The island of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands is famous for its incredible beaches. It’s hard to believe that as well known as these beaches are, there are a few that fly way under the radar. As the name implies, Secret Harbor Beach is one of these exact beaches.
It’s not that Secret Harbor Beach is hard to find or particularly hard to access, but given its exact location it just doesn’t get the total volume of tourists. Many people mistakenly think that it is a private beach so the venture elsewhere.
When trying to figure out where to go on St. Thomas don’t overlook the Secret Harbor! There is a private resort you can stay in with all the amenities, but even if you don’t stay there the beach is still worth the quick diversion!
Secret Harbor Info:
- Other Names: Secret Harbor, Secret Beach
- Known for: proximity to ferry terminal, less cruise crowds than other popular beaches
- Water Color: turquoise blue
- Good for: sipping a drink and snorkeling
- Not so good for: easy access and completely avoiding crowds
- Facilities: dive shop, restaurant and bar, but no official restrooms and showers
- Lifeguards: no
- Parking: VERY LIMITED – some street parking up the hill
- Cost: free
- Other: not the biggest beach, but still quite nice
Where is Secret Beach located?
Secret Harbor Beach is located on the far south east side of the island of St. Thomas. It is located right next to the Red Hook Ferry Terminal (main ferry terminal to St. John island). To get there, you have to make a quick diversion through a locals neighborhood.
If you wanted to walk from the Ferry Terminal it is less than 1 mile, though the walk wouldn’t be ideal.
Secret Harbor Beach Parking
If there is any secret to be discovered at Secret Harbor Beach it is the parking. There are spots directly at the public beach access point, but all the spots there are reserved for guests at the Secret Harbor Beach Resort and they will tow!
The look of the resort will make you think that the beach can only be access by the resort guests, but once again, the beach is public and the resort is required, and provides, a path for everyone to access the beach.
For those that aren’t resort guests you are going to have to find some street parking a little ways up the hill. We parked on the side of the road in the locals neighborhood and walked. Thankfully our walk took less than 5 minutes.
Excursions
The excursion I recommend is the Budget Secret Harbour Beach trip.
What’s included:
- Pick-up at both cruise ports in St. Thomas
- Hotel/port pickup and drop-off (selected hotels only)
What can you expect at Secret Beach?
Like a lot of beaches on St. Thomas you can expect gorgeous water and sand. The waters are generally calm which lend themselves to snorkelers of all levels.
The sand strip isn’t as wide as some other beaches, but it is still plenty wide to spread your towel or beach chairs across.
Facilities
The Secret Harbor Resort helps provide a number of amenities you would want, and there are other things that popped up to cater to these guests. I love that this beach has just about everything you would want (except a lifeguard).
I love that there are restaurants and bars. While we couldn’t find official restrooms and showers, there were bathrooms at the resort or other accompanying botique hotels.
There is also a dive shop for those looking to rent kayaks, snorkel gear, or other water pariphenalia.
Crowds
With a sizable resort directly on the beach you are going to have company. With guests being able to walk directly out of their rooms onto the sand it keeps at least a few people on the beach at all times.
The real advantage is that this beach isn’t typically used as a cruise excursion spot. This means that the large influx of visitors that some of the other beaches get won’t happen here. This can make it a great escape on an especially busy day.
Secret Harbour Beach Resort St. Thomas
Secret harbour beach is located directly on a resort hotel, the Secret Harbour Beach Resort. All beaches in St. Thomas are public beaches. You do not have to be a hotel guest to visit this beach.
It is an upscale boutique property with on-site restaurants and a lively beach bar. Book here.
Video of Secret Harbor Beach
Here is a quick video of the beach so you can see exactly what it looks like.
Restaurants at Secret Harbour Beach
There is one restaurant located directly on the beach. It’s called the Sunset Grille at Secret Harbour. It is open from 8am to 10pm. If you are looking for a romantic sunset spot on the beach the Sunset Grill is perfect. Check out the menu here.
The food is rated highly. The prices are on the high side but the portion sizes and quantity make it worth it.
This to do near Secret Harbor
- Muller Bay Beach – 5 minute drive away
- Vessup Beach – 5 minutes away
Conclusion: Is Secret Harbor beach worth visiting?
Is this the best beach on the island of St. Thomas? No, but it is still a nice one. If you are here you are super close to the Red Hook Ferry Terminal that will take you to St John. Do yourself a favor and hop on the 20 minute ferry ride to some of the best beaches on earth.
How to get to the US Virgin Islands
Most people get to the US Virgin via cruise ship. This limits them to one or two quick excursions on the islands (still amazing). For those looking to spend more time, flights are available, though they can be a little bit tricky.
The main airport is on the island of St. Thomas generally has flights from the biggest US airline hub cities (New York, Atlanta, Miami, etc) which means that if you don’t live in one of those cities you have to connect probably have spend a little bit more. Further, lots of these flights only operate on certain days of the week. This means that if you are looking to book a flight and you don’t see options, or it is obscenely expensive try changing the day of the week!
The US Virgin Islands are generally a little bit more expensive across the board than other places in the Caribbean.
The only real budget airline offering flights is Spirit Airlines from Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. I know people love to hate Spirit Airlines, but when we flew them on the quick flight down from Florida we saved a ton!
Remember that if you want to go to St. John you are still going to have to fly into St. Thomas.
There is no commercial airport on the island of St. John, but there is frequent and fairly cheap ferry service (car or passenger). You can read about the ferries here.
For those wanting to go to St. Croix, you will have to book one of the even less frequent and quite expensive flights in from the mainland, as it isn’t close enough for regular ferry service.
Best beaches in St. Thomas (best to worst)
- Lindquist Beach – My #1 favorite beach on St. Thomas! This beach is absolutely unreal! Very underrated IMO. Check out this video and you will know exactly what I mean.
- Magens Bay – This beach is just absolutely stunning! There is so much space, it has all the amenities, plenty of parking and taxis and well as numerous bathrooms all along the beach. The only hit this one takes is the water was not as ‘glowing’ turquoise as Lindquist or Coki Beach. Also, it is much more crowded.
- Coki Beach – This is my 3rd favorite & my husbands least favorite. Ha. I loved the snorkeling and the BRIGHT turquoise water. He did not like that there was not a lot of sand and it was crowded. As well as people doing drugs on the beach (when we were there). I didn’t mind. Definitely more of a party beach.