Questions about St. Thomas

[ToyStory3]

Hi - I've never been to Eastern Caribbean before. In the research we've done I know that we definitely wan to go to Magen's Bay. I don't want to book an excursion...we typically try to do our own thing. So, I was planning to get an open air taxi and go straight to Magen's Bay for most of the day. Will we see much of the town if we do this? Is there any place else you would recommend stopping on our way there or back? Sites that we definitely shouldn't miss? Thanks!

 

[Sunshine2U]

IMO, the trip to Magen's Bay is the best part of the island. The scenery! Downtown is pretty much all shops, most with touristy junk. Some may have something you would like. But it's all shopping. There's also good shopping at the port. Go to Trip Advisor. They have a lot of info on St. Thomas and other islands.

 

[Calantha]

We stayed on St. Thomas for our Honeymoon in 2011. The town part of Charlotte Amalie isn’t really that exciting to look at, per se. It is mostly shops as the previous poster said. The architecture up on the hills is nice, but I’m not sure how much was damaged. Driving around the island is much more beautiful...and yes, we spent a whole day at the bay when we were there - definitely worth it, just to sit on the beach and play in the water.

 

[oakleycat]

We just got back and did this for our St. Thomas day last Wednesday. The the open air taxis are waiting at the port and the drive is beautiful. We took different routes through town on the way there and back so we got to see enough for us. Like PPs said, the port area is nothing much to see, all touristy shops. The taxi is $10 each way per person, plus $5 per adult to enter Magens Bay, so make sure you have plenty of cash. They do take credit cards at the shop/restaurant/bar.

 

[oakleycat]

Forgot to add, this was much better than the excursion. We left the ship around 9:30 and the Disney excursion people were lined up by the port gate waiting. We were on the beach relaxing by 10:00. My husband then realized he forgot the cash he was supposed to bring and had to get the taxi guy to take him back to the ship to get it (which he did for free, just a tip). He got back and said the Disney group was still waiting at port. They apparently had special reserved taxis they had to wait for, so did not arrive until after 11:00, had a couple hours on the beach, then had to wait for the special taxis to ferry groups back. We stayed on the beach until about 2:30, had our morning taxi guy there waiting to take us back and had a very relaxing day.

 

[mswhittaker]

Forgot to add, this was much better than the excursion. We left the ship around 9:30 and the Disney excursion people were lined up by the port gate waiting. We were on the beach relaxing by 10:00. My husband then realized he forgot the cash he was supposed to bring and had to get the taxi guy to take him back to the ship to get it (which he did for free, just a tip). He got back and said the Disney group was still waiting at port. They apparently had special reserved taxis they had to wait for, so did not arrive until after 11:00, had a couple hours on the beach, then had to wait for the special taxis to ferry groups back. We stayed on the beach until about 2:30, had our morning taxi guy there waiting to take us back and had a very relaxing day.

Our table mates last week did the excursion to Magen's Bay and they ended up (along with several others) complaining to Disney about the driver. The taxi was really in rough shape (bald tires, wires poking out from under the vehicle). Disney gave them a free excursion (the float/snorkle/bike rental) on Castaway to make up for it.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We did the Magen's Bay DCL excursion. I loved Magen's Bay (although there was some kind of algae that made DS13 itchy). It was beautiful. We got a chair each (and transportation) for our $55, but no umbrella. If you wanted an umbrella, you had to rent one, but they were gone by the time we got there. We also saw people who weren't part of a group dragging loungers that they rented to the far end of the beach (all that was left) and then dragging them back again, presumably to get their deposit back.

So, before you decide to go by yourself, which does sound easy, find out about the costs to make sure it's still a deal.

 

[oakleycat]

Costs for those interested:

Taxi: $20 per person ($10 each way)
Admission: $5 (adults only)
Chair: $8 + $5 deposit refundable upon return
Rum punch: $6
Mixed frozen drinks: $8
Hamburger: $10
Hot dog: $6
Pizza: $4

Total for our family of 4 (taxi, admission for adults, 2 chairs and food/drink): $146 + tips

We didn't get an umbrella but they had plenty available when we got there around 10. Beach was empty and lounge chair guy would place the chairs wherever you wanted. About an hour later they ran out of umbrellas and people were having to drag their own chairs down the beach, so get there early!