Is Magens Bay Worth the Hype and Expense?

Magen’s Bay is consistently voted as one of the top-10 most beautiful beaches in the world. Located on the north coast of St. Thomas, this protected bay is a favorite for families and ideal for swimming, snorkeling and other water activities. Virtually wave free, this calm oasis is often packed with tourists, especially those with children. So, I had to know, is Magens Bay worth the hype and expense?

Typically during a cruise port day in St. Thomas, we hop the ferry over to St. John and spend our day walking around Cruz Bay and hiking to Honeymoon Beach. However, this most recent port day we were particularly short on time and decided to check out one of the world’s most popular beaches to see if it was worth the award.

In this post I’ll share:

How much we spent during our visit to Magens Bay Park
A review of the facilities
Tips to help you enjoy your visit
Our opinion of whether or not Magens Bay is worth the hype

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The cost of entry to Magens Bay Park

When traveling to St. Thomas by cruise ship you will end up in one of two cruise port terminals – Havensight or Crown Bay. Havensight is the oldest and most frequented cruise port in St. Thomas. Crown Bay was built to house the new mega ships, namely the Oasis Class ships from Royal Caribbean. However, now many Royal Caribbean ships will port at this terminal as well as ships from other lines. You should always check which terminal your ship is scheduled to use when making your plans. Both are located on the south side of the island near the capital Charlotte Amalie. Havensight is located downtown so has better walk-ability if you choose to spend your day in Charlotte Amalie.

Our group boarded an open air taxi van from Crown Bay to travel to Magens Bay Park at the cost of $15 per person. Yes, that’s one way. The trip is around 5 miles but will take about 20 minutes because you travel up the steep mountain and down the other side. The views along the drive are beautiful.

Magens Bay Park has an entry fee of $5 per person and is collected by the driver at the gate.

NOTE: You will need cash for transportation and entry fee.

Can you rent chairs and umbrellas at Magens Bay?

Yes, There will be an attendant there to assist you. Essentially you may select any available chair for a daily rental fee of $20 per chair. This does include an umbrella shared between two chairs.

For those of you who have spent time on many other beaches in the Caribbean, no, this does not include a bucket of beer.

Are you doing the math along with me? We are currently at $40 per person. However, we need $15 per person to get back to the ship.

We plop our belongings down and our ready to hit the water. If you forget your towel, they do have rentals available for $7 each with an additional $10 deposit which is refunded when you return the towel. I always bring my pack towel so this wasn’t necessary.

Tip: Pack an inflatable pool float like this one. It was so handy and fit easily back in my bag for the return trip.

Related Post: Cruise Port Day Bag Essentials

Does Magens Bay have facilities?

Yes! Magens Bay Park offers restrooms, showers and changing facilities onsite. The park fee helps to maintain these facilities and at the time of our visit, all were relatively clean and in good condition. In my opinion, they dedicate more space to changing facilities than restroom/toilets. There are also lifeguards on duty which is not as common as you might think.

Tip: If you are traveling with children or have a tiny bladder like I do, take note of the restrooms prior to choosing your lounger location or you may have a bit of a walk.

The park area is a natural landscape with trees and even a hiking trail. While we did not explore the trail on this visit, we did walk the full length of the beach and it was lovely! There is also a small gift shop where our friend purchased an ornament and a new sun shirt. I also took note that the park had a lot of trash cans and there was virtually no litter which was a welcomed sight!

Who’s ready for a cocktail and a snack?

Magans Bay Park did have a convenient restaurant and bar on-site. The staff was friendly and provided fast service even though we had to wait in line at both the restaurant and bar – yes, they are separate. Cash and credit are happily accepted at both.

Unless we have an especially long day in port, we typically get by with just a snack before returning to the ship. This particular day we enjoyed a couple adult beverages and shared an order of fries. Both the drinks and fries were cold/hot respectively and were in line with typical tourist prices.

There was a waitress providing bar service to the loungers but we found it easier to just walk up to the bar and order our own drinks. For the two of us, we spent $35 on our snack and beers. Obviously this cost will vary greatly based on the drinks and food that you order.

Tips and ways to save money at Magens Bay Park

When you first arrive, don’t feel obligated to get a lounger. If you walk further down the beach there is a large area dedicated for those visitors who want to lay out a towel or blanket and enjoy their day. This is a great option for groups, especially those with children. You can have the same beautiful day at the beach without spending $20 per chair.

Fill up your insulated water bottle and eat before you leave the ship. Don’t spend money buying bottled water that is overpriced and in a plastic bottle which is unlikely to be recycled.

Don’t forget your towel or beach blanket

Bring your reef-safe sunscreen (I love Sun Bum) and apply often. The Caribbean sun can be intense. If you forget or need to buy more, it is available in the gift shop but it’s more expensive.

So, is Magens Bay worth the hype and expense?

I think it’s worth the hype because it is a truly beautiful beach and I am so glad we spent a day there. Do I think it’s worth the expense? No, I don’t. Many beautiful beaches we visit offer lounge chairs, $25 for a pair. Mostly, by the time you add up all of the “per person” costs such as taxi to and return, the loungers, the entry fee, it makes for an expensive day.

Our total was around $150. My husband, Brian, and I did not need to purchase sunscreen or rent a towel and we did not buy anything from the gift shop. We also only had 2 drinks each and shared the fries.

However, we did have a wonderful day and we do tend to spend more money when we travel to St. John for the day so we may very well end up at Magens Bay again. Next time we will travel down the beach a little further and take better advantage of the white sand and use that instead of spending $40 for our loungers.

Tip: “Official” information on Magens Bay Park.