Bolongo Bay is on the southern coast of St. Thomas, fronted by the family-run Bolongo Bay Beach Resort. The resort advertises guest watersports including kayaking, paddleboarding, and snorkeling. Confirm current beach access, water conditions, and access to resort amenities before you go.
A beach at John Brewers Bay beside the University of the Virgin Islands’ St. Thomas campus, west of Charlotte Amalie. The university describes Brewers Bay beach as part of its campus setting.
A North Shore beach on St. Thomas where the rocky reef off the western point is snorkeled from shore. Patch reefs and small caves hold lobster, tropical fish and rays, and The Shack at The Hideaway and St. Thomas Scuba & Snorkel Adventures sit by the bay.
A St. Thomas beach directly across from Cyril E. King Airport. The adjoining Lindbergh Bay Family Park, built by the Virgin Islands Port Authority in 1999 and reopened in February 2022, has a water playground, a domino table, a volleyball and tennis court and a gazebo.
The beach at the Frenchman's Reef resort, 5 Estate Bakkeroe in Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas, where the non-motorized gear runs to kayaks, paddleboards and Hobie Cats.
A crescent-shaped swimming beach with palm trees and soft sand at Estate Nazareth on the east end of St. Thomas. Water sports, boat charters, a PADI five-star dive operation, two restaurants and a beach bar all sit on the resort property behind it.
Vessup Bay is on the east end of St. Thomas in the Red Hook area. DPNR lists Vessup Bay–East End as an Area of Particular Concern in its coastal program. The shoreline has sand and seagrass.
A palm-lined beach on St. Croix where snorkelers find coral in as little as five feet of water and the Cane Bay Wall lies about 200 yards out, dropping from 40 feet to more than 13,200 feet. Divers see reef sharks, sea turtles and schooling reef fish.
A public park and beach on the north shore of St. Croix's East End, near Point Udall. Seagrape trees shade covered pavilions with picnic tables, grills, restrooms and paved parking, and camping is permitted. The water falls inside the Recreational Zone of the St. Croix East End Marine Park.
Dorsch Beach is a white-sand stretch on St. Croix’s west end, south of Frederiksted along Veterans Shore Drive. Palms and sea grapes line the shoreline, with views toward Frederiksted Pier.
More than a mile of sand, soft in most places, on the south shore of St. Croix, reached by a dirt road off South Shore Road (Route 62) at the pink pillars. Parking sits directly beside the beach, and there are no facilities.
Northstar Bay Beach lies on St. Croix’s North Shore between Davis Bay and Cane Bay—a shore-access stop known more for snorkeling and scuba than soft amenities. Destination guides note a dramatic offshore depth drop and abundant marine life that draw divers from shore or by charter; there are no on-beach restaurants or dive shops (Cane Bay nearby covers those). Park along North Shore Road (Route 80) and do not leave valuables in the car.
Pelican Cove (also called Cormorant Beach) is a North Shore St. Croix strand a short drive west of Christiansted, lined with palms and backed by resorts and condos including The Palms at Pelican Cove. Long sandy stretches alternate with rockier spots; a nearshore reef supports snorkeling, and currents can run strong—choose swim areas carefully. Resort restaurant/bar amenities are nearby; beach chairs are generally for guests.
A small cay in the middle of Christiansted Harbor on St. Croix holds the only beach in downtown Christiansted, reached by a small ferry from the boardwalk near Fort Christiansvaern. Fine white sand and a sandy bottom, palm shade, plus a hotel, a restaurant and bar, and a water sports facility.
A west-facing sandy beach with clear water, about a mile from the Frederiksted cruise dock on St. Croix. A beach bar, Rhythms at Rainbow Beach, and the West End Water Sports center sit on site.
A St. Croix wildlife refuge established in 1984 with 340 acres bought from the West Indies Investment Company, and 43 more acres added since. It protects nesting habitat for endangered leatherback and hawksbill turtles and the threatened green sea turtle, and visitors take part in guided nesting and hatching observation. The beach is closed to the public from roughly mid-April to August each year while leatherbacks are nesting.
A crescent of sand east of Christiansted, next to the Buccaneer Hotel, reached by passing two hotel guard booths to a small parking lot and then a footpath through the trees. There are no facilities, some shade, private residences behind the beach, and snorkeling off it.
A snorkeling beach on St. Croix that runs between Tamarind Reef Resort & Spa and Green Cay Marina, fronting the resort's 40-acre property at 5001 Tamarind Reef in Christiansted. Green Cay and Buck Island Reef National Monument sit in view offshore.
A long beach behind a barrier reef on the north shore of St. Croix's East End, with shallow water broken by rocks and seagrass. The St. Croix Yacht Club and Duggan's Reef stand on it, inside the recreational zone of the St. Croix East End Marine Park.
Turtles, long swims and snorkeling along the rock shoreline at the north end, inside Virgin Islands National Park on St. John. A boardwalk follows the salt pond behind the beach for birding, and a trail climbs to the remains of a Great House and the Francis Sugar Factory.
A white sand beach inside Virgin Islands National Park on St. John, lined with tall trees. Three small elkhorn coral reefs lie offshore for snorkeling, and there are changing rooms, restrooms, picnic tables and grills.
White sand under palm and seagrape trees inside Virgin Islands National Park on St. John. A reef runs east toward Caneel Bay, with elkhorn and pillar coral off the rocky point. The trail in starts at the park sign off North Shore Road, and there is a kayak launch, picnic tables and parking.
Jumbie Bay is a small North Shore cove in Virgin Islands National Park, between Hawksnest and Trunk Bay. A short path from a limited roadside lot leads to a compact sandy shoreline with beach rock at center and no facilities beyond park trash cans. Trade winds can chop the water; calmer days are better for a quick snorkel around the rocks. Bring everything you need and expect tight parking.
A St. John bay reached along the Leinster Bay Trail from the Annaberg parking lot. Coral heads sit on a sandy bottom in the shallows, and snorkelers swim out to a cay ringed with fish, corals and gorgonians. The waterfront is part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, used by enslaved people escaping to Tortola.
About three tenths of a mile of sand on North Shore Road, roughly five miles east of Cruz Bay. The snorkeling is over large seagrass beds where sea turtles graze. Parking is at the eastern end, restrooms at the western, and food, drink and snorkel, kayak and SUP rentals sit across the road.
A long curved beach on St. John with a gentle slope into the water, reached by a quarter-mile walk over uneven, rocky ground. Swimming and snorkeling are the water activities, and parking, picnic tables and restrooms are on site. Two trails start from the bay, the steep 0.9-mile Ram Head and the quarter-mile Drunk Bay.
On the southeast side of Water Island, fronting Supermarket Reef, where the coral grows in spurs running toward the island. Snorkelers and divers find goatfish, hawksbill turtles, moray eels and creole wrasse here, and the shore is rocky enough that the tourism board advises water shoes.
In Limestone Bay on the southeast side of Water Island, the coral grows in spurs running toward the island, forming the aisle-like lanes the reef is named for. Snorkelers work the lanes for pink goatfish, hawksbill sea turtles, moray eels and creole wrasse.