Whenever you think of a tropical paradise, what scene do you paint in your mind?
When you close your eyes, do you envision soft, white, sandy beaches that you squidge between your toes?
Clear blue water as far as the eyes can see, the sun adjusting the hues as it crosses the sky?
Palm trees swaying in the breeze, adorned with coconuts?
Me too.
In this article, I want to introduce you to some of the most beautiful and stunning beaches on St. Thomas.
There are so many stunning beaches on St. Thomas – more than you could ever cover in a single visit. After visiting the island a few times, I’ve definitely been to my fair share of pristine beaches…and a few less so.
Some of the most stunning beaches on St. Thomas are quite popular, and for good reason. A handful of them have more of a locals-only feel, while a few of them get really crowded when cruise ships are in port.
Which obviously wasn’t a problem in 2020.
Even if you’re not ready to travel and would prefer to visit these amazing beaches vicariously, look no further. I’ve put together the ultimate list of beaches that you can hopefully visit in the future.
Or just stare at the pictures. Whichever you prefer.
Stunning Beaches on St. Thomas
What makes a beach stunning? Is it the color of the water? The softness of the sand? The vibe on the shore?
All of these are definitely a contributing factor, but the clincher will always be: does this beach satisfy what you’re looking for?
Are you looking for a sandy bottom that you can pretend to be a mermaid as you glide along the ocean floor?
Did you bring a hammock to lounge in with the perfect beachy backdrop?
Fixing to get your tan on?
Capture enough pictures to fill your Instagram feed with #beachvibes shots?
Whatever your requirements might be, St. Thomas has a beach for that.
Let’s take a look at the most stunning beaches on St. Thomas and fuel your wanderlust!
Lindquist Beach
Location: east end, entrance located across the street from St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Smith Bay Road
Best for: sunrises, picnics, horseback riding, walking along the white sand, building sand castles, hanging out with locals
Admission fees (monitored until about 5-6pm):
- Residents with ID $2
- Non-Residents $5
- Car parking $2
- Children under 13 are free
Parking situation: handicap parking and a few parking spots right next to the beach, but are only open until about 5-6 pm. There is a parking lot just outside the locked gate that you can park in and walk about 1/4 mile on a paved sidewalk down to the beach. Local transportation safari bus will drop off at the entrance to the parking lot.
Facilities: lifeguard, picnic benches/tables, showers, restrooms (only open until 5-6, depending on how long the attendant decides to stick around).
Personal Experience: this was the first beach I literally ran to when I landed on St. Thomas. It’s a beautifully serene location to be at sunset. Although the sun sets behind the beach, the sky explodes into cotton candy-colored pastels. The waves do tend to pick up a little bit in the evenings, but still are pretty tame.
Sapphire Beach
Location: at Sapphire Beach Condo Resort, east end directly southeast of Lindquist Beach
Best for: easy snorkeling, shade, white sand, beach bar and grill on the water, palm trees, lookout point, views of St. John and smaller islands
Admission fees: none
Parking situation: the entrance to the Sapphire Beach Condo Resort has a guard shack that is manned constantly. Just pull up and let them know that you want to go to the beach and they’ll give you a pass and direct you to the lot closest to the beach access. Local transportation safari bus will drop off at the entrance to the parking lot.
Facilities: beach bar and grill, close to resorts, plenty of shade
Personal Experience: there’s a peninsula that juts out on the east end of Sapphire Beach, just past the resort’s private pools. From there, you can see St. John and Shark Island. Also look out for low-hanging trees and coconuts, and say hi to the local iguanas that frequent the beach.
Hull Bay
Location: north side, tucked away in a residential area, can be a little tricky to find without a GPS
Best for: off-the-beaten-path atmosphere, local vibes, small beach feels, snorkeling (for competent swimmers), surfing (November-March), sunset
Admission fees: free
Parking situation: once you finally make it down to the beach, there’s a little parking lot to the left of the boat dock and just past the old Hull Bay Hideaway (closed)
Facilities: none
Personal Experience: Hull Bay was the beach that I was most excited to revisit in 2020, my first time being back in 2016. I was saddened to see that the Hull Bay Hideaway restaurant and bar had closed, but was super glad that it was still the hidden gem that I remember. For me, this is more of a hang-out-on-the-sand kind of beach, rather than a swim beach. There are tons of local sailboats anchored in the bay, which makes for fun watching.
Magen’s Bay
Location: north side, directly north of downtown Charlotte Amalie (town)
Best for: calm waters for floating and swimming, soft sand, gatherings; popular spot for most St. Thomas/Charlotte Amalie tour groups and cruise ship passengers
Admission fees: check out this website for up-to-date fees. If you want to visit multiple times each day, just talk to the person at the entrance booth so you don’t get charged twice.
Parking situation: large parking lot, with designated handicap and employee parking spots. There are tons of potholes and puddles, so have caution when driving around.
Personal recommendation: when you enter, drive all the way down to the left to avoid the crowds!
Facilities: restrooms, water sports rental booth, restaurant and bar, picnic benches, lifeguards on duty daily
Personal Experience: Magen’s Bay is my favorite beach on St. Thomas and I visited it multiple times during my stays in 2016 and 2020. While there, I swam with a massive tarpon, watched the diving birds hunt for fish, watched some mommy yoga (not creepily), and encouraged the locals that were doing their water aerobics in the bay.
Brewer’s Bay
Location: west end, directly north of the Cyril E. King airport
Best for: turtle sightings, calm, crystal clear water, sweeping shores, sandy bottom water, local vibes, sunsets, aviation fans, bird-watching
Admission fees: none
Parking situation: street parking along the beach
Facilities: restrooms, showers, food trucks along the road
Personal Experience: Brewer’s Bay is located right next to the University of the Virgin Islands and (when school is in session) has a large college-aged visitors congregation, which makes for fun times. Most visitors will overlook this beach, so it was super chill when I visited. You can watch the airplanes land nearby, but the noise isn’t nearly as bad as Maho Beach on Sint Maarten.
Mermaid’s Chair
Location: westernmost accessible point of St. Thomas, within the Preserve at Botany Bay gated community
Best for: sunsets, the only place where you can see the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean
Admission fees: free
Parking situation: street parking outside the gated community
Facilities: none
Personal Experience: check out THIS POST for everything you need to know about Mermaid’s Chair!
Coki Point
Location: east end, directly next to Coral World Ocean Park
Best for: white sandy beaches, snorkeling (although there’s a history of people feeding the fish to encourage larger gatherings, however unethical), partying and lively atmosphere, swimming; popular destination for cruise ship passengers.
Admission fees: free
Parking situation: there’s a small parking lot at the entrance to the beach for $5, or you can try to find off-site parallel parking
Facilities: food vendors, shops, souvenirs, restrooms, water sports are available at the Coki Dive Shop
Personal Experience: I didn’t order the listings of these beaches at all, although I purposefully left Coki Beach for the last one on this list. Although I consider it worthy to be on the list of the most stunning beaches on St. Thomas, I will personally not be visiting this beach again. It was beautiful, but there were too many people offering recreational drugs for my liking. If you can look past that and don’t mind the party scene, this might be a good beach for you.
Have you ever visited one of these stunning beaches on St. Thomas before? Which one would you visit first?
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