Sapphire Beach is the most beautiful beach on STT. However one of the resorts, Sapphire Beach Resort, has closed all of its resturants and bars and has left only the Dive In shop that rents water equipment. However all is not lost. There is a small hamburger joint between the band C buildings and there are some locals selling drinks and chips and stuff. So you can enjoy the beach and get some of the food you want.

As far as a taxi there are more then you will ever need. Just say Sapphire Beach. There are cabs at the resort that will take you back. Or you could sign up on the boat for the day trip to Sapphire. It will cost more but you will get everything you need.

Good luck!

billd

Where are you staying on St. Thomas? Sapphire Beach is beautiful, clean, calm with good snorkeling. When we go to beaches on St. Thomas we pack a cooler. There is shade that you can sit under and you can also rent chairs there if you don't have them.

Another beach you may want to go is Coki. Really good snorkeling and plenty of vendors for food and drinks on the beach.

If you want a nice beach to spend time with the family try Secret Harbor and the Blue Moon Cafe. It has everything you're looking for.

We are coming in on the Carnival Freedom for the day. Is Coki a safe beach? We have heard about locals selling drugs right on the beach. We don't want any involvement with this-traveling with two children. We want to feel safe. That is why I was not considering Coki, although it looks beautiful also. We felt Sapphire would be safer since we had not heard any "drug" situations on this beach.
What are your thoughts about Coki and the safety?
Thanks so much.

BillT,
Thanks for the information about Sapphire. Someone also recommended Secret Harbour-what are your thoughts between Sapphire and Secret Harbour? My hubby thought Secret Harbour looked more "rocky" and Sapphire looked like it had more cleared areas in the water for our yougest(he loves to snorkel by rocks too) but like to relax in the sandy areas. I'm assumming snorkeling is great at both beaches. I understand SH has the Blue Moon Cafe-and I'm hoping there is some sandwiches or hotdogs at the "hamburger shack"-youngest won't eat hamburgers...go figure??? Coki was recommended, but we have heard it was not "safe". We appreciate your thought between these recommended beaches. Should we play it safe and go to Sapphire??
Thanks so much!

vi_bound wrote:
If you want a nice beach to spend time with the family try Secret Harbor and the Blue Moon Cafe. It has everything you're looking for.

Can you tell me more about SH? Looks a little rocky near shoreline. I know thats great for snorkeling, but are there some clear sandy parts to the beach? My youngest sometimes likes to stay in the sandy part when we venture out to snorkel near rocks-he often comes with us, but likes some clear sandy areas just to hang out...boys??? How deep is the water if you venture further out? Older son will need a snorkel vest if its over his head-he's 15 other is 11. How about food at the cafe? Can you eat on the deck or "take" back to where your sitting? Are there sandwich options? LIke chicken, hotdog, turkey, hamburger,fries ,or salads??Picky boys... Just asking since we would have to bring all gear with us. Would it be safe to keep on beach? Also, is it easy to get taxi back to Havensight cruise port? If we are "day guests" do we just walk onto the beach or do we have to get a wristband of some sort? Just asking...sorry about all the questions. 🙂
Resort looks really nice-just want to be sure "day guests" are welcomed. Are we able to rent a chair? Bathrooms??Thanks so much. One more thing...how long would it take to get to Havensight to SH? Thanks again!

I am biased to sapphire. i own two units at crystal cove and a home right above sapphire. i find it to be the best compromise. good wind, snorkeling, tress, views etc.

if you go to cokie you will see that it a local beach. but the water is real good.

It is just that the food options are not good at Sapphire.

All things equal I would go to sapphire.

billd

billd wrote:
I am biased to sapphire. i own two units at crystal cove and a home right above sapphire. i find it to be the best compromise. good wind, snorkeling, tress, views etc.

if you go to cokie you will see that it a local beach. but the water is real good.

It is just that the food options are not good at Sapphire.

All things equal I would go to sapphire.

billd

Thanks billd for your honest opinion! We are looking forward to our cruise with our boys-we went to St John for a few hours last time-would love to go again...but hubby thinks its a lot of ferry/taxi/ferry/taxi and he's worried about missing the ship! So...we were thinking about spending the day snorkeling on St Thomas. Sapphire sounds good-I'll be sure boys eat well before we get off 🙂 Do you rent your units? Just asking-hubby and I may want to return by ourselves either to St John or St Thomas with or without the boys...we'll see how this trip goes 🙂 Thanks for your help! Hope the weather is calm for us in August!

I'm a big fan of Sapphire but also of Secret Harbour. As far as your questions about SH are concerned, the sand is beautiful there (no rocks) and the snorkeling excellent. The Blue Moon Cafe serves very good lunches with a variety of sandwiches, burgers, salads and suchlike sure to please your children and you eat "al fresco" there, very comfortably and right on the water,. The beach is open to the public, no wristbands or anything else required and there is an excellent dive shop (Aqua Action) right on the beach from which you can rent snorkel equipment if you don't want to lug yours around. They'll tell you the best spots for snorkeling and are delightful people. Easy to get a taxi from there to return to the ship and you can always pre-arrange with a taxi driver to pick you up. Timewise, about the same from Havensight to both Sapphire and Secret Harbour.

Enjoy your cruise and especially have a wonderful day on St Thomas. Cheers!

STT Resident wrote:
I'm a big fan of Sapphire but also of Secret Harbour. As far as your questions about SH are concerned, the sand is beautiful there (no rocks) and the snorkeling excellent. The Blue Moon Cafe serves very good lunches with a variety of sandwiches, burgers, salads and suchlike sure to please your children and you eat "al fresco" there, very comfortably and right on the water,. The beach is open to the public, no wristbands or anything else required and there is an excellent dive shop (Aqua Action) right on the beach from which you can rent snorkel equipment if you don't want to lug yours around. They'll tell you the best spots for snorkeling and are delightful people. Easy to get a taxi from there to return to the ship and you can always pre-arrange with a taxi driver to pick you up. Timewise, about the same from Havensight to both Sapphire and Secret Harbour.

Enjoy your cruise and especially have a wonderful day on St Thomas. Cheers!

Thanks so much for the info on Secret Harbour-sorry...I thought it looked rocky from pictures. What I meant was a "rocky" entrance into the water, but I thank you for letting us know it is sandy. Thanks for answering all my questions about the food. 🙂 Sounds wonderful!! Can I ask if you think we would need to rent a snorkel vest? Is the water very deep, or is it shallow to snorkel. Deep to me is over 15ft, I have used vests when its this deep. I know my kids would want them. I thank you again for all your help. Now we need to make a decision...
Either way, we'll have a wonderful day!

The Aqua Action folks at SH will direct you according to your capability but you won't be in deep water unless you go quite a way out. You can rent snorkel vests there. You can check out their website at www.aadivers.com and contact them for more info. Have a great time!

I was embarrassed by the whole situation at Coki a few months ago when I took a friend on a STT beach tour and the dirtiness,tackiness, and pestering vendors have made me vow to avoid the whole place until it is razed and cleaned up. And I used to love the local atmosphere there - but bussing in 100's of daytripping sheeple has turned it into an ugly annoying scene.
Go to Sapphire - the next sacrificial lamb.

STT Resident wrote:
The Aqua Action folks at SH will direct you according to your capability but you won't be in deep water unless you go quite a way out. You can rent snorkel vests there. You can check out their website at www.aadivers.com and contact them for more info. Have a great time!

Thank you, you have been most helpful!

exit zero wrote:
I was embarrassed by the whole situation at Coki a few months ago when I took a friend a STT beach tour and the dirtiness,tackiness, and pestering vendors have made me vow to avoid the whole plce until it is razed and cleaned up. And I used to love the local atmosphere there - but bussing in 100's of daytripping sheeple has turned it into an ugly annoying scene.
Go to Sapphire - the next sacrificial lamb.

So sad to hear this....I hope Sapphire will not become the next "Coki" beach. So sorry to hear about this. I had heard of the pestering vendors and other things. I don't want to have to worry about this when I'm trying to relax and enjoy a beach day with my family. I appreciate your help.

We recently returned from St. Thomas (July 4th)... Sapphire currently has a rocky entrance into the water - but once you get past the rocks it is great! We snorkeled and enjoyed ourselves. It was a bit windy (waves) - but great for sailboarders! I did not see any "public" restroom facilities. The guys renting the beach chairs ($7 each per day) will drag your chair(s) to you.
We stopped at Secret Harbour - we did not have the time to swim/snorkel in it - but the water was much calmer and there was a restaurant (The Blue Moon) onsite. I did not see any "public" restroom facilities. I don't know about chair rentals.
Both beaches looked really nice to us - we would return to either beach in a heartbeat.
Megans Bay is gorgeous - calm waters and full service showers, restrooms, snack bar. It does charge $5 per person - but well worth it. There is also a gal that does bar service on the beach. Tip her well - she has a job I would not want for a million bucks!! The rum slushies are to die for 🙂
Not knowing the ages of your children - if they are younger and you don't want them knocked around with the waves - I would go to Magen's or Secret Harbour.
If you find you have the time to ferry over to St. John - Trunk Bay is a must. It is beautiful also with an underwater trail that you can follow while snorkeling. It is full service with a $5 per person charge for restrooms, showers, snack & beverage bar.
All said - as adults only, we can handle the rocks and waves, we will stay at Sapphire Bay in a condo the next trip we make to USVI.
Enjoy!

I second everything STT Resident said about Secret Harbor. You can contact the dive shop there about rentals of equipment etc. and Blue Moon regarding their menu.

talkintx wrote:
We recently returned from St. Thomas (July 4th)... Sapphire currently has a rocky entrance into the water - but once you get past the rocks it is great! We snorkeled and enjoyed ourselves. It was a bit windy (waves) - but great for sailboarders! I did not see any "public" restroom facilities. The guys renting the beach chairs ($7 each per day) will drag your chair(s) to you.
We stopped at Secret Harbour - we did not have the time to swim/snorkel in it - but the water was much calmer and there was a restaurant (The Blue Moon) onsite. I did not see any "public" restroom facilities. I don't know about chair rentals.
Both beaches looked really nice to us - we would return to either beach in a heartbeat.
Megans Bay is gorgeous - calm waters and full service showers, restrooms, snack bar. It does charge $5 per person - but well worth it. There is also a gal that does bar service on the beach. Tip her well - she has a job I would not want for a million bucks!! The rum slushies are to die for 🙂
Not knowing the ages of your children - if they are younger and you don't want them knocked around with the waves - I would go to Magen's or Secret Harbour.
If you find you have the time to ferry over to St. John - Trunk Bay is a must. It is beautiful also with an underwater trail that you can follow while snorkeling. It is full service with a $5 per person charge for restrooms, showers, snack & beverage bar.
All said - as adults only, we can handle the rocks and waves, we will stay at Sapphire Bay in a condo the next trip we make to USVI.

Thanks so much for all the great info on both Sapphire and Secret Harbour. Our boys are 11 and 15-they can handle waves, but prefer calm for snorkeling. They are at the age that they want to be in the water looking for turtles and fish, and then they'll want food! They would probably love either beach. We just wanted to choose the one that had nice clear water, and not too many rocks to walk through. They like being able to swim and touch down in sand, not rocks. Two years ago, we did go over to Trunk Bay. We loved it! Our two boys snorkeled all the way out with us-it was unbelievable. This time, we thought we would try staying for the full day on St.Thomas so we don't have to rush back with the ferry/taxi on our mind. Although we did a cruise excursion to Trunk Bay last time, this time we had considered trying to do on our own. Hubby still worries about missing ship! So...that is why we thought we would relax on either Sapphire or Secret Harbour.
We heard Magens was not good for snorkeling-so we really wanted to go to either Sapphire of SH since they had good reviews.
Is the water very clear at SH? Or is it clearer at Sapphire? Since you snorkeled at Sapphire-what are the depths your snorkeled? Does it drop off slightly or drastically from the shoreline? We didn't know if we needed to rent vests or not. Do they rent vests at Sapphire? I know there is a dive shop at Secret Harbour-I;m sure they rent vests. I'm not sure if we need them. In St John we used them since the water was really deep where we went! Thanks for all your help! Glad to hear you had a great trip!
Enjoy!

Just a general comment about roughness of the water. This has to do with the direction and speed of the wind. Usually the wind is out of the east at 10- 15 knots, However, it can vary. If it is more northerly, some of the northern beaches will see more wave action. If more southerly, some of the southern beaches will be more stirred up. If you are at a beach and it is too rough, try one on the opposite side of the island! 🙂

In general, Magens is popular because it is fairly protected, has a gradual slope, making it a perfect beach for families.

Sapphire was a gradual drop - the rocks and waves were at the shoreline. Once you get past those - it was all clear. The water was very clear and my husband estimates the depth through the corals to have been 2-10 foot. But we are certainly not experts in those matters. There was an approx 5 ft green eel out there when we were there!
My suggestion - try both beaches - they are but a taxi hail away 🙂
On a side note - we do recall seeing taxi drivers waiting at Sapphire - but we don't recall seeing any taxi's waiting on customers at SH - if you visit there you may need to make prior arrangements to hail a taxi - or surely the dive shop or restaurant would do it for you.
Enjoy!