beach fun

[tiba99]

Leaving on a carnival this Sunday. One of my stops is st.martain. I will be with another couple and we would like to go to the beach. Does anyone recommend a beach where we can go to that is nice, clean, and hopefully a little hut for some lunch. We both have kids but we don't mind a 20min taxi ride. Thanks for the help.

I have been to orient bay, does anyone recommend another beach which its not to far so we can do some shopping after.

[Karysa]

Leaving on a carnival this Sunday. One of my stops is st.martain. I will be with another couple and we would like to go to the beach. Does anyone recommend a beach where we can go to that is nice, clean, and hopefully a little hut for some lunch. We both have kids but we don't mind a 20min taxi ride. Thanks for the help.

I have been to orient bay, does anyone recommend another beach which its not to far so we can do some shopping after.

 

Dawn beach and Little Bay are both nice beaches and closer than Orient. Dawn can get a little rough so if your kids are young Little Bay would be a better choice IMO

[EastOntCpl]

Dawn beach and Little Bay are both nice beaches and closer than Orient. Dawn can get a little rough so if your kids are young Little Bay would be a better choice IMO

 

We have rented Villas's in SXM since 2006, and specifically in the Oyster Pond/Dawn Beach region and this is sound advice. If your children are young Dawn Beach *can* be rough but we have seen countless children playing in the surf/sand on rough days with no real issue.

 

Dawn Beach has 2 chair rental companies and your taxi driver will certainly guide you to whomever they are faithful to. The two companies are "Mrs B's" and Mr Busby's. Mr's B's has chairs, umbrellas and water sport rental; boogie boards, ocean kayaks and snorkelling gear. To effectively see the reef offshore however will require a calm day - it can be a bit of a swim to the best part of the reef. If you see large waves don't bother renting snorkel gear.

 

Mr Busby's is a full scale beach bar and restaurant with chair and umbrella rental. As of Xmas it was $6.00/chair+umbrella/pp. They have happy hour starting at 11:00am with spotty beach service from a colorful character named "Charlie" or "Charlie Brown" depending on his mood. Happy hour merely means putting a brand of beer on sale from 11am-4pm for $1.00 a beer. Last Xmas it was Amstel bright, the previous it was Carib, the one before that it was Coors light. I've attached the website link to Mr.Busbys so you can see the types of things available http://www.dawnbeachsxm.com/ . Keep in mind that Mr Busby's also own island pizza - they start making pizza @ 12:00pm. They have daily specials but almost always are; grouper, philly chesse steak sandwhich, a soup etc. Our daughter claims the crab baguette is the best sandwhich she's ever had. The staff at Mr.Busbys can appear to be uninterested - it's merely due to the sheer volume of folks coming and going. They're all great, get to know them and service is amazing.

 

Dawn Beach is adjacent to Oyster Bay Beach Resort. Attached to that complex is another restaurant bar named Beau Beaus. We've never eaten there, but they do decent business. Beau Beau's also has a girl serving $1.00 corona's all day long on the beach. If you walk into the Oyster Bay Beach Resort you will see a store named "Shipwreck Shops". There are many of them over the island and would provide you with a good opportunity to pick up some island souvenirs if you didn't feel like exploring Front Street in Phillpsburg. They also have snacks (potato chips etc) and a good selection of cold drinks which are priced lower than the beach side establishments.

 

Across from the Mr.Busby's parking lot is a small marina. Contained in that marina is a small store. It's acutally owned by Mr Busby's but you can find plenty of things to snack on if you didn't want a sit down meal - the fresh baking baguettes are amazing, and it's like a mini grocery store as well.

 

If you want something elegant and special there is a restaurant called Big Fish that is adjacent to Mr.Busby's parking lot. The menu is an amazing sea-food offering. We've never done lunch there, but we've done many dinners there.

 

Other beaches we suggest; Le Gallion or Le Galleon or Baby Beach (the taxi drivers all know it). It is called baby beach because of the calm waters. A lot of locals utilize this beach. There is chair rental but rarely if ever umbrella rental. There is one or two beach side bar/restaurants. Keep in mind you would now be in St. Martin not in Sint Maarten - ie it's on the french side. You would be fine with American dollars but the exchange is hefty. We found our lunches there to be expenisve. Le Gallion is very close to the Butterfly Farm and would be an easy stop if that interests you.

 

Orient Bay - no thanks, we've never liked it. Too busy and overrated and expensive in our opinion.

 

Pinel Island. http://visitpinel.com/ This one is one of our favourites. From the cruise ship terminal you would go to the town of "French Cul de Sac". There is a 'ferry terminal' - these ferries are large converted wooden fishing boats. The price to go there is $7.00/pp ferry ride. Once on Pinel you have 3 choices of restaurants: Yellow Beach, Karibuni and Up On the Key. Again you are technically in France prices are in Euro's and your dollar won't go as far. The good news is Up On the Key is known as having "1 for 1" - or even exchange. They have chair and umbrella rental and you can also contact them ahead of time to reserve premium chairs (front row closest to water). Here is their website - http://www.uponthekey.com/ - they also have Facebook which is what we use for chair rental https://www.facebook.com/uponthekey.pinel.sxm . Keep in mind that if you chose Pinel it takes time to get back and forth from the Port to the island - allow for it.

 

Friars bay beach is the last suggestion. Again it's even further from Port than Pinel. If there were a ton of ships in port (sometimes up to 7 at a time) - I would seriously consider this alternative. Friars is rarely busy due to where it lays on the island. The water is usually calm, there are two bar/restaurants. We reccomend Kali's Beach Bar. http://www.sint-maarten.net/st-maarten-beaches/FriarsBay.html If you chose Friars bay - make sure the taxi driver is willing and WILL drive through French Cul de Sac and Grand Case as his route. There is a tremendous issue with traffic on St Martin. When we know there are 4+ ships in port we totally avoid: Phillipsburg, Simpson Bay, Mullett Bay, Cuepcoy, Baie Rouge areas. You would not believe how long you can be in a traffic jam on this island.

 

Always insure that your cab driver will return to pick you up, arrange full payment for the trip when you get back to Port.

 

Hope this helps and feel free to PM or ask me anything more you'd like to know about the island.

[gtaylor]

It's not on my favorite beach list, but consider a quick trip to Little Bay Beach, where the Divi resort is located. Taxi should be $4 per person.

 

(click)

 

 

gary

[tiba99]

It's not on my favorite beach list, but consider a quick trip to Little Bay Beach, where the Divi resort is located. Taxi should be $4 per person.

 

(click)

 

 

gary

 

Did you like this beach? Would you go back? I have been to orient bay and I felt that the ocean was to choppy.

[Toscana3]

We are considering having lunch in Marigot and then spending the rest of the afternoon relaxing on a beach. The beaches that I'm considering are Baie Rouge, Friars Bay, Pinel.... We will of course need taxi transport to these places and then back to the ship....

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for this itinerary? Can we trust a cab to get us back and forth? I have considered booking a private tour, but feel that because we already know basically what we want to do, a simple driver would be sufficient.... :confused:

[Karysa]

We are considering having lunch in Marigot and then spending the rest of the afternoon relaxing on a beach. The beaches that I'm considering are Baie Rouge, Friars Bay, Pinel.... We will of course need taxi transport to these places and then back to the ship....

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for this itinerary? Can we trust a cab to get us back and forth? I have considered booking a private tour, but feel that because we already know basically what we want to do, a simple driver would be sufficient.... :confused:

 

No I wouldn't trust a taxi driver to come to one of the mentioned beaches to pick me up. I just would not feel comfortable in the afternoon waiting for a driver to show for me. I have read too many reports of people being stranded at the cul de sac area waiting for a taxi after visiting Pinel island to ever attempt this myself while on a cruise. Mullet is a gorgeous beach and it is a short walk from the hotels and entertainment district at Maho. Petite Plage in Grand Case and the out of the way Anse Marcel beach both have resorts on them and so getting a taxi is not an issue. Would you consider going to the beach first? This would give you a good buffer in case you did have issues getting transportation back from the beach.