Virgin Island Beaches
All beaches in the Virgin Islands are open to the public. A few have dressing facilities and showers – Coki (at Coral World) and Magen’s Bay on St. Thomas; Cinnamon and Trunk Bay on St. John. Some hotel beaches have beach chair/umbrella rentals and restaurant/bars nearby, such as Frenchman’s Reef Morningstar Beach and Sapphire Beach. It is advisable to leave valuables at your hotel unless you have a plastic container to take them along on your swim or snorkeling while at the beach. Avoid the mid-day sun. Start out with a 20 minute exposure with suntan lotion on your first few days. Even sitting in the shade can result in sunburn.
The following are some of our favorite Virgin Island beaches...
Coki Beach
Noted for its tranquil turquoise waters, Coki Beach has great snorkeling and scuba diving right off the beach. Take your first scuba lesson or learn how to snorkel from one of the dive shops on the beach. You will find hair braiders, chair rentals, taxis, beach waiters serving drinks and vendors selling t-shirts, sunblock, art work, bags, wrap skirts, towels and more! Or if you want to see the marine life without getting wet, visit Coral World right next door. There is parking available just off the road close to the beach but not a whole lot.
Morningstar Beach
This is the main beach for the Mariott’s Frenchman’s Reef and Morningstar Resorts so you will find lots of hotel guests there and lots of things to support guest lounging and comfort. The watersports operation
offers paddleboats, kayaks, sailboats, jet skis and more. Chairs, umbrellas, snorkel gear and floats are available to rent from the hotel. A beachside restaurant and bar lies conveniently at water’s edge. This beach offers beautiful view of the departing cruise ships in the afternoon.
Sapphire Beach
You’ll be entertained for the entire day at this gem of a beach. Windsurfing lessons, snorkeling, beach chairs and umbrella rentals are just some of the available amenities. Fill your day with sun and fun, and then sit back with a cool drink from the full service bar. Water is for the most part calm and the snorkeling is quite good to either side of the beach. If you want to learn windsurfing then this beach is great. Most of the time the wind blows in towards the beach making the return sail a breeze!
Lindquist Beach
Located on the East End of St Thomas, this beach is the only other beach, operated by a government Authority, that charges an entrance fee ($3). It is a very natural beach lined along the shore with indigenous plants and trees with no development within sight. Popular with the locals for years even though it was private land, it was recently bought by the VI government and turned over to the Magens Bay Authority for public use. Long, fine, white, sand beach with calm, pristine, crystal blue water. A beautiful Caribbean beach!
Magens Bay Beach
Named one of the world’s most beautiful beaches, Magens Bay, the largest beach on St. Thomas, offers changing rooms, bathrooms and showers. The mile long beach is very calm with no waves, unless posted by the front gate that there is surf present. Beach chair and float rentals are available along with a restaurant and bar. A water sports operation rents paddle boats, kayaks and sunfish. There is a $5 per person entrance fee to this public beach. This beach can be very crowded on heavy cruise ship days.
