Coki beach for the snorkeling and Coral World Aquarium right beside it for the kids.

Parents and kids, both, will appreciate the "BOB" (www.bobusvi.com), which is offered by your cruise ship. You could do the BOB inthe morning, and then go to Coki and Coral World in the afternoon. That'd make for a very fun and memorable day. And you could forego the renting of the car (save $$) and just take a taxi to Coki and back. If you decide to rent a car,I recommend checking this site for the cruise ship schedule to see how many ships are in that day, as the more ships, the less availability for cars. You might want to call Budget in Estate Thomas (Havensight Cruiseship Dock) and make a reservation.

Hello Dave,

You could do Coki Beach in the am for snorkeling; if you wanted to do Coral World you can do that too - it takes only a couple hours.

Visit them at www.coralworldvi.com

Then head to Secret Harbor for lunch and some more beach time. The kids can snorkel some more there and play on the floating raft that is in the middle of the bay. The restaurant is beach side and there is a beach bar.

You could also do Sapphire for lunch and beach time - rent a kayak for the kids to enjoy and there is snorkeling there as well, also pool side & beach side restaurants and a beach side bar.

Balance out the beach time and consider a self guided island tour in the afternoon.

Tip: Wear lots of sunscreen if you plan to do the whole day at the beach.

Depending on the number of ships in port you will want to head back to the ship early enough to avoid the traffic that builds up around the dock at about 4 pm to 5pm. The more ships there are the worse the traffic will be at the Havensight dock area.

--Islander

I saw "Bob's" website. Getting my wife to snorkle is a big step. Getting her in a canoe back home is one thing... however She would not take lightly to the BOB thing.

I already rented a car from Budget.

Thanks for the info....

Hi Islander,

Is Sapphire another beach, or is it at Secret Harbour?

Great advice on the return to the ship. I am sure I would want to stay longer than the day, but not as much as I would hate arranging transportation to St. Maarten....

Thanks for the advice.... Dave

Islander..... one more thing...

How long will it take me to see most of the island on a "self guided tour", without any major stops? It's hard to get a feel for the environment from a map on the net.

Also, are there any small towns you can recommend to experience good value shopping, without getting caught up in the "cruise" crowd?

OK... that was two things....

Thanks a bunch.... Dave

Hello Dave,

Sapphire and Secert Harbor are two different beaches. Go to the beach guide on this site to view pictures and description; if you go to the top of this page and click St. Thomas and then from the menu - beaches - you will find the info.

You could drive around the island and see the main areas in 2 hours... or a little less if you just hit the major spots.

The shopping is pretty much all in downtown and Havensight. Tutu has a shopping mall but its for residents... K-mart, grocery stores, post office, bank, shoe stores ect. And Red Hook has some shopping also. What types of items were you looking for?

--Islander

Islander,

We will be looking mostly for souviners, stuff that my 2 teen age kids would be interested in, plus anything that is unique to St. Thomas....

I am also interested in booze. I hear the duty free has good prices, but there may be local places which may provide more selection and possibly better prices.

Any idea?

Thanks again for your assistance.......

Also.....

Is there a beach where I can swim out to a reef? I am an experienced diver, so I will be looking for a bit more than the average snorkle...

Dave, for booze go to K Mart or Cost-U-Less.

Hello Dave,

You can stop into K-mart for booze. Souvenirs - you can shop in Havensight before getting back on the ship for an hour or two and pick up some things - perfume, cloths, nick nacks, books, jewerly, rum cakes.

--Islander

And, Dave, the shop voted "Best of the VI" for souvenirs is The Pirates Chest at Paradise Point (top of the tram - http://paradisepointtramway.com). A good friend of mine owns the place and if you mention "Marty", you will get a 10-15% discount. Not much, true, but better in your pocket than not!. Great store. All sorts of good stuff.

rent a car, take the car ferry to st. john, go to trunk bay and the annenberg sugar mills, explore the island, take the ferry back to st. thomas. i did this the first time i went to st. thomas and have been going back to st. john every since

that souvenir shop sounds great.....thanks

Marty.... will check that out for sure!

Thanks,,,, Dave