St Thomas Question....For those who have been

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Tanya

Guest
My son and I are going to St. Thomas in December and have 3 excursions in mind and they are:

St. John Beach Tour with time at Trunk Bay to lay out on the beach

Magen's Bay Beach Getaway

Magen's Bay and Coral World Excursion

He will be 19 by then and I am 40. We enjoy time on the beach along with other things as well. Is Coral World something that people my age and my son's age would enjoy or is it more for kids?

And most importantly which of the two beaches is prettier to you, Trunk Bay or Magen's Bay? Which is more crowded and which offers more to do?

Oh and by the way, I do want to take the excursions offered by the ship because I feel unsure of myself in a foreign land and am fearful of missing the ship if I am on my own.

Thanks for your input.

Tanya
 
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conniecat

Guest
We loved Coral World. My brother, sil and brother's friend went. Ages 33-53. Have some photos on my gallery, explorer 4-17-04. Tour was too short, we did the bus tour after, not the beach. Only gave us a little over an hour there. Could have spent much longer.
 
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charlie

Guest
The last time I was at Magen's Bay it was not too nice in my opinion. The water was not clear and the beach was crowded. Trunk Bay is far nicer and you are able to snorkel there which is not the case of Magen's Bay. Neither have a lot of activities.

Charlie
 
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teeree

Guest
It's been 3 years since I've been to Magen's Bay It was beautiful when we were there. Last year we chose the excursion to St. John's Trunk Bay. I didn't care for the boat ride over-thought it was a waste of time & it was a rough ride. Time is precious when you are in port for just so many hours. If I did it again I'd look for a different way to get there-maybe the ferry. Once we were there it was nice but in my opinion Magen's Bay was just as beautiful & much easier to get to from the ship. There are no water sports available at Magen's Bay--just crystal clear , calm water --at least it was when we were there. I've read some good reviews on Coki Beach. They have water sports & it is said that the water is beautiful there too. We will be cruising the Eastern Caribbean in 2 1/2 weeks--can't wait!! We are also trying to decide which beach to visit. Hope wherever you decide to go that you have a great time.
 
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bombero

Guest
I'd drop Megan's Bay, as it's real Plane Jane.. Trunk Bay is nicer.. Coral World is worth the effort.. Bombero
 
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Camelia

Guest
I only know Trunk Bay (so can't compare) where we went on our own to be able so spend more time there (I think when doing the ship excursion you only get 1-2 hours..?). St. John is breathtakingly beautiful, but Trunk Bay was terrible crowded and the snorkling trail was very disappointing. Maybe because it was windy and the water choppy, but there were very few fish, and looooots of snorklers. Before I left there were discussions on this board, saying that Hawknest Beach on St. John is a lot less crowded. We saw that beach, and in hindsight I wish I had listenend and gone to that beach.

My recommendation: go to St. John on your own, and get a cab there to take you around the island. The view from some of the high points is worth it.
 
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anna

Guest
I haven't been to Magan's bay in about 3 yrs but did the Trunk Bay excursion in May. Trunk Bay is beautiful but I agree that the boat ride over was long. We did our excursion through the ship and the ferry was late arriving to pick us up by over an hour. When we finally got to Trunk bay, we only had about an hour to enjoy the beach. It was beautiful but I felt I wasted a lot of beach time waiting for and riding on the ferry. The next time, I think I'll try to to the trip on my own and not through the ship.
 
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gfyjny

Guest
Would you and your son be interested in Scuba or Snuba diving? If answer is yes, I would suggest Coral World in Coki Beach. The price for Snuba is $59 per person including the entrance fee to Coral World. The taxi ride is about $14 for two people from the port. If you like Snorkeling or Beginning Scuba course, visit www.cokidive.com Snorkel Tour is $30 and the Dive Course is $60 including the gear and transportation to Coki Beach from the port. Coki Beach is well known for it's coral reef.
 
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nerak

Guest
We went to St John on our own in March. We went to Cinnamon Bay to swim and relax. BTW...my daughter was just turning 19 then and loved it also. We spent about 3 hours on the beach. There was no charge for the beach and it was very low key. There are hiking trails if you want to try that. We headed back to the ferry and spent some time in town shopping...best buy was the West Indies Spices. Headed back to ST Thomas in pouring rain. Just allow yourself plenty of time to catch the ferry as they were not always on time. We will always go to St John over St Thomas from now on.....but that is just our opinion.
 
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Cruisin'Kim

Guest
We were in St. Thomas in August and took the tour that included Megan's Bay. It was beautiful when we were there - clear water, nice beach - (if you go further down the beach away from the restuarant, it isn't as crowded).

Only problem we had were jelly fish - but I think it was just that time of year for them.

Kim.
 
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p.g.

Guest
Try going on your own, wealsways do, it is not scary. Take a taxi to Coki beach, Coral world is right there. We did Magens in April and were disappointed in it . There is a fee ( 3 $) to get in, it is CROWDED, especially in the Afternoon when the buses from the ships show up. There is no snorkling there at all.
A taxi is only 7 bucks ( each) to Coki, the beach is free, don;t know how much Coral world is as have not done it.
There will be tons of ship pax going there, tons of taxis to take you back to ship. Do the beach in the morning, then return to town, do a bit of shopping and return ot ship.
 
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p.g.

Guest
PS St thomas is a U.S. Virgin Island, so it's not that foriegn, everyone speaks english.
 
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SandyBeach

Guest
The two bays are somewhat different....even in color of water. We had Magen Bay almost to ourselves as we were there in the morning. It began getting crowded around noon. If you want to snorkel you would probably be better off going over to Trunk Bay - watch out for the undercurrent. Both are just gorgeous. Coral World was better than I expected. I wasn't impressed with their "main attraction" - which is the observation windows built out in the reef - although the view from above was spectacular. Everything else was great. Hearing the Nurse sharks eat was like hearing a baby ship's toilet ... the sound of the sucking vacuum was incredible. There was a petting area...for sea creatures...but for the most part I'd consider it a fairly decent aquarium. If you and your son enjoy visiting aquariums then I'd suggest visiting Coral World and there is a public beach next door.
 
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