Best beach in St.Maarten

[EscaladeHybrid]

Hi guys, sorry to be trivial but read through a couple of posts and didn’t find definite answer. What is the best beach in St.Maarten to spend a day from a cruise?

I see that most write here about Orient beach, I saw youtube, totally didn’t like it, too crowded, too small. I like picture perfect beach with not so many people and all those chairs and umbrellas, if u know what I mean. So, what would be the best?

[TBird879]

Honestly, I don't know the beach's name, and it may be the one you are talking about, but the only beach we've used at this stop is the beach right off the dock. Head out through the terminal mall, take a left, and follow the street. Roughly a ten minute walk, so no transportation cost, minimal clost for two chairs, and you're set for the day. Plenty of food, drink, and shopping right there if/when you get tired of the sun.

 

Our first trip to St. Martin was on a Christmas Day, so very little was open, we hit this beach for the entire day, and have been back twice now. We do head out early, so we're among the first ones there, and it can get busy, but usually not for three of four hours at least.

 

I'll watch here though, there may be better overall beaches, and I'd be open to that discussion.

[runner15km]

Check out Mullet Bay. :)

[EscaladeHybrid]

Yea, thanks, what about Bay Rouge beach? just saw it on youtube, seems to be very nice and not busy... anybody been there?

[BillOh]

Hi guys, sorry to be trivial but read through a couple of posts and didn’t find definite answer. What is the best beach in St.Maarten to spend a day from a cruise?

I see that most write here about Orient beach, I saw youtube, totally didn’t like it, too crowded, too small. I like picture perfect beach with not so many people and all those chairs and umbrellas, if u know what I mean. So, what would be the best?

 

When are you going? That can be a huge factor as far as crowds go. We like to cruise in late April early may, Its definitely less crowded than when winter is at its peak in the Northern Hemisphere. Orient was not crowded when I was there on May 3rd 2011.

[EscaladeHybrid]

We will be there on Jan.16.

[redwings1958]

Yea, thanks, what about Bay Rouge beach? just saw it on youtube, seems to be very nice and not busy... anybody been there?

 

We were in STM on 12/26. There were 5 cruise ships in port that day, and most everybody was heading to Orient Beach. We opted for Grand Case Bay, where the beach is narrow, clean, and not crowded at all. In addition, there are a slew of restaurants right on the beach. Baie Rouge was the 2nd choice, but our guid said that on the way back, the traffic can get bad

[EscaladeHybrid]

Oh ok, so you just get off the cruiseship and take a cab to either one, right? I'm definitely not going to Orient beach in this situation?

[EscaladeHybrid]

Ok, did more research and since this is my first time in St.Maarten, I definitely need to visit Maho Beach for those airplanes landing. The only thing existing in the world, so I guess we have to see it.

 

Beside it there is Mullet Bay as you recommended or Bai Rouge, another 5 km further but maybe worth the drive.

 

I've read all those reviews as to traffic. So, if my ship departs at 6.00 pm, when is it safe to leave the beach? And what would you recommend, at first to go and watch planes and then Rouge/Mullet, or first beach and then on the way back go to Mullet. Our ship arrives at 10.00 am.

 

Looking forward to your advice.

[SeaTrailer]

If you want the perfect beach go to Pinel Island. Take taxi to Cul de Sac. Well worth the effort!

[EscaladeHybrid]

Gosh, but it's the opposite side of the island. I don't think that it's a smart idea to do. We will be on the island 6 hours and I don't want to spend 3 hours driving around. Like If I want to visit Maho Beach, that's the opposite of where you are suggesting? It will look like driving to Pinel for an hour, staying there for 1 hours, then driving back to Maho for an hour, staying there for 30 min, and then driving back in traffic for 2.5 to the cruise, what kind of vacation is that???

 

I definitely want to visit Maho and one nice beach which is close to it, which most probably gonna be either Mullet Bay, or Bai Rouge, or Bai Lounge.

 

If we are talking about traffic, what is the wise way to do in this situation? Visit Maho first and the last and if my ship departs at 6.00 pm, what is safe time to leave from that area to be on time??

[RZ3]

To get to either Maho or Mullet, you have to traverse Welfare Road, which is the road to the airport and it is VERY busy all the time. It also goes across a drawbridge that can create even more delays. Heading north to Orient or Pinel is actually not as bad in terms of traffic and will take maybe 15 or 20 minutes unless you get stuck in Philipsburg. West to Maho or Mullet can take 30 to 45 minutes depending on traffic. Your safest bet is Maho, which is where the planes land because it is a high tourist area and there are always taxis. If you go to Mullet, arrange for a taxi ride or rent a car because though it gets a lot of people, most are vacationing on the island and not of the ship tourists. We were fortunate when we went because it was low season and had no traffic at all except when the bridge was up. We stayed a week in Simpson Bay and loved it!

[mrscsilveira]

Hi guys, sorry to be trivial but read through a couple of posts and didn’t find definite answer. What is the best beach in St.Maarten to spend a day from a cruise?

I see that most write here about Orient beach, I saw youtube, totally didn’t like it, too crowded, too small. I like picture perfect beach with not so many people and all those chairs and umbrellas, if u know what I mean. So, what would be the best?

 

We are wondering all of the same and are worried about Orient being too crowded. Is it going to be crowed last week of this month? (January)

[EscaladeHybrid]

Hi, I researcched on it and my take that it will be very crowded and there is nothing worse than wasting time on crowded noisy beach. I'm definitely doing Maho and then Mullet Bay or Lounge Bay or Rouge Bay, which are all in the same area, to the west of the port. Yea, traffic will be bed but oh well what can you do. I still think that it's better to be in traffic for another hour instead of wasting day on noisy beach.

 

I've heard that public transit will get you to Mullet/Maho in the same time as your cab would. Does anybody know where to go from the port in order to find public transport? It costs like $2 vs. $20 for a cab ride. Also, if my ship departs at 6.00 pm, when would u recommend leaving Mullet/Maho area to be safe?

[mrscsilveira]

Thx Escalade for doing more research for us :D

[RZ3]

I would not stay past 3pm to be safe. Public transport can be pretty cheap, but is unreliable. Taxi would be safer and they will arange to pick you up.

 

If you get back early, there are plenty of things to do right there in Philipsburg.

[EscaladeHybrid]

So it's not that easy to catch public transportation at Maho or Mullet on the way back?

[EscaladeHybrid]

And I guess if you didn't take cab to the beach and didn't arrange for your way back, it will be impossible to call one up in order to get back?

[RZ3]

Maho isn't an issue since it's a very touristy area. There are lots of cabs and if needed they can call you one from SUnset.

 

Mullet, on the other hand, is popular, but doesn't have any facilities except a couple of stands where you can get some drinks and very good food. I think Rosies will charge a $1 to use the restroom if you don't want to use the bushes. :-) There is no staging area where cabbies sit, just a parking area seperated from the beach by some trees. Most of the people at the beach are staying on the island and have thier own transportation.

 

One thing to be aware of on Mullet is that you will very likely see some topless bathers. They're not seen as frequent at Maho, but they go there as well. Full nudity is generally not seen except at certain beaches on the French side.

[SeaTrailer]

One other thing to keep in mind, if memory serves me correctly most of the larger planes do not begin to arrive until early afternoon. You might want to go to your beach first and then return to Maho where you can watch.

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[Daycare Provider]

We were just on the island of St. Maarten for 9 days in June.

 

Bai Rouge Bay is remote...however the sand is soft and the water is tranquil.

 

Maho actually is where we will be going again in March for the whole day.

 

The crowds come and go not many really stay. Everyone is looking for the big jumbo jets. The food is tastey and the service is great. We paid $10.00 for an umbrella for the day and two lounge chairs. We actually had bar service on the beach. The bathrooms are clean and no vendors selling products.

 

This isn't a swimming cove more a bod surfing spot. There aren't many kids that hang out for the day..yippeeee which is what we look for.

 

angela

[RJHNorthyorks]

We enjoyed great bay beach on New Year's Eve as we didn't want to spend time travelling. Got the water taxi over from the ship , did a little shopping and then spent a few hours relaxing on the beach. lots of restaurants to choose from. Only 2 ships in port and this beach was fairly quiet. We visited maho and orient last year on an island tour . We enjoyed but both were very busy.

[EscaladeHybrid]

Ok, thanks guys for all your recommendations. It sounds like I will cab it or use public transport to Mullet, stay there and then go to Maho. From Maho it will be easy to grab a cab back to port, just need to make sure to leave before 3 to make it on time before ship departs.

 

How do I get from Mullet to Maho if you say there are no cabs available?

[jsscuba2]

Yea, thanks, what about Bay Rouge beach? just saw it on youtube, seems to be very nice and not busy... anybody been there?

I have been to Bay Rouge beach many time and loved it and plan on going back in March. I haven't been there for several years. Back then you had a section that rented unbrellas and chairs as well as a small snack bar. The further you walk down the beach the more of a possibility you will find some nudity.

[EscaladeHybrid]

Yea, I'm sure it's very nice. If I were there for a couple of days, I wouldn't think twice but since we are there just for a day and I want to see planes at Maho, I have to really think carefully where my time will allow me to go and how to get transportation from there....