Mr Busby's Dawn Beach

[MDSue]

We went to Dawn Beach last month. We had asked our taxi driver to take us Little Bay but he "conned" us into going to Dawn Beach. I wish I had taken a picture. There was so much junk on this beach, sea weed and trash. I complained to the manager and he just said, "I Know, it is really hurting business." Long story, short - we left and went where we had originally asked to go. (Have small children and just wanted a NICE beach) Maybe it was the time of year..the pictures someone posted earlier are beautiful, but that is not what we saw.

 

I can tell you chairs were $10 and beers were $1. Taxi ride was $8pp each way. I hope they have the beach cleaned up when you go, it definitely wasn't when were there and we will never go back.

 

I am a very positive person and can make the best out of bad situations but this was so bad that it made a happy person leave a few minutes after arriving.

 

That's definitely a different picture from my experience in 2010. I do hope the situation changes because the beach was very nice when we were there- no trash or seaweed anywhere

[teddie]

Just returned from the Explorer 10 nights, including a stop at St Maarten.

 

Yes, Busby's is still in operation on Dawn Beach. Loungers and umbrellas for $5 each. We cabbed it from the ship and back. A really nice beach day.

 

Teddie

[TwinCruiserMom]

We were at Dawn Beach on December 6th and we had a terrific day. We arrived fairly early, maybe around 9:30am. The taxi cost was $15 each way for the two of us.

 

Two chairs and an umbrella was $10. Amstel Bright beer around 9oz bottles were $1 from 11am on.

 

The beach is much different from Orient which was great for us. It is more of a resort type beach with the Westin way over on one end and Oyster Bay condos close to Mr. Busby's. We stayed until a little after noon when it started to get really hot and during that time we saw a lot of couples of all ages and some families with children. Not a party type beach which suited us fine. No blaring music and just a few vendor people trying to sell necklaces or massages. A MUCH better environment than Orient and we were very happy with our choice.

 

My husband swam out to the buoy where he snorkeled and saw a good amount of fish. The beach has nice sand for walking so that is what I did. We did not walk around the rock outcropping to get on the Westin side of the beach as it looked pretty treacherous to get around.

 

There is some seaweed coming in but that is also happening at the other beaches on that side of the Island. The guy from Mr. Busby's was raking up the stuff on the beach and it did not hamper our day at all. The further you go away from Oyster Bay the clearer the water was.

 

We had a great day at Dawn Beach and felt we made the perfect choice for us since DH enjoyed his snorkeling and the atmosphere of the area was very relaxing. I certainly do not think the beach was a garbage pit like some have noted and I saw no trash anywhere. It was a fairly quick ride there in a taxi considering St. Maarten traffic - no more than 20 minutes.

 

I am glad I did not listen to the negative reviews before my trip. Nature does not always give you a pristine beach and seaweed is not something that can be controlled. Yes, there is some stuff coming in but it was worse at Orient when we were there several years ago. It certainly did not ruin our day and there were many people there enjoying the beach and the beautiful water.

[KruznKimmie]

Does anyone know if there is anywhere on Dawn Beach where you can get a massage?

[caribsun]

Does anyone know if there is anywhere on Dawn Beach where you can get a massage?

 

We where sitting on a lounge chair at Mr. Busby's and a fellow walked by offering massages. The couple next to us each got a massage.

[pbs14]

Any recent reports on Dawn Beach and Mr. Busby's? We're excited to spend a day there in early March with a bunch of CC friends. Thanks!

[Hlitner]

Yes, Mr. Busby's is still open an doing a pretty healthy business (based on our visit last week). But the January winds have been blowing all month on the island and snorkeling at Dawn Beach has been near impossible on most days...and the seas are pretty cloudy with sand on the days when the winds are not a major hindrance. We drove over to Dawn..three times between Jan 6 - 18 and were not able to snorkel once do to the bad conditions. DW and I are pretty experienced snorkelers and finally hiked over to Happy Beach on one day when the winds had subsided and did some snorkeling. But with the winds and rough seas during the prior days....the water was still cloudy with sand. In March you will have a better chance of getting some more favorable conditions. That being said, we do not consider the island to be one of the better snorkeling places in the Caribbean.

 

Hank

[erinpdx]

Was wondering if anyone else has any recent experiences to report at Dawn Beach and /or Mr. Busby's.

[decur]

Any recent reports on Dawn Beach and Mr. Busby's? We're excited to spend a day there in early March with a bunch of CC friends. Thanks!

 

 

We were at Dawns Beach last Saturday - very quiet beach, some cruise ship passengers not too many. Mr. Busby's is open but bartender a little rude and got mad when i asked for lime with my beer in bottle. can't beat the $1.00 amstel though. Snorkeling was not that great but beach is lovely. A little windy that day so could be why snorkeling not good. if you want lively probably Orient is better but we've been to Dawn and really like it to avoid the crowds. You aren't bombarded either with vendors like in Barbados (omg never had so many people trying to sell me coconuts).. Just a couple of vendors here. We didn't have lunch there as we brought sandwiches from the ship. Sand is so soft and water so blue...

[Jiffymom]

Is it a bay or waves. Topless ?

[Karysa]

We were at Dawns Beach last Saturday - very quiet beach, some cruise ship passengers not too many. Mr. Busby's is open but bartender a little rude and got mad when i asked for lime with my beer in bottle. can't beat the $1.00 amstel though. Snorkeling was not that great but beach is lovely. A little windy that day so could be why snorkeling not good. if you want lively probably Orient is better but we've been to Dawn and really like it to avoid the crowds. You aren't bombarded either with vendors like in Barbados (omg never had so many people trying to sell me coconuts).. Just a couple of vendors here. We didn't have lunch there as we brought sandwiches from the ship. Sand is so soft and water so blue...

 

Welcome to cruisecritic. Just FYI: food that is not boxed like cereal for instance is a big no, no to bring off the ship. If you don't believe me just ask the security personnel on your next cruise. To me if the place is offering beer for a buck and free loungers I am more than happy to purchase food from them. This is how they make a living.