ST. John or Coki Beach

[Celebrategoldens]

We are STILL trying to figure out if it is worth the hassle of traveling over to St. Johns and Trunk bay to snorkle or if you can do some nice snorkling at Coki Beach at St. Thomas. My husband and I went on an RCCL cruise about 10 years ago and we went snorking at St. Thomas and it was AWFUL, a small beach, TONS of people trying to snorkle and look at about 6 fish. We can't remember if they took us to Coki Beach or someplace else.
Can anybody give us some feedback???
Thanks

 

[aseal]

We are a family of four and we took the St. John excursion and we loved it. I thought it was gorgeous. It has been 2 years and my children still talk about it. Hope this helps. Alana

 

[tezb]

We went to Coki Beach last year for the SNUBA excursion. My kids and husband loved it and would like to do it again. It is a small beach but they saw plenty fish, etc. NOt sure if it depends on the time of day/season??

 

[iluvorlando]

We went to coki beach and loved it. Not a huge beach, but plenty of conveniences (Coral World is right there), good snorkeling, etc..
I would definitely go back.

 

[upstateny]

My son and I went to Coki beach and enjoyed it. We went "on our own" and arrived very early. The snorkling was wonderful. Within three hours of our arrival the beach was very full. We moved on to coral world when it was too crowded. We had prearranged for the taxi driver to pick us up at 12:30pm. It was perfect timing. We got back to the ship and had it practically to ourself. It was very hot that day. There is hairbraiding available if you are interested.

 

[MinnieMart]

we were there last july 4th 2001 with dcl. yes you must take a taxivan then the ferry then a open air taxi, but it is heaven!!! sooo relaxing. we did snorkle and the fish were pretty close. my daughter fed the fish a dog biscuit given to her by the lifeguard where you snorkle. have a great time!

 

[ldb1030]

Just back yesterday and had a wonderful time on St. John! We (group of 9) did this on our own and had no problems! Very easy to do and we were all so glad we did!!! It's not a hassle at all to get over there and back!

 

[Roxie A]

Did you rent a car for all of you or just take taxis???

 

[MFan]

Originally posted by ldb1030
Just back yesterday and had a wonderful time on St. John! We (group of 9) did this on our own and had no problems! Very easy to do and we were all so glad we did!!! It's not a hassle at all to get over there and back!

I think this will really depend on the ages of your kids. If you have real young ones like mine (DS5, DD2, DD1), just the gears will be difficult to manage. So, the fewer number of transfers the better. We went to Coki Beach both times we were in St. Thomas (1st time w/cruise excursion and 2nd time on our own). We had a lot of fun. It's only a quick taxi trip away. It does get crowded, but with the ages of my kids, they don't need a lot of space.

 

[Rhonda]

We rented a jeep on St. Thomas, and drove over to St. John (ferry). It was wonderful!! We found many beautiful beaches/coves to snorkel in! And, there was a great restaurant we stopped at for lunch - called the Mongoose. Outdoor tables in a lush, tropical atmosphere. It was the best day of our cruise! St. John is beautiful and well worth the price of the jeep!

 

[ldb1030]

We had 7 adults and 2 kids ages 21months and 11 years old!
Took taxi to ferry, ferry to St.John and taxi to Trunk Bay!
Not a problem at all!!!

 

[liza]

We were there in March -- went to Coki Beach first for snuba with our son (it was the highlight of his trip). Beach was small but nice. I've had better diving/snorkeling experiences in terms of fish and reefs. After that, we went to St. John for the rest of the day. If you haven't been before, it is definitely worth a trip. It is beautiful. We didn't snorkel there but I hear it's fun and at least as good as St. Thomas. If you want to see photos of snuba (showing fish, etc.), go to www.visnuba.com. If you want to feed fish while snorkeling, be aware it is allowed on St. Thomas but not St. John.

 

[kimtenn]

They had a show on the Travel Channel about St. Martin the other day, and it showed the hostess of the show wearing snorkel-like equipment, but she went way underwater like scuba gear. Must have been "snuba" gear. DH and I are snorkeling for the first time on this 9/7 cruise on St. John, and since I'm not a great swimmer, I'm a little apprehensive. I just don't like to be where I can't touch my feet on the bottom.

I have two questions: Do you have to snorkel in the deeper waters to see anything? Also, how common is it to "run into" a barracuda in September? They make me a little nervous!!

 

[luckymom]

We did Coki Beach in July - loved it!! I really wanted to go to St. Johns but I was worried about all the traveling because we had our 14mo DS. If you want to go diving at Coki - contack Coki Beach Dive Club. They have a nice set up. Will meet you at the port and transfer you to the beach early in the am. However, it did not seem to be too much trouble to get to the Red hook for the ferry to St. Johns. I just didn't want to attempt it with the baby. Now we just have to go back!!!

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by luckymom

If you want to go diving at Coki - contack Coki Beach Dive Club. They have a nice set up. Will meet you at the port and transfer you to the beach early in the am.

www.cokidive.com

 

[crablegs77]

Been to both. If you have time St. Johns wins hands down. The snorkeling is some of the best anywhere! Island is so beautiful. Coki is nice but small and a little crowed. Coral and fish are not as near as plentiful at Coki.

 

[leftwheel]

CelebrateGoldens:
We just returned from the 7-day Eastern and the beach you described from your recollections sounds just like the Coki Beach we experienced (small, dirty, extremely crowded). We went for just a short time as a sideline trip to Coral World (which we enjoyed), so it didn't bother us much that the beach was less than desirable.

 

[TeensMom]

Our family spent a week on St. Thomas a year or so back. I'd pick St. John in a heartbeat. It is the best snorkeling ever, beautiful and not as crowded. We also did the National Park tour which was wonderful - don't know how much time you have. I was underwhelmed at Coki and Coral World.

 

[peter pans family]

We took at taxi to Coki beach around 9 a.m. and the snorkeling was wonderful. The beach was pretty much empty and we arranged for the taxi to pick us up at 11:30 a.m. and drop us at the family beach (magen's ?-senior moment). He then returned at 2p.m. and dropped us at the shopping area. This gave us more flexibility than the tours and ended up being less expensive. Good Luck!