St. Thomas Beaches

[Brisau]

Hi
We are going on a cruise in April and one of the stops is St.Thomas. We don't want to do the shopping thing while were on the island. Is there any good beaches within a close cab ride from the cruise port? Any help would be great. thanks in advance Brisau :)

[cgullo@sbcglobal.net]

HI, i have been to st.thomas probably a dozen times, and i will recommend my two favorites. Magens bay is probably the most popular beach on st.thomas with cruises. It is one of the most photographed in the world, and has a lookout spot called drake's seat. The only problem is this is where everyone is dropped off from the cruise ships, so it can get a little crowded. If you don't like crowds of people then i would try sapphire beach. This is my favorite, and the water is incredibly blue and clear, and you can get food and drinks. Sapphire is a little farther out of the way, but well worth the trip. Good luck! and don't forget your polorized sunglasses.

[Carib Mark]

Saphire is indeed the beach when cruises are in town. No crowds, a nice place to eat, have a drink, and they are very welcoming to visitors. Have a Taxi take you over there and designate a time for the driver to return and pick you up. It's about $13 one way for the 1st person and $10 for each additional but worth it not to get jammed in or konked in the head by a flipper from 1 of 900 snorkelers.
On the way back to the ship, ask the driver to stop at K-Mart, yeah, K-Mart. Amazingly, they have THE best duty free liquor prices on the island and it's on the way back to Havensight, and you already have a driver for you and your boxes back to the ship.

[theatwole]

I would recommend passing on the obvious public beaches and take a cab to the East End resort Secret Harbor. You will be charged to use a beach chair but it is a small, relaxing beach with excellent snorkeling (rent equipment at the on site dive shop). You can get drinks at the outdoor bar or have a nice meal at the restaurant.

[cgullo@sbcglobal.net]

Sorry, i remembered you wanted a beach close to the cruise terminal, so if you don't want to travel all the way to the other side of the island, then lindberg beach is lovely, right next door to the airport, and your less than 10mins away, and is home to the emeral beach resort, which has two open air beach front bars,plus there are kayaks to rent, paddleboats, snorkling. Sapphire is great,but it is a little more out of the way.

[Snapper]

I've been there many times and am going again in a few weeks. I don't really think St. Thomas's beaches are worth visiting. If you really want the water and want to be close to the cruise terminal - go to the beach at Marriott's Frenchman's reef - you can do a little water. The restaurant has a great view of the beach.

[cgullo@sbcglobal.net]

That's just not true. While st.thomas may not compare to st.john as far as the number of good beaches, there are several beaches worth spending a day at. If you remember, they didn't want to do the shopping thing, and wanted a beach close. I would tell you about a beach on st.thomas that is probably as nice as any in the caribbean, bar none, but very few people know about it, because it is unmarked, but i will let Carib Mark tell you if he wants to, but i want.