That will be tough. My wife and I were in your same shoes several years ago. We did Magens on a cruise stop (not enough time to get to St. John and back), and decided we needed to come back for a week and stay on STT. That was ten years ago, we have been back 6 times since, for a week or more at a time, and are coming back 1/18/12 staying:-) at Three Palms Villa. We spend a couple days on STT, but take jeeps over to STJ 3-4 days to hit all beaches etc. That is the way to do it...from a Michigander!8-)

We are at St. Thomas from 11-7. Do you think that won't allow enough time to head over to St. John? I was looking at the ferry schedule but wasn't sure which beach we would go to from there. Have you ever visited Sapphire? I hear great things about it but not sure how crowded it gets compared to Magens. I would imagine not as crowded. I'm guessing if we stay on St. Thomas, we can just taxi on our own to Sapphire and maybe another beach (Coki?) and even have time to a little downtown shopping later?

If this is your first time you should take one of the "2 hour" island tours that include beach time. It's the best way to see what St Thomas has to offer.

There's always a section of Magens that won't be crowded, but it'll be farthest from the restaurant and bathrooms. I see so many people recommending Sapphire online, that it's only a matter of time before it gets crowded, too, I think. But if you want to snorkel, Sapphire is the better choice over Magens. Your tour guide can drop you at either beach.

Check for Papa Bear's availability at http://WWW.havefunwithus.net for tour info.

BTW, there is time to go to STJ, but it would be a rush on your schedule.

We've done the St. John trip while on a cruise about 10 years ago, but we were in St. Thomas from 7:00 AM until 6:00 PM. So getting back and forth was not a problem. Since you're only there for 8 hours you'll be pushing it.

Coki & Sapphire are nice beaches, but they do get crowded....especially with 5 ships in. However, since you're getting into port rather late, most cruisers will probably be leaving the beaches as you arrive at them.

IMHO, Coki has better snorkeling than Sapphire. Sapphire has a better (larger) beach.

Have a great trip.

F.I.

ms411 wrote:
If this is your first time you should take one of the "2 hour" island tours that include beach time. It's the best way to see what St Thomas has to offer.

There's always a section of Magens that won't be crowded, but it'll be farthest from the restaurant and bathrooms. I see so many people recommending Sapphire online, that it's only a matter of time before it gets crowded, too, I think. But if you want to snorkel, Sapphire is the better choice over Magens. Your tour guide can drop you at either beach.

Check for Papa Bear's availability at http://WWW.havefunwithus.net for tour info.

BTW, there is time to go to STJ, but it would be a rush on your schedule.

I checked the link but their tours are too early (9am) since we get in at 11am. Is it just as easy to catch a taxi to/from the beaches? I'm thinking maybe we check out 2 or 3 of the beaches? And maybe a little shopping if we have time?

Future Islander wrote:
We've done the St. John trip while on a cruise about 10 years ago, but we were in St. Thomas from 7:00 AM until 6:00 PM. So getting back and forth was not a problem. Since you're only there for 8 hours you'll be pushing it.

Coki & Sapphire are nice beaches, but they do get crowded....especially with 5 ships in. However, since you're getting into port rather late, most cruisers will probably be leaving the beaches as you arrive at them.

IMHO, Coki has better snorkeling than Sapphire. Sapphire has a better (larger) beach.

Have a great trip.

F.I.

So it sounds like it wouldn't be very relaxing rushing to St. John on an excursion. Plus, it would be nice to get a feel for St. Thomas. Is it 'do-able' to cover Coki and Sapphire? Will it be good for the kids? It sounds like taxis are available at the port and beaches to hop to/from. As you can probably tell, I'm not big on the crowds or feeling like cattle being herded on pre-planned excursions. So any insider tips you have, feel free to share! 🙂

Try one beach.....after all you're supposed to be relaxing, not running around.

Coki & Sapphire are not too far apart (not walkable)......but you may have trouble finding a taxi driver to do that since most of them would rather take you back to the ship. Taxis are expensive here. I believe that the fare from the port to either Coki or Sapphire is $13 each, each way (that's $26 R/T per person on a 20 to 25 passenger vehicle).

Be sure to save some time for shopping at Havensight.

Once you've experienced our beautiful island.....bring the family back for a weeks vacation and enjoy more of St. Thomas and St. John.

F.I.

Most of the tour operators show 9 am tour times since most ships are here by 8. Send an email anyway and see what he says.

If he can't accommodate you, we can suggest others. Sometimes you get a chance to see more than one beach if others on the tour want a different beach.

Which port will you be in on STT? If it's Crown Bay you might consider taking the ferry to Water Island and going to Honeymoon Beach. The ferry is a five minute walk from the dock and it's less than a ten minute walk to the beach on the Water Island side (with a good size hill in both directions FYI). There may be a couple of cruise ship excursions but they usually only stay about 2 hours. By taking the ferry you could be there the whole day and when the excursions leave you will have the place virtually to yourself. The snorkeling isn't great (I've been told - it's not my thing) but if you're looking for a quiet beach, this is your best bet.

warmweatherfan wrote:
Which port will you be in on STT? If it's Crown Bay you might consider taking the ferry to Water Island and going to Honeymoon Beach. The ferry is a five minute walk from the dock and it's less than a ten minute walk to the beach on the Water Island side (with a good size hill in both directions FYI). There may be a couple of cruise ship excursions but they usually only stay about 2 hours. By taking the ferry you could be there the whole day and when the excursions leave you will have the place virtually to yourself. The snorkeling isn't great (I've been told - it's not my thing) but if you're looking for a quiet beach, this is your best bet.

I believe we're on WICO...does that sound correct? I'm thinking we may do a sail/catamaran excursion on St. Martin so we def need some good beach and snorkeling time on St. Thomas.

ms411 wrote:
Most of the tour operators show 9 am tour times since most ships are here by 8. Send an email anyway and see what he says.

If he can't accommodate you, we can suggest others. Sometimes you get a chance to see more than one beach if others on the tour want a different beach.

Email sent! 🙂 It looks like they may do personal tours? Maybe that's the way to go. I'll wait to see their response. Thanks!

UPDATE: They responded and are booked that day. They did recommend SunnyListonFunTours...any feedback on them?

Future Islander wrote:
Try one beach.....after all you're supposed to be relaxing, not running around.

Coki & Sapphire are not too far apart (not walkable)......but you may have trouble finding a taxi driver to do that since most of them would rather take you back to the ship. Taxis are expensive here. I believe that the fare from the port to either Coki or Sapphire is $13 each, each way (that's $26 R/T per person on a 20 to 25 passenger vehicle).

Be sure to save some time for shopping at Havensight.

Once you've experienced our beautiful island.....bring the family back for a weeks vacation and enjoy more of St. Thomas and St. John.

F.I.

I hear you...we battle between relaxing and trying to see as much as we can (the type A in me) since our time is limited...lol. I checked this site and the rates show $10 to Sapphire and $9 to Coki from Charlotte Amalie. Should we be prepared to negotiate with drivers or do they need to adhere to these rates? I hate to sound naive but is Havensight in walking distance? I know there are a few shopping districts and haven't mapped them out yet. Trying to familiarize myself quickly! 🙂

I hear you...we battle between relaxing and trying to see as much as we can (the type A in me) since our time is limited...lol. I checked this site and the rates show $10 to Sapphire and $9 to Coki from Charlotte Amalie. Should we be prepared to negotiate with drivers or do they need to adhere to these rates? I hate to sound naive but is Havensight in walking distance? I know there are a few shopping districts and haven't mapped them out yet. Trying to familiarize myself quickly! 🙂

Yes, you can walk to Havensight. I have done both beaches and I think that you may find Coki more interesting for your children. Are you aware of the Coral World portion of the beach? I liked Sapphire, but I thought the beach area was more rough, compared to Coki which has soft sand. This is just my personal preference. When we stay we used the public transportation which cost $2 each ( i think) ride, for the entire week. Check this link out for info on Coral World.
http://www.coralworldvi.com/coki-snorkel-package.html

Hope this helps 🙂

I would agree... if you only have 8 hours then STJ would be a rush. Megan's in STT is probably your best bet. it's easy to get to, there is transportation to and from on a frequent basis and the family will enjoy it. They also have facilities there.

If you do decide on STJ you'll be spending an hour each way travelling & waiting and the ferry's aren't always on time.You'll spend another hour on STJ catching a ride & getting to a beach and back. Only one of the beaches has food so you may want to pack a lunch.

Next time come and stay a while and visit STJ for a day. You'll be glad you did

Here's another tour guide, Henry, who consistently gets EXCELLENT reviews, and he offers a TWO BEACH TOUR!

http://www.eeetours.com/ratesroutes.html

Sunny Liston is good, but his reviews are not as consistently good as Papa Bear and Henry. Sunny teaches his passengers a Caribbean song that they sing along the way. Lots of people like it, but some people find it annoying so they reflect that in their review. Papa Bear and Henry usually stop somewhere to show you local plants and fruits and let you sample, and I've never heard that Sunny does that.

Your cruise ship will dock at either the West Indies Dock (Havensight) or Crown Bay.

Coki does have Coral World next door.....so the kids may like that.

There are "facilities" at both Sapphire and Coki.....Sapphire has a kiosk for food and beverages.

Of course Megans has very nice facilities.

If the type A in you needs to see everything.....then yes, you could visit Coki, Sapphire and then onto Havensight for shopping.

As for negotiating with the taxi drivers.......I doubt it, but you could try.

For exact taxi fares from Havensight or Crown Bay to either Coki or Sapphire, perhaps someone else on this board may be able to provide the rate they paid.

But be very careful.......8 years ago we came to this beautiful island on a cruise ship stop and wound up buying a condo.......

Happy New Year.

F.I.

Your ship is at the WICO dock which is in Havensight, There are scores of shops all around between the Havensight Mall which is steps from your ship, the adjacent Port of Sale, the Yacht Haven Grande Marina next door and the Al Cohen's Mall across the street. Also right across the street is the Paradise Point Tramway which offers a scenic panorama at the top along with a restaurant, bar and several more shops.

On a multi ship day, both Coki and Magens (I wish all you posters would spell the latter properly!) will be very busy but Magens definitely has it over Coki as the beach is a mile long and there is always some quiet space. Coki can be a madhouse with all the vendors fighting with each other for customers! . The only drawback to Magens (which is a glorious beach with full facilities) is that the snorkeling is very limited/ It's a bit of a hard call to steer you away from Magens - the water is beautiful for swimming, there are kayak rentals, a great hiking trail where the kids can enjoy seeing mongooses, iguanas and all sorts of local birds ... Sapphire is less crowded and does have very good snorkeling. Here's the webcam there to give you a little taste of it:

http://www.sapphireinthesun.com/

You were pretty much spot on about the taxi rates - the schedule posted on this site is the official one but it's always a good idea to know the official rate and then ask anyway!

Whatever you decide to do I think everyone will be happy whether Type A or Type B. Enjoy!

As far as St Martin, I wanted to do this coastal hiking tour when I went to St Martin in Sept, but my companion wanted to do something else. I'll probably do it when I go there next year. I think this excursion is offered on some of the ships.

http://www.twinislandexcursions.com/cmsengine.asp?pageid=Coastalhiking

I think we're pretty sure that we'll forgo STJ (as much as it pains me because I heard that the beaches and snorkeling are the best there) unless we book an excursion through the ship. But I think I'd rather stick with STT and the local beaches. I know everyone talks about Magens Bay but I think we really want the option of snorkeling. So, I'm leaning towards heading to Sapphire and if we have time or want to, we can try and get a taxi to Coki. As a reviewer mentioned, will this be difficult since it's not heading back to the port? Also, the fares I looked at are on this website and I thought I read that they were set by the Commission. I've seen people quote many prices which is why I asked if it varies from taxi to taxi or negotiable.

I love the idea of Coral World! And if we had a week on the island, I would definately do it. But we are very big beach and water goers so the limited time we have on the island I would like to spend it exploring the land/water.

I can easily see booking a week long time here...so much to do! Thank you all for your feedback! It's so valuable!