We tried Trunk Bay first but parking was a nightmare so we headed on down (up, down, up down) the…read moreroad to Maho Bay. We found a parking spot in a lot and only had a short walk to set up our camp in some nice sun/shade. There are a lot of kids and families here, so expect playing, screaming, etc. but eventually they have to eat something so you'll get some nice quiet. We snorkeled right in front of where we were sitting and saw sea turtles munching on the sea grass. So cool. The beach is not super wide but it's enough to plunk down a chair and have a little shade. Perfect. Water is calm. It's the first place we saw donkeys on the island. We loved it.

Beautiful beach with crystal-clear, lovely water and breathtaking scenic views. The atmosphere is…read morepeaceful and perfect for relaxing or enjoying nature. However, the bathrooms were a bit scary and could definitely use improvement.

Such a BEAUTIFUL BEACH - highly recommended beach... also with a gift shop with souvenirs and…read moresnacks and more   - - -   June, 2025 Visit   - - -   Short Review,   Cinnamon Bay Beach...   ... has an island you can swim / snorkel to... many fish to see closer to the island   ... has a view of Great Thatch, British Virgin Islands   ... has indoor facilities... gift shop, snack bar (indoors and outside), campsites   ... not crowded       - - - Additional information: - - -   My wonderful wife planned a relaxing trip for us to St. John's, US Virgin Islands (just east of Puerto Rico), in June, 2025; we had a great time... such a beautiful island!     We snorkeled two beaches on St. John, and we enjoyed them both.   Cinnamon Bay Beach stuns you with its beautiful colors... the beach has light tan sand, helping make the water is a light green-blue color... stunningly beautiful!!     - - - Why Cinnamon Bay Beach - - -   Most of St. John is a National Park and most of the northern part of the island provides a nearly continuous beach... nearly continuous because peninsulas that extend into the water separate each beach from the other.    We looked at the map and read the reviews and picked Hawksnest and Cinnamon Bay beaches  because they looked more likely to have slightly smaller crowds, as cruise ships apparently visit other beaches (at least when we visited).  When we visited we were not alone and it was also not crowded.   Both are within a couple miles of each other, so while they are similar in overall look and feel - similar color of the water and sand, similar plants, etc., they are unique in what you can see underwater when you're snorkeling, and unique in the views from the beach.     - - - Taxis to and from - - -   To get to and from Cinnamon Bay Beach, you can drive or take a taxi.  The taxis on St. John, at least the ones we saw, are all trucks, with the driver in the cab, and the passengers sitting, open air, in the back... on benches with a roof over our heads.  The taxis run all day and will stop at multiple beaches to drop off and pick up passengers along the way.      - - - Cell / Mobile service - - -   Cell phone service is present, but the signal is a bit weak - 1 to 2 bars of signal strength.      - - - The beach - - -   Even if you never get in the water, the scene is beautiful... the water color is such a beautiful shade of blue...   Enya's "Caribbean Blue" (from 1991 album "Shepherd Moons") was playing in our heads, and was surely inspired by waters like these...   The sand is light and soft   Beautiful green trees and plants along the beach.     - - - The view from the beach - - -   Cinnamon Bay Beach is a beautiful beach and view of the British Virgin Islands' (BVI's) Jost Van Dyke in the distance and Great Thatch island closer... both BVI; St. John's Whistling Cay is visible, closer to the left, and Mary Point, closer to the right; Cinnamon Brach curbs east, and out into the water to a point that becomes Maho Bay and we stayed within Cinnamon Cay..     - - - The water... snorkeling - - -   On any given day, the water quality and aquatic life are things you cannot control.  The day we visited water quality and aquatic life were both goo -  the water was so clear and we saw so many fish, especially as we snorkeled out toward the island... which is much closer than it looks.. 5-10 minutes of calm to quicker leg kicking should get you there.     - - - Snorkeling - what we saw - - -   While snorkeling we were blessed to see: ⁃            a stingray swam by right as we started out !! ⁃            many more parrotfish-like blue-green-purplish fish and others ⁃            on the way back in, two squid!!     - - - Back on the beach - - -   We enjoy laying back and relaxing... and taking photos of our feet as they point toward the sand + surf... and we captured another one here on Cinnamon Bay Beach.   What a great afternoon!     - - - The surf, the lack of on St. John - - -   We have been blessed to visit the Caribbean a couple times and have noticed that there is not much surf, not many waves. On an early trip someone explained that the Caribbean is just at a position in the ocean that the rides are not small; brief internet searches suggest the tide only varies a few inches to a foot or so... such small changes don't lead to many waves. You'll likely see and enjoy hearing waves "lapping at the shore," but you're not likely to do much body surfing... if you have a boogie board, while you could bring it on your flight, you'll likely be better off leaving it at home. - - - Gift Shop - t-shirts, hat pins and more - - - - - - Thank you - - - Thank you to all the park team members who maintain Cinnamon Bay Beach, and to the taxi drivers getting us visitors to and from the beach! ----- ----- -----

Full disclosure I didn't actually swim at this beach but I spent an hour or so here because it's…read moreactually a huge beach! The internet says it's one of the most famous ones and I can see why - the water is crystal clear, bright blue (as are most of the other national park beaches lol). It's spacious though, and in addition to the beach itself, there is a snack vendor area where you can buy lunch (like sandwiches and drinks), and a gear rental place for snorkeling etc. They also have a small restaurant adjacent to the campground cafeteria area which does breakfast and dinner (but not lunch). They have pretty clean bathrooms and showers too, and the most parking of all the beaches that I went to. They even had an info booth; the lady there was fairly knowledgeable about the park although I don't think she was an actual ranger (she wasn't in the ranger outfit). There's also a little area right at the entrance to the beach that is part of some ruins, it's a nice photo op spot. Overall this is a great beach! Def recommend.

OMG! First beach we visit! Took the water ferry to Honeymoon Beach on Water Island! Stunning! Upon…read morearrival there are free trucks that will take you over the hill to the beach and back to the dock every hour on the hour. There is a stand to rent chairs, umbrellas, other beachy items. Not very crowded and beautiful white sand. The water was so clear, clean and pretty! The only reason for loosing a star, is because the bathrooms were not well kept and no shower or fresh water to rinse your feet before returning to St. Thomas. Don't forget to grab lunch and a drink at the Dinghey! Delicious chicken tacos!

The beach is amazing and snorkeling out of this world. The only bad thing is the food truck owner…read moreand bar owners are incredibly rude and unprofessional. Yelled at people for no reason. My whole family was incredibly kind and spent a lot of money. The female owner yelled at us for having a float in the water when we asked prior to putting the float in. They originally said it was ok. Tried to charge other people's food and drinks on our tab. Go enjoy the beach but don't waste your money on the food truck or bar!!

Great place to snorkel.. Beautiful short little hike from the parking area to get to the perfect…read moresnorkeling area are you are you in your group... i'm so sorry I don't have any of the gorgeous pictures they are on our GoPro waterproof camera most of them were underwater pics! Saw turtles and probably 20 different types of beautiful colorful fish...

You'll need to park at the Annabelle plantation parking lot for this hike. We were trying to get to…read morethis hike but we accidentally went on the plantation hike, so be aware those are two different things. After parking, make a right and walk on the road and you'll see an opening to the beach. This is the beggining of Waterlemon hike. Although I didn't hike it, I did spend time at the entrance of the hike enjoying the views and water. It seems to be a low difficulty hike, and is maybe a mile to Waterlemon beach.

Kids (20 and 22) don't like lots of people. This place was worth the hour drive. It was on the…read morefurthest point on the island from where we are staying in Fish Bay. So worth it. We got there at 10, the drive was crazy. Steep, 350 degree turns, really crazy so we went slow. The beach is very private and not overly small. We rented a cabana for a day $20, and we got the last one. I think there are 4-5. Snorkeling was super great, people were quiet and there were just not many people there. You give a donation, too. Will def go back.

This place was worth the drive! It is definitely off the beaten path as you have to go to almost…read morethe eastern most part of St. John to get there. There is a large parking lot with a portable bathroom. The owner, yes, this is privately owned, will greet you and give you a lay of the land. It is all donation based to use the chairs, equipment, etc. The have all types of chairs, picnic tables, some cabanas, water sports like kayaks, etc. The beach itself was nice, a decent length, and there was a good view. Bring food as there is nowhere close and definitely not within walking distance. You can also no longer get to Lime Out from here as they only cater to paid charters now I was told. We spent half a day here and enjoyed ourselves.

Beautiful beach, great for snorkeling and relaxing…read more - - - - - - - - June, 2025 Visit - - - Short Review, Hawksnest Beach... ... is an absolutely beautiful beach... so much color... ... is so relaxing ... not crowded - - - Additional information: - - - My wonderful wife planned a relaxing trip for us to St. John's, US Virgin Islands (just east of Puerto Rico), in June, 2025; we had a great time... such a beautiful island! We snorkeled two beaches on St. John, and we enjoyed them both. Hawksnest Beach stuns you with its beautiful colors... the beach has light tan sand, helping make the water is a light green-blue color... stunningly beautiful!! - - - Why Hawksnest Beach - - - Most of St. John is a National Park and most of the northern part of the island provides a nearly continuous beach... nearly continuous because peninsulas that extend into the water separate each beach from the other. We looked at the map and read the reviews and picked Hawksnest and Cinnamon Bay beaches because they looked more likely to have slightly smaller crowds, as cruise ships apparently visit other beaches (at least when we visited). When we visited we were not alone and it was also not crowded. Both are within a couple miles of each other, so while they are similar in overall look and feel - similar color of the water and sand, similar plants, etc., they are unique in what you can see underwater when you're snorkeling, and unique in the views from the beach. - - - Taxis to and from - - - To get to and from Hawksnest Beach, you can drive or take a taxi. The taxis on St. John, at least the ones we saw, are all trucks, with the driver in the cab, and the passengers sitting, open air, in the back... on benches with a roof over our heads. The taxis run all day and will stop at multiple beaches to drop off and pick up passengers along the way. - - - Cell / Mobile service - - - Cell phone service is present, but the signal is a bit weak - 1 to 2 bars of signal strength. - - - We really enjoyed the snorkeling and views on Hawksnest beach. - - - The beach - - - Even if you never get in the water, the scene is beautiful... the water color is such a beautiful shade of blue... Enya's song "Caribbean Blue" (from the 1991 album "Shepherd Moons") was playing in our heads, and was surely inspired by waters like these... The sand is light and soft There are some brain coral close to shore, at the water's edge, that you can readily see Colors... beautiful green trees and plants along the beach. - - - The water... snorkeling - - - On any given day, the water quality and aquatic life are things you cannot control. The day we visited water quality and aquatic life were both goo - the water was so clear and we saw many fish, and a ray! - - - Snorkeling - what we saw - - - While snorkeling we were blessed to see: - A sea turtle right away - Then a school of blue fish with yellow fins - so nice floating with them - as we approached the beach, a ray swam by !! - - - Back on the beach - - - We enjoy laying back and relaxing... and taking photos of our feet, pointing toward the sand + surf... and we captured another one here on Hawksnest Beach. What a great afternoon! - - - The surf, the lack of on St. John - - - We have been blessed to visit the Caribbean a couple times and have noticed that there is not much surf, not many waves. On an early trip someone explained that the Caribbean is just at a position in the ocean that the rides are not small; brief internet searches suggest the tide only varies a few inches to a foot or so... such small changes don't lead to many waves. You'll likely see and enjoy hearing waves "lapping at the shore," but you're not likely to do much body surfing... if you have a boogie board, while you could bring it on your flight, you'll likely be better off leaving it at home. - - - Thank you - - - Thank you to all the park team members who maintain Hawksnest Beach, and to the taxi drivers getting us visitors to and from the beach! ----- ----- -----

This is another of the pretty famous USVI national park beaches. I didn't actually swim here but we…read morecame to scope it out. The parking lot is smaller compared to other beaches, and there wasn't much area available on the side of the road either - that was part of why we decided to not bother with swimming. That said, I walked onto the beach and it is as blue and stunning as the other main beaches, just gorgeous! Pretty spacious too, and I could see not too far out from shore a darker area which would be consistent with the "excellent snorkeling" I read is available at this beach per the internet. Random note, there were also quite a few chickens on this beach lol. I saw online sometimes random wild donkeys also walk by? The internet says don't pet them. I didn't see any lol.

Loved this trail. As you walk past a sandy beach, rocky beach, and climb to the tallest peak, you…read morewill soak up the scenery. Many people come here to enjoy the sandy beach. The water is calm and we saw many people snorkeling. My favorite was climbing to the top of the hill. The elevation was not too much to handle and the trail was well groomed. The views at the top were outstanding. Even if you aren't a die hard hiker, you can easily don some tennis shoes and make this 2+ mile hike. It's well worth it.

Great hike with beautiful views. We are a hiking family, so this trail to us was fairly easy. I…read morewould call it moderate for most as there is a lot of elevation change and challenging footing. It says 0.9 miles but you do have to walkover a quarter mile to get to the trail head. This hike is definitely worth it. When you are done hang out at the sandy beach. Amazing snorkeling. We saw a turtle and a stingray as well as tons of fish. There is some parking and a bathroom. Great spot and fewer people. We will be back.

This beach is AHHHMAZING 10/10…read more So thankful and grateful I was able to spend an entire day here at this beach on the island of Culebra Sand is soft, water is clear and not too cold Entrance is $2, you can rent a chair and umbrella, there is a lifeguard on duty There are vendors selling drinks, food and souvenirs This was a day well spent!

Such amazing blue waters. I see why it's voted the prettiest beach in the world. Also has…read morefacilities and kiosks. $2 to enter. And a few more dollars to park.

We arrived on a Sunday to a loud and crowded little bay. We had high hopes based on all the…read morerecommendations. We actually thought we were in the wrong spot. Seriously, it felt like any US beach, not a pristine national park beach. All around there were people holding Koozies, floating on noodles, Waboba balls and loud people, all in close proximity. We could not find a spot for our towels so hung them on the park sign. Three Neso tents took up plenty of the limited real estate. What a mess.

This is a real nice public beach. It is actually a national park. It is pretty far from Cruz Bay…read more We stayed at the Westin and was a 45 min twisty drive. Pretty remote and not that crowded. Worth the trip. Snorkeling was good and saw a lot of fish and even a sea turtle. Zero amenities so bring what you plan on using/eating.