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Hi! We'll be on the Adventure in early March and have about 8 hours or so in STT. Have been there before, don't need to shop, but love the natural side of the islands. Have heard alot about both Buck Island and the CoralWorld/Coki Beach combo. Which would have the better snorkeling? Does Coki Beach get very crowded? (I believe there will be only 3 ships in port the day we're there) We have our own gear, so rental is not a problem. We're underwhelmed by the excursions offered by the ship, but want not to waste any time just wandering around. Or would we be better off on St John? Is the snorkeling over there significantly better - worth the time/expense of the ferry ride? Hubby's a little nervous about the ferry - he gets seasick pretty easily.
Is there any good birding on the island? I know the mongoose population has decimated most indigenous birds, but as an avid birder, I would love to see what STT has to offer, if anything.
Also, if we go to a beach on our own, ie Coki, how safe are your belongings that you leave on shore while snorkeling? (like a camera, for instance)
Thanks for your help!
We were at Coki beach its wall to wall people.
Buck island is off of St Croix so it is at least 2 hours away and 2 hours back. I don't think you will have enough time (cruise ships are lousy in that respect).
Probably the best thing for you to do is to take a daysail from St Thomas. Doesn't matter the destination, they will probably stop somewhere for snorkeling, and it probably won't be too overcrowded.
Lou - there are two Buck Islands in the USVI, one off of St. Croix, and one off of St. Thomas. Birdnutty is referring to the one off of St. Thomas.
Hello,
Buck Island sail and snorkeling excursion goes to the Buck Island off of St. Thomas as Dominic mentioned and is a really nice option. Coral World/Coki is a good choice as well but definately different then a day of sailing. You can not do it all 🙂 - plan a week vacation here and you can - so choose which type of day you want to spend; on land or on the sea. Ferrying to St. John is definately worth is - its really a great place to visit and the snorkeling there is very good - but you will spend at least an hour each way getting there and getting back between taxing to Red Hook ferry (which would be best for your hubby since its a shorter ferry ride) and then the ferry ride and then another taxi to the beach... so if you don't want to spend that amount of time getting to where you wanna go then choose something on St. Thomas that you can get to quicker or the sailing excusion.
Good Birding - I hear that the Francis Bay Trail on St. John offers fair-good oppurtunities to bird watch in the surrounding mangrove environment. You could contact the National Park service and get more info. Check
https://www.vinow.com/stjohn/nationalpark/
If you go to Coki, keep your personal items in a beach bag or covered by a towel - just out of direct sight - should be ok (I have heard of things disappearing though from time to time).
--Islander
Thank you all for your help. Still haven't decided, and am having some trouble finding lists of private companies (not cruise line exsursion companies) to check out. Is there a page where I can find which excursions are offered in ST Thomas & ST John?
Thanks again.
I don't know about Buck Island but with Coki idea you just need to get off the ship and hail a taxi. It's that easy.
Hello,
Jeff is right for Coki or St. John you can do it on your own just by taking a taxi to the necessary locations... a taxi from the dock to Coki OR a taxi from the dock to the St. John ferry dock area.
For the Buck Island excursion - these are almost entirely cruise ship trips - Buck Island is the relatively close to where the ships dock so is an easy trip. There are lots of other sailing charters - many of which head out to areas around St. John - they might be worth considering as you would get a little two excursions you are considering (sailing, snorkeling, St. John) in one. You can read about other sailing excursion at
https://www.vinow.com/stthomas/SandL/
--Islander
