Coki Beach or Megan's Bay?

[klStacker]

We're cruising on the magic with three kids (ages 8, 7 and 4) in April. We are planning on spending the morning in St. Thomas at Coral World. We were thinking we would go to Coki Beach for the afternoon because it is so close. I was wondering what Coki Beach is like. Is is a good beach for kids? Is Megan's Bay a nicer beach? If Megan's Bay is nicer, would it be worth it to take a cab there, or should we just go to Coki because it is closer? Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

Don't know about Coki Beach, but we did Megan's Bay and it was beautiful. Water warm, beach lovely. The ride there is very scenic (we took an open air "taxi"). The only thing we didn't care for was the bathrooms (dirty, sandy) and the food was VERY expensive. If we do it again, we will bring our own food for lunch. Just order room service sandwiches and those delicious choc. chip cookies the night before, put them in ziplocks in your fridge and put them in a collapsible cooler (they are cheap and come in very handy) in the am along with ziplocks full of ice (you can ask your room steward for this). Also throw in some fruit/yogurt/muffins, etc from the breakfast at Topsiders (if you go there that am) and you've got snacks and lunch. Just purchase drinks at the beach and you're set.

Also, we rented a lounge and chair from them and if you save your receipt and return the chairs before a certain time you get money back. And there are ton's of cabbies waiting to take you back to the ship so there are no worries there.

 

[kcashner]

Coki is lovely, and tends to be the "hang out" for families who have been to Coral World. Megan's Bay is the beach that is written up in most travel magazines. It is lovely....but crowded. In fact, the travel mag "Endless Vacations" did a thing in their current issue on cruise ports in the Eastern Carribean....I looked at is as input is always good, right? They suggested not doing Megan's as it is the crowded one. Their take is that other beaches are just as nice and not so busy. They specifically mentioned Coral World too. I was impressed as many of their opinions seemed to echo mine!

 

[mobetsy]

If you are looking for something a little bit different at Coki Beach for your eldest, Coke Beach Dive Club has a "Bubblemaker" course for 8-10 y.o.'s that teaches them beginning scuba (like the adult resort intros, which they also do). It is one instructor to 2 kids, and they don't go deeper than about 6 feet, but they get a chance to try out scuba, and from what I've heard they'll see fish even at that relatively shallow depth. I don't recall the cost--$50 for 2 hours?--but their website has all the info. Our 9 y.o. ds and a friend are doing this when we go in 3 weeks, and it is the thing he is most excited about! I have seen good reports on the dive club on these boards, which is how I happened to check it out in the first place.

 

[4nana]

We did Coral World, then just walked next door to adjoining Coki Beach and loved it!! Coki is a lot smaller than Megan, but the water is just as beautiful, more calm....perfect for snorkeling, swimming, wading, feeding the fish, etc.

We also ordered room service the night before and explained we were doing a picnic and requested sandwiches and CC cookies. There are plenty of fruits, snacks and juices at breakfast to make a nice picnic, if you take a cooler.

If you tour Coral World, you will have wrist bands that allow you to use the showers after your Coki visit, which makes it nice.

Enjoy, you can't go wrong with any St. T. beach!!
~ Sandie