We had really looked forward to Magens Bay Beach, as it's one of the most highly rated beaches on St. Thomas. However, when we arrived, the beach was packed (not unexpected with the cruise ships in port), but the beach area was littered with trash and debris. We got hustled some by the beach workers who were taking money for us to park. The absolute worst part was the filthy public restrooms which you could smell from both ends of the beach, depending on which way the wind was blowing. We ordered food from the grill and the ladies running the restaurant were hostile. The bar workers were very nice, personable, and fast. Food tasted alright and drinks were good. The restroom odor was so thick at the grill area and surrounding beach we had to eat in the car. Snorkeling at this beach was not good, but the water and scenery were beautiful. Many other much better & cleaner beaches to visit on St. Thomas! read more

Rating a beach in the Caribbean can be difficult. I have been to so many great beaches each with different people in different stages of my life and I can't think of ever leaving any beach thinking to myself "Wow, I wish I hadn't done that" and so it goes with Magens Bay. With warm, clear Caribbean water, white sandy beach and magnificent views, Magens Bay really is a great beach to visit and considered one of the worlds "TOP TEN" beaches. Magens Bay really does provide something for everybody unless you are looking to be alone. The beach is long and crescent shaped, enclosed on both sides by large tree filled hills making one of the islands most protected bays. Because of this the water is calm and often the idyllic Caribbean Aqua/ Clear water. The beach itself is has a gradual slope into the water, slowly getting deeper the further you go out. There are no large rocks or corals to speak of which makes wading nice, but snorkeling rather dull. The beach is covered with fine white sand that is soft to the touch, massaging your feet as you walk to and from the water or the little bar/restaurant. The sand is warm to lay on or cool to lay in. It's perfect and deep for digging a moat or building a sand castle. The beach is lined with the occasional tree providing some, but little shade. Magens Bay is a public beach (as are all beaches on St Thomas), but it is one of two beaches that charge access on the island. As such there are a few scattered lifeguard towers providing an extra eye on your children or friend that may have had a drink too many (of course you'll want to keep an eye on them too). There are other facilities as well including; Men's and Women's restrooms. A small gift shop, a bar/ Restaurant offering drinks, regular bar foods and pizza. You can also lease chairs, toys, or umbrellas for the afternoon. Because it's a pay for use beach you won't find many of the merchants walking the beach you might in other locations. Depending on the time of day the beach can get fairly busy, usually busier in the mornings. I have found that the afternoons are a little bit cooler and less crowded. You can also move to either end of the beach where you will find fewer people as the parking lot and all the facilities are located near the center of the beach... thus most of the people are too. Enjoy the sun and a pain killer or Corona for me! read more

This is the kind of beach you dream about when you imagine your Caribbean vacation. Supposedly it gets crowded when cruise ships are in port, but luckily that was not the case for us. read more

The beach itself is very nice with soft sand in most sections and the water is quite shallow for kids to play in. Go all the way to the left if you want to avoid the crowd as most people hang out around the bar and shower area. Food is overpriced. At $11, I would expect a gourmet burger than a Mac Berger. French fries weren't done right either. The old lady at the cash register was rude and unpleasant. One should pack a lunch to enjoy the beach without having to buy food there. read more

A beautiful beach, the landscape is gorgeous, the water is clear. There are bathrooms, a bar and restaurant and showers. It is popular and can be crowded but there is a large parking lot. It's very well maintained. The biting flies were terrible and painful so don't stay past 4pm. read more

Pay the 5$ and the taxi ride. Its awesome. The water is calm and super clear! Make sure to go in the morning. :) If you're going to the bar...get a beer.. They water the alcohol DOWN like crazy in cocktails. -.- read more

Lovely afternoon at the beach. Soft sand, not too crowded, paddle board & kayak rentals available. Try the rum punch for $6, it's great.

Beautiful and a lot of fun. The food could have been a little bit better but it was totally worth a visit. Rentals were inexpensive $10 for a float, $5 for a chair, the parking was reasonable $2 and $5 pp to enter. We rested all day listening to a dj that provides music. The water is crystal clear and warm. My 2nd favorite beach on the island after Linquist. read more

This is a beautiful beach like everyone says. White sand and clear blue water .Concession stand with decent beach food. Restrooms and a place to rinse off after a hot day on the beach. read more

Beautiful beach, but overly hyped and too touristy!!!! :( At the time we visited, it was high tide and the water was very murky. I could not see my feet through the water. This was disappointing as this is suppose to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I personally have seen nicer beaches on the island of Antigua. The sand was nice and soft, but did not like how there were twigs sticking out of it so you had to carefully watch where you were walking. The bathrooms were a bit disappointing and I made myself wait until we got to the next clean and safe stop to use the restroom. A good thing about this place though, we did not encounter any annoying vendors trying to sell us crap. :) read more

Magen's Bay is beautiful and picturesque. The water is warm and aquamarine in color. A treasure. There are outside showers but according to the posted sign, they are not saltwater free. There is a building where you can change clothes and there are bathroom stalls, however they do not appear to be attended to and maintained by staff throughout the day, so ......... you can fill in the blanks. read more

Public beach, unbelievably beautiful. Wasn't too crowded when I was there. We were staying ON a beach on the other side of the island, but it was still worth driving over. Lots of diving birds. Water was crystal clear and absolutely gorgeous. Not too much surf, so great for kids. Lots of parking. Would go again in a heartbeat. read more

2nd trip to St. Thomas and this destination was first on my list. Loved this beach, the water was calm, the sand was soft and fine. Had a great time just hanging out in the warm water! read more

Definitely a must go beach! Water was calm, which is a big deal for a nonwater lover like me. I definitely loved this beach! Beach was nice and clean. Bartender was cool and drinks were a hit!! Oh the Magens bay pizza was really good too! read more

Nice and relaxing beach! Costs 5 USD for admission and another 8 for a beach chair. It's a very crowded beach when the cruise ships are in port, but still relaxing and enjoyable. read more

A wow beach. Really awesome. Loved the diving birds and pelicans. Gave many laughs and pics. Ride over gave some great views. Beach was nice. Want to go back!!!!! read more

Spending quality time with my other half, stunning views and serenity accompanied by- NO KIDS (lol) made this an awesome trip! Would visit again... read more

Cool spot. Came on a Friday so no tourists from cruise ships. Nelson was our bartender and a plane brought him to the V.I. HE works the crowd, this jokester, and serves great drinks. If you're stressed out after leaving here, just drive off a cliff and spare us. read more

This place was not good the day i went. Too many people from the cruises. The bay had a weird smell. It looks good but does not feel good. I wont recommend. If you still want to go, go on days when there is no cruise ship. read more

Megans Bay was certainly lovely, but wouldn't rank in my top 5 on the islands. It was also overrun with cruise ship visitors which made me feel more like I was at the Jersey Shore than the Caribbean. Instead, I would recommend Coki Beach, Lindquist Beach, or any of the St Johns beaches ahead of Megans Bay. read more

Nice eclectic vibe. Waters were super calm which was a welcome change from the high tide at our beach hotel in Frenchman's Bay. Nice bar area and picnic tables were nice. Not hard to drive to either. Nice place to laze the day away. You can also see some small fish and shells because the water is really clear. Snorkel equipment was not expensive to buy either. I would definitely go back! read more

A must see if you visit St. Thomas. Gorgeous long white beach with calm tranquil water. They offer all kinds of rentals, clean public bathrooms, beach bar, and plenty of picnic tables. Get there early in the morning to really enjoy the beauty of it or walk farther to the ends of the beach. We went on a day where 3 cruise ships had docked (one of them a Disney line) and around 12 the middle of the beach was so crowded you couldn't hardly walk past and thousands of children. At the far end of the beach , where the taxis don't drop off families, there is plenty of space and tons of parking. Our family enjoys snorkeling and this place doesn't really offer that, however it is perfect for paddle boarding and kayaking. $5 entry per person and only like $2 to park. read more

Thw beach is phenomenal, we visited during the off season so it was just enough folks and not too crowded. The bar and grille was cool, typical beach food. No seafood on the menu which was shocking. The food was good and was very convenient. read more

What a beautiful beach, clean, soft sand ,clear water with plenty of fish to see while swimming especially first thing in the morning. They have a bar where you can get drinks, and food plus a place to rent chairs. A really picturesque Beach that will make your trip to St. Thomas complete. read more

Beach was pretty but not as wonderful as I'd expected, gift shop, restaurant closed, bar was open and we got awesome strong drinks read more

Magens Bay - Beaches Near Me

See all

Magens Bay was really gorgeous, but crowded with tourists. Pay attention to the cruise ship schedules to avoid the crowds. Crystal clear water, but not much to see for snorklers. read more

Well , I wish I was more impressed. We went on a tour that Magen's beach was part of the stop . Maybe we weren't on the wow part. The beach was very crowded, and not a wide open sand area from where sand starts to water. We couldn't really explore to much, being a limited time there. Water was very clear and color was amazing. I found the whole area of restrooms and food areas run down. Wish I could be more excited read more

We normally try to avoid anything tourists are "supposed" to do, but Magen's Bay actually lived up to the hype. You pay a small entrance fee, but that keeps it from getting too crowded. Make sure to go when there are no cruise ships in port (usually Thursday through Sunday are good days). This is the epitome of what you came to St. Thomas for: crystal clear turquoise water and soft white sand. read more

Not bad snorkeling, nothing spectacular when we went. Supposed to be one of the best beaches around...maybe?

It's beautiful! The beach is absolutely gorgeous, soft soft and warm water. The 3 stars are for the poorly kept grounds and ignorant taxi stand managers. Watching them nickel and dime tourists all day long. If your going from the cruise port to Magen's is $8 a person in an air conditioned cab. The safari ride they charge $9 is laughable. Pay attention and tip the ones who aren't trying to screw you over handsomely. read more

the beach is awesome, the bar phenomenal but beware the gift shop/ beach rental is a giantrip off, 1st day bought a 20$ shirt, 2nd day when several cruise ships were in same shirt marked20$ tried to charge 42$. bigass ripoff beware never again!!!!!!!!!!! read more

I'm not really a beach person, but Magens Bay deserves a 5 as perhaps the nicest beach I ever visited. The $4 per person fee is well worth the money as keeps the riff-raff out and supports its maintenance. Restrooms were clean and on both visits there we staff raking sand near picnic tables. No problem finding a picnic table in shade and enjoyed after swim rum punch. Snorkeling on main beach poor because of sandy bottom, but really good shallow water snorkeling (I don't like going deeper than my head) at rocks at far north end. Loads of fish, some coral, and even saw squid. Beautiful scenery. Would definitely go back, which we did. read more

Beautiful beach with amazing views at evening time. Really relaxing and outstandingly beautiful. Highly suggest visiting here for the best memories ever. read more

$4/person + $2/vehicle = $20 for this beach which is a lot for a beach considering how there are other nice ones right next door. and thus it is greatly overrated. there are no waves and no good snorkeling read more

Love the beach experience. Saw numerous sea turtles. Loved to float at the beach

yikes! this beach is classified as one if the greatest beaches in the world.... not! the sand is full of leaves, rocks, and twigs-- and they have the nerve to charge $4 to enter. SMH. the view of the mountain is nice and the water is pretty-- minus the 10 buoys the have horribly placed, which ruined every photo i took. there isn't much sand in comparison to many beaches I've been to in the past, and it is CROWDED since cruise ships drop passengers off there. additionally, this beach should be renamed "Beach of the Old"-- everyone is 50+. the food is EXPENSIVE and not that great. Conclusively, I wouldn't recommend it. I hear Coki is better for the younger crowd (i.e. under 40) read more

Wonderful beach with a bar, store, eatery, and restrooms that have changing rooms and showers. You have to spend a good penny to rent a chair. But they give you some money back when you return it. The sand could be raked from all the leaves, so it is not as pristine as Cinnamon Bay Beach on St. John island, but you will have a really good time. Take a noodle so you can float on the water all day long. read more

Great white sand, long beach, and plenty of shade. Bar/restaurant has decent food and great drinks. Lots of room to spread out.. Water is so clear, views are amazing. Top ten beach, went twice on our visit to the island. Walk over to little magens to get away from crowds. read more