Something different to do on St. Thomas

[Mitura]

Hello,

Any recommendations on something else to do on St. Thomas? Here's what we have done and don't want to repeat.

1) Maegan's Bay
2) St Thomas Island tour via private tour bus (not Disney excursion)
3) St Johns - Trunk Bay Beach

Our default is to go back to Trunk Bay Beach if nothing else seems appealing.

Thanks in advance.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Kayak the mangrove lagoon.

 

[tntstults]

Hello,

Any recommendations on something else to do on St. Thomas? Here's what we have done and don't want to repeat.

1) Maegan's Bay
2) St Thomas Island tour via private tour bus (not Disney excursion)
3) St Johns - Trunk Bay Beach

Our default is to go back to Trunk Bay Beach if nothing else seems appealing.

Thanks in advance.

I'm curious as to why you liked Trunk Bay Beach better than Maegan's Bay? Thanks! Heading to St. Thomas in April 2023.

 

[tvguy]

Coral World. Very nice, but certainly not on par with place like Monterey Bay Aquarium. But my kids loved it.
Surprised you haven't been already though. That usually is one of the first places people go when they go to St. Thomas.
We've been to St. Thomas 6 times, so now it is our sleep in day and mooch around the dock area without an excursion day.

 

[Mitura]

This will be our 4th time to St Thomas. Reading the blogs Maegan's Bay was the obvious choice for our first excursion.

We went and it was very crowded (on the beach, in the snack area, trying to get loungers, even waiting for shuttles to the port). And we thought the beach was dirty.

We then did Disney's excursion to St John and had an incredible day, though the Disney excursion was very short. (very long boat shuttle to St Johns)
----> Beach is beautiful, clean, long, very nice facilities (showers, toilets, snack shacks) taxi from the port is short, chairs and snorkel gear for rent, hardly anyone on the beach.
We then did an independent St Thomas island tour and it was just ok, very hilly, not a lot of interesting sights (Mountain Top was an excellent view though).
We then went back to St Johns, and did this on our own, but it was extremely windy. So windy we felt sand blasted, so we left early.

So we're wondering if our first trip to St Johns was an anomaly?

We won't go back to Maegan's Bay not after loving St Johns and we also love Cane Garden in Tortola.

Thanks for all of your replies.

 

[Sweettears]

There is a botanical garden with walking trails. Also the mountain top is worth a visit. I don’t recall the name.

 

[WDWAurora]

We enjoyed the kayak, hike, and snorkel tour.

 

[Canadian cruiser]

Coral World. Very nice, but certainly not on par with place like Monterey Bay Aquarium. But my kids loved it.
Surprised you haven't been already though. That usually is one of the first places people go when they go to St. Thomas.
We've been to St. Thomas 6 times, so now it is our sleep in day and mooch around the dock area without an excursion day.

Can I ask what the transportation was - worried about open air safari bus with small kids

 

[Flip flops in winter]

There is a great butterfly garden within walking distance of the port that we enjoyed. It was the perfect blend of education and photo ops. Very hands-on, which kept my kids interested (I think at the time they were 4 and 6) and it was super cheap.

 

[Canadian cruiser]

Thanks

 

[Erica1016]

Can I ask what the transportation was - worried about open air safari bus with small kids

At some point I found a picture here on the boards, but I can't find it...we recently watched a YouTube vlog and people did this tour and it did appear to be vehicles with open sides. If I can ever find the post on here with the pictures, I know people were discussing kids/toddlers, I'll let you know.
In the meantime, I came across this while I was looking: https://www.disboards.com/threads/tortola-and-st-thomas-with-a-toddler.3907544/

 

[mommylove70]

We have been to both St. Thomas and St. John for a wedding...LOVED St. John! If you have already done Trunk Bay, see if there is an excursion to one of the other beaches - they are all slightly different. I loved the snorkeling there, favorite thing to see was the huge sea turtles (We were there in August).

 

[kmmfl2va]

We were looking for something different last time we were in St Thomas and did the Tropical Treasure hunt. We dug up our own buried treasure. So fun!

https://tropicaltreasurehunt.com/

 

[Chokky]

I think we did the secret sands beach excursion and loved it. Nice and quiet. The beach and water were lovely.

 

[koala1966]

We did the cable cars last time and it was a nice experience - fun ride and there are shops and food at the top and the view is amazing from the overlook. More low key than the other options you've mentioned though.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We love to do St. John's on our own. We catch a cab to the Red Hook ferry from Havensight, then hop the ferry (1/2 hour? Don't recall, I took a nap!). We catch another cab to one of the beaches. Last time we were at Hawksnest Beach. Beautiful. 5 other people there. The sand was great, the snorkeling was great. No facilities/food, but an amazing beach. Heading back we did the above in reverse. Easy peasy.

 

[tvguy]

Can I ask what the transportation was - worried about open air safari bus with small kids

As I recall it was in fact an open air safari bus.

 

[Intr3pid]

Hello,

Any recommendations on something else to do on St. Thomas? Here's what we have done and don't want to repeat.

1) Maegan's Bay
2) St Thomas Island tour via private tour bus (not Disney excursion)
3) St Johns - Trunk Bay Beach

Our default is to go back to Trunk Bay Beach if nothing else seems appealing.

Thanks in advance.

Trunk Bay and JVD (Tortola) are the two best beaches on the Eastern Caribbean itineraries. If you want a beach, stick with Trunk Bay. If you want a dry day, I assume you have taken the cable car up the mountain on your island tour?

When are you headed down there? Check the sargassum reports before committing to a beach. If you want to play it safe, there is a Ritz in St Thomas, and you can get its (pricey-ish) resort pass.
https://www.resortpass.com/hotels/the-ritz-carlton-st-thomas

 

[leannak]

We did the cable cars last time and it was a nice experience - fun ride and there are shops and food at the top and the view is amazing from the overlook. More low key than the other options you've mentioned though.

Is it better to buy the cable car passes in advance (through Disney) or can you just walk off and buy passes whenever you’re ready to go up?