Eastern Caribbean - Current Beach recommendations?

[NokOnHarts]

I've been doing research on the best beaches for Tortola and St Thomas but I was hoping someone who has been here recently could tell me which beaches are still worth going to after the hurricanes awhile back? It seems like Morningstar is still closed and some beaches have changed? We hope to do a snorkeling excursion on one island (probably Normal Island or Buck Island and leaning towards: TT20, ST29, or ST46) and then do our own beach day on the other island. Any thoughts on these snorkeling excursions or recent beach recommendations for either island would be great, thank you!

 

[Mitura]

We cruised Thanksgiving 2018 and did Tortola -> Cane Garden Beach. It was excellent and not crowded. Same cruise we stopped at St. Thomas and did Magen's Bay and it was beautiful but mobbed.

We are cruising again Nov 30th, Fantasy, and will go back to Cane Beach but this time we're not stopping at Megan's Bay beach but are going to try St John's instead.

Hope this helps and have a wonderful time.

 

[NokOnHarts]

We cruised Thanksgiving 2018 and did Tortola -> Cane Garden Beach. It was excellent and not crowded. Same cruise we stopped at St. Thomas and did Magen's Bay and it was beautiful but mobbed.

We are cruising again Nov 30th, Fantasy, and will go back to Cane Beach but this time we're not stopping at Megan's Bay beach but are going to try St John's instead.

Hope this helps and have a wonderful time.

Thanks for your input. Was there a fee for entry or for chairs (etc) on Cane Garden Beach? Also, do you remember if there were "normal" taxis available or were they all "open air" seating with no seat belts on Tortola? We have two kids so I'm hoping for seat belts.

 

[Mitura]

It was your typical airport shuttle mini-van. Cost, don't remember, but I think it was ~$30 for 4 of us. But what we did was pre pay for the return trip and got a bracelet which got us right back on the van for the return. Note, the van wasn't totally ours. We did have to wait to fill it up.

There was a fee for chairs and umbrellas. I think $20 got us a bunch. From what we've seen chairs/umbrellas cost no matter where you go, Cayman Islands, St John's, etc. The ones that don't charge are the ones that are all inclusive or like Castaway Cay.

 

[NokOnHarts]

It was your typical airport shuttle mini-van. Cost, don't remember, but I think it was ~$30 for 4 of us. But what we did was pre pay for the return trip and got a bracelet which got us right back on the van for the return. Note, the van wasn't totally ours. We did have to wait to fill it up.

There was a fee for chairs and umbrellas. I think $20 got us a bunch. From what we've seen chairs/umbrellas cost no matter where you go, Cayman Islands, St John's, etc. The ones that don't charge are the ones that are all inclusive or like Castaway Cay.

Thank you!

 

[ambula603]

We went to St. Thomas last month - When we got off the ship we asked the taxi driver to take us to Magens Bay with a first stop at Drake's Seat. She had to ok it with their supervisor and charge us an extra 2 dollars a person (I think) but it was not an issue!

I will add, we got off the ship at 7:30 (port arrival time was supposed to be 7:45) and the cabs were lined up and waiting. I guess we lucked out because we were in a (closed) van all to ourselves! We spent the morning at a very uncrowded Magens Bay, and it was BEAUTIFUL! I didn't need a chair because we just put our stuff on a picnic table and played in the water the whole time. My husband asked, but they said the chair rental wouldn't open until 9/9:30 if we DID want to rent one. There WERE TONS of chairs set up for the Disney excursion (and possibly a Norwegian?) but to be honest they were on top of each other and not what I would want. I did see some people dragging them down the beach to get more space so I suspect that was allowed. I normally prefer shade but the day was cloudy and I didn't need the umbrella. I sat under a palm tree when the sun did pop out. We went to the far edge of the beach. I was so worried about crowds (I had even posted here about cancelling our Disney excursion to avoid them...so glad I did, because they had a much later arrival time!)

We ended up leaving before lunch so we didn't explore any of the food options. I did stick some boxed cereal in my beach bag from Cabanas that morning that helped hold us over.

I don't have any experience to compare regarding the hurricane damage, but I have been to Maui and Greece and several other tropical beaches and this one was very beautiful, indeed.

I attached some of our pics! The last one is from Drake's Seat.

 

[Lisa F]

@SilSprBea read above about going to magen's bay on your own - even though I know you won't be there first thing in the AM!

 

[NokOnHarts]

We went to St. Thomas last month - When we got off the ship we asked the taxi driver to take us to Magens Bay with a first stop at Drake's Seat. She had to ok it with their supervisor and charge us an extra 2 dollars a person (I think) but it was not an issue!

I will add, we got off the ship at 7:30 (port arrival time was supposed to be 7:45) and the cabs were lined up and waiting. I guess we lucked out because we were in a (closed) van all to ourselves! We spent the morning at a very uncrowded Magens Bay, and it was BEAUTIFUL! I didn't need a chair because we just put our stuff on a picnic table and played in the water the whole time. My husband asked, but they said the chair rental wouldn't open until 9/9:30 if we DID want to rent one. There WERE TONS of chairs set up for the Disney excursion (and possibly a Norwegian?) but to be honest they were on top of each other and not what I would want. I did see some people dragging them down the beach to get more space so I suspect that was allowed. I normally prefer shade but the day was cloudy and I didn't need the umbrella. I sat under a palm tree when the sun did pop out. We went to the far edge of the beach. I was so worried about crowds (I had even posted here about cancelling our Disney excursion to avoid them...so glad I did, because they had a much later arrival time!)

We ended up leaving before lunch so we didn't explore any of the food options. I did stick some boxed cereal in my beach bag from Cabanas that morning that helped hold us over.

I don't have any experience to compare regarding the hurricane damage, but I have been to Maui and Greece and several other tropical beaches and this one was very beautiful, indeed.

I attached some of our pics! The last one is from Drake's Seat.

Thank you! Did it seem like there were quite a few van-style taxi's available instead of the open-safari types? Trying to figure out if there will be a problem catching those or not. Your pics are lovely!

 

[Intr3pid]

The best beach on the Eastern Caribbeans itineraries IMO is White Bay in Jost Van Dyke, which you can visit on your Tortola stop.

As for St Thomas, it really depends on when you are going. In slow season, beaches will be uncrowded. In our Northeast winters though - Dec through April - quite another story! We were at Magens Bay in March this year, and boy - was it packed. We lasted all of 45 minutes before heading back.

Next time, we plan on hitting Trunk Bay in St John instead.

If you are heading down in the winter, my advice would be to make an effort to hit the beach in JVD in Tortola. Use St Thomas for light touring or on board a boat out in the water (or for a ferry trip to Trunk Bay). Then, hit the beach again in CC.

 

[uchi]

The best beach on the Eastern Caribbeans itineraries IMO is White Bay in Jost Van Dyke, which you can visit on your Tortola stop.

As for St Thomas, it really depends on when you are going. In slow season, beaches will be uncrowded. In our Northeast winters though - Dec through April - quite another story! We were at Magens Bay in March this year, and boy - was it packed. We lasted all of 45 minutes before heading back.

Next time, we plan on hitting Trunk Bay in St John instead.

If you are heading down in the winter, my advice would be to make an effort to hit the beach in JVD in Tortola. Use St Thomas for light touring or on board a boat out in the water (or for a ferry trip to Trunk Bay). Then, hit the beach again in CC.

Do you know how to get to White Bay in Jost Van Dyke?

Thanks!

 

[Intr3pid]

Do you know how to get to White Bay in Jost Van Dyke?

Thanks!

Disney does offer an excursion, but it sells out very quickly. Check it out:
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...-virgin-islands-jost-van-dyke-beach-transfer/

Here is my guide to doing it yourself:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/jost-van-dyke-beach-day-tt65.3745572/post-60516851

 

[uchi]

Disney does offer an excursion, but it sells out very quickly. Check it out:
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...-virgin-islands-jost-van-dyke-beach-transfer/

Here is my guide to doing it yourself:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/jost-van-dyke-beach-day-tt65.3745572/post-60516851

Thank you!!!

 

[ambula603]

Thank you! Did it seem like there were quite a few van-style taxi's available instead of the open-safari types? Trying to figure out if there will be a problem catching those or not. Your pics are lovely!

We weren't really given a choice. We took the first one that was available both there and back. They were both vans. However, I bet if I would have asked I might have been given an option to wait for something different? Not entirely sure.