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Just wanted to drop a note to any prospective visitors to St Thomas who want to have a great day on the beach.
In April of 2007 my family (daughter 12 Son 11 and wife) had one of the best beach days in all our visits to the Caribbean.
We spent the day as a local on Cocki Beach and the place was perfect if you want to just relax and enjoy great snorkeling. The beach is not touristy other then the visitors to Coral World. You rent chairs for $10 umbrellas for $20 with local guides setting them up for you on the beach (a small tip is expected). There are local ladies walking the beach selling food and drink from two food shacks. We had chicken fingers and mahi fish sandwich with fries for lunch.
The food was fresh and hot.
Pack a few snacks from the ship and save on lunch. We brought our own snorkel gear and left our items on the beach as we played on one of the most secluded yet small beaches on the island. Your personal belongings are safe and the locals seem to take pride in that fact. As for snorkeling you should venture to the right side ( near Coral World)of the beach and snorkel along the reef. this is the same area that tours from Coral World pay good money to watch the schools of fish that you're are enjoying for free.
Taxis cost aprox $40 for all four people from the dock to the beach and when you are ready there is an area to clean off and a taxi will take you back to the ship.
hey Brett
You must have been the only cruise ship in that day-LOL
Everytime we go the beach is just packed to the water with Cruise ship people
you must have went on a really good slow day
Not touristy? I only go to Coki when there are no cruise ships in town... otherwise that beach gets PACKED. You're right about it offering some amazing snorkeling though. Great place to teach kids to snorkel too...
The first time I was there a man was walking the beach with Mango Daquirris (YUM YUM YUM!) and he was the funniest person I saw the whole trip. He kept pointing at people asking them if they were "ready to comply" and things like that. It was just a great time and a beautiful beach.
Mmmmmm - mango daquiris!
Funniest thing I've ever seen on Coki was when we were sitting down on the "aromatic" portion of the beach (where the ganja is - this was before we realized it was the ganja section that day) and this woman comes out of the little hut behind us - obviously she had been eagerly enjoying the aromas. She stood next to us in a kind of daze and just keep turning in slow circles like she was looking for someone. My son was amused and asked her if she was looking for something - she said "yes, the water!". We all pointed to the bay, as though she was absolutely normal in not having been able to see an entire bay that was 10 feet away. She thanked us and went to sit at thewater's edge.
Strangest thing was that once there were a large group of visitors (I guess off of a ship, maybe from europe) and they were all topless on Coki. Nobody bothered them or asked them to put their tops back on. There were a lot of them.....so it made Coki look like a generally topless beach.
There's also a strolling beach waiter on Coki who seems to actually be psychic. For no charge, he sometimes tells his patrons something about their lives - and people seem truly amazed at the detail he can give.
You can definitely be entertained all day on Coki.
I still recall the days before Coral World - when the ships didn't come and the beach was relatively deserted anytime. One little hut sold beer and Johnny Cake. As a child, it was my favorite beach. I would pay dearly for a trip back to that point in time.
We all loved Cocki (ooops Coki). It's a fun time and the people are nice. Just have to relax a little bit and get in the island feel. The Mailman is a good place to get some sandwiches and snacks. Snorkeling is great there, but be aware. If you go out too far, it's tough to get back in. We had an incident with one guy in our party and I played lifeguard getting him back in. Ripped off my vest (i'm a good swimmer) and did the side stroke with him.
Also Thore (oops Thor) is there and he's a character.
I wonder if the water wasn't rough that day or something. I've swam waaaaay out (above and under water) and I've found it to be one of the calmest places to snorkel. Now waterlemon is a different story... I just about went under there.
Parrot...we were over by the left and it was just that current was pretty strong, keeping us from getting back in easily. Going out was a breeze, didn't realize it was the current pushing us out there faster.
But you're right. Whenever we went to Coki, we never had a problem.
Other than getting our car broken into -- we loved Coki! It was very "entertaining" there - - much to see/gawk as others have mentioned. Good first time snorkel experience for the kids too. My only bit of advice - - take a taxi here or wait for a spot to park close to the beach. DO NOT PARK on the road leading up to the beach. Unless you have a penchant for broken glass....
