Walk to beach from port?

[kitkatnc]

We are headed to to St. M in November. A friend told me there is a good beach within walking distance from the pier. Does anyone know the name of the beach (she couldn't remember)? We thought we'd go there for a few hours, find a place to eat and then shop. Is that all do-able without a taxi?

[bjjost]

We are headed to to St. M in November. A friend told me there is a good beach within walking distance from the pier. Does anyone know the name of the beach (she couldn't remember)? We thought we'd go there for a few hours, find a place to eat and then shop. Is that all do-able without a taxi?

 

We were in St. Maarten in May of last year. You can definitely walk to the beach but we took the water taxi. It's right across from where the ships dock. You can rent an umbrella beach chair for the day and it included 2 drinks. There's all kinds of shopping right there plus people walking up and down the beach selling stuff. We bargained with them and got some great beach bags for the kids for $10... the bags came with beach towels.

 

Have a great time!! It was one of our favorite islands!

[ddg64]

I believe the name is Great Bay Beach. We walked from the ship to the beach last year. It is a very short walk - maybe about 15-20 min. There are lots of shops and restaurants nearby.

[Karysa]

We are headed to to St. M in November. A friend told me there is a good beach within walking distance from the pier. Does anyone know the name of the beach (she couldn't remember)? We thought we'd go there for a few hours, find a place to eat and then shop. Is that all do-able without a taxi?

 

The beach is nice but there are many concerns noted about the quality of the water at Great Bay Beach. I suggest that you do a search here on this thread before going there. You can gather some information and make an informed decision.

[gtexan]

You can definitely walk to the beach. I found it to be sort of ugly and uninspiring (but only compared with the other beautiful beaches on St Martin)

 

Here are two pictures. One is of the beach in late afternoon. The other is how close the boats are. You can see how short the walk is, and also why the water isn't as beautiful as other areas. Its very close to a major port for the island

 

[Love and Joy]

Can you walk to town from where the cruise ship is docked? Or is it better to take a water taxi? How safe is St. Marten?

[gtexan]

Can you walk to town from where the cruise ship is docked? Or is it better to take a water taxi? How safe is St. Marten?

 

 

You can easily walk to town from where the cruise ship is docked.

 

There is a little welcome center that is security guarded that you have to pass through. Its part of the port. That part is 100% safe. After leaving that, you have about a 10 minute (or less walk) down one road. We didn't see any locals/businesses/etc there. But it was filled with other cruise guests making the same walk. Very safe.

 

I personally think the water taxis are a huge rip off.