Francis Bay
Francis Bay
4.5
About
A pretty and amenable bay on St. Johns north shore. Beware: no changing facilities here.
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21 within 3 miles
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53 within 6 miles
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
386 reviews
Excellent
273
Very good
88
Average
21
Poor
4
Terrible
0
Flyboy B
2 contributions
Feb 2022
Beautiful but surprisingly crowded. We lucked into a parking space at around 10am. But they are usually gone by 9. There are so many yachts in the bay that there was a dingy traffic jam delivering the one percenters to the beach.
Written February 10, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
staledale
1,428 contributions
Dec 2021
Located right next to Maho Bay, Francis Bay is less crowded but a little rocky. Good snorkeling off the beach. The beach has a small bathroom facility and a nice wooden boardwalk trail. Deer and other wildlife are frequently seen in the area.
Written November 29, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pocono5
Cresco, PA55 contributions
Jul 2022 • Family
We love Francis Bay! We spent several days there enjoying the beach. Great place to snorkel. Water is calm and there are so many fish to see. Parking is limited, but there is a small parking lot. Beach access is easy. No hiking in required. Very nice beach.
Written July 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kgreene2013
York, ME382 contributions
Mar 2024 • Couples
My wife and I stopped here yesterday morning around 9:15 or so. No problem with getting a parking spot in the lot. We unloaded our stuff and headed left towards little Maho. The beach filled up fairly quickly, but plenty of room for everyone without bumping into each other. The water was very flat and comfortable. After reading a chapter or so in my book, I went in the water and snorkeled. I headed west towards Maho and turned around when I got to the point. The sun was out so I good visibility during my snorkel. As it was our first day at a beach, we only stayed about 3 hours, so we didn’t overdo it.
Written March 8, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KakiBW
Ellicott City, MD524 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
Beautiful beach. I was worried about getting a shady spot but we easily found one. Parking was tight when we left around 1:00. No facilities but also no crowds. Only negatives were a rocky entry to the water, and a slightly buoyant surf. May not be the best choice for small children.
Written February 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tm212
Grimes, IA331 contributions
Mar 2021
We planned to go to Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bat and Hawksnest by though the wives were too high. They recommended that we drive to the "south side." We snorkeled at Francis Beach which was nice. We saw a sea turtle which was a least four feet long.
Written March 19, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
keith e
SNELLVILLE21 contributions
Nov 2020
Francis has become our favorite beach on St. John. It's super peaceful and the views are spectacular and the fish feeding in the bay are fun to watch. There are always plenty of turtles to see and the reefs along the right side are amazing. We call that area "the aquarium" because of all the fish we see. We spent two days there on this past trip and can't wait to get back.
Written November 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kgreene2013
York, ME382 contributions
Mar 2023 • Couples
My wife and I spent a few hours here today. We were fortunate to get a good parking spot. The water was calm clear. I brought my snorkel gear and headed left towards Little Maho. The snorkel brought back many memories of staying at Maho Bay Campground and snorkeling over to Francis Bay. It was a little surreal swimming by such a vibrant beach in its day and seeing how much the floral had filled in over the years since it closed. The water was still and calm which was reassuring. We enjoyed our visit and look forward to our next visit.
Written March 20, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jim T
Marietta, GA104 contributions
Nov 2021 • Couples
By far, our favorite beach for snorkeling and relaxing. Off the beaten path and well worth the extra effort to get there. The underwater sea life was the best we witnessed while on St Johns. Spent the better part of two days here just relaxing and the “Salt Life Experience”. The history behind this area is amazing. Frances Bay is a great place to go with your “Soul Mate” for some serious down time. Don’t miss out on this very special place.
Written November 13, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
swiftmi
Knoxville, TN1,365 contributions
Mar 2023 • Couples
We spent a day on Francis Beach and enjoyed it. There is minimal parking, about 8 spots, right at the beach. Other spots are on the road coming to the beach. There is a good amount of trees and shrubs that provide shade at least part of the day. We did think it was rocky getting in and out of the water with a good sized shelf to manage also. It is a good beach for walking.
Written March 20, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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