OkieGeezer

Maho Beach is not a bad beach for swimming, sometimes it is a little steep. Next to the road is a little bar that looks a little like a boat. They have great cheap drinks and many people say their pizza is the best on the island. Burgers are not bad either. You can park in the Timeshare parking lot just past the Sunset Bar, and there is a Taco place on the Casino parking lot that is pretty good. Most of the large planes come in around noon to 2 PM.

Mullet Beach is only a 15 minute walk from Maho and it is a very pretty beach with a couple of rib stands that are supposed to be good.

You kids might enjoy the butterfly farm, but you have to go there early in the day and it is across the island, near Orient Beach. Orient is a great beach for playing in the surf. It is very gentle and usually the waves are small. Chair, drink & umbrella should be around $7-10.

There is not really any beach snorkeling anywhere. Body surfing all depends on the weather. Consider Guana Beach.

I have never found any good shells anywhere on the island, and technically it is illegal to remove them. Sometimes I have found a few smaller shells between the BIG rocks underwater near the shore just before you get to the Timeshare at the other end of Maho Beach from the Sunset Bar.

DO NOT RENT A SCOOTER! The roads are narrow, extremely rough and the traffic is terrible. Most local motorcycles run down the center line and pass without any reasonable care. Motorists hate the cycles and scooters. Rent cars are cheap. Keep yourself safe.

The beach with the most activity is Orient. It is lined with bars and some shopping. There are also places to rent seadoos, Kite boards, sailboats, and most other activities. HOWEVER, there is little snorkeling there. I have heard that there is some snorkeling near the reef at the south end of the beach (the nude part). The beach with the best snorkeling is probably Little Bay, which is one bay over from where the ships park. They supposedly have some sunken cannons as well as some reefs with fish. Probably one bar at Divi resort, but little else.

The other option is to go to Pinel Island, on the NE corner of the island. They have good snorkeling, shallow beach, and a couple of beach bar/restaurants. You can only get there by boat, but they run every half hour or so from French Cul-de-sac for less than $10 per round trip.