Help deciding if I should go to St. Johns or stay on St. Thomas?

[newNCLcruiser2010]

I will be on Carnival Magic next July. I am trying to decide what to do in St. Thomas and I'm really torn. We will only be there 11-7. I want to do the tram up to Paradise Point for sure but I know that doesn't take a lot of time. I was considering a Carnival excursion that last 4.5 hours to St. John's Truck bay but the beach time is only 1 1/2 hours and the rest travel time. The reviews say it's a beautiful drive and the driver stops at a few scenic spots along the way.

 

I guess my question is... if it's my first time at St. Thomas should I just go to Magen's Bay (or another beach on St. Thomas) or is it worth it, even for just an hour and a half of beach time, to travel to St. John's and go to Trunk Bay? I have read that none of the beaches on St. Thomas compare in beauty to Truck Bay.

 

And if I do the 4.5 hour excursion to Truck Bay, would I still have enough time to check out some of the shops near the port and travel up to Paradise Point?

 

Any help would be appreciated!

 

Thanks!

[HarpHarp]

Trunk bay is lovely, but for your first time in port at St Thomas, I'd stay there, especially with that port time.

 

Take a tour of the island with one of the many vendors. Here are a few.

http://www.sunnylistontours.com/tourpackages.html

 

http://godfreytoursvi.com/

 

http://www.havefunwithus.com/

 

They offer tours that include beach time. When I lived on St Thomas, my favorite beach was Sapphire, shade good snorkeling & food & drink.

here's the web cam.

http://www.sapphireinthesun.com/

 

If you haven't had enough of the lovely view on the tour, you should still have time to do Paradise Point, cocktail at 6 at the top & then back on board.

[O2B@Cagain]

Bridget: Imagine if I said this: "I am going to Kentucky for the first time, but I hear I really should go to Ohio. It will take me X hours to go to Ohio. What should I do?" LOL Of course you should see St Thomas- take an island tour, go to a beach or two. Then next time, when you come back for a land-based stay, you won't mind spending the time in transit...;)