What is so great about Orient Beach?

[Happy Honeymooner]

We're trying to decide what to do on St. Martin on our May 9 cruise. We've been thinking about doing Bernard's tours but one of the main reasons we wanted to go to St. Maarten is to watch the planes at Maho beach. Bernard is only there for a short time so we're not sure if we want to do his tour now. I've heard really good things about Orient Beach but I'm curious why people like it so much. If I don't go on Bernard's tour and skip going to Orient Beach will I regret it? What is there to do at Orient Beach besides relax on a lounge chair?

[gtexan]

Orient Beach is just a pretty beach basically. If you're looking for the beautiful, clear turquoise water and powdery white sand that makes the Caribbean famous, Orient beach has it.

 

Besides that, here are some reasons some people like Orient beach:

 

1. Its clothing optional. Some people like to either partake or just people watch. 75% of the beach is topless (I'd say about 30+% of women were topless) and the other 25% of the beach (theres a sign and a clear division) is full nude. About half the people were full on "au naturel"

 

2. There are really comfortable lounge chairs available for rent. A lot of the beaches you go to in the Caribbean either have no chairs or they will rent you hard plastic chairs. On Orient beach, almost all the chairs have cushions and come with umbrellas. Nice deal. We got 2 chairs, an umbrella, cushions, and were right up next to the water for $14 US. This also included 2 free (they were listed as $6) rum punches :)

 

3. Lots of activities to rent. Jet skis, parasailing, etc. If you want to be active, you can.

 

4. Lots of quiet areas. Some areas are packed, others are practically empty. Its a pretty long beach, so you can find quiet spots if you want.

 

5. Good food and atmosphere. Its in French St. Martin, and it really is french. All the waiters we spoke to, all the chair operators, etc, spoke french. And they serve french food. Its fun if you're used to US beaches.

 

 

Basically, its a beach with beautiful scenery where you can enjoy a few different types of entertainment all while feeling very far away from the US. It doesnt have anything as unique as Maho offers, but its the quintiscential "Caribbean beach" in my opinion. We just enjoyed laying out and watching the people and sailboats. Nice day :) Heres a photo I took from one of the secluded spots on the beach last week

 

[Riversedge]

We liked Mullett Bay Beach just as well. Walking distance from Maho Bay where you could watch the planes for awhile and then go to Mullett. (about a 15 minute walk)

[LBumb]

Orient Beach is just a pretty beach basically. If you're looking for the beautiful, clear turquoise water and powdery white sand that makes the Caribbean famous, Orient beach has it.

 

Besides that, here are some reasons some people like Orient beach:

 

1. Its clothing optional. Some people like to either partake or just people watch. 75% of the beach is topless (I'd say about 30+% of women were topless) and the other 25% of the beach (theres a sign and a clear division) is full nude. About half the people were full on "au naturel"

 

2. There are really comfortable lounge chairs available for rent. A lot of the beaches you go to in the Caribbean either have no chairs or they will rent you hard plastic chairs. On Orient beach, almost all the chairs have cushions and come with umbrellas. Nice deal. We got 2 chairs, an umbrella, cushions, and were right up next to the water for $14 US. This also included 2 free (they were listed as $6) rum punches :)

 

3. Lots of activities to rent. Jet skis, parasailing, etc. If you want to be active, you can.

 

4. Lots of quiet areas. Some areas are packed, others are practically empty. Its a pretty long beach, so you can find quiet spots if you want.

 

5. Good food and atmosphere. Its in French St. Martin, and it really is french. All the waiters we spoke to, all the chair operators, etc, spoke french. And they serve french food. Its fun if you're used to US beaches.

 

 

Basically, its a beach with beautiful scenery where you can enjoy a few different types of entertainment all while feeling very far away from the US. It doesnt have anything as unique as Maho offers, but its the quintiscential "Caribbean beach" in my opinion. We just enjoyed laying out and watching the people and sailboats. Nice day :) Heres a photo I took from one of the secluded spots on the beach last week

 

 

 

great photo

[sunshine100]

I was just there last Thursday and did Bernards tour and we really enjoyed our day with David, our tour guide. He was the best!! We spent about 2 hours at Orient Beach, relaxed, ate lunch, took a walk, very beautiful beach! I thnk we spent about an hour at Maho beach with the planes. It was long enough there. Loved St. Martin/Marteen, can't wait to go back and maybe spend a week there! Have lots of pictures that I just downloaded today.

[Happy Honeymooner]

Thanks for the great information. The photo is beautiful! I want to go there after seeing that. I feared the beach would be completely crowded and you'd be on top of everyone there. You proved that theory wrong.

 

I'm definitely not comfortable being nude in public so that aspect doesn't appeal to me but hearing more about what the beach has to offer helps.

 

We were looking at Mullet Bay photos online last night and were curious about what that beach is like. Is it as pretty as Orient?

 

Sunshine, how many planes did you see while you were there? Did the really big jets come in or were they smaller planes?

 

Would you mind sharing what else you did on your tour? I've hear the tour goes to Rimas, then to Orient, then I don't know what, then Maho and then back to somewhere to shop. I could look it up but I'm curious to hear about what you did and about how much time you had and if you felt it was rushed or just right or even too long in places. We're sailing on May 9 so I wonder if it's too late to sign up for his tour anyway. I just don't know what to do.

[tw861]

Great Photo Gtexan...where was that taken on Orient Beach ? the north end ?

 

We liked Orient and St Martin so much that we decided instead of taking a cruise nex Feb. we would just go spend a week there.

[gonzo1124]

I like Orient Beach, a beautiful place to go and to let it 'all hang out'...

[Karysa]

I loved the photo it is a great shot but if you had me guess which beach it was I would have been scratching my head for a while. This is not what comes to my mind when I think of Orient. To me Orient is a more lively, vibrant beach.

[LaShelle2]

Where did you get the deal with the chairs and drinks for $14. How long ago was that? Was it at a restaurant or hotel, or is that just a standard price. How much would cab fare be to Orient for 2 people?

 

Orient Beach is just a pretty beach basically. If you're looking for the beautiful, clear turquoise water and powdery white sand that makes the Caribbean famous, Orient beach has it.

 

Besides that, here are some reasons some people like Orient beach:

 

1. Its clothing optional. Some people like to either partake or just people watch. 75% of the beach is topless (I'd say about 30+% of women were topless) and the other 25% of the beach (theres a sign and a clear division) is full nude. About half the people were full on "au naturel"

 

2. There are really comfortable lounge chairs available for rent. A lot of the beaches you go to in the Caribbean either have no chairs or they will rent you hard plastic chairs. On Orient beach, almost all the chairs have cushions and come with umbrellas. Nice deal. We got 2 chairs, an umbrella, cushions, and were right up next to the water for $14 US. This also included 2 free (they were listed as $6) rum punches :)

 

3. Lots of activities to rent. Jet skis, parasailing, etc. If you want to be active, you can.

 

4. Lots of quiet areas. Some areas are packed, others are practically empty. Its a pretty long beach, so you can find quiet spots if you want.

 

5. Good food and atmosphere. Its in French St. Martin, and it really is french. All the waiters we spoke to, all the chair operators, etc, spoke french. And they serve french food. Its fun if you're used to US beaches.

 

 

Basically, its a beach with beautiful scenery where you can enjoy a few different types of entertainment all while feeling very far away from the US. It doesnt have anything as unique as Maho offers, but its the quintiscential "Caribbean beach" in my opinion. We just enjoyed laying out and watching the people and sailboats. Nice day :) Heres a photo I took from one of the secluded spots on the beach last week

 

[Spurs Fans]

Orient Beach is one of the premier beaches in the Caribbean if not the world. Very beautiful, too large to really be all that crowded and good drinks and food.

[Hooley]

It looks like the photo, which is really beautiful was taken from the very northern point of the beach in front of the Mont Vernon hotel. That part of the beach is not very crowded at all. Club Orient is at the other end. Most of the "action" is more to the south.

[gtexan]

It looks like the photo, which is really beautiful was taken from the very northern point of the beach in front of the Mont Vernon hotel. That part of the beach is not very crowded at all. Club Orient is at the other end. Most of the "action" is more to the south.

 

 

Absolutely right. We actually walked all the way past even the camping area. It was very secluded and quiet. Club orient area is a lot more crowded

[gtaylor]

Absolutely right. We actually walked all the way past even the camping area. It was very secluded and quiet. Club orient area is a lot more crowded

 

What do you consider to be the 'camping area'?

 

gary

[red4u2]

Orient Beach is just a pretty beach basically. If you're looking for the beautiful, clear turquoise water and powdery white sand that makes the Caribbean famous, Orient beach has it.

 

Besides that, here are some reasons some people like Orient beach:

 

1. Its clothing optional. Some people like to either partake or just people watch. 75% of the beach is topless (I'd say about 30+% of women were topless) and the other 25% of the beach (theres a sign and a clear division) is full nude. About half the people were full on "au naturel"

 

2. There are really comfortable lounge chairs available for rent. A lot of the beaches you go to in the Caribbean either have no chairs or they will rent you hard plastic chairs. On Orient beach, almost all the chairs have cushions and come with umbrellas. Nice deal. We got 2 chairs, an umbrella, cushions, and were right up next to the water for $14 US. This also included 2 free (they were listed as $6) rum punches :)

 

3. Lots of activities to rent. Jet skis, parasailing, etc. If you want to be active, you can.

 

4. Lots of quiet areas. Some areas are packed, others are practically empty. Its a pretty long beach, so you can find quiet spots if you want.

 

5. Good food and atmosphere. Its in French St. Martin, and it really is french. All the waiters we spoke to, all the chair operators, etc, spoke french. And they serve french food. Its fun if you're used to US beaches.

 

 

Basically, its a beach with beautiful scenery where you can enjoy a few different types of entertainment all while feeling very far away from the US. It doesnt have anything as unique as Maho offers, but its the quintiscential "Caribbean beach" in my opinion. We just enjoyed laying out and watching the people and sailboats. Nice day :) Heres a photo I took from one of the secluded spots on the beach last week

 

 

i would be interested to know what bar you were at also?

thank you.

[Sun R Bunns]

A couple of years ago we spent the day at Orient and loved every minute of it. We had lunch at Pedro's. I told some of the other cruisers onboard to stop out and check the beach out.....they showed up in the afternoon and we had a fun group for the day. I'm not sure if they were C/O before, but they were when they went back on board. :D

[Sun R Bunns]

We're trying to decide what to do on St. Martin on our May 9 cruise. We've been thinking about doing Bernard's tours but one of the main reasons we wanted to go to St. Maarten is to watch the planes at Maho beach. Bernard is only there for a short time so we're not sure if we want to do his tour now. I've heard really good things about Orient Beach but I'm curious why people like it so much. If I don't go on Bernard's tour and skip going to Orient Beach will I regret it? What is there to do at Orient Beach besides relax on a lounge chair?

Here's a great panorama of Orient Beach...The C/O end is from Pedro's restaurant on to the left on the photo.

 

http://edsandra.com/photos2005/LargeOrientPanorama.htm

[rummenroman]

Where did you get the deal with the chairs and drinks for $14. How long ago was that? Was it at a restaurant or hotel, or is that just a standard price. How much would cab fare be to Orient for 2 people?

 

As a rule Orient is a no wheel and deal area. All prices are posted, just walk a little bit and find an area that fits what you are looking for.

 

Cabs are regulated. Once off the ship you find a cabbie staging area, where you too will be staged. They will have a group of people waiting to go in the same direction as you are. The more people the cheaper the fare. If i remember right it is $8 per person one way with a full cab. Don't worry about finding a cab on the way back, as there are always several cabs waiting to take you back to the pier. Again the more people you have the cheaper it is.

[oncruisecontrol]

As a rule Orient is a no wheel and deal area. All prices are posted, just walk a little bit and find an area that fits what you are looking for.

 

Cabs are regulated. Once off the ship you find a cabbie staging area, where you too will be staged. They will have a group of people waiting to go in the same direction as you are. The more people the cheaper the fare. If i remember right it is $8 per person one way with a full cab. Don't worry about finding a cab on the way back, as there are always several cabs waiting to take you back to the pier. Again the more people you have the cheaper it is.

 

 

Once we hire a cab, how long is the cab ride to orient beach (how much time does it take to get there)?

[gtexan]

We hired a cab at the taxi stand for $9 per person (there were 2 of us). The cab driver took us to Orient Beach, which was approximately 20-30 minute drive. The cab fare can be reduced to $6 per person if you have enough people.

 

Our cab driver dropped us off in a very nice bar in the middle of the beach area. We walked toward Club Orient to find our chair rental. We did not cross to the nude side, however.

 

Our chair rental place was $14 or 14 euros for 2 chairs + 2 drinks. They did not discriminate between dollars and euros which was nice, as we had dollars. Drinks were either soda, beer, or rum punch. Normal price of the rum punch was $6, and it was extremely good.

 

The place had chairs with blue cushions. They had umbrellas that were also blue, and they also had white fringe going around them. The chairs were pretty close together, which is why I think it was so cheap. But we were the only ones there that day, so it was perfect. There is a restaurant which serves excellent french food, but its pricey ($20 a meal or so). We didn't eat there. Its located next to a chair rental place with red chairs. We were closer to the nude line than the middle of the beach.

 

 

 

As for the camping question, if you look on the right side of my panorama you will see a building and two palm trees on the left. If you follow the beach down, the next man made structure is a group of about 5 tents. I took this to be the camping area

[Karysa]

Here's a great panorama of Orient Beach...The C/O end is from Pedro's restaurant on to the left on the photo.

 

http://edsandra.com/photos2005/LargeOrientPanorama.htm

 

This is not only a great photo but very informative. Nice addition to the thread.

[satbeachbill]

Skip Orient and go here, no crowds good snorkeling, out of the way, lunch hut, quaint, on the French side :