Visit St. John AND Magens Bay?

[NordicPrince]

Thank you Maria! I am so excited to find that it is indeed possible! Now to convince my husband to run around both islands :D

 

Do you really want to go to the beach at 8 o'clock in the morning? Just asking. We prefer to enjoy having a nice breakfast at a leisurely pace and maybe get off the ship for 9 - 915 at the earliest.

 

Personally I like to relax a little bit when enjoying going to beach. Running around from place to place is just not my idea of a good time on vacation. But then again, different strokes for different folks. At most we mix beach time with shopping time. But that's just us.

[Islander500]

Do you really want to go to the beach at 8 o'clock in the morning?

 

We did. We had Magen's Bay pretty much to ourselves and it was lovely. Except for all the turtles swimming around us. :') :')

[CTKay]

I see one cruiser mentioned Coke beach.....if you are into snorkeling that can't be beaten. It is located next to an aquarium and the fish are fed there, hence the variety and number of fish around the beach. Local vendors can be annoying, tho.

[hancock]

Not impressed by Magens Bay. View from Mountain Top is nice. Sapphire and Coki have gorgeous views. St. John's beaches are lovely..

[NordicPrince]

Do you really want to go to the beach at 8 o'clock in the morning?

 

We did. We had Magen's Bay pretty much to ourselves and it was lovely. Except for all the turtles swimming around us. :') :')

 

Guess getting a tan was not your number 1 priority. Everybody has a different approach for the pace of their holiday. Not saying yours is wrong just different from ours.

[Charles4515]

Thank you Maria! I am so excited to find that it is indeed possible! Now to convince my husband to run around both islands :D

 

 

So you just want to run around and not enjoy the beaches? It make more sense to pick one or the other. There is always time to make a return trip in the future to see the other beaches.

[Taz1983]

So you just want to run around and not enjoy the beaches? It make more sense to pick one or the other. There is always time to make a return trip in the future to see the other beaches.

I enjoy running around but he said no so that's the end of that:) Magens Bay it is.

[OCruisers]

Sorry to be a "Fun Sponge" but...but ... but... by trying to do too much, nothing is enjoyed completely.

[WestCoastFlyer]

We had a few folks from our group head to Dunk Bay... Trunk Bay on St John. They loved the trip and the beach but had a couple extra cocktails and lost track of time. They missed the ferry back to St Thomas and had to pay for a water taxi - I think it was $100. They were doing the run to the ship as they were getting ready to pull up the gangway. They said they would go again without hesitation, but would make darn sure they didn't miss the ferry back. If there is a ship excursion to Trunk Bay / St John you might want to consider that. It will be more expensive, but they will not leave you behind (as long as you don't miss that boat)

[Fouremco]

If there is a ship excursion to Trunk Bay / St John you might want to consider that. It will be more expensive, but they will not leave you behind (as long as you don't miss that boat)

Or just skip the extra cocktails and catch the ferry with everyone else. :halo:

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I've done both and St. johns is the winner. Magen's Bay is not the turquoise beach that you might be expecting. The shore is murky and it's just ok IMO. I've been to St. thomas many times and the most recent trip we did an island tour to the botanical gardens, with lots of scenic overlooks (no beach visit). I highly recommend it. It was a nice way to see the island and take pictures. Lovely day.

[Taz1983]

We had a few folks from our group head to Dunk Bay... Trunk Bay on St John. They loved the trip and the beach but had a couple extra cocktails and lost track of time. They missed the ferry back to St Thomas and had to pay for a water taxi - I think it was $100. They were doing the run to the ship as they were getting ready to pull up the gangway. They said they would go again without hesitation, but would make darn sure they didn't miss the ferry back. If there is a ship excursion to Trunk Bay / St John you might want to consider that. It will be more expensive, but they will not leave you behind (as long as you don't miss that boat)

WOW That's a big fear of mine-missing or almost missing the boat!

[shipshape sam]

WOW That's a big fear of mine-missing or almost missing the boat!

 

The ferries run on a regular schedule and if you make sure to get on the ferry back to St. Thomas in time to then get from Redhook, you would be fine.

 

If you do Magens Bay, which is still a nice beach, go to Mountain Top to see the full view of Magens Bay.

 

Each to their own, but we rented a car on St John and drove to a few of the beaches till the road ended. Trunk Bay was not any more impressive than Magens when we went IMHO.

[OCruisers]

When the ferry fares and taxi cost are added up doing on-your-own the actual cost is about the same as the same sort of excursion offered by the ship. ;)

The big positive doing it on-your-own for many is to be able to stay in St. John longer.

[shipshape sam]

When the ferry fares and taxi cost are added up doing on-your-own the actual cost is about the same as the same sort of excursion offered by the ship. ;)

The big positive doing it on-your-own for many is to be able to stay in St. John longer.

 

We too did our own tour for both St Thomas and St John. Hired driver(taxi) for St Thomas and rented car for St. John.

[Kath2me]

I used to love going in the water, i love the beaches in Aruba, however, since they got this giant dip down to get in, getting out was always a problem, i would need some big beefy muscle men to help me,, Anyway, i use a scooter now, so walking is a big problem, however, my heart and head, just want to feel the water, is it hard to get into the magans bay,, than ,i would love to scooter around and do a little shopping,, any suggestions ? :loudcry:

[Islander500]

I used to love going in the water, i love the beaches in Aruba, however, since they got this giant dip down to get in, getting out was always a problem, i would need some big beefy muscle men to help me,, Anyway, i use a scooter now, so walking is a big problem, however, my heart and head, just want to feel the water, is it hard to get into the magans bay,, than ,i would love to scooter around and do a little shopping,, any suggestions ? :loudcry:

 

We recently visited a large number of beaches in the Caribbean on an Equinox cruise. Carlyle Bay Beach in Barbados was the easiest and flattest entry into and exit out of the water. Hope that helps you.

[Taz1983]

We go delayed coming back from St. John and we had to run to the ship so didn't even see the port shoos. This was a celebrity excursion too and the guide really screwed up so I'd stick with the gorgeous beaches on St. John's

 

 

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Yikes!

[phoenix_dream]

Magen's Bay is a nice, but very, very crowded beach. It is much like many, many other beaches in the Caribbean. St. John's is beautiful and much less crowded. I definitely would not try to see both In one day - a logistical nightmare and not worth seeing Magen's Bay just to say you've seen it.