between the 2 you will see far less touristas @ Secret Harbour. You may want to try lindquist or smith bay park??? whatever they call it these days.

I think you'll find that even with several cruise ships in port, neither Sapphire nor Secret Harbour will be so chockablock that you won't be able to find a nice quiet spot and good snorkeling away from the masses. The majority goes to Magens and Coki. Smith Bay Park (formerly Lindqvist) hasn't yet been fully developed and is a beautiful beach but from what I remember the snorkeling isn't that good there. Enjoy your day here!

Secret Harbour will not be allowing use of their lounge chairs by non-guests this season. You might find Sapphire a bit more comfortable.

don't worry about the cruse ship people. Go to the best beach which is Sapphire. Great views (which secret does not have), you can rent chairs, snorkel, eat at the stand between b and c buildings or get a brew at Norm's stand or get it from the Grape vine.

The is an advantage of secret over Sapphire. Wind can be a big problem there for the next few months.

billd

PS, I live right above Sapphire and go there at least twice a day. I also go to Secret, but I seldom go to Megan's.

You really can't go wrong at either beach! They both are wonderful beaches to hang at and to snorkel.

I'd go to Secret Harbor if you need a place to eat while you're relaxing and enjoying the water. Blur Moon Cafe is great. I agree the views are better at Sapphire.

Where we ended up...We did make it to Sapphire. It was a beautiful view. Another family that was on the same bus as us wanted to go to Coki. As soon as we pulled up they decided that wasn't for them and went on with us to Sapphire. I went in the water but Bob thought it was too cold :-). It did start raining and was windy for a while too but still was very nice. We bought some beer from the guy with the cooler on the beach but did not see anywhere to get some food or get out of the rain. That would be our only negative comment about the beach area. We ran into the other family on the way back and they really enjoyed the beach/snorkeling too. If we ever get back to STT (we usually stay on STX) that is the place we would go. Thanks again for the info.

Secret harbor was better snorkeling for me. I think most of my pictures are from Secret including the turtle ones. Sapphire was in fact beautiful however the day we went was very choppy with waves in excess of 5+ feet. Though I saw a jellyfish (this was because of the time of year) I did get a nice video of a school of squid.

Secret Harbor

Turtle at Secret Harbor (close enough to touch... and we did rub his back)

Sapphire Beach

Squid at Sapphire Beach
[video] http://bombshelter.servebeer.com/gallery/2008_08_-_St_Thomas/video/MVI_1099.wmv [/video]