Adventures in St. Thomas, VI

Why Families Love St. Thomas

St. Thomas is the practical base of the US Virgin Islands — it has the airport, the ferries, the supermarkets and the widest range of places to stay. It is busier and more developed than St. John, and that is the trade: you give up some quiet and get back convenience, which with young children is not a bad deal.

The beaches divide neatly by what you want. Magens Bay is a mile-long horseshoe so sheltered that the water barely moves — the safest swimming on the island for toddlers, with full facilities. What it is not is a snorkelling bay; a sandy sheltered beach has little to look at underwater. Coki Beach is the opposite: small, busy, and with dense reef fish a few metres from the sand in water shallow enough to stand in. Sapphire splits the difference — reef at both ends, a long shallow sandy middle, and a view straight across to St. John.

Coral World Ocean Park is the wet-weather and rough-sea answer, and better than it sounds: its observatory tower is built down into the reef offshore, so you descend a spiral staircase and look out at wild fish in open water rather than into a tank. It sits directly beside Coki, so the two make a full day.

Weekend Itinerary

Day 1: Magens Bay in the morning while it is calm and before any cruise excursions arrive. Afternoon at Brewers Bay, which is free, has real sea grape shade, food vans on the road behind, and aircraft landing low over the water — reliably the most interesting thing there if you are eight.

Day 2: Coki Beach first thing for the clearest water and the fewest people, then straight next door to Coral World for the hot part of the day. Get the day’s feeding and presentation times on arrival and plan around them.

Day 3: Lindquist Beach, which is the one residents recommend — a territorial park with a small entry fee, which is exactly why it stays quiet. Bring food; there is no concession. Or take the ferry from Red Hook and give the day to St. John.

Getting There

Cyril E. King Airport takes direct flights from several US mainland cities, and as a US territory it is a domestic trip — no passport for US citizens, dollars, and normal mobile coverage. Ferries to St. John run from Red Hook and Charlotte Amalie, and to St. Croix by seaplane or fast ferry.

Hire a car. Taxis are open-air share vans charging per person, which adds up fast with a family. Driving is on the left in left-hand-drive cars, and the roads are steep and narrow.

Best Time to Visit

December to April is driest and busiest. Trade winds build through the afternoon almost every day, so morning is when the water is flattest — that is why every snorkelling stop in the itinerary above is scheduled early.

Check the cruise ship schedule for Charlotte Amalie before choosing which beach on which day. Coki and Magens are both major excursion stops and change character completely on a heavy port day; Brewers Bay and Lindquist do not.