St Maarten Recommendations - Not Le Gallion

Hi,

We are coming with our kids on a Royal Caribbean cruise in April and need help finding a good beach for us.

Things I'm looking for

• Pretty beach with soft sand
  
• Clean water (as I've heard some are polluted)
  
• Waves are kid-friendly i.e. not too rough, but also prefer something different from a swimming pool (and that's why I'm looking for suggestions other than Le Gallion)
  
• Not rocky
  
• Restaurant or food vendor near by so we can grab a light lunch
  
• Washrooms of some kind are a must
  
• Chair and umbrella rentals are not a must but a bonus if available
  
• Not too far from port and taxi's easy to catch for returning to port
  

Not thrilled with Orient because of the nudity.

Ones I'm thinking of...Grand Case, Little Bay Beach, Great Bay Beach (is this polluted?), Little Divi, Dawn

Thanks in advance.

PS - I'm still contemplating Bernard's Tour, but am not sure as our cruise is already busy with bookings and early mornings/late nights that it might be better for us to be on our own schedule.

PPS - Anyone know where Royal port is located?

Anyone know where Royal port is located?

For port location, start Google Earth and search for Port of Sint Maarten - it will come right up. Port is just east of Philipsburg.

Problem with recommending beach in this case and every case is that we have no idea of conditions at beaches on future day when you will be there.

I would say that I think Dawn would work best for you - unless it is rough on day you are on island - then, Divi Little Bay might be best.

For port location, start Google Earth and search for Port of Sint Maarten - it will come right up. Port is just east of Philipsburg.

 

Problem with recommending beach in this case and every case is that we have no idea of conditions at beaches on future day when you will be there.

 

I would say that I think Dawn would work best for you - unless it is rough on day you are on island - then, Divi Little Bay might be best.

Thanks. So it looks like Great Bay is the water there and it's near Divi Little Bay.

I'm looking at reviews on trip advisor and it says the waves at Dawn are rough.

What about Grand Case? Or is that too far as it looks like it's the opposite side of the port.

We were in St. Maarten in September and spent the day at Divi Little Bay, which is the same beach as Little Bay Beach. The resort is called Divi Little Bay but cruise passengers are welcome to use the beach and some facilities. It seems to have all that you're looking for. We did rent loungers/umbrella ($15.00 for two loungers w/one umbrella). Nice relaxing day there. There were others but it wasn't crowded. It's in a protected area, almost like a cove, and the water was fairly calm with a few small, gentle waves. It was only about 10 minutes from port but you have to go through Philipsburg, where we had some traffic, to get there. There will be taxis out front waiting when you're ready to leave, at least there were when we were there. In case there wouldn't be, I'm sure you can have someone at the front desk at the resort call one for you. The washrooms were nice and very clean. There are also restaurants and bars for food/beverages. We didn't purchase any food while there since we were only there for about three hours. I really enjoyed it and would definitely go back there.

One cab driver recommended Dawn Bay but another told us we didn't want to go there since it was covered in sea weed and he's the one who recommended Divi Little Bay.

Attaching a few pictures from when we were there.

This is the view of Divi Little Bay from our ship as we sailed out. It's in a protected area.

This picture shows how close Divi Little Bay (left, under "pointed" hill) is to Great Bay and cruise piers (beach on right).

Great pictures! It really was a beautiful clear day when you were at Divi Little Bay.

Great pictures! It really was a beautiful clear day when you were at Divi Little Bay.

Oh, it definitely was! :) We were a little worried cruising during hurricane season (we prefer May), but we had the best weather, calmest seas, and it was very clear with great visibility. From St. Maarten we could see several neighbor islands (that's Saba in the pictures). Last time we did that itinerary (in May), we couldn't see the others although the weather was fairly nice.

pghsteelerfan , thank you soooo much for sharing the pictures. Looks beautiful and from the pictures the water looks just right.

So I guess you would just ask the taxi to drop you off at the resort? Do you need to check in at the front desk to get chairs and umbrellas? We'll probably be there over the lunch hour since the ship is there from 8am - 5pm so great you can grab lunch.

No need to check in at reception - just go to beach - right side of resort facing water - find beach attendant and get whatever chairs and umbrellas you want.

pghsteelerfan , thank you soooo much for sharing the pictures. Looks beautiful and from the pictures the water looks just right.

 

So I guess you would just ask the taxi to drop you off at the resort? Do you need to check in at the front desk to get chairs and umbrellas? We'll probably be there over the lunch hour since the ship is there from 8am - 5pm so great you can grab lunch.

The sand is fine here but if you are looking for really soft sand this is not the beach. Great view, waves, great washrooms, lovely blue water aneasily reached from port but the sand is not as powdery as other beaches.

The sand is fine here but if you are looking for really soft sand this is not the beach. Great view, waves, great washrooms, lovely blue water aneasily reached from port but the sand is not as powdery as other beaches.

Thanks for the note. It doesn't sound like there would be that perfect beach, but at least most of our criteria seems to match at Little Bay Beach.

So I think for our St Maarten day it's narrowed down between Bernard's Tour and going to the Divi Little Bay resort (not sure if I'm mixing up terms between Divi Little and Little Bay :rolleyes: )

Thanks for the note. It doesn't sound like there would be that perfect beach, but at least most of our criteria seems to match at Little Bay Beach.

 

So I think for our St Maarten day it's narrowed down between Bernard's Tour and going to the Divi Little Bay resort (not sure if I'm mixing up terms between Divi Little and Little Bay :rolleyes: )

As far as beaches go I agree that Little Bay is a very good choice for what you are looking for. :)

Thanks so much for the input. Helps in our planning on what is best for our family.

pghsteelerfan , thank you soooo much for sharing the pictures. Looks beautiful and from the pictures the water looks just right.

 

So I guess you would just ask the taxi to drop you off at the resort? Do you need to check in at the front desk to get chairs and umbrellas? We'll probably be there over the lunch hour since the ship is there from 8am - 5pm so great you can grab lunch.

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner - just logged on for the first time since yesterday morning. Yes, we just took the taxi to Divi Little Bay and were dropped off right out front. There is a walkway to the beach from where we were dropped off. As SnorkelAway mentioned, no need to go to the front desk to chairs/umbrellas, you just go to the right side of the resort and find the attendant.

Thanks for the note. It doesn't sound like there would be that perfect beach, but at least most of our criteria seems to match at Little Bay Beach.

 

So I think for our St Maarten day it's narrowed down between Bernard's Tour and going to the Divi Little Bay resort (not sure if I'm mixing up terms between Divi Little and Little Bay :rolleyes: )

It's all the same beach but the taxi driver who recommended it to us referred to it as Divi Little Bay. I've heard great things about Bernard's Tour as well, friends we met on our cruise took it and it was their second time. I hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise. :)

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner - just logged on for the first time since yesterday morning. Yes, we just took the taxi to Divi Little Bay and were dropped off right out front. There is a walkway to the beach from where we were dropped off. As SnorkelAway mentioned, no need to go to the front desk to chairs/umbrellas, you just go to the right side of the resort and find the attendant.

 

 

 

It's all the same beach but the taxi driver who recommended it to us referred to it as Divi Little Bay. I've heard great things about Bernard's Tour as well, friends we met on our cruise took it and it was their second time. I hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise. :)

Thanks so much. And thanks again for sharing your pictures. This is what convinced me that this would be a good option for us.

Yes, I've only heard good things about Bernard's Tour and it's a great way to mix a beach (although it's Orient...which is not my first choice because of the nudity) with a tour of the place. Good variety, hits Maho beach with the planes.... and sees other things too rather than just a beach day.

But...just need to see if we want another scheduled day where we have to be up and about early (start time of 9am). Or if we want to take it easy on our own pace and just head over to Divi Little Bay. Our kids will be 10.5 and 6.5 years so worry about pushing them too much.

Thanks so much. And thanks again for sharing your pictures. This is what convinced me that this would be a good option for us.

 

Yes, I've only heard good things about Bernard's Tour and it's a great way to mix a beach (although it's Orient...which is not my first choice because of the nudity) with a tour of the place. Good variety, hits Maho beach with the planes.... and sees other things too rather than just a beach day.

But...just need to see if we want another scheduled day where we have to be up and about early (start time of 9am). Or if we want to take it easy on our own pace and just head over to Divi Little Bay. Our kids will be 10.5 and 6.5 years so worry about pushing them too much.

I'm glad you enjoyed that pictures and that they were helpful to you. The only reason we didn't go with Bernard's is because St. Maarten was our last stop on a port heavy itinerary (which we love). We decided to "splurge" on tours in St. Lucia and Barbados this time and "wing it" in the other three ports. By the time we got to St. Maarten, we were "toured out" and just wanted a nice, relaxing day. I know part of Bernard's tour is to an area where they have live sea urchins, conch, and other sea life, that they tell you about and allow you to hold - if you want to. There is also the iguana stop and Maho Bay. Even though that may be a long day, your kids may really enjoy those parts of it. Either way (Divi Little Bay or Bernard's), you can't go wrong.

I'm glad you enjoyed that pictures and that they were helpful to you. The only reason we didn't go with Bernard's is because St. Maarten was our last stop on a port heavy itinerary (which we love). We decided to "splurge" on tours in St. Lucia and Barbados this time and "wing it" in the other three ports. By the time we got to St. Maarten, we were "toured out" and just wanted a nice, relaxing day. I know part of Bernard's tour is to an area where they have live sea urchins, conch, and other sea life, that they tell you about and allow you to hold - if you want to. There is also the iguana stop and Maho Bay. Even though that may be a long day, your kids may really enjoy those parts of it. Either way (Divi Little Bay or Bernard's), you can't go wrong.

Yes thanks. I'm struggling between just a day on our own (i.e. Divi Little Bay) or Bernard's Tour (but thanks to you and the resposnes, have now narrowed down the beach).

That's what looks great about Bernard's Tour...and we'd be seeing and doing different things than just a beach, and sea urchins and stuff would be neat for them. Our other two port days are beach days (one is a beach excursion to Blue Lagoon in Nassau) and other is (probably) just goign to Coki beach and Coral World. We've never really even done a beach holidays before with our kids so have no idea how they would like it...or if they would be bored after 1-2 hrs.

We'll see. I'll talk with DH about it (he doesn't like getting involved in the planning...esp when still months away :D )

Thanks again for help narrowing it down to two.