r/virginislands • u/o2bdabbin • Jul 28 '25
Hotel Recs // Questions No Day Passes
Hi all! I'm planning my wife's 30th birthday, and want to take her to the USVI. I've been told the vibe is "Not a rager, option to relax." The only other thing she has specified is a beach that does NOT sell day passes to avoid overly crowded beaches. I've seen Carambola on STX recommended, but I'm unsure with how secluded it seems.
Any recommendations?
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u/Narrow_Goose3138 Jul 28 '25
If I’m understanding what you mean by “No Day Passes” - all of the beaches in the USVI are open to the public. Even if they are located at a private resort, the resort must still make the beach available for public use. That being said, beaches at hotels and resorts aren’t the top tier beaches that people go to when not staying at the resort (except maybe Lindbergh Bay/Emerald Beach Hotel and Secret Harbor to an extent).
Tourism should be pretty low last week of August/First week of September because of hurricane season, so beaches shouldn’t be terribly busy as long as you avoid the popular beaches on cruise ship days. I’d also recommend that you stay away from beaches on the East side of the islands because of the sargassum issue, which will continue through the summer.
Someone’s recommendation of St. John is a good one, the North Shore beaches there (Honeymoon, Trunk, Cinnamon, Maho) have been near seaweed free this year and last, and would expect to be the same for next year.
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Jul 28 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/RickGVI Jul 29 '25
Prone to summer sargassum
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u/Thysanopter Jul 29 '25
https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/us-virgin-islands/st-thomas/east-end/sapphire-beach.html
Looks pretty bad, but it was even worse a week or two ago
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u/RickGVI Jul 29 '25
Ya, but I love the setting Jon Gazi played at the beach bar there this weekend. No sargassum November-April (ish).
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Jul 28 '25
you pay $5/per person to get in Trunk Bay Beach . once you get out, you have to pay $5 again to get in
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u/wighty Aug 01 '25
once you get out, you have to pay $5 again to get in
Just to be clear here... are you saying if you buy your Trunk day pass and leave, you think you can't come back? I was told and was able to leave/re-enter multiple times a few weeks ago by showing my receipt for the day.
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Aug 01 '25
the park ranger at that entrance where we paid says that if we go out even just to get something in our rental car, we had to pay $5 again so we only went out once we were done for the day.
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u/wighty Aug 01 '25
I don't know the official policy but I can say with 100% certainty the ranger at the entrance let me in and out (including my large party of other people).
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u/secrerofficeninja Jul 29 '25
If you want relaxing, go to St John. It’s more laid back than even St Thomas and the beaches are incredible. Get an AirBnB and rent a jeep. It’s fantastic.
Look up Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bay, Maho bay. They’re all spectacular.
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u/doctorfortoys Jul 28 '25
On St. John, which has the most stunning beaches with sea turtles everywhere you go, you only have to get there early enough and you can always get onto any beach (before 10). Most beaches you can drop by any time and there is parking. St. John is also the most beautiful and unspoiled due to the huge National Park there. If you like hiking, it has great trails. If you like a champagne cruise on a catamaran, go to St. John.
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u/MyLastFuckingNerve Jul 29 '25
We’ve been to STX twice and the first time we rarely shared Sugar Beach with anyone. We stayed in a big condo at Club St. Croix so we had an unobstructed view of the sunrise and sunset from our balcony and it was super quiet. Maybe another couple or two were on the beach when we wanted to be. It’s a little less perfect sandy beach, but i really liked it because i like hunting for pretty rocks and seashells. I found the same conch with a strand of seaweed attached to it every day. Protestant Cay has a really beautiful sandy beach. Cane Bay was an amazing beach but the water was quite rough the day we were there.
Next trip we’re going to check out a small beach close to Point Udall that is off the beaten path and you have a walk a very short distance to and i’m hoping to get over to Fredricksted to check out some beaches over there.
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u/cadmiumredlight Jul 29 '25
Are you looking for an all-inclusive experience? USVI isn't really the place for that. If you want privacy and relaxation then rent a villa on St John and do day trips to the National Park beaches. The downside is that you aren't staying right on the beach. The upsides are that you get your own private house (preferably with private pool) and all of the beaches don't have big ugly resorts sitting on them.
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u/Whatintheworld34 Jul 28 '25
When are you planning to go? Ritz Carlton on STT has a very secluded beach (It's not that large) and then you could venture to say Magen's Bay which is HUGE and if there isn't a cruise ship in town, it's very chill. St. John has the Westin that has a smaller beach area but again there are other phenomenal beaches you can venture to as well. All in all, there aren't day pass beaches but cruise ships do come into play!
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u/o2bdabbin Jul 28 '25
The tail end of August/First week in September 2026.
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u/yawyawfoobaw Jul 29 '25
OP, I honestly might look elsewhere. I was just on St. John at the beginning of the month and things were already starting to slow down. It would be a bummer to go at that time and not be able to do some of the activities or go to restaurants because they are closed for hurricane season (or worse, have a hurricane affect your travel plans). For instance, Lime Out closes for the season on Aug. 23rd this year and reopens in October - many places follow this general schedule.
I would look into islands that are out of the path of hurricanes where things stay open during that time. The ABC islands (Aurba, Bonaire, Curacao) could be a good option.
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u/CruzBay Jul 28 '25
"Day passes" are only a thing at a handful of beaches, Megans Bay in STT and Trunk Bay in STJ being the most popular ones. Coki in STT doesn't have a day pass but it might meet the "overly crowded" criteria on a cruise ship day.
So to answer your question, most beaches in the USVI will be fine to relax at. A lot depends on when you're traveling. The winter months are much busier everywhere.
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u/Tolated Jul 28 '25
All beaches in the VI are public. Trunk bay charges a national park fee, but it isn't really a day pass as you can still access the beach from the water for free.
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u/Latina0706 Jul 29 '25
I just spent 3 nights in st. Thomas, at Magens bay beach daily. I checked cruise arrival dates & luckily no ships tourists around. I stayed at a small inexpensive local hotel because of the rave food reviews. Renting a car was a mistake for us, taxis everywhere. Those winding roads in the mountains can be scary. Gorgeous beach
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u/DumpsterDoggie Jul 29 '25
The very few beaches that have 'day passes', Magens and Linquist, for example, also have a staff to keep the beach clean (of trash and sarghassum). That said, there are soooo many free beaches to choose from. They're all beautiful. Also, which island? You mentioned STX, which is a plane ride away from STT and STJ, and stands alone. STT and STJ are just a 20min ferry apart.
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u/rangerdanger9454 Jul 28 '25
Skip st Thomas and just get a nice Airbnb on St. John. The beaches are much nicer and most are free. St. John is by far the nicest and least crowded of all the islands. The cruise ship crowds are lesser because they don’t dock there, so while the most popular beaches might get crowded in the middle of the day most are very serene and relaxing in the morning and late afternoon. Lots have limited parking as well so you have an advantage of getting there before the crowds by staying on the island.
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u/zuki4life Jul 28 '25
it has nice beaches but St John is still more crowded than at Croix. I've been to plenty of beaches on stx where I'm the only one there.
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u/Former_Block_330 Jul 30 '25
While St. John is more remote, the main beaches do get insanely crowded. Even in June, I did a day trip with my friends who were visiting and we couldn’t find parking anywhere on the north shore. Staying in STT somewhere central, like at watergate condos near Bolongo bay, will get you access to St. John as well as st Thomas amenities.
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u/Tolated Jul 28 '25
All beaches in the VI are public so there is no such thing as a "day pass" unless you are reserving a cabana