Trunk Bay experiences

[Lyn-CA]

Hi. I'm looking for people who have done Trunk Bay either on their own or with Disney excursion.

Would you mind sharing your experiences? What you like or didn't like about Trunk Bay? Suggestions and recommendations for lunch places around Trunk Bay or near the port?

What you would do the same or do differently?

How was the trip over and back? How much time did you get to spend at Trunk Bay?

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

TIA

 

[reimero]

When my wife and I went, we had to take a small boat over to St. Johns. As it happened, it was one of THE WORST ocean conditions I've ever seen. I don't get seasick, but it was AWFUL. I realize it was likely an outlier, but it was so bad I don't think I'd ever want to do it again. This was a DCL excursion and the crew member accompanying said she'd never seen it that bad either.

Trunk Bay itself was stunning. But we couldn't really enjoy it because we were dreading the ride back. That, and I was sunburned from Orient Beach. But the ride was the killer.

 

[msteddom]

I've done Trunk Bay in my own twice. Taxi to the Red Hook ferry, ferry to St. John, then open air taxi to Trunk Bay. It is cheaper than Disney and there is more flexibility in scheduling. You need to keep an eye on the time to make the right ferry, but it wasn't a problem for us.

https://www.usvi.net/information/transportation/ferry-schedules/st-thomas-to-st-john-ferry-schedule/

 

[Lyn-CA]

When my wife and I went, we had to take a small boat over to St. Johns. As it happened, it was one of THE WORST ocean conditions I've ever seen. I don't get seasick, but it was AWFUL. I realize it was likely an outlier, but it was so bad I don't think I'd ever want to do it again. This was a DCL excursion and the crew member accompanying said she'd never seen it that bad either.

Trunk Bay itself was stunning. But we couldn't really enjoy it because we were dreading the ride back. That, and I was sunburned from Orient Beach. But the ride was the killer.

So sorry to hear of the rough seas you encountered. May I ask what time of year this happened?

 

[Lyn-CA]

I've done Trunk Bay in my own twice. Taxi to the Red Hook ferry, ferry to St. John, then open air taxi to Trunk Bay. It is cheaper than Disney and there is more flexibility in scheduling. You need to keep an eye on the time to make the right ferry, but it wasn't a problem for us.

https://www.usvi.net/information/transportation/ferry-schedules/st-thomas-to-st-john-ferry-schedule/

Good to hear. It sounds easy enough to do on your own. About how long does it take for the taxi, ferry, and taxi again? About how long did you stay at Trunk Bay? Do you still recall which ferry you took to make it back to the ship in time?

 

[squirk]

I've done Trunk Bay in my own twice. Taxi to the Red Hook ferry, ferry to St. John, then open air taxi to Trunk Bay. It is cheaper than Disney and there is more flexibility in scheduling. You need to keep an eye on the time to make the right ferry, but it wasn't a problem for us.

https://www.usvi.net/information/transportation/ferry-schedules/st-thomas-to-st-john-ferry-schedule/

^ This, exactly. Do it on your own, and you will get to the beach a good hour before the DCL port adventure does, and you will still have time to grab lunch or do some quick shopping in Cruz Bay before heading back. The food options at the beach itself are lacking. Again, save it for Cruz Bay.

 

[reimero]

So sorry to hear of the rough seas you encountered. May I ask what time of year this happened?

I want to say it was in July.

 

[msteddom]

Good to hear. It sounds easy enough to do on your own. About how long does it take for the taxi, ferry, and taxi again? About how long did you stay at Trunk Bay? Do you still recall which ferry you took to make it back to the ship in time?

I honestly don't remember. The first time we did it was fifteen years ago on Carnival, and the second was five years ago on Disney. So, you can see that neither experience was recent. I don't remember feeling like any part of the journey was overly long or complicated though. We spent several hours at the beach. And we made it back to the ship with enough time to do some shopping in the port area and still not feel rushed.

 

[squirk]

Good to hear. It sounds easy enough to do on your own. About how long does it take for the taxi, ferry, and taxi again? About how long did you stay at Trunk Bay? Do you still recall which ferry you took to make it back to the ship in time?

I think, soup-to-nuts, you are looking at about a 90- to 105-minute trip from stepping off the ship and stepping onto the beach at Trunk.

You will have an extremely difficult time making the 8:00 Red Hook ferry to St. John, so you usually are cooling your heels at the ferry dock for the 9:00. Twenty-minute ferry ride; cabs are waiting for you at Cruz Bay; another 10-15 minute ride to Trunk. I don't think we've ever been able to reach the beach before 9:30 a.m.

We usually stay about 2.5 hours on the beach before we head back to Cruz to eat and shop, and then hop back on the 2:00 ferry to St. Thomas, IIRC.

 

[Disneybridewifemama]

Trunk bay is my favorite place that we've visited yet! Simply beautiful! I do not remember there being a place to eat, I remember having a bag of goldfish for my daughter and being really grateful that we did. I loved that there was no smoking on the island! the water was clear, warm and beautiful and that was over Thanksgiving in 2015. We had a simple ferry ride over there I remember the only downside being that we never wanted to leave. It was definitely on the shorter side as far as actual beach time excursions go. We did it through princess cruise

 

[mcd2745]

Gorgeous beach, among the best you'll ever see. Definitely should do it if you have enough time - depending on how long you port in St Thomas. If you would only get a couple of hours at Trunk Bay, it may not be worth it. Trip over can be a little rough for sure.

 

[Snurk71]

We just went to Trunk last week from the Fantasy. We were planning on going to Honeymoon, but on the cab ride there a local talked us into going to Trunk instead. We weren't disappointed - it was a great beach, clear waters, and we had some great snorkeling along what we called the island (rock formation just of the beach). There was a drink/ food counter, but we didn't get anything.

We tried to make the 8.00 red hook ferry, but missed by 5 minutes. Kind of stunk to wait around for another hour. We went down to get off right at 7.30 and the gangway was already open. Advice if you want to try to catch the 8.00 - be down at the gangway at 7.15 and when you get to the taxi area tell them you need to go now to try to catch the 8.00 ferry (they want to wait to fill the taxi if they can).

The return ferries from Cruz bay leave on the hour. We came back on the 1.00 because our daughter wanted to have enough time for shopping back at the port. We could have easily came back on the 2.00 instead (me and wife kind of wanted to).

 

[squirk]

I do not remember there being a place to eat, I remember having a bag of goldfish for my daughter and being really grateful that we did

There is a little place near the lockers/snorkel-rental shack that serves basic stuff like hot dogs, chips, soda, etc.

 

[remlap]

this is one more vote for Trunks Bay is EASY to do on your own at a fraction of the cost, and giving you more beach time than the official excursions.
The taxis are lined up right outside the cruise ship, they know what they are doing. (this is using the term taxi loosely if you're thinking of a NYC Cab). They were also lined up to meet our return ferry to take us back.