2 Orient beach ?'s!

[tophatgirl]

First, should we walk to downtown and take a taxi to Orient Beach or are there enough taxi's at port? Are the rates inflated at port?

 

Second, how do you rent a beach chair at Orient? Looking to rent 2 for myself and DH (dd5 also coming, but she will be a busy bee on the beach). Do you just sit on some and someone asks you to pay or do you go into a bar/grille and ask to rent one? This leads to a question about the bar/grilles. Any good suggestions? We will probably have lunch and a few drinks.

 

Thanks for any help you can give me! We have never been to St. Martin and we look forward to a relaxing day with maybe some shopping on the way back to port!

[mrobstad]

First, should we walk to downtown and take a taxi to Orient Beach or are there enough taxi's at port? Are the rates inflated at port?

 

Second, how do you rent a beach chair at Orient? Looking to rent 2 for myself and DH (dd5 also coming, but she will be a busy bee on the beach). Do you just sit on some and someone asks you to pay or do you go into a bar/grille and ask to rent one? This leads to a question about the bar/grilles. Any good suggestions? We will probably have lunch and a few drinks.

 

Thanks for any help you can give me! We have never been to St. Martin and we look forward to a relaxing day with maybe some shopping on the way back to port!

 

When u get there, u will see no need to ask where to rent beach chairs. There are approx. 5 million there for rent, but u may want to walk down the beach and look for the best deal. You will love St. Martin--its my personal favorite. You can rent jet skis or parasail and they have some inflatable stuff for pre-teens [to rent for the day w bracelet]. Shopping is great. I usually go downtown and shop first, but the last trip, I bought a beautiful tablecloth for 40 dollars and left it in the cab, so unsure if its better to shop before or after beach. D & H Jewelers, a ways down the Main St,. let u trade in jewelry u bought there on previous trips [must double value and save receipt] which I did three times!! I now have a 5 carat tennis bracelet. Have a great trip!!

[johneeo]

First, should we walk to downtown and take a taxi to Orient Beach or are there enough taxi's at port? Are the rates inflated at port?

 

Second, how do you rent a beach chair at Orient? Looking to rent 2 for myself and DH (dd5 also coming, but she will be a busy bee on the beach). Do you just sit on some and someone asks you to pay or do you go into a bar/grille and ask to rent one? This leads to a question about the bar/grilles. Any good suggestions? We will probably have lunch and a few drinks.

 

Thanks for any help you can give me! We have never been to St. Martin and we look forward to a relaxing day with maybe some shopping on the way back to port!

 

Taxis will be waiting as you get off the ship.

 

Do your research on Orient, plenty of info here on CC. Determine what bar/restaurant you wish to hang at, and go there.

[Lsimon]

Orient Beach is lined with what I'd call "beach clubs" each one generally has a bar/restuarant and rents chairs in front. These range from small shacks that server burgers and such to elaborate, and pricey, french restuarants. Generally the places at the far south end of the beach, next to the clothing option area but not in it, are simpler and less expensive. The mid beach places to the north are more expensive and you'll want to check out the menu's for lunch before deciding where to eat but most mid beach places charge the same for chairs - probably $15 to $20 for 2 chairs and an umbrella. Places at the south end might not be much cheaper BUT you'll likely get a couple drinks thrown in. our personal favorite is Kakao

 

Map of the beach with south end to the left, this is a wide map so be sure to scroll to the right to see the whole thing:

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

 

Taxi's operate under a fixed rate system and there is a huge sign showing the rates posted at the port. Here is a link to a website with the prices that should be the same as those at the on the sign at the port: http://www.taxistmaarten.com/images/stories/Destinationsnew.JPG There is a dispatcher there whose job it is to group people to fill taxis and direct them to cabs. This is fine and we have no problem sharing a cab but if you want the cab driver to pick you up at a predetermined time, or if you want to get dropped off at a particular beach club, then make sure you are all in agreement. If you don't pick a club as a destination the taxi driver will either drop you off at a club where they like to hang out (or possibly get a kickback from) or at the main drop off point at the south end by Pedros.

[ronu]

Is there a ferry that goes to Orient Beach from the cruise terminal in Phillipsburg?

[johneeo]

Is there a ferry that goes to Orient Beach from the cruise terminal in Phillipsburg?

 

No.

[ronu]

Sorry, I think I meant water taxi or is that the same thing?

[johneeo]

Sorry, I think I meant water taxi or is that the same thing?

 

There is no public boat that goes to Orient from the Port.

 

Need to get a taxi.

[Lsimon]

Sorry, I think I meant water taxi or is that the same thing?

 

You can not get to Orient Beach from the cruise pier by boat - or at least there is no scheduled ferry nor water taxi service. The normal way is to go by taxi although some people rent a car to tour the island and stop there.

 

There is a water taxi service from the cruise ship pier to the downtown Phillipsburg shopping area and there is a beach there as well, which is called Great Bay Beach. The beach there looks nice but I've read mixed reviews of it for swimming and in my opinion not as nice overall as the beaches that are further away. The water taxi service is mostly for getting to the downtown shopping area which is otherwise about a mile walk past the water taxi stand - it is already a 1/4 mile to 1/2 mile from the cruise ship gangway to the water taxi depending on where your ship is docked. You can also take a land taxi to the downtown shopping area.

[golfer1966]

First, should we walk to downtown and take a taxi to Orient Beach or are there enough taxi's at port? Are the rates inflated at port?

 

Second, how do you rent a beach chair at Orient? Looking to rent 2 for myself and DH (dd5 also coming, but she will be a busy bee on the beach). Do you just sit on some and someone asks you to pay or do you go into a bar/grille and ask to rent one? This leads to a question about the bar/grilles. Any good suggestions? We will probably have lunch and a few drinks.

 

Thanks for any help you can give me! We have never been to St. Martin and we look forward to a relaxing day with maybe some shopping on the way back to port!

 

 

We were just there two weeks ago. There are people walking by the chairs asking if you want to rent them. We paid 15 bux for two lounge chairs and an umbrella and it included two rum punch drinks and unlimited bathroom uses. ( yes they charge for potty there...:mad: ) There was a bar and grille there but I forget the name. I kinda think it was Pedros, but they sold drinks and food there. If you wanted to shower, they wanted two bux. I see you said dd5...does that mean she is 5 yrs old? There is nudity there...just so your advised. The right side people can be nude and the middle is topless and left is clothes. We got taken to the nude part. I thanked our guide for taking us to Sausage Fest....yuk !!

[Hlitner]

We were just there two weeks ago. There are people walking by the chairs asking if you want to rent them. We paid 15 bux for two lounge chairs and an umbrella and it included two rum punch drinks and unlimited bathroom uses. ( yes they charge for potty there...:mad: ) There was a bar and grille there but I forget the name. I kinda think it was Pedros, but they sold drinks and food there. If you wanted to shower, they wanted two bux. I see you said dd5...does that mean she is 5 yrs old? There is nudity there...just so your advised. The right side people can be nude and the middle is topless and left is clothes. We got taken to the nude part. I thanked our guide for taking us to Sausage Fest....yuk !!

 

Too funny! The area to the far right (when looking at the water) of Orient has a nudist resort. Those folks generally stay on their own little beach section, but sometimes a nudist will decide to take a stroll down the beach :) These folks are always topless and sometimes bottomless! Topless sun bathing is pretty accepted anywhere on the island although it is more popular on the French side. Our experience is that children have no problem dealing with nudity...its the grown ups who act like children ('OH MY GOD, SHE HAS NO TOP").

 

Hank