St. Thomas help needed

[nkereina]

We'll be in St. Thomas in a few weeks on Oasis of the Seas. We'll be traveling with my parents who are not big beach people. As such, I chose an excursion through Royal called "Discover St. Thomas & Magen's Bay" which is a good mix of sightseeing for my parents and some beach time at Magen's Bay for my husband and me.

However, I just found that there will be 4-5 other ships in port the day we are there. Our excursion will be at the beach sometime mid-afternoon. I know Magen's Bay is a popular place, so should we expect it to be pretty packed? Is it possible all the chair rentals will be gone?

An alternative I'm now considering is 4 hours at Abi Beach. Would that be more calm and less crowded? My parents could make do sitting at the bar or under an umbrella for the duration.

Appreciate any thoughts from others who may have been to either at a busy time. Thanks!

 

[DVC Doctor]

Magens Bay will be crowded, but it is a large beach and tons of chair rentals and Abi beach is very small, but more private.

Search TripAdvisor for details and pics of both beaches.

 

[mikethedigiartist]

First off, I'm very confident that you don't need to book an excursion for what you want to do, especially since there are at least four people traveling with you. I'd suggest working with a driver right at the port to go where you want when you want.

Yes, Magens Bay will be busy and frankly it's not all that it's made out to be, especially for four hours. Never been to Abi Beach, but I've visited Secret Harbor many times and enjoyed it very much.

 

[nkereina]

First off, I'm very confident that you don't need to book an excursion for what you want to do, especially since there are at least four people traveling with you. I'd suggest working with a driver right at the port to go where you want when you want.

Yes, Magens Bay will be busy and frankly it's not all that it's made out to be, especially for four hours. Never been to Abi Beach, but I've visited Secret Harbor many times and enjoyed it very much.

Thanks for the tip but looking to stick with the cruise line's excursions for several reasons. We'll be at Magen's Bay for just under 2 hours, the other 2 hours are sightseeing stops. So just trying to gauge whether we'll be shoulder to shoulder with people at Magen's Bay, considering it's a busy port day.

 

[mikethedigiartist]

Thanks for the tip but looking to stick with the cruise line's excursions for several reasons.

Fair enough. Not shoulder to shoulder as the beach is quite long. But there will be busy areas (entrance, facilities and roads). Have fun!

 

[Laz]

The last time we were in ST. Thomas, the RCCL ship had sponsored trips over to ST. Johns and either Trunk Bay or Cinnamon Bay. Fantastic beaches with smaller crowds.