Beach Closest to the Pier

[Luvs2Cuise]

We will be on the Disney Fantasy in July and would like to just take a taxi to the closest clean beach in St. Martin for swimming. Can you tell me what that would be? Thanks

[djwood24]

you can take water taxi to downtown....beach is right there...rent chairs....wasn`t on cruise but the beach looked awesome!

 

hope this helps

[mn_isla_girl]

you can take water taxi to downtown....beach is right there...rent chairs....wasn`t on cruise but the beach looked awesome!

 

hope this helps

The beach is called Great Bay. Last time I was there the water taxi was $6 per person for all day use. Lots of watersport rentals, bars & restaurants along the water. Don't rent chairs from the people closest to the water taxi dock, the chairs get cheaper the farther you go down the beach. Some will even come with a bucket of beer :D

 

Then if you want shopping there is all kinds of stuff on the other side of the boardwalk.

[Spurs Fans]

If you spend some time researching this thread, you will find that Great Bay suffers from pollution problems. Locals do not swim in the water there. There are many articles from the St. Martin newspapers on here about the pollution problems.

[carbon]

If great bay is poluted where is next closest beach?

[satbeachbill]

Here we go again! :o Maybe it would be safer to go to the beaches on the Jersey shore. I understand it opened up this weekend. I read an article where there was enough raw sewage that spilled, from Hurricane Sandy, to fill all of Central Park to 41 feet high.

Great Bay polluted? ...yeah to some degree. there's a canal that empties into the bay which sometimes has some nasty stuff in it. If you swim at Great Bay the tree huggers will say you will turn flourescent green and come out glowing.

Hey there are polluting canals all over Florida that empty right at beaches, or just off shore. Let's see, Miami, Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Palm Beach, Stuart,....right on up the coast. Millions of people swim there daily.

 

Most everyone swims in water that is polluted with something, either from nature or man made.

 

.......but there's lots of beaches around St Martin.....take your pick and you may come out glowing too! :D

[islandmandan]

Here we go again! :o Maybe it would be safer to go to the beaches on the Jersey shore. I understand it opened up this weekend. I read an article where there was enough raw sewage that spilled, from Hurricane Sandy, to fill all of Central Park to 41 feet high.

Great Bay polluted? ...yeah to some degree. there's a canal that empties into the bay which sometimes has some nasty stuff in it. If you swim at Great Bay the tree huggers will say you will turn flourescent green and come out glowing.

Hey there are polluting canals all over Florida that empty right at beaches, or just off shore. Let's see, Miami, Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Palm Beach, Stuart,....right on up the coast. Millions of people swim there daily.

 

Most everyone swims in water that is polluted with something, either from nature or man made.

.....but there's lots of beaches around St Martin.....take your pick and you may come out glowing too! :D

So I guess it doesn't matter what you swim in?

[gtaylor]

Here we go again! :o Maybe it would be safer to go to the beaches on the Jersey shore. I understand it opened up this weekend. I read an article where there was enough raw sewage that spilled, from Hurricane Sandy, to fill all of Central Park to 41 feet high.

Great Bay polluted? ...yeah to some degree. there's a canal that empties into the bay which sometimes has some nasty stuff in it. If you swim at Great Bay the tree huggers will say you will turn flourescent green and come out glowing.

Hey there are polluting canals all over Florida that empty right at beaches, or just off shore. Let's see, Miami, Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Palm Beach, Stuart,....right on up the coast. Millions of people swim there daily.

 

Most everyone swims in water that is polluted with something, either from nature or man made.

 

.......but there's lots of beaches around St Martin.....take your pick and you may come out glowing too! :D

 

Here we go again.

 

Somebody claiming that every swimming spot is polluted, so have at it in Great Bay, ignoring the fact that local island organizations have documented the pollution.

 

I certainly can't prevent anyone from swimming here, but I guarantee that nobody in my family or traveling with me will ever enter the water of Great Bay unless and until the problems are corrected. There are too many alternatives.

 

gary

[gtaylor]

If great bay is poluted where is next closest beach?

 

I would suggest that you take a look at Little Bay Beach, where the Divi Resort is located.

 

(click)

 

It's not one of the best beaches on the island, but it is close, pollution free, and fairly inexpensive to visit.

 

gary

[satbeachbill]

Ok then, let's all go to Orient where 3000 people swim every day. Next time you go, watch and see all the people lined up at the restrooms....NOT.....isn't that pollution you are swimming in too?

I'm not saying swim at Great Bay.... but maybe just use a little common sense. If the island has had alot of rain (and runoff) then I 'd be leary, but after the bay is flushed by tides, and currents and waves then it should be better.

The local gov't does occationally issue health warnings for that area......and they also issue ALL CLEAR notices too....which by the way is cleared by the same "local organization" doing the tests.

 

Gary is right about Little Bay, not the best beach on the island!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I would suggest that you take a look at Little Bay Beach, where the Divi Resort is located.

 

(click)

 

 

 

It's not one of the best beaches on the island, but it is close, pollution free, and fairly inexpensive to visit.

 

gary

 

 

We went to the Divi Little Bay resort. It was great. It was almost the same $$ as the water taxi and it was very nice. I did a review of our cruise. Here is the link to the page for the Divi Resort. I included pictures. Starts with post #47.

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=38246234&highlight=divi#post38246234

 

We had read, too, that it was not that great a beach. But, we found it to be very good. Last year we went to Dawn Beach [often suggested for a visit] and it had gobs of seaweed.

[Karysa]

When time matters and you would like a decent beach close by then with kids especially, Little Bay is your best choice. Dawn is a decent beach when it's not too rough but I find that it often is.

 

If time is not an issue and traffic is not a major issue then Mullet is a great choice.

 

Le Galion, Grand Case and Petite Plage are all great choices that are easily accessible by taxi and not In the congested area of the island. Orient is another popular choice.

 

Great Bay is not a beach that I swim in due to pollution concerns.

 

Taxis are relatively inexpensive on the island and mullet and Maho can easily be reached by bus so even for those watching their pennies there's no reason to endanger your health and risk swimming in Great Bay.

[EGG]

Just want to add that when we were at Great Bay last year, the beach served by the water taxi, it was almost impossible to get into and out of the water because of the steep drop. My husband and I refuse to go back there. The only way I could get out of the water was if he pulled me out.

[Keith1010]

We walked downtown (you could take the taxi and be there in five minutes) and there is a nice beach right there.

 

Keith

[Karysa]

We walked downtown (you could take the taxi and be there in five minutes) and there is a nice beach right there.

 

Keith

 

Yes this is Great Bay Beach and it is the beach which has had pollution issues for years now. It's a great place to sit and get some sun and have a drink (s) and strolling the boardwalk is a great way to spend some time in St. Maarten but when it comes to swimming this is where I draw my line in the sand. We haven't swam here since 2006 because in 2007 I started reading about the pollution issues here. I stayed out of the water even though I thought it looked pretty and inviting and that August day a few years ago when I saw the brown sludgy water of Great Bay first hand I knew that I had made the correct decision for my family.

[Cruise life]

I was reading about Hawaii as well and the article I read said all rivers in Hawaii were polluted. It's sad that ocean waters now are commonly unsafe. Testing is great, but unless it's done daily like swimming pools, you have no idea what's in that pretty blue water. When we visited Toronto years ago, there were permanent signs up forbidding swimming due to pollution. Our local beach sometimes has warnings for high levels of e coli. Thanks for the warning...had no idea it was such an issue at Great Bay. Tidal forces can only clean so much. Do they post notices to warn tourists when levels are up?

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Forums mobile app

[Karysa]

I was reading about Hawaii as well and the article I read said all rivers in Hawaii were polluted. It's sad that ocean waters now are commonly unsafe. Testing is great' date=' but unless it's done daily like swimming pools, you have no idea what's in that pretty blue water. When we visited Toronto years ago, there were permanent signs up forbidding swimming due to pollution. Our local beach sometimes has warnings for high levels of e coli. Thanks for the warning...had no idea it was such an issue at Great Bay. Tidal forces can only clean so much. Do they post notices to warn tourists when levels are up?

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Forums mobile app[/quote']

 

No they do not post warnings. My biggest pet peeve! Totally not fair!

[Luvs2Cuise]

Thanks for all the info. Can you tell me how long of a taxi ride it is to Little Bay?

[OCruisers]

Just want to add that when we were at Great Bay last year, the beach served by the water taxi, it was almost impossible to get into and out of the water because of the steep drop. My husband and I refuse to go back there. The only way I could get out of the water was if he pulled me out.

 

The drop off is much more of a concern than the pollution issue at Great Bay.

It is rather difficult to get into and out of the water ... erosion has caused it to be way worse than it once was. :o

 

LuLu

~~~~

[Karysa]

The drop off is much more of a concern than the pollution issue at Great Bay.

It is rather difficult to get into and out of the water ... erosion has caused it to be way worse than it once was. :o

 

LuLu

~~~~

 

I wouldn't say a greater concern but it sure adds to the concern if the drop off catches you by surprise and you swallow a gulp of that water.:eek:

[Karysa]

Thanks for all the info. Can you tell me how long of a taxi ride it is to Little Bay?

 

10 minutes ish.:)

[Cruise life]

I'm really getting grossed out now! Sludge and drop-offs and unexpected gulps of nasty water, oh my. I had no idea you could get serious infections from, say, marine scrapes or stingray barbs to a toe, but that is what happened to me in Florida after a sting ray encounter. First the toe, then pneumonia. You can never be too careful while having fun! The doc told me 15 years ago any ocean cut should be treated immediately and monitored for infection. Maybe we will do a cat tour or island tour and stay dry. Thanks for all the water info, even if it's not what I wanted to hear.

[DSXM]

I just went to Great Bay a couple of days ago. It was very clean and I had no trouble getting in and out of the water. I brought towels from the ship and didn't require a chair. After a couple of vendors saw I refused chairs, they left me alone.

[navybankerteacher]

I'm really getting grossed out now! Sludge and drop-offs and unexpected gulps of nasty water' date=' oh my. I had no idea you could get serious infections from, say, marine scrapes or stingray barbs to a toe, but that is what happened to me in Florida after a sting ray encounter. First the toe, then pneumonia. You can never be too careful while having fun! The doc told me 15 years ago any ocean cut should be treated immediately and monitored for infection. Maybe we will do a cat tour or island tour and stay dry. Thanks for all the water info, even if it's not what I wanted to hear.[/quote']

 

Probably the cleanest water is at Dawn Beach - no sewer run-off and wide open to the sea (but sometimes rough), Baie Rouge, just below Sandy Ground (below Marigot) but often rough, and Le Galion - the calmest and still clean because of minimal development. Orient a beach is very developed and crowded, therefore somewhat suspect, Great Bay in Phillipsburg has had frequent pollution warnings. Grand Case has a very narrow and crowded beach. Friars Bay, north of Marigot seems to always have an unhealthy smell. We spend a few weeks on the island every January and have gotten to know the beaches.

[gtaylor]

I just went to Great Bay a couple of days ago. It was very clean and I had no trouble getting in and out of the water. I brought towels from the ship and didn't require a chair. After a couple of vendors saw I refused chairs, they left me alone.

Usually, you can't really see the type of pollution in Great Bay that I'm concerned about.

 

A lot of people here probably trust Fodor's, the travel guide people.

 

Fodor's even promotes Cruise Critics' parent, or sister, or something site Trip Advisor: TripAdvisor Reviews: Our experts’ hotel selections are reinforced by the latest customer feedback from TripAdvisor.

 

I happened to find the Fodor's Caribbean 2013 guide online this evening.

 

Their take on Great Bay: Although the beach is beautiful, pollution can be a problem

 

gary