ms411 wrote:
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

Love the idea of hiking! We hike here in NY...lots of beautiful sites. But with two younger kids (10 and 5), I think we're leaning towards a sailaway snorkel and land excursion on St. Martin. LOVE the beach and water! 🙂

Please let us know how the hike goes if you decide to do it!

STT Resident wrote:
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!

Thanks so much for your feedback! I think we may start with Sapphire (we get in port at 11am) and then try and head over to Magens (since most of the other ships will be departing earlier than us). My only concern is getting a taxi that will take us from Sapphire to Magens. Hope this isn't a problem. We were reading up on the history of St. Thomas and would really like to visit Magens...just not spend the entire time there as snorkeling is important for our kids. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you!

There's also a hiking trail at Magens. You can see it here:

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1044344

You may be able to get a cab to Magens, because the drivers have a good chance of picking up passengers that want to go back to the ship from Magens, But, I think it's going to depend on how many people will be looking to go back to the ship and how many taxis are waiting when you're ready to leave.

ms411 wrote:
There's also a hiking trail at Magens. You can see it here:

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1044344

You may be able to get a cab to Magens, because the drivers have a good chance of picking up passengers that want to go back to the ship from Magens, But, I think it's going to depend on how many people will be looking to go back to the ship and how many taxis are waiting when you're ready to leave.

So playing it by ear sounds like the name of the game. It would be nice to visit Magens and some of the sites everyone talks about but we'll just have to see. 🙂

dano50 wrote:
i stayed at sapphire & the last day i was there 3 cruise ships in port & i thought it was busy. you will have a great time at sapphire however if you take a cab $15 max each way (no bags) to red hook ,ferrys run about every hour (20 min ride) then a $9 each way cab to trunk bay would be fantastic! just my 2 cents. ps i think the ferry was $12 round trip. have an excellent time whatever you chose.

RCCL has an excursion to Trunk Bay that I was very tempted to book. And to do on our own, I have to multiply everything times 4 (2 kids and a hubby). So I think simple is the name of the game with such limited time (8 hours or less). Guess we will just have to book a trip back to STT for a week or more so we can cover everything! 😀

ms411 wrote:
There's also a hiking trail at Magens. You can see it here:

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1044344

You may be able to get a cab to Magens, because the drivers have a good chance of picking up passengers that want to go back to the ship from Magens, But, I think it's going to depend on how many people will be looking to go back to the ship and how many taxis are waiting when you're ready to leave.

Thanks for the link! Just wondering, would it be easier to hit Magens first THEN Sapphire? Would my chances of getting a taxi be better? I was hoping to at least stop at one of the sites/lookouts such as Mountain Top, etc. Maybe we're trying to squeeze too much in?

That's why I think you should do a tour so you can do a little bit of several sites - a harbor scenic lookout, Mountain Top, Magens, Sapphire, and shop at Havensight. You won't have time for a stop in town, though.

ms411 wrote:
That's why I think you should do a tour so you can do a little bit of several sites - a harbor scenic lookout, Mountain Top, Magens, Sapphire, and shop at Havensight. You won't have time for a stop in town, though.

@ ms411, thanks so much for the suggestions. They really are appreciated! I've contacted Henry and am trying to obtain some details about a tour. :@)

You're welcome. If Henry doesn't work out, I'll recommend someone else.

I'm Type A when I'm on vacation, too, because I want to see everything, so I can relate. I like all day tours or two tours in a port.