What is It – There are dozens of beautiful beaches throughout the Caribbean which attract vacationers and cruise ship passengers seeking a warm water swim, cool drinks, and a quick tan. While most popular beaches are surrounded by resorts, some are more secluded. Magens Bay Beach is located on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and is on the opposite side of the island from the hustle and bustle of downtown Charlotte Amelie and its busy harbor.

Magens Bay Beach is often cited as one of the western hemisphere’s most impressive beaches. It has all the ingredients needed to create a beautiful beach and provide an enjoyable experience for day trippers or island residents. The entire beach is in a sheltered cove created by the three-mile long Peterborg Peninsula on one side and the mountainous Skyline Drive on the other. The area has a smattering of family residences but there are no hotels or resorts in the vicinity which provides a relaxing atmosphere. 

The beach has white sands and extends for almost a mile along the shoreline. The water is calm and usually has gentle waves. There is a deep grove of palm trees along the entire beach about one hundred feet from the water which provide shade from the heat and contain picnic tables and parking areas. The facilities available to beachgoers include a grill and snack bar, a full-service bar offering food and drinks to guests, restrooms, and outdoor shower buildings. Other concessionaires rent beach chairs, lounges, and watersports equipment. 

The operators of Magens Bay seem to have struck a reasonable balance between preserving the rustic feel of the location and providing basic services. Nevertheless, peoples’ experiences there can vary depending on whether they visit the beach on a quiet day in the afternoon or arrive there on a day when there are five cruise ships in port and throngs of  jitneys and taxis arriving at the gate. Magens Bay is a wonderful place to spend several hours floating and admiring the view if you are self-reliant, come equipped with your own drinks and towels, and are willing to walk six hundred feet down the beach away from the concession stands to set out your towels at a quieter location. 

Interesting Facts -   Magens Bay is named after a territorial governor who owned land in the vicinity more than two hundred years ago. Local legend suggests that the bay was used in the 1600s as a hideout by Sir Francis Drake. However, the reason Magens Bay Beach and surrounding area was preserved for the public is due to the benevolence of Arthur Fairchild, a Wall Street financier. Fairchild donated fifty-six acres of his land holdings including the beachfront, an arboretum of exotic flora, and the nearby grassland in 1946 “to be maintained as a public park with its natural beauty preserved for use by the people of the Virgin Islands in perpetuity without discrimination of any kind as to race, creed, color, or national origin.” Today, the Magens Bay Authority administers the original beach land along with three hundred acres of adjoining watershed land for continued recreation and preservation.

How to Get Here – St. Thomas is a stop on many cruises visiting the eastern and southern Caribbean. Direct flights to St. Thomas are scheduled from fifteen cities in the United States with frequent flights from Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Tours and taxis run back and forth to the beach throughout the day from the cruise terminal and the downtown shopping district. 

When to Go - St. Thomas is located over a thousand miles from Florida to the east of Puerto Rico. Weather conditions are excellent throughout most of the year with temperatures in the eighties every month rising to the nineties in late summer. Rain showers are more frequent in the fall and several recent hurricanes have struck the island in recent years causing severe damage to buildings without harming the overall beauty of the beach. 

Costs – Admission to Magens Bay Beach costs $5 for adults and there is no charge for younger children. Beach chairs and lawn chairs are available for $5 to $7 each.