Area guide · East End, St. Thomas
What is close to this condo, and how long it really takes
Written from the patio of Unit D101, not from a tourism brochure. Times are door-to-door from Sapphire Beach, and the honest verdict on each one is included.
📍 6720 Estate Smith Bay, Unit D101, St. Thomas, VI 00802, U.S. Virgin Islands
Unit D101 sits on Sapphire Beach on the East End of St. Thomas, which puts most of the island's east side within a short drive and one good beach within an easy walk. Lindquist Beach is about an 18-minute walk. Red Hook — groceries, restaurants and the ferry dock — is under a mile. Coki Point and Coral World are about five minutes by car, and the passenger ferry to St. John leaves from Red Hook about five minutes away.
Further out, Charlotte Amalie and the duty-free shopping district are roughly 25 minutes west, Magens Bay is about half an hour across the island, and Cyril E. King airport is about 28 minutes. Nothing on St. Thomas is genuinely far; the island is about 13 miles end to end. What varies is the road, not the distance.
Start here
The distances, in one table
Drive times are for an ordinary day. Add time on cruise-ship days if you are heading into town, and add time in the late afternoon on the Red Hook road.
| From Unit D101 | How far | How you get there |
|---|---|---|
| Sapphire Beach | 2 steps | Walk out of the patio |
| Resort pool, marina, dive shop | On site | Walk |
| Cabes Point | 1 min walk | Walk |
| Lindquist Beach | 18 min walk | Walk or a short drive |
| Red Hook — groceries, restaurants, ferry | Under 1 mile | Drive, taxi or safari |
| Coki Beach & Coral World | ~5 min drive | Drive, taxi or safari |
| St. John passenger ferry (Red Hook) | ~5 min drive | Drive or taxi, then ferry |
| Charlotte Amalie | ~25 min drive | Drive or taxi |
| Magens Bay | ~30 min drive | Drive or taxi only |
| Cyril E. King airport (STT) | 28 min drive | Taxi or rental car |
Within walking distance
Two beaches you can reach on foot
The first is the one you are standing on. Sapphire Beach is a half-mile of white sand with the resort's reef on the coral-beach side, and it is the reason the condo is worth what it costs — you are not driving to the water, you are living on it.
The second is Lindquist Beach, about eighteen minutes on foot to the east. It is a protected territorial park beach, quieter than Sapphire, with the view across to St. John that appears on a lot of postcards. Most guests drive it, but it is a genuine walk if the morning is cool.
Cabes Point is a minute away and worth the minute at sunset.
Short drives
The things five minutes away
Red Hook is under a mile: the supermarket you want on arrival day, most of the East End's restaurants and bars, and the dock where the ferries leave for St. John and the British Virgin Islands. It is the practical centre of this end of the island.
Coki Point is about five minutes the other way, with Coral World's marine park on the headland and Coki Beach below it. Both are covered on their own page, including the one piece of timing advice that matters.
Half-day trips
The things worth a morning
St. John is the big one, and it has its own page on this site because it is the single best reason to stay on the East End rather than near town — the ferry leaves five minutes from your door.
Charlotte Amalie is the historic capital and the duty-free shopping, about twenty-five minutes west. Magens Bay is the famous crescent on the north shore, about half an hour across the island. Both are worth doing once. Neither is worth doing on the day four cruise ships are in.
Frequently asked
Questions about things to do
What is within walking distance of Sapphire Beach Resort?
Sapphire Beach itself is two steps from the patio. The resort pool, marina and dive shop are on site, Cabes Point is a minute away, and Lindquist Beach is about an 18-minute walk east. Red Hook is under a mile, which some guests walk and most drive.
How far is Sapphire Beach from the St. John ferry?
About five minutes by car to the Red Hook dock. The crossing to Cruz Bay takes around twenty minutes and ferries run through the day, so a St. John day trip from this condo is genuinely easy rather than a production.
Do I need a rental car on the East End?
Not necessarily. Sapphire, Lindquist, Red Hook and Coki are all reachable on foot, by taxi or by the open-air safari buses that run along the main East End road. A car pays for itself if you want Magens Bay, the north shore or several trips into town.
How far is the airport from the condo?
Cyril E. King airport is about 28 minutes away, roughly ten miles across the island. Taxis are waiting outside arrivals and charge a fixed rate per person rather than by the meter.
Is St. Thomas big enough to need planning?
The island is about 13 miles long, so nothing is far in distance. The roads are narrow, steep and busy near town, so times are longer than the map suggests — and cruise-ship days change the traffic completely.
When is the island busiest?
When ships are in, which is usually mid-morning to early afternoon, and mostly affects Charlotte Amalie, Coki Beach and Magens Bay. The East End beaches stay comparatively calm. Cruise schedules are published in advance and worth a look before you plan a town day.
Keep reading
The rest of the area, and the condo it starts from
Everything on this island is close. What changes is how long the road takes and how many cruise ships are in.
Photographs of the island on this page are by Karl Callwood, Joseph Corl, Andy Feliciotti, Roger Darnell, Matthew Valentino, Jamie Tudor and Island Guides, published on Unsplash. Every photograph of the condo itself is our own.
Sapphire Beach Resort & Marina · St. Thomas, USVI
Sapphire Beach Condo D101 — 9.8/10 from 259 stays
Book direct and the host answers you, not a call center. Rates include all fees.