St. Martin vs St Kitts...snorkel vs beach

We will be in St. Kitts and St. Martin in the beginning of Feb. We are looking to do one beach day (possibly on our own) and one snorkel day (probably an excursion but open to beach snorkels too). Based on cost, quality of beach/snorkel, and just overall ease of getting too/from, does anyone have any suggestions? We will be on Royal Caribbean. (I posted in the St. Kitts forum too.)

I haven't done snorkeling on either island, so I'm not sure which has better snorkeling, but based on beaches that I've seen on both, I would do a beach day on St Martin. The water taxi takes you to Philipsburg, where you can spend the day on the beach or shop and have lunch in town. There are many restaurants that have loungers you can rent, along with umbrellas and many of the restaurants have free wi-fi. You can also take a taxi to a few other beaches. St Kitts on the other hand, I wouldn't do anything there unless I was on an excursion. I don't believe there are any beaches within walking distance of the port.

Aft Cabins Rule

We've been to both islands with Royal and as far as beaches, St Martin is tops and is noted for their beautiful beaches. IMO, Orient Beach and Mullet Bay would be my pick for the best beaches in St Maarten/St. Martin. You can take a taxi to either of the beaches. There is also a $2 bus that would take you to Mullet Bay. You would have to walk into the town of Philipsburg to catch the bus, which is approx. a 15 min. walk from the pier. My first choice would be Orient Beach.

Neither island has great snorkeling to me, but if you can take an excursion on a catamaran, you may find some decent snorkeling.

If you decide to do a beach day in St. Kitts, I recommend Carambola Beach which also has a restaurant, clean bathroom facilities and showers to use. If more than 1 ship is in port, I highly recommend you to email them to reserve 2 loungers and an umbrella, cost is $30 which you pay when you arrive on Carambola. We've been to other beaches in St. Kitts and found them to be a little rocky so you will need water shoes for those beaches but not for Carambola Beach which is more of an upscale beach. Beautiful views of the island of Nevis from this beach. I did see some people snorkeling to the left of Carambola Beach.

Email address to reserve on Carambola is dsharpe@carambolabeachclub.com

Hopefully others can add to their snorkeling experience on both islands.

I haven't done snorkeling on either island, so I'm not sure which has better snorkeling, but based on beaches that I've seen on both, I would do a beach day on St Martin. The water taxi takes you to Philipsburg, where you can spend the day on the beach or shop and have lunch in town. There are many restaurants that have loungers you can rent, along with umbrellas and many of the restaurants have free wi-fi. You can also take a taxi to a few other beaches. St Kitts on the other hand, I wouldn't do anything there unless I was on an excursion. I don't believe there are any beaches within walking distance of the port.

 

 

Aft Cabins Rule

As many times as we have been to Great Bay in the past, I try not to recommend Great Bay beach in the town of Philipsburg due to pollution problems. Even though you'll see many people on this beach, none of the locals go there due to pollution. Can't seem to find any other updates since December of 2013 on the pollution problem.

http://www.thedailyherald.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44784:improvement-in-fresh-pond-but-great-salt-pond-faces-challenges-&catid=1:islands-news&Itemid=54

The next time your in St Maarten/St. Martin, you should try Orient Beach or Mullet Bay, absolutely beautiful.

As many times as we have been to Great Bay in the past, I try not to recommend Great Bay beach in the town of Philipsburg due to pollution problems. Even though you'll see many people on this beach, none of the locals go there due to pollution. Can't seem to find any other updates since December of 2013 on the pollution problem.

 

 

 

http://www.thedailyherald.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44784:improvement-in-fresh-pond-but-great-salt-pond-faces-challenges-&catid=1:islands-news&Itemid=54

 

 

 

The next time your in St Maarten/St. Martin, you should try Orient Beach or Mullet Bay, absolutely beautiful.

Maybe that will keep my wife out of the jewelry stores also.

Aft Cabins Rule

We will be in St. Kitts and St. Martin in the beginning of Feb. We are looking to do one beach day (possibly on our own) and one snorkel day (probably an excursion but open to beach snorkels too). Based on cost, quality of beach/snorkel, and just overall ease of getting too/from, does anyone have any suggestions? We will be on Royal Caribbean. (I posted in the St. Kitts forum too.)

St. Maarten/St. Martin beaches have nicer sand compared to the beaches in St. Kitts. Choosing which beach to go to on St. Maarten is the challenge. What are you looking for in your beach day? Quiet and out of the way, beach chair after beach chair, planes flying just feet over head, a beach chair within feet of gourmet restaurants, nude sunbathers, a beach for a non-swimmer or small child? The island has something to suit everyone. The more that we know about what you are looking for and your mode of transportation the better.:)

While you can snorkel on both St. Maarten and St. Kitts, neither has very good snorkeling. :o

LuLu

St. Maarten/St. Martin beaches have nicer sand compared to the beaches in St. Kitts. Choosing which beach to go to on St. Maarten is the challenge. What are you looking for in your beach day? Quiet and out of the way, beach chair after beach chair, planes flying just feet over head, a beach chair within feet of gourmet restaurants, nude sunbathers, a beach for a non-swimmer or small child? The island has something to suit everyone. The more that we know about what you are looking for and your mode of transportation the better.:)

We are looking for a nice place to relax. Normally I am "go go go" on trips, but my hubby prefers to sit back and relax so I think that's the beach goal. (Then I get my wish on the snorkel!) Someplace to eat on the beach would be good, but we don't have to have gourmet. Beach chairs/umbrellas would be a plus. We've actually already been to Maho beach (a while ago on a cruise excursion...so we don't really need to go there again) but don't know much about the other beaches on St. Martin. We were leaning towards beach on St. Martin and a catamaran/snorkel on St. Kitts so it looks like we were leaning the right way!

We are looking for a nice place to relax. Normally I am "go go go" on trips, but my hubby prefers to sit back and relax so I think that's the beach goal. (Then I get my wish on the snorkel!) Someplace to eat on the beach would be good, but we don't have to have gourmet. Beach chairs/umbrellas would be a plus. We've actually already been to Maho beach (a while ago on a cruise excursion...so we don't really need to go there again) but don't know much about the other beaches on St. Martin. We were leaning towards beach on St. Martin and a catamaran/snorkel on St. Kitts so it looks like we were leaning the right way!

Mullet (unless your stop is on the weekend because it can get very busy then) would be a good choice for you. There is enough action (catamaran trips often stop here now and there is some snorkeling to be found over by the rocks) but the beach only has a couple of food shack and a port o potty so if those are no-gos for you then my suggestion would be Grand Case beach with its wonderful choices of restaurants and uncrowded long beach. You can rent umbrellas and beach chairs at Mullet and many of the restaurants on Grand Case Beach throw them in for their patrons and you can find places that rent them as well. A taxi to Mullet is about $20 for the two of you each way and to Grand Case it is $25. If there are 5 or more ships in port you may want to head to Grand Case as this end of the island seldom gets busy. :)

Definitely do your beach day on St. Maarten. SO MANY different beaches, on both sides of the island, to choose from. I recommend taking an island tour on St. Kitts. I typically avoid these tours - too much sitting in a van and driving around! But the attractions in St. Kitts are spread out and NONE of them should be missed. It's an absolutely beautiful island.

Almost all cruise lines offer these two catamaran sails which have been around for a very long time. Both of these have a snorkel stop and then go to a nice beach:

In St. Maarten -- The Golden Eagle Catamaran Sail.

In St. Kitts -- The Nevis Sailaway.

We've been on both of these several times over the years and they have always been quite enjoyable. :)

LuLu

Our first visit to St. kitts was Oct 2013. We fell in love with the Marriott ( after taking a cab to a questionable beach area). We got right back in the cab and headed for the Marriott. Beautiful beach, wonderful facilities, great lunch, superior service. We paid a resort fee.....sorry I don't remember the amount, but it was well worth it. There is also a casino there. Lots of places to hide and get out of the sun. We look forward to returning! BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! [emoji295]️

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