Rating the East End snorkeling
Let us be straight about East End snorkeling, because the brochures are not. Behind the barrier reef the bottom is mostly sand and seagrass, and seagrass means turtles, conch, starfish and rays rather than the dense reef fish of a wall dive or of Buck Island's lagoon. It is calm, shallow, beginner-friendly water, and it rewards patience more than distance. If a wall of fish is what you came for, book the Buck Island trip; the East End departures at Green Cay Marina and the Teague Bay yacht club are the closest boats to the villa.
Ranked from the shore, this is how they stack up. Isaac Bay is first by a distance — deeper water, real coral, the 400-fish-species reef — with the caveat that you walk in and carry everything. The reef in front of The Cerulean is second for most guests, because it is at the bottom of the steps and the water inside it is shallow and protected; the entry is rocky, water shoes fix that, and the villa keeps masks and basic beach gear on hand. Our journal note says what to expect. Third, the small reef at the eastern end of the Shoys: rays, conch, small eels, tropical fish and the odd trumpetfish over a sandy and grassy bottom.
After that come the grassy bays. Chenay Bay's snorkeling is best along the right side near the point; close to shore the grass holds starfish, conch and sea turtles in water shallow enough for children. Grapetree Bay is calm behind its barrier reef but grassy, so tropical reef fish are few and turtles are the draw. Teague Bay is shallow, rocky and grassy behind its reef, decent around the rock outcroppings, with some sargassum depending on the season. Cramer's Park keeps its fish and coral at the rocky ends. Turner Hole rents snorkel gear at the Divi's beach shack, mostly to guests.
Two rules cover all of it. Under territorial law, sunscreen sold and used here must be mineral (zinc or titanium), not oxybenzone or octinoxate; a long-sleeve rash guard beats any bottle on a reef anyway. And nothing comes home: the whole East End is inside the marine park, and Grapetree, Jack and Isaac are no-take. Look, float, kick gently, and leave the conch where it is.

Grapetree Bay: the long southeast ribbon
Grapetree is the beach that best explains the south shore. It is a long, narrow stretch of white sand backed by sea grape trees on the East End's south coast, between the Divi resort at Turner Hole and the Point Udall headland, and it faces southeast — straight into the sunrise. A barrier reef sits in front of it, so the water inside is calm enough for easy swimming most days, and the beach is long enough that on a weekday you can walk until you have it to yourself. There is a rockier stretch as well as the sand, and, on the days the wind is up, a little surf.
Getting there from the villa takes only a few minutes along Southshore Road (Route 60) heading east. From the Divi Carina Bay resort, continue east on Route 60, turn right onto South Grapetree Bay Road at the hotel sign, follow it to the T-junction and turn right; the public parking with beach access is west of the Grapetree Bay Hotel & Villas property. Respect the houses on the road down — this is a residential stretch, and the parking is what keeps it open.
There are no facilities on the beach: no restroom, no shower, no bar, no shade beyond the sea grape line. The hotel behind it has, as of this writing, offered pool passes and a beachside restaurant and bar to non-guests, which is worth checking on the day if you want a cold drink or a real toilet; do not plan around it without calling. Dogs are welcome for a walk. Bring water, sun cover, food and something to sit on, and you have a beach that most Caribbean islands would put on a postcard and charge for.
The snorkeling is honest rather than spectacular. The bottom is grassy, so tropical reef fish are thin, but turtles graze the grass and you have a good chance of seeing one on any calm morning. Grapetree lies inside a no-take zone of the marine park: all fishing — line, spear, trap, and diving for conch — is prohibited, and so are personal watercraft. That is why it stays quiet. Of every beach in this guide, it is the one we would send a couple to for a long walk and a swim with nobody in the frame.

Turner Hole and the Divi's beach
Turner Hole is the bay a few minutes east of the villa where the Divi Carina Bay resort and its casino sit, at 5025 Turner Hole off Southshore Road (Route 60). The resort's beach is the developed one on this coast: a beach shack, restaurant and bar, hammocks slung between palms, beach chairs and a freshwater pool, snorkel gear, kayak and Sunfish rentals, windsurfing, and lessons for all of it. Free parking is plentiful. It is the place to go on the south shore when someone in the group wants a rum punch delivered to a chair rather than a cooler on the sand.
The catch is that most of that is for hotel guests. The restrooms are for resort guests and restaurant patrons, and chairs and equipment rentals are restricted accordingly, so a non-guest gets the sand and the water and pays for the rest by eating or drinking there. Virgin Islands beaches are public below the high-tide line, which is what lets you walk the Divi's beach at all; the amenities are the resort's own. If you want the full resort-beach day, ask at the desk what it costs before you set up.
The water is inside the marine park's recreational zone: hook-and-line fishing from the beach out to 100 feet only, no spearfishing or diving for conch, and this is one of the two stretches on the East End where personal watercraft are permitted — from the resort's western boundary east to Grapetree Point. Expect a jet ski or two on busy days. Seaweed comes in seasonally; the resort's staff clean it regularly, but not during turtle nesting season, when raking a beach can crush nests, so a summer visit may find sargassum at the tide line by design.
For villa guests Turner Hole is mostly a convenience: the nearest place to rent a kayak or a Sunfish without booking a charter, and a bar a few minutes from home. Confirm the resort's current status and what it offers non-guests when you arrive; resort policies here have changed more than once.
Teague Bay: the yacht club shore
Teague Bay is the north shore's long, sheltered bay, home to the St. Croix Yacht Club and to Duggan's Reef, the family-owned seafood restaurant that has been on this beach since 1983. You reach it from Christiansted or the villa on East End Road (Route 82) and turn left at the entry for Duggan's Reef; there is plenty of parking. The Reef condominiums sit across the road, and above them the hills carry the nine-hole Reef Golf Course, the East End's course and the villa's nearest round — see our golf directory. From the villa, plan on roughly ten to fifteen minutes.
The beach itself is a long stretch protected by a barrier reef, with shallow water, rocky and grassy patches, shade under the trees, and — courtesy of Duggan's — beach chairs and hammocks. It usually is not crowded. The restaurant and bar are open for dinner only, so a beach day here is bring-your-own until evening, when it becomes the natural place to end one: dinner on the sand at Duggan's, reservations required, Monday to Saturday as of this writing, and always check current hours. Our restaurant directory keeps the details.
The reef keeps the water fairly flat except in a strong northeasterly wind, and it makes for decent snorkeling in shallow water around the rock outcroppings, with sargassum possible depending on the season. The bay is a park-designated recreational area with many private moorings around the yacht club: hook-and-line fishing from the beach out to 100 feet only, no spearfishing or conch diving, and personal watercraft permitted only from Cramer's Park west to Teague Point. When the wind blows — which on this bay is often — it is a windsurfing and kitesurfing spot, so keep swimmers and sails apart.
The yacht club is private, but it matters to villa guests for one reason: Llewellyn's Charters sails to Buck Island from here, six passengers at a time on a locally built trimaran, one of the two East End departures closest to The Cerulean. Between the golf, the boat and the dinner, Teague Bay is the beach you visit for the things around it as much as for the sand.
- 1969The easternmost headland is named Point Udall for Interior Secretary Stewart Udall
- 1999The Nature Conservancy establishes the 300-acre Jack and Isaac Bay Preserve
- Jan 1, 2000The Millennium Monument sundial marks the nation's first sunrise of the millennium at Point Udall
- 2001TNC begins its sea-turtle protection and monitoring program at Jack and Isaac Bay
- Dec 23, 2002The Legislature passes Act 6572 creating the St. Croix East End Marine Park
- Jan 9, 2003The East End Marine Park takes effect — 60 square miles, the territory's first marine protected area
Chenay Bay: the family bay
Chenay Bay, also called Southgate Beach, is the East End's answer for small children: shallow, calm, grassy close to shore, and shaded. It lies between Bungalows on the Bay — the former Chenay Bay Beach Resort — and Green Cay Marina, a little over three miles east of Christiansted along Route 82, which puts it about ten to fifteen minutes from the villa. It is a fantastic beach for young children, and the one we would send a family with toddlers to on a windy day.
There are two ways in. From the Southgate Coastal Reserve, turn left at the reserve sign on East End Road and park near the beach. Or, coming from the Tamarind Reef side, turn right at the chain-link fence entrance just before Green Cay Marina and follow the dirt road down to the shore, where you can park along it. The resort end of the beach has lounge chairs and restrooms for its own guests; the rest of the bay has no amenities at all, so bring water, chairs, an umbrella and sun protection.
The bottom is grass close to shore, which is exactly why the marine life is what it is: starfish, conch and sea turtles grazing a few yards out, in water that stays waist-deep a long way. Snorkeling is best along the right side near the point. Kayaking and paddleboarding are the other reasons people come; this is the calmest paddling water on this side of the island. Three threatened or endangered sea-turtle species nest on the berm at the back of the beach, so keep chairs and coolers on the open sand and off the vegetation line.
Rules follow the marine park: hook-and-line fishing from the beach out to 100 feet only, no spearfishing or diving for conch, no personal watercraft. Shade is plentiful, the parking is informal, and the crowd is mostly families and paddlers. If you are choosing between Chenay Bay and Cramer's Park for children, the difference is facilities versus quiet: Cramer's has the restrooms and pavilions, Chenay has the softer bottom and no weekend sound system.
The Shoys: the gate trick
The Shoys is the beach East End locals name when you ask where they swim. It is a calm, sheltered crescent a few miles outside Christiansted — roughly fifteen minutes from the villa — inside Estate Shoys, the residential neighborhood next to The Buccaneer. The water is calm most of the year over a sandy and grassy bottom, with occasional waves that people body surf; the beach is quiet and secluded on almost any day; and there is not a single amenity on it. That last part is why the first part stays true.
The access is what puts people off, and it should not. You turn in at The Buccaneer's entrance off Route 82, where there are two guard gates: the one straight ahead takes you to the hotel, the one on the right is Estate Shoys. You give the guard your name and say you are going to the beach. Then you drive to the gravel parking area on the right-hand side of the main road and take the short path through the vegetation directly across from it, marked by a small sign, down to the sand.
What you find is a beach shaded by sea grape and other foliage along its length, water that is generally easy swimming, and a small reef at the easternmost end of the bay for snorkeling: rays, conch, small eels, tropical fish and, now and then, a trumpetfish. Nothing to write a dive log about, but a very good half hour with a mask. The middle of the bay is pure swimming, and for a lot of people that is the whole reason to come.
The rules are the neighborhood's, and they are the price of admission. No dogs. Keep the noise down and the cars parked where they belong. Take out every wrapper. Be respectful of the surrounding private properties, because Estate Shoys is a residential neighborhood; the beach only stays this easy to reach as long as visitors behave like guests.
Getting onto the Shoys
- Turn in at The Buccaneer's entrance off Route 82.
- Take the right-hand guard gate (Estate Shoys), not the one straight ahead to the hotel.
- Give the guard your name and say you are going to the beach.
- Park in the gravel area on the right of the main road.
- Take the short marked path directly across from the parking down to the sand.
- Leave with everything you brought, and no dog was ever there.
The Buccaneer's three beaches
The Buccaneer is the long-established resort just east of Christiansted, and it has three beaches: Mermaid, Grotto and Whistle. Mermaid is the main beach, palm-shaded and protected, with The Mermaid restaurant and a watersports center on it and lawn games — frisbee golf, cornhole, ping pong — behind it. Grotto Beach is around the corner to the west, quieter, with the Grotto pool and Beauregard's on the Beach restaurant beside it and golf holes along the shoreline. Whistle Beach, in the resort's own words, is an over-the-hill beach favored for its seclusion, with no structures at all, used for small weddings and reached privately by guests of the resort's Beach House.
The access question is the one everybody asks. The Buccaneer's beaches are open to the public, and visitor accounts are consistent: you tell the guard at the hotel gate that you are going to the beach and you are let in. What is public is the beach and the water. The lounge chairs, the complimentary kayaks, paddleboards and snorkel gear, and the Grotto pool are for resort guests, and the resort has at times sold a day pass covering the pool, chairs and drinks service on the sand. Call before you go if you want more than sand and sea; policies change, and this is a business, not a park.
What non-guests get is still worthwhile. Mermaid is a protected, easy-swimming beach with a restaurant behind it, and Grotto is a quiet stretch with restrooms and a bar close by for anyone eating or drinking there. The snorkeling is modest — this is a calm resort bay, not a reef — and it is better used as the lunch-and-swim beach at the Christiansted end of a town day than as a destination in itself. From the villa it is about the same fifteen to twenty minutes as town.
The reason to know these beaches at all is combination: a morning at Fort Christiansvaern and the boardwalk, a swim and lunch at Mermaid, the Shoys next door for the quiet afternoon swim, then home to the East End with the sun going down behind you.
















