Tortola and St Thomas Beaches

[MissStitch626]

Our window to book Port Adventures opens tomorrow! We've been looking at the list of excursions online and have some ideas of what we might like.

We're leaning towards sightseeing rather than beaches but haven't ruled out beaches completely.

I looked online but couldn't find a definitive answer - do most beaches have restrooms nearby?

Any recommendations for these ports or any excursions that you think are must-do? Snorkeling is out for both of us.

 

[auntlynne]

St Thomas - Magen’s Bay and Lindquist Bay (Secret Sands) have decent bath houses with flush toilets and showers.

Sapphire Beach Resort has bathrooms.

St John (St Thomas port excursion) - Trunk Bay is a National Park; flush toilets housed in separate male and female buildings. Showers in private cubicles in another building.

I love the beaches (especially the water) of the VI. It is usually a comfortable warmth. I take a u-shaped float and just relax. I don’t snorkel And I don’t shop.

If I were more mobile/fit, I would go to The Baths when docked in Tortola. I did go to Jost Van Dyke this year, but only recommend it to those who know they want to visit.

If in Tortola again, I would give Cane Garden Beach a try.

I have spent time in Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, shopping and lunching. The best thing there was visiting an old synagogue with a sand floor.

 

[JayDomK]

Our window to book Port Adventures opens tomorrow! We've been looking at the list of excursions online and have some ideas of what we might like.

We're leaning towards sightseeing rather than beaches but haven't ruled out beaches completely.

I looked online but couldn't find a definitive answer - do most beaches have restrooms nearby?

Any recommendations for these ports or any excursions that you think are must-do? Snorkeling is out for both of us.

I assume there will be restrooms near most beaches, since the beach is a recreational area. But if you are looking for something without restrooms, you need to look for some far away and unpopular beach.

 

[Stitchescape]

We went on the Sapphire Beach excursion last August and honestly I don’t recommend it. We were on the first tour of the day and upon arrival the attendant pointed to a pile of cheap, nasty and very tired sunloungers and said grab your own chairs and drag them to a spot on the beach - the resort is SHUT right now??!! Having found a spot under the edge of the trees (there were no umbrellas for shade) we started to unpack and settle, only to be told we had to move so the tractor and 4/5 workmen clearing seaweed up could come through!! Talk about unwelcome. The bar opened only 20 mins before our tour was due to return to the Fantasy. When the second tour arrived we were already occupying the better/only spots on the beach. This was totally NOT a good experience and upon return to the ship we complained to port excursions. They said they’d be sending out a member of staff as a “mystery shopper” on the very next cruise. Hopefully Disney were as good as their word and the reception and welcome/amenities at Sapphire Beach have now improved. Personally I wouldn’t take the risk.

 

[auntlynne]

We went on the Sapphire Beach excursion last August and honestly I don’t recommend it. We were on the first tour of the day and upon arrival the attendant pointed to a pile of cheap, nasty and very tired sunloungers and said grab your own chairs and drag them to a spot on the beach - the resort is SHUT right now??!! Having found a spot under the edge of the trees (there were no umbrellas for shade) we started to unpack and settle, only to be told we had to move so the tractor and 4/5 workmen clearing seaweed up could come through!! Talk about unwelcome. The bar opened only 20 mins before our tour was due to return to the Fantasy. When the second tour arrived we were already occupying the better/only spots on the beach. This was totally NOT a good experience and upon return to the ship we complained to port excursions. They said they’d be sending out a member of staff as a “mystery shopper” on the very next cruise. Hopefully Disney were as good as their word and the reception and welcome/amenities at Sapphire Beach have now improved. Personally I wouldn’t take the risk.

I heard talk that this property might be changing owners. The sunlounger and shade scenario sounds familiar. I had taken a beach chair and sat under trees the first visit; the second time I sat in the open-air bar area until it opened just before we left.

I hope they finish any improvements and offer a better product than you experienced, as the water and views are gorgeous.

 

[ngl]

We went on the Sapphire Beach excursion last August and honestly I don’t recommend it. We were on the first tour of the day and upon arrival the attendant pointed to a pile of cheap, nasty and very tired sunloungers and said grab your own chairs and drag them to a spot on the beach - the resort is SHUT right now??!! Having found a spot under the edge of the trees (there were no umbrellas for shade) we started to unpack and settle, only to be told we had to move so the tractor and 4/5 workmen clearing seaweed up could come through!! Talk about unwelcome. The bar opened only 20 mins before our tour was due to return to the Fantasy. When the second tour arrived we were already occupying the better/only spots on the beach. This was totally NOT a good experience and upon return to the ship we complained to port excursions. They said they’d be sending out a member of staff as a “mystery shopper” on the very next cruise. Hopefully Disney were as good as their word and the reception and welcome/amenities at Sapphire Beach have now improved. Personally I wouldn’t take the risk.

We went to St. Thomas during Spring Break 2023 (April) and stayed at a Vrbo on Sapphire Beach. We are from Florida so definitely see a lot of beach time and were pleased with beach and offerings. Not a huge beach by any means and not a place with tons going on. More like a DIY (they did have the cafe, pizza, and other restaurant open the full time we were there). Having said that, they mentioned that if you are there when a cruise ship visits, it is packed. So now I am understanding that comment from your experience! The water was beautiful and we snorkeled daily. But again, we did not have a cruise ship in port during our 5 days there so can understand how it would not be good if many people all came at once. We loved the beaches on St. John's in the National Park as well. Very low key beaches without major amenities.

 

[Stitchescape]

The water and views are indeed beautiful at Sapphire Beach, but the reception and amenities let it down badly. The fumes and chugging of a tractor ruined the ambience. Hopefully if the resort changes ownership they will bring a more customer focused approach since presumably they receive a fee for day guests? It could be amazing, but sadly that was not our experience.

 

[lklgoodman]

We went to Secret Sands Beach at St Thomas in 2019. It is a natural preserve area so they only allow one ship excursion to be there at a time. They had nice clean restrooms. There aren't any restaurants, but the host had drinks and snacks for sale.

 

[Calantha]

We're leaning towards sightseeing rather than beaches but haven't ruled out beaches completely.

If you're still looking for something to do, I recommend: https://oceansurfari.com/ (scroll down to "Jeep Surfari")

We did an off-road tour of St. Thomas and saw some really special parts of the island. But no joke on the off-road part. DS got a little car sick and it has never been a problem before.

 

[loislane]

We were just on this excursion - but through Norwegian - last week and enjoyed it.
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/tortola-virgin-islands-4x4-adventure/
It's no joke going up and over the hills in those vehicles. My husband and I were in the very back row and I wondered if we would fall out a few times! LOL
But the view... amazing.

For our beach we went to Long Bay Beach on Beef Island and it was nice. Quiet, not crowded. It was $10 to rent a beach chair and $5 for an umbrella. Or if you bought some food from their snack shop, you were allowed to sit in the pavilion.

There is a bathroom, a place to shower off the salt water and sand, plus food/drink available. We spent about 2.5 hours here and enjoyed it.

 

[emmabelle]

I've done quite a few of the beaches on St. Thomas since we did a land vacation there years ago. We love Sapphire, I hope we're not disappointed when we cruise there in August.

I've been to Cane Bay on Tortola and it was probably because the weather was crappy but I didn't enjoy it. I'd like to give it another try.

 

[babyruth]

Anyone who has done Cane Bay can you comment on getting there? The DCL excursion I see there includes a mountain hike that we are not interested in.

 

[Erica1016]

We did the "Island Drive and Beach Break" (TT11)
We walked just a bit where we boarded the vehicles. There were bench seats and it was open on one end. We made 2-3 stops for views/pictures on the way and then got dropped off at the beach for about 90 minutes. They did give us a ticket to get a beverage, either water or N/A punch. Others have reported that chairs were included - they were not for us. I was in the water the whole time and DH just walked up and down the beach and found some shade near some buildings at one end of the beach. There were some public restrooms that he found, but didn't use - there were "too many bees", according to him ---for him"too many" might be one, so YMMV.

an example of the vehicle

one of our stops

Cane Garden Beach

Cane Garden Beach (with people and examples of the chairs)