Which is better: Magen's Beach or Trunk Bay

[Readyt0cruise]

We are looking at a cruise that stops in St. Thomas and are wondering about excursions. We like the way Magen's Beach and Trunk Bay (actually traveling over to St. John) sound. Has anyone been to either of these?

 

Thanks !

[QM2 Cruiser]

Trunk Bay is absolutly fantastic, but be prepared for sea sickness on the ferry ride. The ferry ride is 45 minutes and ruined our whole excursion.

[andnickali]

If you take the ferry to St. John from Red Hook it is only 10-15 minutes, the downside is having to take a taxi over to Red Hook.

 

The other downside is going over to the beach for the day is not cheap- I think it ended up costing us almost $35 pp in transportation fees. But, that being said it is one of the most beautiful beaches I have been on and the underwater trail is very nice for a beginner. We had a nice few hours- which was more than had we booked through the ship, I think they were at Trunk Bay for maybe 1.5 hours total.

 

If you are up for the trek go to St. John- you will not be disappointed.

[Tyrkitty]

Haven't been to Megan Bay, but Trunk Bay is beautiful. We did a Disney Excursion leaving from the tendered ship in St Thomas to St John - then back on the Ferry. We had about 3.5 hours at the beach. The crossing was calm the day we did it. An added plus is a place to shower and change right at the beach. There were also lifeguards - one on the beach and one in a kayak. That may have been because we were on a Disney Excursion - not sure. I would got back again.

[lv2bcruzin]

Both are very nice, but Magen's Bay by far is the more beautiful. It will be a little more populated just because it's on the island you dock at and is the more well known of the two. You can get a taxi to Magen's Bay for about $15 depending on who you use. Red Hook is a great place for food and shopping too. There's a neat little outdoor restaurant right off the main road in Red Hook that has great drinks, the Fishbowl is a 84oz drink. :p

 

If you are really up for a good time, head over to St. John from Red Hook and rent a twin engine outboard boat. That is a really great time. Expensive though, paid $500 for a 22' boat for half a day, but making a round trip around the island is awesome. Also in Red Hook is a cool shopping center with restaurants. You have to walk a mile or so after getting off the ferry, but it is worth it.

 

St. Thomas is my favorite island of the U.S. VI's. Been there about 3 times cruising and stayed there for 7 days a few years ago.

[cb at sea]

St. Johns is GORGEOUS!!!! It's pristine, the water is so clear and so warm, when you get into it, it's hard to tell you're even IN the water! Very strange sensation!

Our ferry ride was lovely! Calm and peaceful! (Lots of wind, tho!)

 

It all depends on what you want. Magen's bay is much closer, so you will have more time at the beach and shopping, if you choose. St. John's takes a while to get to and from, cutting your "beach time" down a bit.

[Calicruisefamily]

We did a excursion to Magen's Bay "It was beautiful" The only thing we did not like was how fast time went by :( We wanted to stay the whole day.

Cali

Voyager W. Caribbean 12/16/06 "Our first AfT 1688"

Voyager E. Caribbean 11/05

S.S. Azure Seas Baja 11/90

[AftbalconyCouple]

Nothing beats Trunk Bay.

[jakedoc]

Been to both Trunk Bay and Meagan's- between the 2, I would chose Trunk. But-if you're going to St. John's to go to Trunk Bay- go a little furthur and go to Cinnamon Bay- beautiful, without all the crowds at Trunk Bay and Meagan's, plus has an old plane wreck to snorkel and see all the sealife. The entrance to Cinnamon Bay is part of the US National Park service which has a little food store on site where you can buy cheap carribean beer. Have fun!

[TPKeller]

Trunk Bay is absolutly fantastic, but be prepared for sea sickness on the ferry ride. The ferry ride is 45 minutes and ruined our whole excursion.

It sounds like you took the ferry directly from Charlotte Amalie, rather than taking the taxi to Red Hook first. I did this once, and while I did not get seasick, it took just about all the concentration I could muster to avoid! One of the most adventurous boat rides I have ever been on!

 

I've seen Trunk Bay, it's very nice. Only seen Magen's Bay from the mountain top. You can compare satellite pictures on my Maps page. :) The St. Thomas map has both bays marked.

 

Theron

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Trunk Bay is absolutly fantastic, but be prepared for sea sickness on the ferry ride. The ferry ride is 45 minutes and ruined our whole excursion.

 

did you take the Charlotte Amalie ferry or the Red Hook ferry? The Charlotte Amalie ferry is the long one which the RCI excursion uses. My wife also got very queazy. Take a cab to Red Hook and take Red Hook ferry, it's much smoother.

 

The excursion through the cruise line is way too short. Do it on your own and come and go as you please!

 

How to get to Trunk Bay from Charlotte Amalie:

 

Take taxi to Red Hook for ferry to St.John $10.00 pp 2+ people

**** 17 minutes

 

Take ferry from Red Hoook to Cruz Bay $5.00pp

**** 15 – 20 minutes

 

From Cruz Bay take taxi to Trunk Bay $6.00 pp 2+people

**** 12 minutes

Admission to Trunk Bay is $4.00 per adult 17 and up

 

**** ferries leave Red Hook at 6:30am, 7:30am, and then hourly starting at 8:00am running until midnight

 

ferries leave Cruz Bay hourly starting at 6:00am until 11:00pm

 

Bill

[hogwildcruzers]

All I can tell you is that the entire Island of St. John is beautiful, the beaches are less crowded and in town there are some really good places to have a drink and eat, Duffys Love Shack is one of them. Look at my cruise photos and look at the Zui cruise and you can see some photos of the beaches in St. John. We were able to spend close to 6 hrs. there. Took the ferry from Red Hook.

[Jeanne B]

We spent 10 days on St Thomas and St John in June and we absolutely LOVED St John, Trunk Bay is beautiful but Hawksnest and Cinnamon are also beautiful beaches. Trunk Bay is between both of them and all three are within less than a 2 mile stretch, Hawksnest was our favorite. We drove through Magens Bay during our short stay on STT but we didn't stop, there were several parties going on, lots of locals and since it was getting late in the day we didn't feel real comfortable about stopping. We did stop at the overlook which was a nice view but not even close to the view from the Trunk Bay overlook IMO. If you decide to stay on STT I would choose Sapphire Beach over Magens.

 

Here's a picture taken from the Trunk Bay overlook, I looked for my picture from the Magens Bay overlook but I think it must be on my other computer...

 

 

 

And here's Sapphire Beach on STT...

 

[Fang]

Both have good points and bad points

 

 

MEGANS BAY-- Not as nice as Trunk, Bigger waves and not as good snorkleing. BUT you can rent lounge chairs, floating mats and there is bar service on the beach.

 

 

TRUNK BAY-- Much nicer beach, great snorkleing BUT no lounge chairs, no easy way to get there (megans bay, just get a taxi and there in 20 minutes from cruise ship --- Trunk bay taxi and ferry then taxi again). There is a snack bar that has things but no bar server walking up and down the beach.

 

My personal opinion is to go to Megans bay on your own and get there early and you will have a great time. Trunk bay is great, but it takes a long time to get there and facilities are not as nice. If you were going on St. John for something else, then go to Trunk Bay.

[Jeanne B]

TRUNK BAY-- Much nicer beach, great snorkleing BUT no lounge chairs

 

Somebody posted earlier on the STT/STJ boards that Trunk has chairs, mats and umbrellas for rent at the same place you rent the snorkel gear. We never saw first hand what they had for rentals because we had our own lounge chairs and snorkel gear.

[andnickali]

There are rentals- but the beach officially closes at 4:00 and the rentals shut down shortly before that. When we were there we didn't arrive until 3:00 and the beach cleared pretty much by 4:00.

 

We left by about 6:30 because the mosquitos started to bite at that point.

[iluvcruzin]

I personally would vote for Trunk Bay over Megan's in a heartbeat. I've been to Megan's bay once. Sure it's picturesque from above looking down - however, when I went a few years back, I found the water cloudy. Trunk Bay - its fabulous but you spend alot of time traveling to and from.

 

If you've never been there before, there are other options such as Sapphire Beach & Coki Beach. If I want to stay on St. Thomas I ususally end up at Sapphire as they have rentals and the shallow snorkling isn't too bad. ;)

[caviargal]

I do not care for Magen's Bay and it was even more disappointing a few months ago with trash on the beach and a general not very nice appearance.

 

I would opt for Trunk Bay if you are looking for beauty and Sapphire for convenience.

[Worfiedoodles]

I'm sitting at my desk, looking at a bulletin board with a postcard from Magen's Bay. It was the highlight of our Eastern Caribbean cruise, and I highly recommend it. So much natural beauty, and still a warm and fuzzy memory, five years later...

[Lyncruiser]

Been to both -- Trunk Bay is better. Why? Not nearly so many people there, much cleaner and more pristine and a great underwater snorkel trail for beginners.

[texancruzer]

Altho Magens was voted one of the top ten beaches of the world.... that was a while ago.... even Frommers stated "it is looking tired".....

 

We also took taxi to Red Hook, ferry to Cruz Bay and then taxi to

Trunk.... beautiful island. It is 2/3 National Park and therefore much more pristine than STT. I would love to go back for a land vacation at some point and explore the whole island !!!! We headed over first thing in the morning and not many people there when we got there.... as we were leaving about 1:30 more people began arriving. But not "crowded".

 

Also - don't miss a burger at Woody's....in Cruz Bay right down from the ferry landing..... great burgers and real cold beer (which tasted really good after a few hours at the beach and snorkling :p )

[Welshlady]

We stopped at St Thomas's 2 years ago and visited Magens Bay by a local taxi. We just got off the ship and there were loads of taxis/buses etc waiting to take you wherever. We jumped on a 12 seater (approx) opensided minibus type taxi. he took us and a few others from the ship over to Magens bay and agreed to come back for us 4 hours later. He was there waiting when we came up from the beach and then stopped at the top of the hill at the lookout for us to take pictures over St Thomas and our cruise ship. It was really beautiful at the bay, with pelicans diving in the water around us! Very clean and plenty of room for everyone to have their space. It was one of the highlights of our cruise and I'd love to go back there. it only cost us a few dollars each too!

[vacationhappy]

Trunk Bay hands down. We just went t Magen's Bay last August and we were very disappointed...my kids asked "Why did we choose this beach? Why didn't we just take the boat to the other one?"

 

I was wondering the same thing ;-)

[GulfCoastCruiser]

:) Not been to Magen's Bay, but have been to Trunk Bay twice and I can't imagine a more beautiful place. Snorkeling is great there - we're not experienced snorkelers so it was just perfect for us. Both times we've been there we've not felt crowded, although going on the RCCL excursion does limit your time there. The ferry ride was a bit rough, but certainly didn't adversely affect my husband or me. Guess it just depends on your tendency towards seasickness.

[Sheik]

If I were you, I would go to Coki Beach, Sapphire Beach and Magens Bay. We had a superb day in St. Thomas. Especially Coki and Sapphire are wonderful, but I think you have to see Magens Bay. It was very beautiful in March this year. Do this beach first and choose one of the other 2 beaches to enjoy in the afternoon. Magens Bay is pretty crowded around 1pm. On the other hand, Magens Bay is a very long beach, so there are a lot of spots where no one is disturbing you.