What to do in St. Thomas and Tortola???

[charminnie]

We are a family of four, children ages 11 and 9. What should we do at these ports? Or not do at these ports? We love the beach! Any tips or past experiences appreciated!

 

[dkfogt]

We are sailing to these ports for the first time in 2017 as well, so I'm interested in responses here as well.....

 

[MUN]

We are a family of four, children ages 11 and 9. What should we do at these ports? Or not do at these ports? We love the beach! Any tips or past experiences appreciated!

Magens Bay in St. Thomas is wonderful! It is an easy and scenic taxi ride from the port. The beach is huge and the water is clear and clean. We loved our day at Magens Bay!

 

[Eeyores]

Is the beach the only thing to do? I am looking as well, but we don't swim!

 

[Princess Vespa]

Magen's Bay in St Thomas. It is beautiful. The trip there in the cab can be a bit scary going up and around the mountain. But the beach is so worth it.
You can rent kayaks there as well. We went last year and my kids were 8 and 6, my neice and nephew were 13 and 11. Everyone had a great time. bring some water to drink and pack some snack!

 

[MUN]

Is the beach the only thing to do? I am looking as well, but we don't swim!

No one in your group knows how to swim? Actually, Magens Bay is a very calm shallow beach. You can walk out quite far before the water gets deep.

MUN

 

[Eeyores]

I could save myself but definitely couldn't save both of us! I'd drown trying. We use life jackets. That's a question. Do we need to bring life jackets or does Disney provide them?

 

[jennine]

We are a family of 5 and our twins have Cerebral Palsy with DS being in a wheelchair. Finding adventures was tricky for us and we had decided that Castaway would be our "beach day". But on Tortola we did the North Shore& Pussers Island Tour. We had a great guide that gave us an incredible amount of information on the island as we drove to the peak. Many great views to be seen. Our driver's name was Keith.....and there is free wifi in the tour bus!

On St. Thomas we chose a trip to Coral World Ocean Park. It was okay, but we wouldn't do it again. You can see a shark feeding, touch stingrays, see turtles and watch a sea lion show(sort of a really mini version of seaworld). This is also the location of Coki beach. We had our driver drop us off at the Havenport shopping area on the way back to the ship. This area is within easy walking distance back to the trip. There are lots of tourist shops here were you can get lots of great St. Thomas souvenirs and jewelery.

 

[NYCMommy]

We just did these ports in February with a 10 year old and 12 year old. We did a Tour of Virgin Gorda (so basically a half day at the Baths) and then Trunk Bay in St John. Both were WONDERFUL and fabulous excursions. We had really rough seas for our cruise (Feb 13 sailing) and there were red flags in The Baths - and both were still amazing!! Even better - we were back on board the ship by around 1/1:30 both days so could enjoy it a bit emptied out.

 

[Kerrio929]

If you are confident in your navigation skills you can easily take the ferry to St. John and go to trunk bay on your own. It's a beautiful beach and has changing areas and bathrooms and a place to get food

 

[bumbershoot]

Are there any beaches right near where the ships come in at St Thomas, like there are beaches nearby in Nassau and Grand Cayman?

Or do the beaches all involve scary mountain cab rides?

I could save myself but definitely couldn't save both of us! I'd drown trying. We use life jackets. That's a question. Do we need to bring life jackets or does Disney provide them?

If you and your party cannot swim and you're thinking of setting foot in the water on a beach, buy your own GOOD life jackets, bring them, and wear them. Please. Also, please go find some swimming lessons!

 

[jacknsally19]

In Tortola, we took a cab to Cane Garden Beach. The cabs are actually like mini buses and charged maybe $8 a person each way. The beach was nice and there were bathrooms, food, and a small market. We also rented 2 beach chairs for $10. It was very nice, water was calm and clear. When we got back to the port, my husband & DD went back to the ship and I walked a few blocks to shop in a cute market place with a lot of locally made items. I bought an adorable doll for my DD that she sleeps with every night! The prices here seemed pretty reasonable.

In St. Thomas, we planned to go to do Magen's Bay my husband was burnt and wanted to skip the beach. So we went to the Butterfly Garden which was a quick walk from the ship. It was pretty small and little expensive. but my daughter loved it and the people that worked there were incredibly nice. We then headed to Charlotte Amalie - which was nice to walk around & quaint but it was a little too crowded with cruisers bc there were 3 ships in port. We walked to Charlotte Amalie but took a cab back bc my DD couldn't handle walking anymore.

 

[Simba One]

Magen's bay was gorgeous and there were plenty of trees for shade. The water was gentle and lots of kids did the sand. No, there are no life vests.

 

[pipertoad]

How easy is it to get a cab back to the port from these beaches? Are you able to just leave when you want? Or do you need to wait for specific pick-up time?

 

[MUN]

How easy is it to get a cab back to the port from these beaches? Are you able to just leave when you want? Or do you need to wait for specific pick-up time?

At Magen's Bay, cabs will be waiting in the parking lot. It is very easy.

 

[kittylady1972]

If you are confident in your navigation skills you can easily take the ferry to St. John and go to trunk bay on your own. It's a beautiful beach and has changing areas and bathrooms and a place to get food

THIS is absolutely correct. You don't have to be confident as there are plenty of websites that will offer guidance on planning. Just beware that you DO need CASH for this so take plenty with you. Lots of people do the exact same thing. There are tons of cabs always waiting at the Ferry to take you to Trunk Bay AND in the parking lot of Trunk Bay to take you back to the ferry.

We found that during our adventure to get to St. John there were many other people on cruises navigating this on their own, including a woman with her elderly parents. Trunk Bay has places to rent equipment (like snorkel gear and inflatable vests) and the prices are VERY reasonable and they DO accept credit cards there. However the ferry and the cabs you take will be cash only. My husband and kids (15, 11, 13) absolutely LOVED our time at Trunk Bay and they still talk about it. They would love to go back there. Plus we were not constrained by Disney times and could spend as much time as we wanted, we just made sure to allow plenty of time for transportation there and back. The only thing that stressed us out was that I did not plan ahead on the cash thing, but there were ATMs at the ferry and on the island...if you remember to take your ATM card with you (unlike me).

 

[Bettyscruise]

Our last trip to St Thomas was with two elderly ladies, one of whom was afraid of the water. Our time at Magen's Bay was the highlight of the trip. Absolutely stunning beauty, calm, shallow, crystal clear water. The 80 years old went in, it was that inviting. Easy to get there by cab, just arrange for that cab to meet you there at a set time for the return trip or grab one of the many cabs waiting for a fare. There is a fee to get into the beach, chair and float rentals, food and cab fare is the cost. Remember to take your photo I.D. and Disney card, as the access back to ship is run by U.S. Customs and they actually do check. No I.D., no re-boarding.


Is that calm or what??

 

[kickash]

We just did these ports in February with a 10 year old and 12 year old. We did a Tour of Virgin Gorda (so basically a half day at the Baths) and then Trunk Bay in St John. Both were WONDERFUL and fabulous excursions. We had really rough seas for our cruise (Feb 13 sailing) and there were red flags in The Baths - and both were still amazing!! Even better - we were back on board the ship by around 1/1:30 both days so could enjoy it a bit emptied out.

Did you use Disney or an outside company? Your excursion sounds exactly like what my family is interested in doing! Any info you can give me will be appreciated as we book next Friday!

 

[squirk]

I second the idea of making your way to Trunk Bay on your own. If you get off the ship ASAP, you will probably get there a good hour before the DCL tour does. The beach will be virtually empty.

Get off ship --> get cab to Red Hook --> get Red Hook ferry to Cruz Bay --> get cab to Trunk Bay. It takes a while and isn't cheap, but still well-worth it, in my family's opinion.

 

[phinz]

What to do is St. Thomas? The last three times I've stayed on the boat and enjoyed the fact that everybody else went elsewhere.