
Are you looking for stunning secluded beaches on St. Thomas? Or, is your goal to avoid the crowds and get away from the highly developed areas on St. Thomas? If so, you will love these hidden spots of St. Thomas!
Secluded Beaches on St. Thomas
Secluded Beaches of St. Thomas are lesser-known, but stunning beach stops in all parts of the island. These hidden gems are not advertised, nor are they on anyone’s radar. That means they are truly peaceful, meditative places to visit.
As you know, St. Thomas sports more than 40 beaches along its coastline. Therefore you will have a lot of choice when it comes to the variety and diversity of island’s beaches. Its most popular beaches are Magens Bay Beach and Coki Beach. They are well worth a visit, with plenty of parking in easy to access areas. While these popular beaches are beautiful and relaxing, if you are on a quest to experience the secret beaches on the island, look no further!
The best hidden beaches of St. Thomas
The best hidden beaches of St. Thomas are listed below. I placed them in the order of difficulty and accessibility – the first one is the easiest to get to, the last one requires most work!
- Lindquist Beach is one of the St. Thomas’s most pristine and beautiful beaches. It’s the only secluded beach on my list of US Virgin Islands hidden beaches that is easy to get to.
- Neltjeberg Bay Beach is truly off the beaten path, literally and physically hard to get to. You will need a dependable vehicle, namely a Jeep to take you through the terrain of a long dirty road! This hidden beach will stun you with its beautiful sandy shoreline.
- Dorothea Beach is a perfect place to find some solitude. This amazing beach is same difficulty level as Neltjeberg, since they are located right next to each other!
- Botany Bay is situated in a gated enclave located at the secluded western end of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. Sandy Beach of Botany Bay is extremely difficult to get to as of 2021 due to the amount of hiking. The plus is that all hiking is done on pavements! As a bonus, Mermaid’s Chair Beach of Botany Bay IS THE SPOT where the Caribbean meets the Atlantic.
Please keep on reading to find out how to get to these elusive beaches and whether they are worth the effort.
Lindquist Beach
Lindquist Beach is a pretty and quiet beach. It’s easiest to get to on this list! It will captivate you with its soft sands and beautiful shoreline. Lindquist beach is ideal for swimming and snorkeling. Situated in the northeast of St. Thomas island, Lindquist Beach is part of a protected 21 acre area called Smith Bay Park. Lindquist beach is located between Wyndham Sugar Bay Beach Club and the Sapphire Beach Resort.
You can see the exact location of Lindquist Beach on the map below.
This amazing beach is easily accessible by car. You will have to pay a small admission fee of $5 per person. What a tiny price for a piece of true paradise!
Why visit Lindquist Beach
- The crystal clear, turquoise water is perfect for swimming!
- The presence of indigenous trees around the beach makes it perfect for relaxing!
- You will find ample space for camping and parking!
- I love the fact that restrooms and showers are available, clean and spacious!
- You will enjoy a cool breeze when relaxing on a sand!
- Beautiful sandy shoreline!
Neltjeberg Bay Beach
Neltjeberg Bay Beach is a mesmerizing but sparsely populated beach, tucked away in the paradise of its own. Primarily because it’s only accessible by an SUV or a 20 minute hike from Dorothea Beach.
It does take some effort to get there, but you will appreciate what you see once you are there. You can choose to hike or take a bumpy dirt road. Preferably in a Jeep. Once you get there you will enjoy an immense place of relaxation, beauty and solitude.
As you can see from the Neltjeberg Bay’s map below, the view from the beach includes a small island, called Inner Bass.
Directions to Neltjeberg Bay Beach
- You will need a Jeep or four wheel drive small SUV to get to Neltjeberg Beach.
- Head West on Hwy 33, Crown Mountain Road.
- Once you go past Thirteen Restaurant, you should drive slowly and carefully so you can spot an old house like structure with a white, cement arch in front. Turn right and follow the dirt road to the beach!
- It’s quite a long bumpy drive because you will be driving slowly and down the hill, making sharp turns.
- Ultimately you will reach a fork in the dirt road where you will see parked vehicles – you can park at the end of that dirt road.
Dorothea Beach
Dorothea Beach is yet another beach with a tropical atmosphere. It is the next bay over from Neltjeberg Bay Beach. I placed it as moderate difficulty secluded beach since you will need to get to Neltjeberg Bay Beach first and then take a small hike.
There is one other easier way to get to Dorothea, but we chose a 20 minute hike from Neltjeberg:).
Map to Dorothea
The trail head is on the left side of Dorothea Beach in the forest, but unfortunately there are no signs. The trail will take you up a small hill, around the ridge of the peninsula. You will cross a small, intermittent natural stream. Don’t forget to stop and take pictures! Then continue to a sort of a paved road that eventually turns into a dirt road (be careful if it’s wet). The hike takes about 20 minutes.
Botany Bay of St. Thomas
Botany Bay is one of St. Thomas’s most virginal and pristine places, situated on the secluded west end of the island. If you want to explore the TRULY hidden areas of St. Thomas, I recommend to visit the beautiful Botany Bay.
The Preserve at Botany Bay is a protected, 397-acre enclave, overlooking two half moon beaches – Sandy Beach and Mermaid’s Chair Beach.
Sandy Beach of Botany Bay
Sandy Beach of Sandy Bay on St. Thomas is the most beautiful secret beach on this list! It takes quite a bit of effort and leg power to get to, though! Truly one of a kind, off the beaten path beach worth visiting!
It boasts a beautiful one mile stretch of breathtaking shoreline! Sandy beach a perfect combination of powdery white sand shoreline and crystal-clear water! The atmosphere is incredibly relaxing and is perfect for dreaming, thinking or meditating. You can easily spend your entire time just relaxing on this beach. So calm and secluded!
Botany Bay and Sandy Bay location on the Google Map
Mermaids Chair Beach of Botany Bay
Mermaid’s Chair Beach of Botany Bay is yet another intimate beach – a neighbor to Sandy Beach. And as a bonus, this is the sweet spot where the Caribbean meets the Atlantic!
Just like with Sandy Beach, to get to Mermaid’s Chair beach, you have to hike through The Preserve at Botany Bay. What we did is park right outside the gate, talk to the attendant and then enter the gated community.
Mermaid’s Chair, St. Thomas Map
Why not drive there, since the hike is entirely on the pavement? Well, it’s a gated community that does not allow vehicles to enter!
It’s quite a hike along the same road as the road to Sandy Beach – but you make a left turn earlier (you will see a sign for Mermaid’s Chair Beach). The hike is not really that hard, but it’s a great workout. You can even pull it off with kids if they’re patient enough:).
Best Time to Visit St. Thomas
Even though St. Thomas is beautiful all year around, the best time to visit the U.S. Virgin Islands is April to June. You will enjoy mild and not too hot weather and very modest rainfall. .
Is it always hot on St. Thomas?
Average temperatures in St Thomas and St John vary very little. Considering humidity, temperatures feel hot all year with a chance of rain throughout most of the year. For example, from December to March, the temperature on the island ranges from the mid-70s to high 80s
Is St. Thomas Humid or Dry?
St Thomas has above average humidity throughout the year. The least humid month is March at 65% relative humidity, and the most humid month is November at 73%.
How warm is the water on St. Thomas?
Average water temperature in Saint Thomas is 82°F and makes swimming in the ocean effortless and enjoyable. The warmest the water gets in Saint Thomas is 84.2°F in May. While the coldest water temperature is 80°F in December.
Since the water is so warm and welcoming all year around, the swimming season in Saint Thomas starts in January and ends in December. Perfect sea temperature twelve months per year! During the entire year, Saint Thomas ocean temperature is always above 68°F and therefore suitable for comfortable relaxation for hours!
Visit St. Thomas hidden beaches
Without a doubt, St. Thomas of US Virgin Islands is very popular with tourists, offering plenty of shopping and nightlife options. Yet, as you can see, there are plenty of more subtle and unique ways to explore this beautiful island. And whether you come only for the weekend or two weeks, St. Thomas and its hidden beaches are an idyllic vacation escape!
This is so wrong. The path to Dorothea is paved. And you don’t turn at some random house. You literally turn at a firestation. Neltjiberg is way rough unpaved and you don’t have to accesses Dorothea first. Lindquist you must park at the top and walk down. I know because I live here and above dorthea
They also left out a couple “secluded beaches”…. but I’m not saying their names…
If you know, you know… and its our secret.
J, yes – we should keep certain things and places a secret. I doubt many will attempt these.
I will talk to the friend who drove me there and figure out why there is a discrepancy.