Eastern Caribbean..safe to do your own adventure?

[mcurrence]

Hi All! Excited to start planning our Eastern Caribbean Cruise (Tortola and St. Thomas) Sept. 2016. Was hoping you experts can advise, is it safe to take a taxi straight to the beach? We simply want to head out to a beach, lay out and splash around without any time restraints
Is there a beach/bay in Tortola you can recommend that wouldn't be too far from the port? Same for St. Thomas...
Last question, approximately how much would the taxi rides be per person? We're travelling with a 7 and 9 year old. Can't wait!
Many thanks!!

 

[kylaura]

We just took a taxi in St. Maarten. I felt was safe. Both it and St. Thomas had and well organized port with taxis and shops.