---
title: "Things to Do in St. Thomas with Kids: Prices, Drive Times · Virgin Islands Villas"
url: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/guides/st-thomas-with-kids
description: "Things to do in St. Thomas with kids: Coral World and the Skyride at October 2026 prices, the calm beaches, and drive times we measured from the cruise piers."
updated: 2026-10-09
source: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/guides/st-thomas-with-kids
---

[St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas) · Families

# Things to do in St. Thomas with kids

Written by Virgin Islands Villas · Updated Oct 9, 2026 · [How this was checked](https://virginislandvilla.com/editorial-policy)

The things to do in St. Thomas with kids come down to three gates and a few calm beaches: Coral World Ocean Park, the Skyride to Paradise Point and Magens Bay, where children under 12 enter free per the Magens Bay Authority as of October 2026. Below: what each costs, when each closes, and our measured drives.

At a glance · checked Oct 9, 2026

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Coral World Ocean Park | $29 adult, $17 child 3 to 12, under 3 free Visitor prices on Coral World Ocean Park's general-admission page, checked 2026-10-09. Family day pass $100 for two adults and up to four children aged 3 to 21. Open 9 am to 4 pm, ticket booth to 3 pm. |
| Skyride to Paradise Point | $34.95 adult, $24.95 child, round trip The Skyride to Paradise Point's FAQ, checked 2026-10-09; no free age is published. Open most ship days from 9 am, hours set day by day. |
| Magens Bay | $7 a visitor, under 12 free, $2 parking The Magens Bay Authority's passes page, checked 2026-10-09. Open every day 7 am to 5:30 pm. |
| Havensight pier to Magens Bay | 21 minutes by car Measured on the road network (Mapbox, 2026-10-09); 23 minutes from the Crown Bay pier. |
| Havensight pier to Coral World | About 22 minutes by car Measured to the Coki Beach lot beside the park (Mapbox, 2026-10-09); about 29 minutes from Crown Bay, 9 from the Red Hook ferry. |
| Closed in October 2026 | Both attractions, October 9 to 12 Read on October 9, 2026 from calendars that print no year: Coral World lists October 2, 3, 9 to 12, 16, 17 and 24; the Skyride lists October 1 to 5, 9 to 12, 15, 16, 18 and 19. |

## What the three gates cost a family of four

Magens Bay is the cheapest day on the island with children, and the Skyride is the dearest hour. The prices below are each operator's own, for visitors, as of October 2026.

| Gate | Adult | Child | Family of four, two children |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Magens Bay | $7 | Under 12 free | $16 with parking |
| Coral World Ocean Park | $29, 13 and over | $17, 3 to 12 | $92, or the $100 family pass |
| Skyride to Paradise Point | $34.95 round trip | $24.95 round trip | $119.80 |

Coral World's family day pass covers two adults and up to four children aged 3 to 21, so it costs $8 more than four single tickets with two young children and saves $9 with three. A teenager counts as an adult at the gate and as a child on the pass, which is where it pays most.

## Coral World Ocean Park, beside Coki Beach

Coral World Ocean Park is the marine park at Coki Point on the northeast shore, open 9 am to 4 pm with the ticket booth closing at 3 pm, per its own page as of October 2026. General admission covers the Undersea Observatory Tower, the touch pool, shark shallows, the stingray lagoon and the turtle pools; the dolphin, sea lion and shark encounters are sold separately. From the Havensight pier it is about 22 minutes by car to the Coki Beach lot beside the park, and 9 from the Red Hook ferry. The park closes on set days: its calendar, read on October 9, 2026 and printing no year, lists nine closed days in October, so read it again before you plan the day around it.

## The Skyride to Paradise Point from Havensight

The Skyride to Paradise Point is a tram from Havensight to a lookout 700 feet above Charlotte Amalie harbor, a ride of about seven minutes, per the operator. It sits across the road from the West Indian Company dock, about a 10-minute walk by its own account, and roughly three miles from Crown Bay, where it suggests a taxi. At the top are a restaurant, a bar, gift shops and a new Skywalk. Riders 15 and under must come with an adult, and the operator says the site is not handicap accessible, which matters with a stroller.

The tradeoff: it opens on most ship days at 9 am and posts its hours day by day, with the last tram down an hour after the listed close. Its October 2026 schedule shuts it on thirteen days.

## Which St. Thomas beaches have calm water for children?

Magens Bay first. The Magens Bay Authority's FAQ describes the water as calm and shallow and lists restrooms, semi-salt water showers, picnic areas and a restaurant and bar, as of October 2026. Lifeguards appear in the Authority's own posts with no hours attached, and it has admitted it cannot always fill every chair, so pick your spot by the guard chair that has someone in it. It is 14 minutes by car from Charlotte Amalie. Ship days are the crowded ones, by the Authority's own account.

Lindquist Beach, at Smith Bay Park on the East End, is the other beach the Authority runs, with covered picnic areas, restrooms and calm water suitable for swimming on its park page, 3 minutes from the Red Hook ferry. The Authority closed it for sargassum on July 9, 2026, as the St. Thomas Source reported, and we found no reopening notice by October 8. Call 340-777-6300 before you drive.

Brewers Bay, beside the University of the Virgin Islands, has toilets and rinse showers in a government-built bathhouse behind the trees, turtles the university has tagged since 2014, and nothing to rent. It is 7 minutes from the Crown Bay pier, the closest beach on this page to either ship dock.

The Department of Planning and Natural Resources tests these beaches weekly and advises staying out of the water after heavy rain. Sun and water safety across the US Virgin Islands is a subject of its own, written up on the territory's safety page.

## How far each one is from the cruise piers

Every time below is a drive we measured on the island's roads, to the beach or to the lot that serves it. Add time on a ship day, when the taxis are all going the same way.

| Minutes by car | Havensight | Crown Bay | Charlotte Amalie | Red Hook ferry |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Magens Bay | 21 | 23 | 14 | not measured |
| Coki Beach lot, Coral World | 22 | 29 | 20 | 9 |
| Lindquist Beach lot | 23 | 30 | 21 | 3 |
| Brewers Bay | 20 | 7 | 13 | not measured |
| Red Hook ferry | 24 | 33 | not measured | at the dock |

The Skyride needs no car from Havensight, and Brewers Bay is 8 minutes from Cyril E. King airport, which makes it the beach for the morning of a flight home.

## Things to do in St. Thomas with kids on a ship day

On a cruise stop, pick one gate and one beach, and pair them by pier. From Havensight, the Skyride is a walk and Magens Bay is 21 minutes; from Crown Bay, Brewers Bay is 7 minutes and the East End is half an hour. Coral World and Coki Beach share a road, so a park morning and an afternoon on the sand next door is one taxi each way.

Watch the clock at both ends. Coral World stops selling tickets at 3 pm, and the Magens Bay Authority tells cruise passengers to leave the beach at least 90 minutes before all-aboard.

## Where families stay to walk to the sand

Five areas put a beach within a few minutes' walk of the middle of the area on our measurements: Secret Harbour and Hull Bay, under a minute on foot; the Magens Bay area, about a 3-minute walk on flat ground, 13 minutes by car from Charlotte Amalie; and Peterborg and Smith Bay, about 6 minutes on foot. Secret Harbour is 9 minutes from the Red Hook ferry; Hull Bay and Peterborg sit on steep ground, which counts with a stroller. Every area we measured needs or is better with a car, and the areas page sets them side by side.

## Questions people ask

**What are things to do in St. Thomas with family?**

Pair a gate with a beach. Coral World Ocean Park at Coki Point is $29 an adult and $17 a child aged 3 to 12 as of October 2026, the Skyride to Paradise Point is $34.95 and $24.95 round trip, and Magens Bay is $7 a visitor with children under 12 free. Check both attractions' calendars: each closes on set days.

**Which is a good family beach in St. Thomas?**

Magens Bay, on what the Magens Bay Authority publishes: calm, shallow water, restrooms, showers, picnic areas and a restaurant, with children under 12 free as of October 2026. It is 14 minutes by car from Charlotte Amalie and 21 from the Havensight pier. Ship days are the crowded ones, so arrive early in the morning.

**Where to stay in St. Thomas with family?**

Where the beach is a walk. On our measurements five areas put sand within a few minutes on foot: Secret Harbour, Hull Bay, the Magens Bay area, Peterborg and Smith Bay. The Magens Bay area is the flat one, 13 minutes from Charlotte Amalie; Secret Harbour is 9 minutes from the Red Hook ferry. Plan on a car in any of them.

Facts checked against [Coral World Ocean Park](https://coralworldvi.com/general-admission/), [the Skyride to Paradise Point](https://www.paradisepointvi.com/faq), [the Magens Bay Authority](https://magensbayauthority.org/faq/), [the St. Thomas Source](https://stthomassource.com/content/2026/07/08/sargassum-closes-lindquist-beach-through-thursday/) and [the Department of Planning and Natural Resources](https://dpnr.vi.gov/beach-advisory/). Checked October 2026.

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