and from from Sapphire and the RH ferry, some of those are regular visitors. I rely on their feedback since we don't take taxis there anymore.

I wonder if some drivers are going the longer way to get more fares to and from Coki?

[limace]

That's exactly what we did, but we went from Crown Bay dock. Hopped in an open air taxi to Sapphire at around 8:15 am. After a few drop offs along the way we were on the beach by about 9:00 am. Swam, snorkeled, sunned, relaxed until about 12:30 pm. Got a taxi back to town and met up with some friends who didn't want to beach at about 2:00 pm. Shopped a little, then ate and drank our way through town for a couple hours and headed back to the ship at around 4 pm. We had a blast.

 

 

That looks like our plan-I think we'll be at Crown Bay too. Thank you for the report!

 

 

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[blue_water]

That's a fun day in St Thomas!

[Ms411]

The VI taxi fares are regulated by the govt. According to the rate sheet, the fare FROM TOWN to Sapphire is $10.

 

The rate sheet doesn't post a fare from HAVENSIGHT to Sapphire so taxi drivers can charge what they want, within reason.

 

IMO, it's better to quote a higher.price than a lower price that might not be available. When people don't get the lower prices mentioned on online forums, they feel cheated.

 

Since no taxi drivers are answering questions in this forum, I think it's better to quote published, legislated fares than what some others may have paid.

[Ms411]

Also, since taxi rates in the VI are based on destination and are not metered, the taxi drivers use the quickest route to get to the destination so they can transport as many people per day as possible.

 

People from NY love the flat rate taxi system, because metered taxis charge when you're sitting in traffic.

[blue_water]

"The rate sheet doesn't post a fare from HAVENSIGHT to Sapphire..."

"I think it's better to quote published, legislated fares than what some others may have paid"

 

Obviously folks ask what rate others are paying because it is not a published rate.:rolleyes: No need for a dissertation on taxi fares though, I'm easy. :) $20pp RT is a nice, round number! :)

[happy40th]

That's exactly what we did, but we went from Crown Bay dock. Hopped in an open air taxi to Sapphire at around 8:15 am. After a few drop offs along the way we were on the beach by about 9:00 am. Swam, snorkeled, sunned, relaxed until about 12:30 pm. Got a taxi back to town and met up with some friends who didn't want to beach at about 2:00 pm. Shopped a little, then ate and drank our way through town for a couple hours and headed back to the ship at around 4 pm. We had a blast.

 

Can I walk from town back to the ship?

[O2B@Cagain]

Can I walk from town back to the ship?

 

It is a flat mile along the waterfront on a sidewalk from town to Havensight. Nice photo ops of your ship at the dock. Lots of people do walk it.

[daydreamer16]

Thanks for all the feedback---this is our first time in St. Thomas!

[FB_Coach]

We are there from 11-7

Wanted to go to Coki and snorkel then shop, is this possible being docked so late?

 

Does carnival (liberty) dock before 11 or is this an estimate?

[blue_water]

You will dock at 11AM and leave at 7PM. We've been on that cruise and it gives you a unique opportunity before returning to the ship to have a nice romantic dinner either in Frenchtown over the water, or at Paradise Point overlooking the beautiful harbor and enjoying the view and vibe.

And one of our nicest port departures we've had was leaving Charlotte Amalie with the lights on the island twinkling under a bright moon.

 

So enjoy a nice beach or island tour and then a dinner or drinks before heading back to sea.

 

One note - St THomas has the nicest beaches on your itinerary so if you want a nice beach take a look at the East End beaches like Sapphire or Secret Harbor, you'll find plenty of reviews on the beaches on cc.

Edited December 31, 2013 by blue_water