Coki Beach, St. Thomas

Is Coki Beach Free?

Yes. There is no entrance fee to Coki Point Beach, and nobody collects money at the sand. Your spending starts after you arrive: parking runs about $5 when a space opens, chairs and gear rent from vendors on the beach, and lunch comes from the concessions behind it.

Arrive with your own mask and a towel and the day costs you the taxi fare. That is rare on a Caribbean island where the good snorkelling usually sits behind a boat ticket.

How to Get to Coki Beach from the Cruise Port

The drive from the main cruise docks takes roughly 20 to 30 minutes, depending on traffic and which pier your ship uses. Shared taxis line up outside the secure port area whenever ships are in and charge about $9 to $15 per person each way, at rates the island's taxi commission sets.

Most people skip a rental car for this trip. Parking at the far end undoes the saving, and the taxi drops you at the sand.

Leave room on the return. Head back at least 90 minutes before all-aboard. Traffic on the north-shore road thickens whenever several ships sit in port together.

Parking and Hours

The beach itself never closes. Vendors keep shorter hours, trading from mid-to-late morning until 5 p.m., so an eight o'clock arrival buys you an empty reef and no chair rental yet.

Parking is the weak point. Spaces are extremely limited, cost about $5, and go early. By late morning drivers circle the lot or leave cars along the roadside. High season runs December through April, and on those mornings the taxi is the calmer choice.

Snorkeling at Coki Point: Where the Reef Starts

Reef life meets you a few easy kicks from shore. That is the whole case for Coki. No boat, no swim across a bay, no current to read. Wade in from the sand, put your face down, and coral heads sit beneath you in water shallow enough to stand in.

Wikipedia calls it generally the best shore snorkel on the island, and the geography explains why. Coki Point is a small peninsula on the northeast Atlantic side of St. Thomas, so reef wraps the headland on both sides. Work left toward the rocks for the denser coral. Thatch Cay sits offshore in the distance, and the drop-off past the point is where divers from the on-site dive center head.

What You Will See Underwater

Sergeant majors swarm the shallow water in striped, unbothered numbers, and parrotfish crunch at the coral heads farther out. The occasional squid hangs in midwater near the rocks. Hawksbill turtles pass through Coki, though nobody should promise you one on a given morning.

If a turtle is the point of the day, the seagrass at Brewers Bay is the more reliable choice, and a guided turtle swim there runs $89 for two hours.

Renting Gear, Chairs and Lockers

Vendors on the sand rent snorkel gear, chairs, umbrellas, float mats and noodles. A dive center on site rents snorkel and scuba kit and runs guided dives for anyone who wants to go past the shallow reef. Restrooms and showers sit behind the beach, part of the boardwalk and bathhouse added in 2011.

Bring your own mask if you own one. Rental stock covers standard sizes and does not cover prescription lenses.

Food and Drink at Coki Beach

Concessions behind the beach sell food and drinks, and the same vendors handle crafts and hair braiding. This is beach-shack cooking, not a restaurant strip. Anyone expecting a sit-down meal should eat before the taxi ride or plan on Coral World next door.

Coki is one stop of several: our comparison of every St. Thomas snorkeling tour sets the boat trips against the shore beaches on price and length.

Coki Beach vs Sapphire Beach vs Magens Bay

Coki is the busiest beach on the island on cruise-ship days. That is the trade you make for the easiest reef.

Sapphire Beach, on the east end, parks you for free and lays its reef along a shallow rocky ledge on the right-hand side. Strong swimmers who push out about 150 yards reach fan coral. Sapphire draws fewer cruise visitors, so the water feels emptier, but you swim farther to earn it.

Magens Bay is the postcard beach and the weakest snorkel of the three. Go for the sand and the mile-long curve of it, not the fish.

Is Coki Beach Worth It? The Honest Answer

Worth it if you want the shortest distance between a taxi and a reef on St. Thomas, or if you have a few port hours and no interest in a boat ticket.

Worth skipping if crowds spoil a beach for you and your ship docks alongside three others. The complaints in reviews stay consistent and fair: the lot turns chaotic, vendors work the sand hard, and by late morning in high season you swim through people before you swim through fish. None of that touches the reef, which is why the beach keeps its reputation. Arrive early, walk left, and it reads as a different place.

Coral World Ocean Park Next Door

Coral World Ocean Park shares the headland, 5 acres of aquariums, nature trails and outdoor pools. It is why many cruise passengers end up at Coki in the first place, since one taxi covers both and the two sit within a short walk.

The park also runs a SNUBA session at Coki Point. You breathe from a surface air line, drop to 15 or 20 feet, and skip the certification a scuba dive demands. It costs $102 for 75 minutes, in groups of four.