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The resort looks spectacular, however, I have seen comments about how the beach is not as nice as CN or CSA. CTI was small, but loved the privacy. Worried about the calmness and if I would need to wear water shoes to enjoy the water? I like a small amount of waves. Would love to try CSA, but have seen comments about the people bothering travelers if the go for a long walk along the beach off the grounds. Thank you for any answers.
Same type of beach as CTI. That said we went to CN and the beach was so amazing! but my hubby didnt like sharing his beach with other hotels. People were walking up and down all day. It didn't bother me, I think he just absolutely loves CSS! and on the beach you just say no firmly but nicely. I also became a beach lover while at CN. I was always a pool girl but now I stay mainly on the beach, which is really lovely at CSS. The au naturel beach does require water shoes. That is a more natural beach and does have rocks. I was glad to have them.
There is a walking trail through CSS that would not involve leaving the resort - I think there is an organized walk in the morning as well (never been).
The beach at CSS is nice, I don't think that it was very rocky on the bottom. But it is not at all like the beach at CN.
In fact, as much as we loved CSS last year, we thought about going back this year, but at the end of the day we both thought we would miss the beach at CN too much.
there is some veg in the water but not much, you won't need water socks for the beach at css. I found it fantastic
You won't see many waves, if any, at CSS. The water has some vegetation on the bottom at spots but it's very manageable. The floats they have are amazing. You can literally fall asleep on them while floating in the water so be careful!
The beach is not rocky and I never wear watershoes in the water. The beach is small by Negril standards but it is completely private like CTI. There were no waves to speak of which made floatie lounging in the water fabulous. You will love it!
As far as Swept Away, that's a big reason we go there. We love the freedom to walk seven mile beach and shop and bar hop. Don't be afraid, they are just people trying to make a living. A simple no thanks and they will move on. CSS can be wavy. When we were there we had bad weather and it was rough but I don't think it's like that all the time. There was more sea grass but I didn't feel I needed water shoes. Others may feel differently.
You shouldn't skip CSA because of the vendors, it's the best I've ever seen. Trip#5 to CSA is booked for April. It's really paradise.
As far as Swept Away, that's a big reason we go there. We love the freedom to walk seven mile beach and shop and bar hop. Don't be afraid, they are just people trying to make a living. A simple no thanks and they will move on. CSS can be wavy. When we were there we had bad weather and it was rough but I don't think it's like that all the time. There was more sea grass but I didn't feel I needed water shoes. Others may feel differently.
You shouldn't skip CSA because of the vendors, it's the best I've ever seen. Trip#5 to CSA is booked for April. It's really paradise.
Seaweed! Not that rocky, though.
We have been to CSA twice and just returned from CSS. I was severely disappointed in the beach at CSS compared to CSA. It IS rocky and full of vegetation. CSA is pure white sand and the water is crystal clear. We would spend a great deal of time floating in it and watching the fish along the ocean floor....very relaxing. That being said, our stay at CSA was a lot of fun. We met many new friends and the staff was amazing. Either place, on its worst day, is better than a day at work.
We have stayed at both CSA and CSS. The beach at CSA is spectacular - long, with white powdery sand. This soft sand extends to the sea bottom - hardly any rocks or sea grass. The beach at CSS is smaller and the sand is not powder soft, but it is certainly very nice. There are areas in the CSS swimming area that have sea grass and some rocky outcroppings. I had water shoes, but only wore them a few times at CSS.
The beach at CSS is private, so no outside vendors (except the few that they have invited to sell their wares). The beach in front of CSA is public so vendors are allowed along the water line. Yes, if you leave the resort, you will definitely encounter even more vendors in Negril. We look at that as a chance to interact and learn more about Jamaica. If you wish to avoid the vendors at all costs, go for an early morning stroll along the beach. We took a very long stroll this past February at around 8:00 a.m., and only encountered one vendor who was selling orange soda.
The ocean floor is very rocky off of Sunset Beach (the a/n beach). Off of the main beach, the ocean floor is mucky in many spots. If we ever return to CSS, we will bring water shoes.
We just got back from CSS (sad face!) and the main beach is very soft and sandy, but does get a little seaweedy a bit farther out. I did not wear water shoes there. The AN beach is rocky though, and we needed to wear water shoes to get in, or take our float to the edge and hop on. Both are very beautiful though, and we <3 them!
I wouldn’t say the main beach at CSS was “rocky”. There were some clusters of larger rocks, but that was cool as I’d float with my mask and see what little fish hung out there. I also didn’t notice much in the way of seaweed? - some sea grasses though. The biggest thing is the urchins. Some days they were worse than others. After a fisherman decided to drag his net through the bay one morning they were much worse! One guy stepped on one while we were sitting on the beach. He was screaming in agony. So do be careful. Water shoes aren’t a bad idea. It’s so shallow for so far out that it’s not like you can just lift your feet and start swimming like at CTI. it is great for floating around. I had a stingray come right up under my floatie. However, if you are a true beach lover, I’d pick CSA or CN. The sand is much softer and whiter, and the bottom in the ocean is the same nice sand.