On one of our trips to Water Island last winter from where the Emerald Princess was docked at Crown Bay on St. Thomas, I took several photos depicting the process that might benefit a first timer. Once you've done this one time, you'll know that 1.) Water Island's Honeymoon Beach is truly one of the best beaches you can visit while you're in St. Thomas; and 2.) it's one of the easiest and least expensive ones to visit too.
I was initially discouraged from posting these photos. People love Water Island because it is relatively undiscovered (although that's already changing, even without my interference). But, as I get older, I am more empathetic to my fellow passengers who lack some physical mobility, even if it's just having a bad knee. When they hear that they have to walk up and down hills, they might be discouraged from trying this, and I'd like them to make that decision based on facts and photos, not worries.
Despite the many things that Honeymoon Beach offers, it isn't for everyone. If you want a lively, active beach experience, this isn't where you'll find it. There are no chairs and umbrellas for rent, although there are some palm trees and palapa-type umbrella structures, and a few wooden benches. You're more likely to find a beer there than a frou-frou umbrella drink. And there is one way over and back, the Water Island ferry, and getting there involves about 20 minutes of walking each way, some uphills and downhills and steps between the ferry boat and the docks.
Hopefully these photos will help you determine if want to and are able to make the trip, and answer any questions you might have about how to do it.
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| View of the Crown Bay cruise ship area as you exit your ship |
When you exit the secured area of Crown Bay, through the gate, you'll be greeted by lots of taxi drivers offering island tours and lots of taxis taking cruise ship passengers to the various St. Thomas beaches. Bypass all of these, and turn immediately to your right along the waterfront.
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| The waterfront at Crown Bay |
Follow the brick sidewalk almost until it runs out at a fence, then turn left into the parking lot. Watch out for the taxis turning in! Pass through the gate, and look straight ahead. You'll see the sign for the entrance to the Crown Bay Marina immediately ahead of you. At this point you've probably walked about 5 minutes after leaving your ship (depending on how many photos you take of the iguanas hanging out on the rocks).
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| Entering Crown Bay Marina |
Follow the brick sidewalk onto the marina grounds until you come to a sidewalk angling off to the right. Your goal is to reach the red-roofed building straight ahead of you, and you can get there in any of several ways, but we like to get off the road and wander by the yachts.
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| Sidewalk heading right off the brick walkway. |
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Just walk along the water toward the red roof.
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The first store in the shopping area is the Gourmet Gallery, a market where the yachts re-stock. Resultingly, the food choices and the prices are pretty high-brow, but if you want to easily pick up some wine, beer or food for your day on the beach, this is the place to do it.
At this point you've probably walked about 8-10 minutes since leaving the cruise ship. Turn right at the Gourmet Gallery and follow the sidewalk until the end, straight ahead of you, next to the restaurant with outdoor seating.
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| Turn right along the water at the Gourmet Gallery |
The ferry dock is straight ahead of you at the end of the sidewalk, and depending on when you arrive, you might already see the red ferry boat docked there. The first ferry to Water Island you can usually catch coming off a cruise ship is the 10:30am ferry, but here's a link to the complete schedule:
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| The ferry to Water Island from Crown Bay Marina |
Warning: The 10:30am ferry has been known to completely fill with cruise ship passengers. Usually, when this happens, it will return for another run across the harbor with the remaining passengers, but you still might want to get there a bit early (at 10:10am or so), check out the situation and then make your run to the Gourmet Gallery if you want to. If the ferry captain is on a break, it's possible that there may be a chain across the entry to the ferry, and you'll have to wait until the captain returns. To board the ferry, you'll step down two or three steps from the dock(and up again when you disembark on Water Island).
The fare is $5 per adult each way, and you can purchase a round trip ticket for $10. Don't pay the ferry captain immediately upon boarding; he/she will walk around the boat before leaving to collect your fare.
Once you're on the ferry, you should see a sign posted with the ferry schedule for the rest of the day. Take note of which ferry you'll be returning on; you should leave Honeymoon Beach on Water Island 30 minutes prior to that time.
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| Water Island ferry making its way across the harbor. |
If you don't want to get wet, don't sit at the very back of the ferry. The engines can kick up some water and you might get soaked before you even get to the beach.
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| Take a minute to turn around and look at your cruise ship docked at Crown Bay. |
After about a 10-minute ferry ride, you arrive at the dock on Water Island.
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| Dock at Phillip's Landing on Water Island |
The best part is that you're still within sight of your cruise ship, just across the harbor.
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| The Emerald Princess as seen from the Water Island dock |
After walking up the dock, the first thing you'll see on the left is the open-sided building housing the Water Island postal boxes/lending library/ shelter in case it rains while you're waiting for your return ferry.
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| Welcome to Water Island! |
The next thing you'll notice are all the golf carts just beyond the dock. While there are some cars on Water Island, most people get around by golf cart. If you look like you need assistance, someone dropping off/picking up a ferry passenger might offer you a ride to the top of the hill near Honeymoon Beach. But don't count on it!
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| Golf carts parked near the ferry dock on Water Island |
This is where I want to get even more precise, to give you an idea of the hill you'll have to climb up, and then down, to get to Honeymoon Beach. It's about a 3-5 minute walk up the hill, and then about that much of a walk down to the beach, with a short level portion in the middle. Except for a few portions going down to the beach, it's mostly paved.
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| Starting up the hill |
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| More hill |
Take a minute to look back at the view, because it's an amazing one.
The road then levels off a bit for a couple of minutes.
After another few minutes or so, you'll reach the top of the hill above Honeymoon Beach.
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| Across the road from the turn off to Honeymoon Beach |
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| Your first glimpse of Honeymoon Beach |
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| Road to Honeymoon Beach |
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| Down the hill to Honeymoon Beach |
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| More downhill... |
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| And more... |
And, finally, you're there!
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| And it was worth the trip |
You have to be fairly self-contained for a day on Water Island. There are very basic restrooms, Joe's Beach Bar, a bar/restaurant of unknown quality on the far west end, and Heidi's grill, an open air grill that provides lunches to the ship excursions that invade around lunchtime for a 90 minute visit or so. Heidi will also happily sell to visitors not on cruise ship excursions, so take some cash if you'd like a burger or a beer. But, aside from that, it's pretty basic, which is why so many of us love it. There is an open air shelter in the event of rain/lightening, but remember that, regardless of the weather, you'll have to make your way back up and down the hill to the ferry dock for the return trip to the ship.
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| Joe's Beach Bar |
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| Heidi's Grill |
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| Shelter in case of rain |
Cruise ship excursions have definitely discovered Honeymoon Beach, and as many as 5 boats filled with passengers might stop there for lunch and a swim. Still, there's plenty of space for everyone...it's just that the beach gets a bit louder with the additional people. But by 1pm or so, they're sailing away, and you have it to yourself once again.
Snorkeling is available, in that you can always snorkel at a beach, but there isn't much to see. The best snorkeling is to the left (west) as you face the water. Last year there was a sunken sailboat there, and if it's left, it might create an artificial reef. It is a good place to practice snorkeling, as there are minimal waves and current. You have to bring your own equipment, of course, but fins aren't really necessary.
Just remember to leave yourself enough time to catch the return ferry (we generally catch the 3:30pm ferry, which has us back on the ship by 4pm, but note that on Sundays and holidays it's at 3:15pm instead).
This is one of our favorite days, and our favorite beaches in the Caribbean. I hope that you make the trip, and if you do, that you enjoy it as much as we do!
