---
title: "Kayaking in St. Thomas: The Mangrove Lagoon and Night Tours"
url: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/kayaking
description: "Kayaking in St. Thomas: clear LED night kayak tours from $69, Mangrove Lagoon trips to Cas Cay, and kayak and paddleboard rentals at Magens Bay and beyond."
updated: 2026-10-21
source: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/kayaking
---

[St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas) · Things to do · On the water

# Kayaking and paddleboarding on St. Thomas

The best kayaking on St. Thomas is on the quiet southeast side, in the Mangrove Lagoon, a protected maze of red mangroves and small cays where the water stays flat when the open coast is choppy. Magens Bay gives paddleboarders the same calm on the north side, and after dark clear kayaks lit from below go out from Frenchman's Reef.

Written by Virgin Islands Villas·Updated Oct 2026

## Night kayak tours on St. Thomas, lit and unlit

Two night tours run on St. Thomas, and they are different evenings. Night Kayak takes clear-bottomed kayaks out from the Westin at Frenchman's Reef, the headland at the mouth of Charlotte Amalie harbor, with LED lights fixed under each hull so the water glows and you watch fish, rays and turtles pass beneath you. This is the glow kayak tour most people mean when they search for one. Virgin Islands Ecotours paddles ordinary sit-on-top kayaks through the Mangrove Lagoon after dark, and that evening is about the herons and egrets of the mangroves under what the operator calls a starlit sky.

| Tour | Leaves from | Length | Price, October 2026 | Who can go |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Night Kayak, clear LED kayaks | The Westin, Frenchman's Reef | 1 hour | $69 a person | Ages 3 and up, swimmers, 250 lb a person |
| Virgin Islands Ecotours, Cas Cay night kayak | Mangrove Lagoon, Estate Nadir | 1½ hours | $69 adults, $49 ages 7 to 12 | Beginners welcome; weeknights |

Prices from each operator's own site, read October 21, 2026. Night Kayak meets at the Westin's dock, with a shuttle down from the lobby, and hands out glow paint and glow sticks; departures on its calendar for October and November 2026 run at 6:30, 7:00, 8:00 and 8:30 pm, two to four a night, and the times change, so check the calendar when you book. It asks that every group include an adult and every two-person kayak someone 16 or over, and that you leave the bug spray at home: it damages the clear hulls. Ecotours runs its night tour rain or shine, except in lightning, and refunds a trip the weather stops.

The moon matters more than either operator says. By our read, the darkest nights, in the week around the new moon, make the most of the lights under a clear kayak and of the stars over the lagoon, while a full moon lights the surface and the shoreline, an easier first night for a nervous paddler. Tours go out around dusk, and dusk moves through the year: the sun sets at about 5:42 pm in late November and 7 pm in early July, and our [St. Thomas sunset guide](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/guides/st-thomas-sunset-spots-overlooks) has the month-by-month times.

## The Mangrove Lagoon and Cas Cay by kayak

The Mangrove Lagoon is where St. Thomas paddles. It sits on the southeast side of the island off Route 32, the road to Red Hook, and behind its red mangrove islands the water stays flat enough for a first-timer or a child. Cas Cay, at the lagoon's mouth, is the paddle's goal: a short walk on the cay leads to cliffs, tide pools and a blowhole, and the water off it is good for a snorkel.

Virgin Islands Ecotours runs the guided trips from a base about a tenth of a mile from the junction of Routes 30 and 32, on the right heading toward Red Hook. Its Cas Cay kayak, hike and snorkel is 3 hours from $99, $69 for children; a shorter kayak and snorkel is 2½ hours from $89; the full morning with lunch is 5 hours from $159; and a sunset paddle is 1½ hours from $59, all on its own site as of October 2026. For trips by boat to the same water, see our [St. Thomas snorkel tours](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/experiences/snorkel-tours).

The lagoon and Cas Cay lie inside the St. Thomas East End Reserves, three marine reserves the Department of Planning and Natural Resources oversees. In the Cas Cay and Mangrove Lagoon reserve it is against the law, without a permit, to take any fish or living thing or to disturb any plant, animal or mineral, and powered boats keep to 5 miles per hour, which is why a kayak is the right way in. Cas Cay itself is public land, left to the territory as a bird sanctuary. Ecotours adds a rule of its own: no fins in the lagoon, where they damage what it calls a delicate ecosystem. Our [St. Thomas diving](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/diving) page has the reserve rules in full.

## Renting a kayak or paddleboard yourself

You can paddle without a guide at four places, and have a board brought to the villa for the week.

| Where | Who rents | What it costs, October 2026 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mangrove Lagoon | Virgin Islands Ecotours | Kayak, half day $59 ($30 ages 7 to 12), full day $69 ($39) |
| [Magens Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/beaches/magens-bay) | WoW Water Sports, on the sand | Single kayak $30, pedal kayak $35, paddleboard $35; no rental period given |
| [Secret Harbour](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/beaches/secret-harbour) | Aqua Action Dive Center | Single kayak $40, double $45, paddleboard $45, each an hour |
| [Lindquist Beach](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/beaches/lindquist) | Magens Bay Authority | Kayaks and paddle boats by the hour; no price posted |
| Delivered | Virgin Islands Ecotours | Kayak from $195 a week, paddleboard from $275 a week |

Prices from each business's own site, read October 21, 2026. A self-guided day in the lagoon starts with a briefing and a route, and reaches Bird Island and Cas Cay on your own time. A weekly board is the better buy for a villa on calm water; Ecotours will deliver it or hand it over at the lagoon.

On Water Island, Dinghy's Beach Bar names paddleboarding among what it offers on [Honeymoon Beach](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/beaches/honeymoon-beach-water-island), with no price posted. Two resort beaches, Bolongo Bay and Morningstar, lend kayaks and boards to their own guests only. Lindquist Beach has been closed for sargassum since July 9, 2026, with no reopening posted by the Magens Bay Authority as of October 2026, so call it on 340-777-6300 before you drive out for a kayak there.

## Paddling Magens Bay and the north shore

Magens Bay is the north side's calm water: a deep bay with a long sandy beach at its head, sheltered enough that a beginner on a paddleboard can stay upright on most days. The park is open 7 am to 5:30 pm, and entry is $7 for visitors, children under 12 free, with $2 to park, per the Magens Bay Authority as of October 2026. Paddle along the edges rather than straight out: the fish are at the rocky ends, and the mouth of the bay is where the open sea begins.

The tradeoff is winter. A north swell in winter reaches the beaches on that coast, Magens Bay least of them by our read, and Hull Bay, a few minutes west, turns into a surf beach when one runs; St. Thomas Scuba and Snorkel Adventures, based at [Hull Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/beaches/hull-bay), lists surf-and-paddleboard and hike-and-kayak outings with no prices posted. On a swell day, go south to Secret Harbour or the lagoon instead.

## Hassel Island and Charlotte Amalie harbor

Hassel Island, across the harbor from Charlotte Amalie, is the paddle people read about and cannot easily book. The National Park Service owns 122 acres, 90 percent of the island, and the guided kayak trips there that older guides describe were not on any operator's St. Thomas page we read in October 2026. The St. Thomas Historical Trust still takes small groups over by boat from its museum in town for a 2½ to 3 hour walk among the forts and batteries.

We would not paddle the harbor on a rented kayak. By our read, it is a working port, with cruise ships, ferries and charter boats coming and going all day, and a kayak sits low among them. Keep Hassel Island for the Trust's boat, and keep the kayak for the lagoon.

For the reefs you can swim to from the sand, see our guide to [snorkeling on St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/snorkeling). If the lagoon at night is the plan, make it a weeknight: Ecotours runs its night tour on weeknights and takes other evenings by phone.

Questions people ask

### Can you kayak at night on St. Thomas?

Yes, with a guide. Night Kayak takes clear kayaks lit from below out from the Westin at Frenchman's Reef for one hour at $69 a person, and Virgin Islands Ecotours paddles the Mangrove Lagoon on weeknights for 1½ hours at $69 for adults and $49 for ages 7 to 12, each on its own site as of October 2026.

### Can you rent a kayak on St. Thomas and go on your own?

Yes. Virgin Islands Ecotours rents kayaks for the Mangrove Lagoon from $59 a half day, with a briefing first, and delivers kayaks from $195 a week. WoW Water Sports rents on the sand at Magens Bay from $30, and Aqua Action Dive Center at Secret Harbour from $40 an hour, all as of October 2026.

### Is St. Thomas good for paddleboarding?

Yes, in sheltered water: Magens Bay, Secret Harbour and the Mangrove Lagoon are the calm places, and a north swell in winter makes the north shore choppy. Boards rent for $35 at Magens Bay and $45 an hour at Secret Harbour, or from $275 a week delivered by Virgin Islands Ecotours, as of October 2026.

At a glance · checked Oct 2026

**Night tours**

Clear LED kayaks from Frenchman's Reef, 1 hour, $69; sit-on-top kayaks in the Mangrove Lagoon, 1½ hours, $69 adults

Night Kayak and Virgin Islands Ecotours, each on its own site, checked 2026-10-21. Ecotours charges $49 for ages 7 to 12 and runs on weeknights.

**Guided day trips**

Cas Cay by kayak from the Mangrove Lagoon, 2½ to 5 hours, from $89

Virgin Islands Ecotours' St. Thomas tour pages, checked 2026-10-21.

**Kayak on your own**

Mangrove Lagoon half day $59, full day $69; Magens Bay single kayak $30; Secret Harbour $40 an hour

Virgin Islands Ecotours, WoW Water Sports and Aqua Action Dive Center, each on its own site, checked 2026-10-21. WoW gives no rental period; ask at the stand.

**Paddleboard**

$35 at Magens Bay, $45 an hour at Secret Harbour, from $275 a week delivered

WoW Water Sports, Aqua Action Dive Center and Virgin Islands Ecotours, checked 2026-10-21.

**Where it is calm**

The Mangrove Lagoon and Cas Cay, Magens Bay, Secret Harbour

Our read: the lagoon and Magens Bay are sheltered; a north swell in winter reaches the north shore beaches, Magens Bay least.

**Reserve rules**

Take nothing, disturb nothing, no fins in the lagoon

The Cas Cay and Mangrove Lagoon reserve rules, Title 12, Subchapter 96, as the Department of Planning and Natural Resources reprints them (2011 plan); the no-fins rule is Virgin Islands Ecotours' own.

**Sunset**

5:42 pm in late November to 7 pm in early July

Night tours start around dusk. US Naval Observatory times for Charlotte Amalie, 2026, as on our sunset page.

Villas on St. Thomas

Every villa on the island is listed by its owner on [St. Thomas vacation rentals](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/vacation-rentals). See rates and dates, then write to the owner.

More on St. Thomas

- [St. Thomas water sports: jet ski rental, parasailing and gear](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/experiences/water-sports)

- [Things to do in St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do)

- [Mahogany Run golf course on St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/mahogany-run-golf-course)

- [Skyride to Paradise Point](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/paradise-point)

- [Snorkeling on St. Thomas, USVI](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/snorkeling)

- [St. Thomas scuba diving in the East End reserves](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/diving)

- [Where to see sea turtles on St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/sea-turtles)

Facts checked against [Night Kayak](https://www.nightkayak.com/night-tours/st-thomas/night-kayak-tour/), [Virgin Islands Ecotours](https://www.viecotours.com/st-thomas/excursions-in-st-thomas-us-virgin-islands), [the Department of Planning and Natural Resources](https://dpnr.vi.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/STEER-Management-Plan_2011_May_FINAL.pdf), [the Magens Bay Authority](https://magensbayauthority.org/passes/) and [WoW Water Sports](https://www.magensbaywws.com/home). Checked October 2026.