Mullet Bay or Pinel Island

[dutch1079]

My wife and I are sailing into Phillipsburg St Marten with RCCL soon. We have 2 boys ages 5 years and 2 years. We are looking at either Mullet Bay or Pinel island. I'm adventurous my wife not so much.

 

Any preferences on which would be better?

 

Is the water taxi to Pinel island close to the cruise port?

 

I'm a little concerned about getting a ride back from Mullet bay. I have also considered walking to Maho to watch the planes land. would that be out of the question with 2 kids?

 

Thanks!

[travelhound]

I haven't been to Mullet but have been to Pinel. It's not close to the port. Pinel is off Orient Bay on the French side and will be about a $20-30 taxi ride each way. Then you take a short ferry across to Pinel. If you want to snorkel I think there is some there, but none of the snorkeling on St. Martin is good so don't go to Pinel just for that. Personally I don't think it would be worth it with two young kids. Over the past few years they've really fixed up the beach off of Front street. You can walk to that from the ship. There are restaurants behind the beach and you can rent umbrellas and chairs. I haven't done the plane thing, but if you do, hang onto your kids! I just saw a video on the news of a teenager being blown over by force of a landing plane.

 

Good Luck!

[dutch1079]

Thank you!

 

That sounds like the place to go. My Wife was wanting to do some shopping as well.

[Karysa]

I haven't been to Mullet but have been to Pinel. It's not close to the port. Pinel is off Orient Bay on the French side and will be about a $20-30 taxi ride each way. Then you take a short ferry across to Pinel. If you want to snorkel I think there is some there, but none of the snorkeling on St. Martin is good so don't go to Pinel just for that. Personally I don't think it would be worth it with two young kids. Over the past few years they've really fixed up the beach off of Front street. You can walk to that from the ship. There are restaurants behind the beach and you can rent umbrellas and chairs. I haven't done the plane thing, but if you do, hang onto your kids! I just saw a video on the news of a teenager being blown over by force of a landing plane.

 

Good Luck!

 

The town beach is called Great Bay Beach and there have been reports in the Daily Herald newspaper in St. Maarten regarding pollution issues that continue to effect this beach. If you use your search button on the St. Maarten board and search Great Bay Beach Pollution Issues you should pull up more information and be able to make an informed decision for yourself. Presonally the last time that I swam at Great Bay was in 2006. In 2007 I heard about the pollution issues and have read the newspaper articles that an informed ccer posts on this subject from time to time. I saw the brown sludgy water for myself 2 years or so ago during an island visit that summer.

A beach that is close to the pier that is clean and decent for children is Little Bay. The taxi ride is 10 minutes and the cost would be 4 or 5 dollars per person each way. Le Galion is a nicer beach and it is nicknamed baby beach because it is calm and very shallow and perfect for small children. The ride would be in the 25 minute range and the cost would be about $8 pp each way maybe 7 if you have a full van. There is a Butterfly farm a 5 minute walk from LeGalion beach and it is a nice way to spend an hour or so as well.

[pmang]

Mullet Bay is a MUCH nicer beach than Pinel. It would be about the same distance from the pier (maybe a little further from the pier depending on traffic). The sand is great at Mullet and there really are no rocks/coral in the water. Also, being on the Dutch side, everything is priced in US Dollars compared to Euro's at Pinel/Orient. There are two snack shacks at Mullet. The prices are VERY low for a tourist beach ($2 beers, $6 ribs). There are chair and umbrella rentals as well. Maho beach (airport) is only a 15-20 minute walk if you want to watch the planes. There are plenty of taxi's there to take you back to the ship.....

 

Enjoy your day!

[travelhound]

I'm sad to hear that there is a pollution problem at the town's beach. It looks very inviting. We're not going to SM on our next cruise, but I'm going to keep your suggestions for future beach days there now that we have a daughter. In the past our SM visits have been catamaran rides/snorkeling, ATVs, etc and I don't think we'll be doing that for some time to come. Wherever you end up, have fun!