Cort, Coki Beach is about a 20 minute taxi ride from the dock. Taxis are starting to get rather expensive. Price have doubled in the past two years. If you do a Google search on Coki Beach you'll find a lot of info. The only two beaches I really like is Trunk Bay and Coki. Both are great for snorkeling. Trunk Bay is Awesome!
Ezemoney, Maho Beach is in St. Maarten. We went there in October, but only saw small planes come in. We rented ATV's and went around the Island. We really had a blast doing that. I can't tell you how much a taxi would cost to Maho Beach.
Coki beach is great. Our taxi driver convinced us to go there instead of Magens, which he said was full of mud in the winter months due to run off (he probably has a deal with Coki and just gets us to go there instead). Whether he was truthful or not, we had a great time. Coki has beautiful, clear water, wonderful sand and a great bar service. It was one of the nicest beaches I have ever been to. You should definitely go there.
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Next Cruise: NCL Norwegian Majesty W. Caribbean, Charleston round trip
Hi, I really want to find a lovely beach and I'd like to try Coki Beach but as this will be my first cruise I'm a bit worried about going off on my own (well, with my husband too) in case we can't get a taxi back to the ship or get lost or something. We are going in three weeks time, can you reassure me! Also, do they accept US dollars in taxis shops etc? Thanks.
I have been to Magen's bay in December and there was no mud at all. In fact, it was quite beautiful and was my all time favorite beach until last month when I took the ferry to St. Johns/Trunk Bay Beach. That is hands down the most beautiful beach I have ever seen.
It does cost more to take the ferry/taxi to St. Johns, but in my opinion it is worth it. They have an awesome snorkeling trail there and the water is crystal clear.
Don't be afraid to go off on your own. There are taxis everywhere in the tourist spots. I always do make sure and ask before I get out at my destination if finding a taxi at whatever time will be a problem. The best thing you can do is not cut things close. If all aboard is at 5:00pm for example, there is no way that I would seek out a taxi to get back to the ship after 3:00pm. This may be overkill, but I don't want to cut it close.
If you do want to take the ferry to St. John, be sure and ask at the pier for the ferry that leaves from the pier. It saves $20 for two people over taking a taxi to Redhook to catch the ferry.
Maybe I'm too critical, but Magens doesn't do it for me at all. Trunk Bay is beyond words. Never been to Coki. Went to Sapphire this past August on a trip to the Virgin Islands and it was very nice and there was some snorkeling there. If you buy the fish food from the vendor there you'll have a bunch more fish around you. Really upset I didn't get to Coki on that trip but we went to other islands too and ran out of time. From the pictures I've seen, Coki looks prettier than Sapphire Beach, definately more to do there. They do accept USD there, it's a U.S. Territory. Been there 7 times so far and I can definately reassure you that they do.
ezemoney, Maho Beach is in St.Martin. I went there and found it to be kinda wierd in an interesting, bizzare way, especially after a few drinks. There were planes coming right in over your head whipping up the sand, very freaky. They were all smaller planes but sitting there, they seemed big enough. There's a bar/restaurant on the beach there, they have the sound piped in from the radio tower to your table. I don't think you could spend a day there, it might be too boring for that but certainly a sight to see. The beach itself was not that pretty though. Here's two photos that I took of Trunk Bay...
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