Bluwater, I haven't been to all the beaches on STT but if I may loosely compare Honeymoon Beach/Water island to a miniature Magen's Beach - sandy bottom, small and gradual slope into deeper water, calm, clean and clear. Marked swimming area with a large swim platform (definitely do-able even for the novice swimmer who might want to float out on a noodle) with a ladder. Great place to just float on a raft. Ahhhhhh- -- - - - I wanna be there NOW! There are some interesting snorkel areas to the left around the point and to the right along the rocks.

Beach & sand kept clean by a company that comes out periodically to rake and remove cigg butts and other discarded trash. Residents are vigilent about keeping the beach clean on a regular basis. No souvenir shops but you can buy a Heidi Honeymoon Grill drink coozie from Heidi - as well as great food & drinks. Joe's Beach Bar serves up music and frozen drinks. You do have to bring your own chairs and beach toys. There are picnic tables and palapas around Heidi's. Then, there's the beach pavillions and then Joe's Beach Bar who has umbrella tables & chairs.

Miniature Magan's except for the crowd. There is NO crowd on the weekdays......you likely will be there by yourself in the morning - very quiet, very peaceful. Small lunch crowd (residents and workers mostly) between noon and two. If there are cruise ships in town, Heidi does the catering on Honeymoon Beach for them. Usually a group of 20 - 30 folks come in on Bones and Atlantis certain days of the week. Saturday and Sundays have more people - mostly residents - but still, NOT crowded.

Blu,

A large party barge full of lubricated cruise ship passengers used to stop there but that barge has since been denied permits to continue operating and I don't know if the void has been filled. The beach is clean and uncrowded but I find the sand to be substantially coarser than Magens.

Hi folks,

Doesn't it make you wonder why people spend a lot of money on a vacation and treat a beautiful beach like a cheap ashtray??
Glad they rake the beach for butts,...sure wish they didn't ever have to!!

dntw8up and Fl Barrier island,

Thank you both for the descriptions of Honeymoon. I get that it is clean, calm, easily sloped and more coarse than magens.

What's hard to tell is how beautiful it is. Some photos make it look like a close cousin to Hawksnest, etc (alebit, slighly more faciltiied with Heidi's and all).

In terms of beauty?
It is beautiful, pretty, average or ordinary.

Blu,

To me, Honeymoon Beach is beautiful......Its very pretty, peaceful, calm.....just plain nice. Everytime we go to STT we spend atleast one full day on water Island.

dntw8up: The Kon Tiki has not risen from the dead...........yet.
Bluwater: I have been to Hawksnest and I suppose its similarly beautiful. I may be having trouble because I think each beach has its own "character" and I can't disconnect the "feeling" from my sense of sight.

SIGHT: Honeymoon Beach/Water Island is a beautiful beach with Palm Trees and white sand. Behind the coconut tree line, there are flowering trees, sea grapes, tropical almond trees and bouganvillea. Faces to the west for sunset views. Sail boats anchored well outside the swim buoys. Last time we were there, the Rising Star was anchored for several days just to the right. There's not much shoreline for taking a long walk. I do get a little exercise by walking back/forth from my chair to Heidi's and chair to Joe's, chair to the water.

FEEL: The cutest little boys who grew up on the island (and are still young) pulling/pushing each other around the water on the sailboard. (They MUST have learned to swim before they could walk.) WI ladies cooling off in the water and chatting - as only ladies do well - with their little "Wizard of Oz Toto" dogs happily sitting in "noodle chairs" in the water with them. Veteran WI residents playing Dominos on a board that has the train and all the trimmings. Monte serving up his homemade ceviche. Watch the cruise ships passing by, leaving from Crown Bay. Kids playing and challenging each other on the Rope swing. Iguanas in the woody areas. Cheers and taunts coming from the young adults playing volleyball. Fathers and surrogate fathers tossing the football with their kids - a safe distance away; consciously avoiding interrupting dreaming, lounging beach go-ers. Slightly older island children (but not much older) caring for island babies and toddlers at the water's edge.........it's a feeling for me that makes Honeymoon Beach the most beautiful.

I'm enjoying reading the comments and "pictures" some of you painted of Honeymoon Beach! Been sooo many years since I have stopped in for a visit but I do remember thinkin' how beautiful it was! The water so clear you could see Starfish on the bottom! Thanx for the memories!
Blu, since you have never been there, give it a shot! When my kids were little we enjoyed taking the little ferry boat over and spending the day at the beach. It gave us something different to do to break up the usual drive to Magen's routine!
We even enjoyed the walk to get there (as long as you don't have too much to carry)! 🙂

I have a couple pics (not the best, but they are ok) from water island from the last time I was there. If I can figure out how to post them I will

ok, i have scaned the pics and uploaded them to webshots....im sorry if they dont come out right but i tried :(...just click on them to make them bigger.

This pic was taken from under one of the little tree hut things just as the sun was getting ready to go down.

URL= http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2045347560101432669rLmNhZ ][/URL]

This pic is of the far left side of the beach

This pic was taken from the water looking in toward the beach....this little girl is my neice

This pic was also taken from the water looking in towrd the beach

This pic was taken underwater of course.....there isnt anything to see in this pic....however we did see fish and stingrays and such(the guy is my husband)

This pic is a panaramoic pic that I took at the top of the hill walking back down to the dock to catch the boat back to STT

Thanks guys!! Okay, those photos have me wanting to go!

Hey Bluwater: Just so you know Heidi's Honeymoon Grill is only cooking on the weekends till further notice and the deli at Pirate's Ridge is closed till at least September if you decide to visit . Joe's Beach bar is open except on Mondays and Heidi is cooking on weekends, so if you decide to visit plan accordingly. At least 2 maybe 3 people were on the beach today.

iken, thanks for the heads up!

Iken! You were on Honeymoon Beach yesterday! Ah man! I am filled with wishful thinking. I talked with our property manager last week who confirmed your report. It's s-l-o-w and e-a-s-y on WI now. Proprietor of Pirate's Ridge says he's under construction to support a wedding event/B&B type of place. Plus, I imagine there were not enough patrons to justify the $$$$ monthly costs of electricity to keep the coolers running. Joe is a proud new papa....I think the little tyke's name is Aubrey. Did you make it to the crab races? How long does it take a crab to make their way to the water's edge? Answer: 3 Days! How slow and easy are things on Water Island right now? So slow that neighbors are betting on how long it takes a crab to get down to the water's edge. hee hee.

Saw a link on Spirit Airline's website to an eco tent type place on Water Island. I think it's called Virgin Islands Campground and rates started around $75 a day. Looks interesting.

Patrick: look carefully. The "eco" campground is a half mile walk from any where on WI and is a series of structures built up a hillside. There is nothing to do onsite, so "campers" can often be found walking to Honeymoon or other locations. I haven't looked at the "eco" website lately but I believe they no longer list golf as a nearby amenity, which is probably good since the nearest golf course is Mahogany Run on STT. If you want to stay on WI look at the available house rentals, bc they all come with golf carts and are generally nice places. As for crab races, the latest action involves the development of the crab maze; too long and funny a story to tell here.

A beautiful place to stay on Water Island is Slow Mocean. www.slowmocean.com I have stayed there twice and love it!! The island is beautiful. This house is newly renovated and very clean and well furnished. It has a great view and is VERY private.

I recommend it to anyone who loves private pristine beaches away from crowds--but still with all the things you need. It comes with a golf cart for transportation.

I highly recommend Slow Mocean as a place to stay on Water Island. The house and locaton are wonderful. It has great views and was recently renovated, is very clean and well furnished. I have been there twice and will go back. It is private and comes with a golf cart.

I love Water Island. Privacy and away from the crowds yet still close enough to visit St Thomas if you want. A great house like Slow Mocean makes it even better!!

www.slowmocean.com check it out.