EXCURSIONS & ACTIVITIES · SAPPHIRE BEACH · ST. THOMAS
Things to Do at Sapphire Beach.
Boat charters, BVI day trips, parasailing, fishing, jet skis and the best sunrises on the east end.
START HERE
There is nothing better on vacation than walking right out your door and straight to the fun! No other location on island has this many choices on how to spend your day and I would know cause we live here and also operate our boat rentals out of the marina.
Sapphire Beach Marina runs day charters, BVI trips, sport fishing, snorkel runs, day sails and sunsets. We also have parasailing, jet skis and every water toy you can think of. Most of it you can book the day before. Some of it you should book the month before.
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We see and chat with most guests soon after they arrive because a walk down through the marina is top of the list after grabbing a drink from the beach bar. Use this website to get a head start on finding your favorites and booking ahead if you want to cut out the worry.
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PICK YOUR DAY
Sapphire Beach Marina excursions, sorted by what kind of day you want.
SNORKEL ST JOHN
Every charter boat here can get you to those gorgeous beaches across the sound. Snorkel gear and drinks included.
DRIVE YOUR OWN BOAT
Rent your own 15' - 20' center console RIB with all the perks and explore St. John on your own schedule. Boating experience required.
THE BVI
Jost Van Dyke, Norman Island, The Baths. The best trips out here and yes, you need your passport.
SAILING & SUNSETS
Quiet and the ultimate in relaxation. Choose a half, full or sunset option to take in the best views on island.
SPORT FISHING
Three companies in the marina to get you on the Mahi, Wahoo and Tuna! And remember, Sudi's will cook your catch.
PARASAIL & JET SKIS
Easy booking, quick fun and straight out of the marina. A perfect way to spend an hour or two.
BOAT CHARTERS
Boat charters and day trips from Sapphire Beach.
The heart of a good week here. Private boats, shared boats and the ones worth the splurge.
DAY CHARTER · POWERBOAT
OceanRunner 37' Axopar
Sunbeds front and back, a proper dining table in the middle and a hard top wide enough that you are not fighting for shade at noon. Twin 300s, so getting to St. John is quick and smooth. BVI & USVI options when you book.
DAY CHARTER · USVI ONLY
Phoenix Charters
A pocket yacht rather than an open boat, so there is an air-conditioned stateroom below and a proper bathroom, which changes a seven hour day considerably. Paddleboards, snorkel gear and an inflatable island come with it. Lunch stop at Pizza Pi, Lovango or Dinghy's on Honeymoon.
DAY CHARTERS · WORLD CAT
Shades of Blue Charters
The value pick by a clear margin. Seven hours, private, with good snorkel gear, floats and coolers already iced down with Captain Kirk's drink of the day. Takes up to ten if you have a bigger group.
FULL DAY · UP TO 11 · FROM $1500
HALF/FULL · UP TO 6PPL · FROM $865
HALF/FULL · UP TO 10PPL · FROM $750
LUXURY YACHT
NOVA
The largest day yacht in St. Thomas. Stretch out on this 65', three level Viking M/Y for a full day of relaxation. Cruise St. John in comfort with daybeds, sun loungers, shaded back deck and a catered breakfast with open bar and your choice of lunch spot. All amenities included.
LUXURY POWERBOAT · 3 OPTIONS
OceanRunner
Three boats, twelve passengers each, captain and first mate on all of them. A 36' Aquila, a 43' Formula and a 60' Sunseeker. Breakfast and a cheese board come with the day, and there is an enclosed salon below when the sun has had enough of you.
LUXURY POWERBOAT · FJORD
Flying Tiger
Teak decks bow to stern and a deep-V hull that stays composed at speed, which matters on a windy crossing. Sunpads forward, a shaded cockpit aft and a proper cabin with an enclosed bathroom. A mate comes on BVI days to handle customs, so you are not queuing with a folder of passports.
FULL DAY · UP TO 6 · FROM $5000
FULL DAY · UP TO 12PPL · FROM $2900
HALF/FULL · UP TO 12PPL · FROM $1445
THE BEST DAY
BVI day trips from Sapphire Beach, St. Thomas
Jost Van Dyke. The Baths at Virgin Gorda. The caves at Norman Island. A different country, a different colour of water, and a bar on the beach that will make you a Painkiller before ten in the morning, no questions asked.
It is the best day available from this marina and something you should do at least once.
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Now the boring part. BRING YOUR PASSPORT. Everybody in your party needs one, actual books not photos, and you clear customs going out and coming back. It is a long day and you will be sunburnt, salty and useless by dinner. Do not book anything for that evening. You will not go. **Customs fees run about $85/pp cash in addition to the price of every trip below so plan accordingly.
JOST VAN DYKE THE BATHS NORMAN ISLAND PASSPORT REQUIRED CUSTOMS BOTH WAYS BOOK AHEAD IN SEASON
BVI CHARTER · POWERBOAT
OceanRunner 37' Axopar
Sunbeds front and back, a proper dining table in the middle and a hard top wide enough that you are not fighting for shade at noon. Twin 300s, so getting to St. John is quick and smooth.
BVI CHARTER · FJORD 38' EXPRESS
Flying Tiger
Teak decks bow to stern and a deep-V hull that stays composed at speed, which matters on a windy crossing. Sunpads forward, a shaded cockpit aft and a proper cabin with an enclosed bathroom. A mate comes on BVI days to handle customs, so you are not queuing with a folder of passports.
BVI DAY · OR JUST JOST VAN DYKE
Shades of Blue Charters
Two ways to do it. The full day runs eight hours and lets you shape the whole thing, or Just Jost is six hours pointed at one island with no dawn start. Cheapest BVI option from this marina either way.
FULL DAY · UP TO 11 · FROM $1500
FULL · UP TO 12PPL · FROM $1445
FULL/JOST · UP TO 11PPL · FROM $1250
SNORKELING TRIPS
Snorkeling excursions from Sapphire Beach.
It's hard to beat the snorkeling right off the beach here at Sapphire. These are the trips that get you over to St. John and more
BREAKAWAY · SHARED TRIP
GOMOJO · BAREBOAT
Snorkel St. John Tour
Explore St. John Reefs on Your Own
Three snorkel stops in the National Park with gear and instruction included, so nobody has to know what they are doing. Breakfast on the way out, buffet lunch between stops and an open bar for the ride home. Boards at Sapphire Marina at 7:45, which is the earliest start on this page and also the reason you get the good water.
FULL DAY · $160/ADULTS · $95/KIDS
Take a boat out and find the reefs on your own schedule. Waterlemon, Maho, Christmas Cove, wherever the water looks right that morning. Fuel is included, nobody is calling you back to the boat and you can stay in as long as you like. All amenities included. Boating experience is required.
FULL DAY · UP TO 7PPL · FROM $475/DAY
FISHING CHARTERS
Fishing charters out of Sapphire Beach Marina.
Three crews run out of here and they are all good. Catch something and bring it up to Sudi’s, who will cook it for your dinner.
INSHORE/OFFSHORE · SLIP N24/25
INSHORE/OFFSHORE · TWO BOATS
OFFSHORE · HALF OR FULL DAY
Double Header Sport Fishing
Mixed Bag Charters
Abigail III - VI Sportfish
Thirty years out of this marina and voted best sport fishing in the USVI since 2007, which is not a run you fake. They specialize in live bait, which is why people come back with something rather than a story. Half, three quarter or full day.
Captain Rob has been fishing these waters for twenty five years and runs two very different trips off a 40 footer. Inshore with live bait and light tackle, which is the one to book with kids, or offshore to the North and South Drops for tuna, wahoo and marlin if somebody in the group has a bucket list.
Captain Red landed a world record blue marlin in 1971 and has been winning tournaments here ever since. Forty years on these waters, Penn International tackle and an air-conditioned cabin for when somebody needs a break from the sun. Marlin, tuna, wahoo, kingfish and mahi.
FULL/HALF/3/4 · FROM $850
FULL/HALF · UP TO 6PPL · FROM $750
FULL/HALF · UP TO 6PPL · FROM $1000
DAY SAILS
Day sails & sunset cruises from Sapphire.
These trips are for the views.
DAY SAIL OR SUNSET · CATALINA 42'
DAY SAIL OR SUNSET · 6 GUESTS MAX
Adventures of Saltwater Taffy
If you take one boat trip all week, take this one. A family who sail their own 42 footer and pamper you all day. Home cooked breakfast at the dock, a guided snorkel with underwater photos, a proper lunch cooked and served at anchor, and a captain who builds the day around what your group actually wants. Half day, Pizza Pi, sunset or the full thing.
FULL/HALF/SUNSETS · PRIVATE· UP TO 12PPL
Sail St. John with VI Day Sailing
Six people, and they actually sail rather than motoring with the sails up for the photos. Three coves around St. John, two or three snorkel stops, and the captain cooks lunch on board between them. The alternative is a catamaran with ninety people on it, and reviewers who have done both keep saying the same thing.
FULL DAY · UP TO 6PPL · FROM $245/PP
SUNSET CRUISE
Champagne sunset cruise out of Sapphire.
Chilled champagne, shrimp cocktail and the most gorgeous sunsets right outside your door.
SUNSET CRUISE · SHARED TRIP
Breakaway Sunset Cruise
Two hours, champagne in your hand before you have sat down, and shrimp cocktail coming out the whole way. Nothing between you and the sunset but water. Easiest booking on this page and the one I recommend to absolutely everybody.
2 HOURS · ARRIVE 4:30PM · $110 ADULTS, $75 KIDS
OFF THE DOCK OR AT THE BEACH
Parasailing and jet ski rentals at Sapphire Beach.
For the afternoon when somebody in your group refuses to get on another boat at seven in the morning.
FREESTYLE · HALF/FULL HOUR
SLIP N28 · THE ONLY PARASAIL
EVENTURES VI · BEACH, 10 TO 4
Coastal Watersports
Freestyle means nobody is leading you around in a line behind a guide. You get the ski and the bay and you go. Half hour or a full hour, two riders on a machine and the second one rides free.
VI Parasailing
The only parasail operation in the Virgin Islands and it flies off our marina. Eight to ten minutes up with St. John in front of you, then a dip in the water on the way down. Six and up, no skill needed, and about an hour door to door.
Seabobs & E-foils
A Seabob pulls you through the water like a very fast fish, which is the closest most people get to knowing what it feels like down there. eFoils if you want to be above the surface instead. Only authorized Seabob dealer on the island and no experience needed for either.
30 MIN $115 · 1 HOUR $190 · CC & PHOTO ID REQUIRED
1 HOUR · $120 FLYERS, $70 OBSERVERS · AGES 6+
HOUR OR WEEKLY · DELIVERY AVAILABLE
ON LAND
Jeep tours and island excursions.
Somebody else drives the hills, which if you have driven them you will understand. Great way to see the island from a different point of view.
PRIVATE · PICKS YOU UP
Jammin' Jeep Tours Half Day
Four hours with a guide who was born here, which is the difference between a tour and a driving route. Charlotte Amalie and the 99 Steps, Mountain Top, Drake's Seat over Magens, island food and a drink, then beach time wherever you fancy. They collect you from the condo and drop you back.
4 HOURS · 4 MAX · $440/JEEP
NEXT
Sort the rest of the week.
The field guide to the beach
How the bay is laid out, where the three snorkeling spots are and when the sargassum turns up.
Where to Stay
Three properties on one beach, and which building puts you closest to the marina.
Plan your week
Tell us when you are coming and get lodging, excursions and tons of other helpful advice before you land. Sorted.