maho bay

Sheltered from the sea and currents because of it's position, Maho is the best place to see turtles. The beach is glorious and there is some shade. Good snorkeling around to the right, the turtle and rays are over the grass, right in the middle. Early is better and parking can be a challenge. You can spend all day here watching the turtles, laying in the sun (be careful, this is the tropics, wear sunscreen) snorkeling, and waiting for the next ray or other visitor to catch your attention.

This was my favorite beach- I would recommend having a car for it though and not getting a taxi- once we wanted to leave, we had to wait quite a while for a taxi.

Best beach in StJ. Trunk & Cinnamon are amazing but Maho Bay/beach has the most fish, turtles and underwater activity. Great place to paddleboard. We didn't see too many young children but the water is calm enough for them to enjoy. Parking area across the street fills pretty fast but starts to empty by mid day.

Swim in a water that looks like glass, its so calm and clear and you won't swim far until you see at least one turtle. Its a quiet and peaceful beach, not much of a shoreline but the water is mesmerizing and I love it!!! My all time favorite

Long beautiful beach. A little crowded. There was a swell and water was cloudy so snorkeling was bad. Did see one turtle.

We had a great time at this beach, very beautifulThere are lots of boats at this beach and it is quite busy

I think this one was my favorite. The water was really clear and gentle for the kids. We saw turtles and small fish. It was a great family beach.

We snorkled all over the island. At Maho Bay, if you get to the parking lot at a good time there is easy access to the beach. The snorkling was VERY good. Turtles, fish, just plain fun.

In our week in St. John, we went to Hawksnest, Cinnamon, Waterlemon, Trunk Bay, and Maho. All are awesome - you really can't go wrong in terms of beaches on St. John. But Maho was our overall favorite. A more narrow stretch of sand than some, but still adequate, the white sand gently gives way to the ocean in a very gradual decent. The bay is very protected, so waves were more like ripples. We arrived around 10:00 am, and found lots of parking in the gravel lot to the far east of the beach.We set up camp between a point of land and an underwater grassy area. We snorkeled the point first, and it had cool rock and coral features and tons of colorful fish. A couple of people in our group spotted a 4 - 5 foot nurse shark lurking around. After Frisbee, football, lunch, etc... we set out to snorkel over the grassy area. Right away, 1 sea turtle, then another, then another. Awesome, and so close to shore!All things considered, Maho became our unanimous favorite up against some incredible beaches. Obviously, this is very subjective, but for us, Maho is underrated as a top beach in St. John.

If you float around the sea grass you're sure to see some sea turtles out for lunch. Such a great experience! Be sure not to touch them, though! Sea Turtles can contract diseases from humans and we don't want to lose these natural wonders!

We visited Honeymoon Bay, Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay, all of which were nice. We ended a great day at MahonBay, where the beach is long and the water was calm. We saw several turtles feeding on the underwater grasses just 30 yards out from shore - great experience!

Beautiful sandy beach with great swimming but crowded and poor snorkeling. Get there early for best parking and beaching.

This is as good as it gets. It's a beautiful walking beach with crystal clear water. If you're snorkeling, the reef is to the right, and the turtles are straight ahead in the sea grass. There's also plenty of parking.

We loved maho bay for the white sand beach, even though narrow, and the turquoise water, all that it professes to be, parking is hard. We found this true on every beach, a little easier here.

Better for families. Not as much natural beauty as Trunk Bay. Great snorkeling although I didn't see any turtles. Snorkel around the point to the right of the bay when facing ocean and stop and one of the deserted beaches ("little maho" and "little little maho") along the shore. Bugs come out with a vengeance when sun sets.