Dawn Beach in St. Martin

Does anyone know the condition of Dawn Beach & the Westin on the French side.?

Dawn Beach was still closed in September 2018.

In St. Maarten we usually go to Dawn Beach because it has descent snorkeling from the beach when weather cooperates. We were there last week (9/7/2018). The taxi dispatchers did not tell us that the beach was closed, just mentioned that there was sea grass on the beach. But that is a frequent occurrence. The taxi driver Sylvia (license plate 277-TAXI) did not tell us about the beach closure either. She said, "let's go and see the conditions there". When we arrived, the area was completely cordoned off. You can't even come close because of ongoing construction. I am certain all locals and especially taxi drivers know that. But this particular taxi driver drove us there anyway just to get more money. Once we realized there was absolutely nothing at Dawn Beach (no people, no access, all facilities are closed) Sylvia told us: "if you want to snorkel you have to go to Mullet Bay". When we got to Mullet Bay (we had to go in the opposite direction) she charged 6 of us $36 to go to Dawn beach plus $60 to go from Dawn beach to Mullet Bay. Since we were at her mercy we had to comply. Later on she drove us back to the cruise port for additional $48 (it's a regular price of $8 p/p). Mullet Bay snorkeling was very poor. You could see something along the shoreline rocky walls but the currents were so strong swimming close to that wall was dangerous. Mullet Bay has sandy bottom, strong currents and low visibility. In addition, Mullet Bay beach was filled with locals who played loud music (several people blasted their stereos at the same time, one guy was floating his system in the water). I think the reason Sylvia took us to Mullet Bay was she knew a guy there who rented beach chairs and umbrellas and probably expected to share proceeds. However we declined Sylvia and her partner's overtures and got a better deal from another guy at the same beach. I swam to the adjacent Maho Beach and found the area to the right of the beach (facing water) more interesting for snorkeling that Mullet Bay. Plus Maho is more fun because of the low flying airplanes.

The bottom line: Dawn Beach is still closed. Avoid taxi driver Sylvia, license plate 277-TAXI.

Know many people like to do this on their own, did your cruise ship offer any tours to beaches on the French side?

Some islanders work very hard to seperate you from your money. One needs to do there homework before setting foot onshore.

In St. Maarten we usually go to Dawn Beach because it has descent snorkeling from the beach when weather cooperates. We were there last week (9/7/2018). The taxi dispatchers did not tell us that the beach was closed, just mentioned that there was sea grass on the beach. But that is a frequent occurrence. The taxi driver Sylvia (license plate 277-TAXI) did not tell us about the beach closure either. She said, "let's go and see the conditions there". When we arrived, the area was completely cordoned off. You can't even come close because of ongoing construction. I am certain all locals and especially taxi drivers know that. But this particular taxi driver drove us there anyway just to get more money. Once we realized there was absolutely nothing at Dawn Beach (no people, no access, all facilities are closed) Sylvia told us: "if you want to snorkel you have to go to Mullet Bay". When we got to Mullet Bay (we had to go in the opposite direction) she charged 6 of us $36 to go to Dawn beach plus $60 to go from Dawn beach to Mullet Bay. Since we were at her mercy we had to comply. Later on she drove us back to the cruise port for additional $48 (it's a regular price of $8 p/p). Mullet Bay snorkeling was very poor. You could see something along the shoreline rocky walls but the currents were so strong swimming close to that wall was dangerous. Mullet Bay has sandy bottom, strong currents and low visibility. In addition, Mullet Bay beach was filled with locals who played loud music (several people blasted their stereos at the same time, one guy was floating his system in the water). I think the reason Sylvia took us to Mullet Bay was she knew a guy there who rented beach chairs and umbrellas and probably expected to share proceeds. However we declined Sylvia and her partner's overtures and got a better deal from another guy at the same beach. I swam to the adjacent Maho Beach and found the area to the right of the beach (facing water) more interesting for snorkeling that Mullet Bay. Plus Maho is more fun because of the low flying airplanes.

The bottom line: Dawn Beach is still closed. Avoid taxi driver Sylvia, license plate 277-TAXI.

Thank you for the heads up. What a terrible experience.