Hello folks,

One thing that bothered me during my last visit to Florida Keys beaches was seaweed. Its peculiar smell and its presence on the sand and in the water ruined my impression of the beaches. I visited the keys in April.

I would like to avoid seaweed during my visit to USVI. Is there a particular season/month I should avoid? Or are the USVI beaches free of seaweed all year?

We just stayed at the Renaissance for a week and its' beach is known to have a bit of seaweed... they cleaned it up every morning, but there was some debris later on... BUT, it never smelled!! Only a lovely fragrant aroma that I seemed to smell all over the island... probably from the flowers & palms.

The Keys are not known for there beaches at all. I am sure you will do better in the USVI. It is not typical to have sea weed on a continual basis. Of course this time of year there can be tropical storms, huricanes which can account for the abundance of sea weed at certain times.

You have absolutely nothing to worry about. There is next to none as the living organisms are predominantly coral. When snorkelling in certain areas you might come across a few patches of sea grass which the turtles feed on. In over 20 years of beaching on St. Thomas and St. John I've only very rarely seen seaweed washed up on the beach and then it's been minimal and usually after a storm.

We stayed in Marathon a few years back and our condo had a beach, but it was covered in seaweed and we were told it was turtle breeding season and they were not allowed to clean it up.

Hi There,

I've been visiting St. Thomas and St. John for the past seventeen years and have never had a problem with seaweed. You'll find the beaches very much different than those you'll find in the Keys.

Schultz