Last minute ?...best beaches on St. Maarten and St. John for toddlers

[debbiebones]

A last minute question for those of you who've been....which beaches on St. Maarten and St. John (or St. Thomas) are the best for a 3 and 4 year old. I'm looking for easy access as well as shallow waters, nice play areas for the kids....not too terribly crowded (although that'll probably be impossible).

Any suggestions?

I appreciate it!

Deb

 

[carlennaro]

HI! We took our 11 month DD for a St. Thomas land trip 1 1/2 years ago. We loved Magens' Bay, which is a public beach that you pay to get on, but has all the facilities you might need for a family...food, bathrooms, etc..

We also spent time at Sapphire beach which was lovely with lots of great places for shade (so did Magen's Bay). The only drawback there is I felt like I was skulking around and sneaking use of the hotels facilities, as it was not a public beach.

We are taking our DD again (now 3) and her DS 2 on Magic 2/7/04 and plan on just getting off the ship and hopping in a taxi to Magens's Bay!

Happy Vacationing!

 

[carlennaro]

By the way, I saw an excurision to one of the beaches that I thought was priced ridiuclously. Most beaches are free, so why pay $42.00 pp for a bus ride and a boxed lunch? Bring some snacks, or order room service and pack it to go. I don't know what cab fare is, but it has got to be less than what the ship is charging!

If you have the time, please let me know how you fared, as I could use the info for my upcoming trip! Thanks!

 

[debbiebones]

I'll let you know how we do...thanks for the info!

Deb

 

[mog]

We went to Cinnamon Bay on St. John. It was great! It is a very beautiful beach - calm water, nice beach and best of all there was hardly anyone there! It is right near Trunk Bay and everyone goes there, so most people don't seem to know about Cinnamon Bay. They do have bathrooms/showers/changing rooms, etc. They also have a campground there so there is a little convenience store with drinks/snacks. There is also a little hut there where you can rent snorkeling gear. No entrance fee to get in either!

 

[pigelet]

Mog: I'm happy I found you. I had read about Cinnamon Bay and was dying to try it since Trunk is so crowded. Is the beach itself as nice as Trunk? From what you wrote it looks good. Is it before or after Trunk? Are taxi's waiting for you when you want to leave?
Thanks for any info you could give