Beaches & Snorkeling questions

[gandh621]

Hi everyone! I just have a couple questions.

We have been to St. Thomas 3 times on cruises. We went to Coki Beach once and Sapphire Beach twice.

We LOVED each of them, especially the snorkeling!!

So, that being said, here are my questions.

 

Are there any other beaches with decent snorkeling? (We would need chair/umbrella rental wherever we go if possible)

 

What about a boat trip that includes snorkeling?

 

Thanks for any ideas!

Holly

[blue_water]

Hi Holly,

 

Yes Sapphire and Coki are probably the best beaches for off the beach snorkeling that also offer the amenities you want. A daysail with snorkeling is a great idea for your next visit because you can moor off the cays of STJ and STT for a different experience.

 

You're in port with the Conquest and Fantasy so not a terribly crowded port day but around 11k and some beaches will be busy. But you dock at 11AM and leave at 8PM so you'd need to either find an excursion through the ship or check the operators that provide daysails at the vinow dot com site under day charters. There are several operators with smaller powerboats that offer private excursions to great snorkel spots and even Jost Van Dyke. Most take 6ppl max and are a little pricey so you may want to look for another couple in your roll call to share.

 

If you decide to try another beach for snorkeling Secret Harbor is nice and offers snorkeling, a dive center renting umbrellas and lounges, and a nice restaurant on the beach. I've read that Elysian Beach in Cowpet Bay has good snorkeling too. There is a beach with a beach bar and a restaurant closeby, not sure about lounge and umbrella rentals though. There are several condo properties there and boats moored.

Perhaps someone else can help with another snorkeling beach with amenities, or a daysail that works for your port times...

 

[EDIT]

WIth your later arrival, if you want to go to SH you'll want to reserve your lounges and umbrellas ahead of time because they often run out. You can contact the dive shop if interested -

http://www.aadivers.com

The nice thing is the other 2 ships leave by 4PM and you'll have the island to yourselves from then on!

Edited May 19, 2016 by blue_water

[OCruisers]

The Champagne Catamaran Sail to St. John is a good one! :)

[gandh621]

Hi Holly,

 

Yes Sapphire and Coki are probably the best beaches for off the beach snorkeling that also offer the amenities you want. A daysail with snorkeling is a great idea for your next visit because you can moor off the cays of STJ and STT for a different experience.

 

You're in port with the Conquest and Fantasy so not a terribly crowded port day but around 11k and some beaches will be busy. But you dock at 11AM and leave at 8PM so you'd need to either find an excursion through the ship or check the operators that provide daysails at the vinow dot com site under day charters. There are several operators with smaller powerboats that offer private excursions to great snorkel spots and even Jost Van Dyke. Most take 6ppl max and are a little pricey so you may want to look for another couple in your roll call to share.

 

If you decide to try another beach for snorkeling Secret Harbor is nice and offers snorkeling, a dive center renting umbrellas and lounges, and a nice restaurant on the beach. I've read that Elysian Beach in Cowpet Bay has good snorkeling too. There is a beach with a beach bar and a restaurant closeby, not sure about lounge and umbrella rentals though. There are several condo properties there and boats moored.

Perhaps someone else can help with another snorkeling beach with amenities, or a daysail that works for your port times...

 

[EDIT]

WIth your later arrival, if you want to go to SH you'll want to reserve your lounges and umbrellas ahead of time because they often run out. You can contact the dive shop if interested -

www.aadivers.com

The nice thing is the other 2 ships leave by 4PM and you'll have the island to yourselves from then on!

 

Thank you so much for all this wonderful information. I am going to look into the different sails and Secret Harbor. That is really close to Sapphire Beach right? The water over there is so beautiful (but I guess it all is, right)? lol I appreciate you taking time to send this to me. We hate that we are getting there so late, but if we are ready to get right off the ship when we dock we can at least get ahead of the ones on our ship! :) Have a great day and thanks again!

Holly:D

[gandh621]

The Champagne Catamaran Sail to St. John is a good one! :)

 

Thank you for the suggestion. I will look into this as well as the ones above! :) Holly

[OCruisers]

Holly, you can totally trust the information from "Blue Water".

He's quite well informed on St. Thomas and I've always found what he says to be completely accurate. :)

 

LuLu

[blue_water]

Holly, you can totally trust the information from "Blue Water".

He's quite well informed on St. Thomas and I've always found what he says to be completely accurate. :)

 

LuLu

 

:o:o:o:o:o

Thanks Lulu, I have the same high regard for you!

Tortola is my "favoritest" island but the beaches of STT and STJ are beautiful as well!

[patrinka]

Hi OCruisers - did you do this tour with Princess?

We are looking at doing this with them in the fall.

Can you swim to the beach or are you tendered too far out where you snorkel?

Thanks!

[OCruisers]

Hi OCruisers - did you do this tour with Princess?

We are looking at doing this with them in the fall.

Can you swim to the beach or are you tendered too far out where you snorkel?

Thanks!

 

Yes, with Princess.

There's a dinghy to take those who don't wish to swim to the beach or snorkel. It runs back and forth constantly.

Some folks stay on the catamaran which is roomy with adequate shade and are basically taking the excursion for the lovely sail. :)

Our last time, we just swam around the catamaran for a while.

LuLu

[CaliforniaAC]

Hi,

 

Thanks for all the good information! We are thinking about Secret Harbor on our trip too,

 

We have found that w w w (dot) VInow (dot) com can give you some good information on the beaches.

 

How long is the taxi ride from Crown Bay to Secret Harbor? We have a short day, but we are the only ship in.

 

Have you ever gone to Brewers Bay? Would you know how long the taxi ride would be to Brewers Beach, and how easy it is to get one back? We know it's a rustic beach, it's our thing, but since it's more of a local's beach, will it be crowded on a Sunday? Also, is the snorkeling there any good?

 

Thank you so much for your help!

 

Have a good weekend-

 

AC:)

Edited May 21, 2016 by CaliforniaAC

[Ms411]

It may be difficult to get a taxi to and from Brewers especially if there are just 2 of you. If you have a large group, a taxi is more likely to take you and come back for you. The only time that beach is crowded is when there's a special event which doesn't happen often.

 

The taxi ride to Secret Harbor is about 30 minutes. Brewers is about half that.

[gandh621]

Ok! After researching all of the beaches listed on this thread (that I haven't already been to), Elysian and Secret Harbor look the best for what we want.

Now I have more questions.

For either one, do they need to be reserved in advance or can we just grab a taxi and go to the one we choose?

 

And - how far are each of them from the WIC (Havensight) pier?

 

Thanks so much!!!

Holly