Magens Bay, Coki Point Beach or Sapphire Beach

[OhioMike2016]

Will be doing a tour of St. Thomas and upgraded to include so beach time and one of these beaches: Magens Bay, Coki Point Beach or Sapphire Beach.

 

If you can only do one, which one do you recommend? Pros & Cons.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Stinger-pr]

You will get a lot of different opinions from people who like any of those beaches for a number of individual reasons. It all comes down to what facilities you'd like the beach to have, how crowded it gets and the kind of activities you're planing on doing while at the beach. Also, a big factor is how many ships are in port the same day as yours. Read up a little and you'll find tons of information on this specific topic as well as suggestions. Good luck.

[blue_water]

Agreed - do you want a busier vibe like Coki and Magens, a beach where you probably won't see a fellow cruiser like Hull Bay or Elysian Beach, or something in between like Sapphire? Will you want to buy food? Is this a private tour or will you be with a group?

There are tons of threads with more details, but the pros and cons depend on what you are looking for. You'll also find descriptions here on the St Thomas page of cruise critic. Take a look then ask any specific questions you have on the beaches.

Edited May 10, 2016 by blue_water

[cruzeluver]

Of the three we have only been to Sapphire. While the water was good, clear with decent snorkeling off the beach, the beach itself to me was merely ok. Not very well kept and the facilities were quite run down. This was about four years ago so maybe things have improved?

 

We are headed back to St Thomas in a little over two weeks and are more than likely going to give Coki a shot.

[LuCruise]

Of the three we have only been to Sapphire. While the water was good, clear with decent snorkeling off the beach, the beach itself to me was merely ok. Not very well kept and the facilities were quite run down. This was about four years ago so maybe things have improved?

 

We are headed back to St Thomas in a little over two weeks and are more than likely going to give Coki a shot.

We were at Coki in April and absolutely loved it. So beautiful. I have pictures in my report link below if interested. Yes there were people, but it wasn't stupid busy

 

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[blue_water]

Of the three we have only been to Sapphire. While the water was good, clear with decent snorkeling off the beach, the beach itself to me was merely ok. Not very well kept and the facilities were quite run down. This was about four years ago so maybe things have improved?

 

We are headed back to St Thomas in a little over two weeks and are more than likely going to give Coki a shot.

 

Yes Sapphire is not a resort property so you'd want to look at the Marriott or perhaps Margaritaville for nicer facilities. But we think the beach and views are stunning. There are beaches like Magens that look "less natural", but Sapphire just has that character if you will.

 

Coki is also a gorgeous beach and one of our fav spots to hit with no ships in port but is usually crazy busy midday.

[caro1998]

Yes Sapphire is not a resort property so you'd want to look at the Marriott or perhaps Margaritaville for nicer facilities. But we think the beach and views are stunning. There are beaches like Magens that look "less natural", but Sapphire just has that character if you will.

 

Coki is also a gorgeous beach and one of our fav spots to hit with no ships in port but is usually crazy busy midday.

 

Hi! I have a quick question. I am still trying to decide on where to go in St. Thomas. You mentioned Margaritaville... This is actually an excursion offered on NCL. I am traveling solo, so for safety purposes, I like the idea of doing an excursion through the ship. However, I cannot find many reviews about this resort. Would you mind sharing any info you have?

 

Thanks in advance!

Caro

[blue_water]

Hi! I have a quick question. I am still trying to decide on where to go in St. Thomas. You mentioned Margaritaville... This is actually an excursion offered on NCL. I am traveling solo, so for safety purposes, I like the idea of doing an excursion through the ship. However, I cannot find many reviews about this resort. Would you mind sharing any info you have?

 

Thanks in advance!

Caro

 

I believe Mandygirl has been there, we have not so check her posts. You could also start a new thread specific to Margaritaville and the ship excursion since it's relatively new.

[sweetlove13]

Do both Sapphire & Magens have umbrellas to rent? I burn very easily & really need an umbrella

[Ms411]

Those beaches have natural shade trees so no umbrella rental. You can rent umbrellas at Coki, plus you can sit in the shelter of the food vendors.

[O2B@Cagain]

Caro: I am not sure Margaritaville allows beach use by non-guests, although they love for you to come eat and drink, maybe listen to a sales pitch? You might check with your cruise ship about what the excursion entails.

[blue_water]

Do both Sapphire & Magens have umbrellas to rent? I burn very easily & really need an umbrella

 

Sapphire especially has abundant natural shade along the water - have you seen this webcam and drone video?

 

http://www.sapphireinthesun.com

[mckinna]

We were at Sapphire Beach last week- you can get beach loungers for $5 each and they'll place them for you. And there is some shade as well. To echo what others have posted, I would only go here if yours is the only ship in port. Ours was, so there was room for everyone. This is a small beach and not very developed- there is a snorkeling/dive shop with drinks, but for food, there was only a small area under a tent that had a grill- had sandwiches and such. But the jerk chicken sandwich was good.

 

We enjoyed our day there- decided to try this beach because we've been to Megan's Bay several times. The cab from the port to Sapphire Beach was $10/pp.

 

 

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[blue_water]

We were at Sapphire Beach last week- you can get beach loungers for $5 each and they'll place them for you. And there is some shade as well. To echo what others have posted, I would only go here if yours is the only ship in port. Ours was, so there was room for everyone. This is a small beach and not very developed- there is a snorkeling/dive shop with drinks, but for food, there was only a small area under a tent that had a grill- had sandwiches and such. But the jerk chicken sandwich was good.

 

We enjoyed our day there- decided to try this beach because we've been to Megan's Bay several times. The cab from the port to Sapphire Beach was $10/pp.

 

 

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Sapphire is home to a few condo developments and so a quieter vibe than Magens and Coki, for example. We've stayed in a condo there a few times and on big ship days (20,000 + day visitors) it can get busy around the dive center but we've never seen it crowded elsewhere along the beach as there is a lot of room to spread out. There are a couple of food options, one being the banana Cabana beach grill you say between condo bldgs B & C, and the Sapphire restaurant behind the marina which also as a runner taking orders on the beach. But we love the mahi mahi sandwich at the Banana Cabana! I'm surprised the lounge rentals were $5,, pretty cheap for a nice beach like Sapphire...

[beautifulbill]

Unless there was a recent change beach chairs are $9 to rent, and that is one of the most expensive on island.

For St. Thomas Sapphire is a large beach, not as big as Magens but bigger than Coki. The ship people all congregate around the dive shop but other than that area it is seldom crowded.

 

There are several food options there and additional ones should be open soon.

[cruiseapril]

We are fans of Magen's, as it is so clean and clear.

[OCMama]

Between Coki and Megan's, which has the better snorkeling?

[blue_water]

Between Coki and Megan's, which has the better snorkeling?

 

For snorkeling Coki on the East End, Magens is all sandy bottom and not good for snorkeling. Sapphire is another option for snorkeling near Coki.

[blue_water]

Will be doing a tour of St. Thomas and upgraded to include so beach time and one of these beaches: Magens Bay, Coki Point Beach or Sapphire Beach.

 

If you can only do one, which one do you recommend? Pros & Cons.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Busy ship day, Sapphire. One-ship day, Coki or Magens. Any day it's Sapphire for us! :D

Edited May 25, 2016 by blue_water

[sunset785]

Which of these beaches would be best with 4 young kids? We will have a 5, 4, 3, and 2 year old with us. We have been to Magen's before and it was great but wondering if it's safe to try Coki with the young ones.

 

 

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[mitsugirly]

For pics of snorkeling at Coki, see my review below. There's TONS of them.

 

I'm not sure if my link in my St Thomas Sapphire Beach review still works to the pictures (the review works, just not sure about the picture link). If not HERE are all the pictures I took the day we were there. Although I wasn't as big of a picture freak back then as I am now, so you'll find a lot more pictures in my Coki review.

[blue_water]

Which of these beaches would be best with 4 young kids? We will have a 5, 4, 3, and 2 year old with us. We have been to Magen's before and it was great but wondering if it's safe to try Coki with the young ones.

 

 

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All beaches are dependent on the sea and wind conditions that particular day. For confidence in a nice, calm beach and something other than Magens, I'd suggest looking at Secret Harbor. Nice restaurant and beach, limited lounge and umbrella rentals so get there early or reserve ahead if possible at http://www.aadivers.com.

[Hayabusa]

I am visiting St. Thomas on a cruise next week and am thinking of doing some snorkeling at Coki Beach. I saw a youtube video showing a $2 local bus ride there, the stop located near Big Gas and Pueblo Supermarket. Anyone have any experience with the local bus?

[Amagamma]

Haven't been to Coki in many years (8-10), last time we were there we felt very uncomfortable. There were large groups of locals and there were many arguments going on. We were told that at that time (again, many years ago) there were problems with gangs and were told not to go back there. Hoping that problem has cleared up. Anyone who has been there lately, is it safe again?

[beautifulbill]

Coki is safe. Some years ago there some incidents but they have take care of the problems

You may however smell certain cigarettes so be aware of that if you visit