Trunk Bay vs. Coki Beach

[swhli]

Has anyone gone onto to both in excursions? I know TB is beautiful but is it worthwhile to go there ($59) as comparing to CB ($39)?

Thanks

[Kuki]

Trunk Bay is the prettier of the two in my opinion, though Coki is very nice.

You don't need an excursion to get there though. For $5/pp each way there are LOTS of taxis that will get you there and back.

[swhli]

Hi Kuki,

Do you mean all I need to spend is $5 one way from the pier to Trunk Bay? I am under the impression that I have to take the taxi, and then ferry, and then taxi again before I can reach TB. Do you have the exact direction to go to TB from the cruiseship pier?

Thanks

[Kuki]

For Trunk Bay, you'd need a cab to Red Hook Pier, ferry, and cab to Trunk Bay. So @ $5 for each leg.

Coki Beach or Megans Bay are on St Thomas.. and just a $5 taxi ride each way.

[swhli]

Thaks Kuki,

Do you know how long the entire trip (one-way) will take from the pier to Trunk Bay?

Thanks

[pcboston]

Hi all,

Sorry to disagree with you on the prices, Kuki, but we were just in St. Thomas on May 17th on the Elation. We did a 8am to 8pm day there, so we went over to St. John on our own. Inflation must have hit since you did that trip last. The taxi to Red Hook is now $10pp one way, ferry to St. John is still $5 one way, taxi to Trunk Bay from the ferry pier is $6pp, and admission to Trunk Bay is $4.....and this is one way per person, so double that to come back......it cost us $50 pp to do this on our own just in fares and not counting tips. That was for Trunk Bay only. Because we had a long port stop.....we also spent a few hrs. up at Cinnemon Bay on St. John, so we paid out more in taxi fares to do that, but we took advantage of the longer port stop to see as much as we could. The ferry fare from down town Charlotte Amalie to St. John is now $11.50 one way and it takes much longer, so you don't save anything by leaving from there. The only thing that you gain by doing St. John on your own is that you get to spend more time there and don't have to leave when the tour is leaving. I have done this both ways and think if I just wanted to spend a short time to see Trunk Bay, I would go with a shore tour there. Haven't been to Coke beach yet, so cannot comment on thatl. Hope this is helpful. Happy sails...................

[swhli]

Thanks for the update on prices

Just like what you said, $50 pp! The cruise ship charges $59. I guess I should go with the cruise excursion then. By the way, are we supposed to tip for the excursion?

Is Trunk Bay really beautiful?

Thanks

[David West]

swhli Posted: 30 May 2006 00:25 Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the update on prices

Just like what you said, $50 pp! The cruise ship charges $59. I guess I should go with the cruise excursion then. By the way, are we supposed to tip for the excursion?

Is Trunk Bay really beautiful?

Thanks
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------swhli,
We (the wife and I ) almost always take the ship's excursions. Specially, if we're wanting to go several miles from the ship. Because of one reason. If a break down occurs, or your delayed in getting back to the ship, Carnival will wait on you. But if your on your own, well, your on your own
And yes, Trunk Bay is beautiful

Happy Sailing to all;
David

[Fern]

Hi swhli,

By the way, are we supposed to tip for the excursion?

We always tip the tour guide on our excursions. Sometimes we tip the driver if he does more than drive!

That said, if we were just going from the ship to a beach and back, we probably wouldn't tip unless someone did something special for us.

And, as David West said, if we're going to take a tour we usually use the ship's tours. The companies that run the ship's tours have been vetted by the cruise line and you won't be left behind if something happens . We haven't found that the ship's tours cost much more than private tours. Again, this may not apply to just going to a beach and back.

Have a wonderful cruise!

[LisaK]

the main drawback in doing a ships excursion to Trunk Bay is that your time there is very limited. Actual snorkel/beach time is about 1 hour. Transportation time is figured into the excursion time.
BTW- no admission charge to Cinnamon Beach- it is a campground, they have clean facilities, an outdoor grill to grab a bite to eat, and you can rent floats, snorkel gear and sunfish type sailboats- that's it. You cannot buy or bring alcohol onto any beach on St. John Island because it is a National Park.
Hawksnest and Honeymoon are also very nice beaches on St. John Island.
IF i had to pick a beach on St. Thomas proper i would choose Sapphire Beach over Coki and Meagan's Bay.

[swhli]

Thanks everyone.

I guess I will just go with the cruise excursion to Trunk Bay. This may also help our economy growing again . I just hope that they will not simply drop us off right in the middle of the ocean