Snorkeling in St Thomas

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

We'll be in St. Thomas - Charlotte Amalie (we're there from 8:00 AM to 5:00PM, on the Jewel on Feb 15-07), and I was wondering about a place to go snorkeling from the beach.

I hear that Coki Beach is nice. The island is small enough to taxi it to anywhere on the island in a pretty short time (from what I see on the map), so I don't think proximity to Charlotte Amalie is a major factor (am I wrong to assume this?).

 

BTW: I hear of St. John and Trunk Bay in St. Thomas, but I can't locate either on the map. I must assume it's onother island. Any clarification on that?

 

Cheers, and thanks in advance.

[sharks48]

Roads in USVI are hilly and winding, plus there's traffic when ships are in port. So it might take longer than you might think.

 

St. John is a separate island and Trunk Bay is on St. John.

 

Coki is not a very big beach and it's popular with cruise excursions. So if there are several ships in port it might be very crowded.

 

Go to the St. Thomas board - there's lots of info there, a lot of it from "locals".

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

Thanks for the info.

 

I've since figured out the St. John part, and have looked online for Trunk Bay. Google Map in satelite view of this beach is awsome!

 

The time it takes to get to and from trunk Bay - how long can it take, minimum to max?

 

There is this underwater trail, said to be about 600 feet long. Do you know where on Trunk Bay it is?

 

I'll check out the St Thomas board - thanks again!

[cruisin RN]

I liked coki snorkeling off the beach, off by the rocks on the right if you face the water--the fish came to you. A nice variety, a turtle, sergeant majors, trumpet fish, needlenose fish, parrot fish. You can feed them a dog biscuit they have available on the beach. I've also snorkeled trunk bay on st. john, a beautiful beach, took a cab in st. thomas to red hook, the ferry to cruz bay st. john was around 15 minutes over. snorkeling trail is marked by buoys in the water. Didn't see a large quantity of fish, but, saw many types of coral. Did see a nurse shark at the farthest buoy on left as face the water. Both are beautiful beaches as far as sand and beautiful water. One recommendation I do have is the earlier you get there (like 7-8 am), the better, no crowds--have a great time!

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

Thanks!

 

I'll be arriving via the Jewel Of the Seas at 8:00 AM, and I don't expect to make the 9:00 AM ferry to st john (Canadian citizen, so imigration, etc...). So it goes to say that I might get to Trunk Bay by 11:00 AM or maybe a bit sooner. snorkle for about 2.5 or 3.5 hours, then back to the 2:00PM or 3:00 PM ferry. At least that's how I see that excursion happening. It would be nice if we could make the 9:00 AM ferry.

 

S: more fish at Coki but more corral and fewer people at Trunk - got it! Trunk Bay seems to me the better choice, so far...

[ProudFossil]

Thanks!

 

I'll be arriving via the Jewel Of the Seas at 8:00 AM, and I don't expect to make the 9:00 AM ferry to st john (Canadian citizen, so imigration, etc...). So it goes to say that I might get to Trunk Bay by 11:00 AM or maybe a bit sooner. snorkle for about 2.5 or 3.5 hours, then back to the 2:00PM or 3:00 PM ferry. At least that's how I see that excursion happening. It would be nice if we could make the 9:00 AM ferry.

 

S: more fish at Coki but more corral and fewer people at Trunk - got it! Trunk Bay seems to me the better choice, so far...

 

Hey Ottawa_cruise_man:

It has been about five years since we used it but there were more ferrys over to St. John from Charlotte Amalie than from Red Hook. We missed the Red Hook ferry once by 30 seconds. The ferry was only 20 feet from the dock and would not return for us. So we got to sit and drink for an hour in a local pub. But you might check out the ferrys from C.A. It does take longer to get to St. John but the taxi time is much, much less. You should be right close to the dock, even within walking distance from the ship. At the most it is around the bay, 1 to 1 1/2 miles.

 

It is possible to get the ferry times on the Internet by Googling St. Thomas Ferry.

 

Hope this helps

Mike

 

Hope this

[Betterbrown]

Hey, Cool Cruiser, just a note to let you know that St. John's is a neighbor island to St. Thomas. My nephew works in St. Thomas and says he much prefers the beaches and relaxing atmosphere of St. John's.

 

Betterbrown

[Host Star]

if you want to preserve any time for shopping in st. thomas and do snorkeling also I usually will go to Coki early morning,, head back to the ship, change, grab some lunch and credit cards .... when we do St. John its an all day project with taxis ,ferries, etc. and hardly any time to shop.. choices choices....

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

Thanks for the replies so far - you've all been great help. I've since done a lot more research into the matter, and it does come down to time - I think I can pull off the Trunk Bay and shopping if I do this correctly:

Somehow get my but on the 9:00AM ferry from Charlotte Amalie to St John. The other ferry I would surely miss becuase we arrive at 8:00 AM...

then get to Trunk Bay around 10:20- 10:45. Stay there and either take the 2:00PM or 3:00PM frerry back to Charlotte Amalie. Then do some shoppping if we feel like it. Would probably do the shopping if we leave at 2:00 PM.

 

The advantage of trunk Bay is it's situated in a national park, where Coki has more traffic/people, etc... Coki's avantage other than proximity is they have a restaurant, etc... I think they have a food/drink stand at Trunk Bay - will ask in the St thomas thread for that.

 

I found Trunk Bay in Goggle satellite and it's stunning! I found out the underwater trail that they've set up, and I know exactly where I'm going to swim/snorkle first! I also spotted a smaller beach to the right, on the other side of a point.

 

Has anyone snorkeled there? Would love to see pics - I think I'll search webshots for some spoilers! ;)