You do not know it but, however St Thomas is the tropical paradise of your desires. Sugar-white sands line this US Virgin Island, and swaying inexperienced palms present light shade while you’re not floating dreamily within the Caribbean Sea.
Whether or not you need to stretch out on the seashore and calm down, snorkel amidst the wealthy marine life or park your self at a seashore bar, St Thomas has the perfect seashore to fit your wants. These are seven of our favorites, from the heavy hitters that hold vacationers coming again for extra to the tucked-away coves locals love.
1. Magens Bay
Finest seashore for households and services
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A frequent inclusion on lists of essentially the most lovely seashores on the planet, Magens Bay actually is definitely worth the hype. Sure, you’ll have to pay a charge to enter (US$7/21, day/month for non-residents). And sure, it does get full of vacationers (particularly when cruise ships are in port). However there is not any different seashore on St Thomas fairly prefer it – it is tucked on the finish of a deep horseshoe-shaped cove with inexperienced hills snaking off into the horizon on both finish. Altering services, eating places, water sports activities leases, picnic tables and lifeguards all make it an ideal selection for households.
2. Honeymoon Seashore
Finest seashore for laidback adventures
Take a 15-minute ferry from the Crown Bay Marina to the dock on close by Water Island, hike for 10 minutes over a small hill, and you will find your self at a picturesque cove lined with towering palms often known as Honeymoon Seashore. Blessed with extremely calm waters, it is an ideal place to hire a kayak or paddleboard for a leisurely mid-morning journey. It is also dotted with the umbrellas of low-key seashore bars, making it a really perfect spot for a type of lunches that by chance turns into an early joyful hour.
3. Lindbergh Bay
Finest seashore for budding aviators
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Aircraft spotters love Lindbergh Bay – as you lay again on a towel basking within the tropical solar, you may watch jets descend into the neighboring Cyril E. King Airport. Named after the pioneering American aviator Charles Lindbergh – who landed right here on a victory tour in 1928 after finishing the primary solo transatlantic flight – this lengthy, broad seashore shaded by seagrape timber is nice for strolls or swimming laps. Anybody flying out early ought to contemplate the 2 inns on both finish, Lindbergh Bay Resort and Emerald Seashore Resort, which make handy final-night stays.
4. Lindquist Seashore
Finest seashore for photograph alternatives
Nestled within the protected Smith Bay Park, Lindquist Seashore is a real imaginative and prescient of paradise, with smooth white sands main out to calm aquamarine waters. Off within the distance, emerald inexperienced cays roll throughout the horizon, making it a popular backdrop for each island weddings and American commercials. Households love the place, too, as a result of there’s at all times a lifeguard on obligation, picnic tables for lunching and a bathhouse with showers the place you may rinse off the salty sea.
5. Brewers Bay
Finest seashore for price range vacationers
Sea turtles and stingrays are regularly noticed ambling via the seagrass of this broad bay behind the airport, which is a favourite with college students from the close by College of the Virgin Islands. Regardless of being among the finest locations on the island for sea life, Brewers Bay sees much more locals than vacationers, who typically come for picnics and gatherings on the weekend, chowing down on pates (meat pies) or johnnycakes (fluffy fried bread). On weekdays, it is typically abandoned. With snack vans, restroom services and easy accessibility by public bus, it makes an ideal vacation spot for vacationers on a price range.
6. Sapphire Seashore
Finest seashore for windsurfing
It might be known as Sapphire Seashore, however the water right here is so turquoise that you will suppose your eyes are tricking you. Guests typically base themselves within the apartment leases and resort inns that encase this East Finish seashore for its sweeping views over St John and offshore cays which are as spectacular because the snorkeling on the reef close to Pettyklip Level. Sure, it is unabashedly touristy, however it by no means feels overrun with day-trippers. And with a gentle breeze, it is also the most effective spot on the island for windsurfing.
7. Neltjeberg Bay
Finest seashore for privateness and peace
Pristine sand strains and an ideal half-moon bay are the rewards on the finish of a 20-minute hike out to St Thomas’s best secret seashore. Neltjeberg Bay lies on the far aspect of a thick tangle of bush – together with wild-growing pineapple and guava – to the west of the extra accessible Dorothea Seashore. The one signal of civilization is a solitary – and fairly opulent – home atop Ruy Level, in addition to the vine-clad ruins of an outdated sugar plantation. BYO every thing (and cart it again out) as there are zero services; it’s going to simply be you, the sand and some curving coconut palms!
8. Coki Seashore
Finest seashore for snorkeling
If you wish to snorkel proper off the coast of St Thomas, nearly everybody will level you within the route of Coki Seashore. Whereas the corals right here aren’t what they was once – and the scene is something however serene – most guests do encounter loads of tropical fish (thanks, in no small half, to the controversial apply of fish feeding). Needless to say as a result of it lies adjoining to the flashy theme park, Coral World, this slim strip of sand can get completely slammed with vacationers.
9. Mermaid’s Chair
Finest seashore to paddle from the ocean to the ocean
The prospect to place one foot within the Caribbean, then one other within the Atlantic, is what lures intrepid vacationers to the distant double-sided seashore often known as Mermaid’s Chair. This small strip of sand on the wild western tip of St Thomas is greatest considered at low tide. To succeed in it, plan to hike about 1.3 miles (2km) downhill from The Protect at Botany Bay on a largely paved highway with in depth views over the westerly cays.
