Mullet or Karakter, which is better?

We will be docking in St. Maarten in a few weeks and in past trips have always gone to Orient Beach. Looks like the damage over there has us looking at other options.

We are an active couple in our mid 50’s looking for a clean beach with restrooms, food and beverage service and lounge chairs with umbrella.

Do you prefer Mullet or Karakter? Please add any other ideas, details or opinions. Thank you.

Cheers!

I can chime in about Mullet Bay - never been to Karakter. It has everything you are looking for; sort of. The restrooms are one port-a-pottie and the food is a portable bar-b-que and the drinks are kept cold in a cooler. It is a laid back beach without a lot of frills, but the beach is gorgeous, the water is calm, the snorkeling is decent, and you will not have vendors bugging you to buy stuff all day long.

If you are not looking to be pampered and want a great day at the beach, it will do the job.

Karakter bar is great. Good restaurant on raised patio serving food on china with proper cutlery. Good drinks. Not overly expensive. You can use the lounges and umbrellas for free if you eat and drink. We only had a couple of drinks each and ate a small lunch so they don't expect you to spend a lot.

Pleasant service and they callled a cab for us when we were ready to leave.

We have been twice off cruises and plan on going again in April.

We are considering Mullet Bay for our upcoming cruise. Will it be easy to catch a cab back to the port from there?

We are considering Mullet Bay for our upcoming cruise. Will it be easy to catch a cab back to the port from there?

Yes. The best option is to arrange for you cab driver to come back at a designated time (assuming you took a cab to get there). If that does not work, there are often cabs available in the parking lot. Worse case, you might have to walk about 15 minutes to Maho Beach to catch a cab. There will be a ton of them there.

Are cabs waiting at Mullet a new post Irma thing?

We will be docking in St. Maarten in a few weeks and in past trips have always gone to Orient Beach. Looks like the damage over there has us looking at other options.

 

We are an active couple in our mid 50’s looking for a clean beach with restrooms, food and beverage service and lounge chairs with umbrella.

 

Do you prefer Mullet or Karakter? Please add any other ideas, details or opinions. Thank you.

 

Cheers!

Better beach to me is Mullet. Better everything else that you asked for Karakter at Simpson Bay beach.

Just back from St-Martin. You can grab a cab at the port and let you off at Mullet (10$ea). You can then walk over ( 15 mins) to Maho and gat a cab there for the return trip. Lots of cabbies waiting. Tons of chair and shades available. Limited food/drink option. Porta potty on site. Never been to Karakter.

The area was hit pretty bad by the hurricane. Lots of repair and construction around. Sonesta Maho is a wreck, so is the casino in front. The Sunset bar is operating as usual and is completely renovated,

Just back from St-Martin. You can grab a cab at the port and let you off at Mullet (10$ea). You can then walk over ( 15 mins) to Maho and gat a cab there for the return trip. Lots of cabbies waiting. Tons of chair and shades available. Limited food/drink option. Porta potty on site. Never been to Karakter.

 

The area was hit pretty bad by the hurricane. Lots of repair and construction around. Sonesta Maho is a wreck, so is the casino in front. The Sunset bar is operating as usual and is completely renovated,

Thanks for this detailed answer.

Are cabs waiting at Mullet a new post Irma thing?

When we were there (late December) there were a few cabs in the parking lot - maybe three - that offered to take us to Maho or back to Philipsburg. I'm not sure if they were waiting for fares,or if they had just dropped off passengers and saw us leaving. I can't say if this is normal or not, just what we saw one time on one day. There were a ton of cabs at Maho when we walked over there.

When we were there (late December) there were a few cabs in the parking lot - maybe three - that offered to take us to Maho or back to Philipsburg. I'm not sure if they were waiting for fares,or if they had just dropped off passengers and saw us leaving. I can't say if this is normal or not, just what we saw one time on one day. There were a ton of cabs at Maho when we walked over there.

Ok thanks

You had used the words "often waiting" which could be new. Hopefully folks will keep posting their reviews so people have an idea of what to expect.

Is there a steep dropoff in Mullet Bay or is it gradual to get in?

Steep drop off. For comparaison I would consider Magen's Bay in St-Thomas as gradual. Depends also on the wave. On calm days it can be pleasant.

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We will be there in April. Is Rosie's open at Mullet Bay? Also, are the public busses running?

We just got back from our cruise and enjoyed a fun day at Karakter Beach on March 8th. The wave action was strong all over the island but that did not impact our stay. There were not too many people here, we got there early and by noon, I’d say there was maybe 25-30 people there.

The service was very good, the drinks decent and the food was hot and tasty. The bathrooms were clean and operational.

Taxi was $20 for two each way and easy to get. Traffic back to the ship was horrendous so allow 45-60 minutes to be safe even though it should take half that time.

No regrets on choosing this beach. Thanks for the helpful comments to help make the right decision.

We just got back from our cruise and enjoyed a fun day at Karakter Beach on March 8th. The wave action was strong all over the island but that did not impact our stay. There were not too many people here, we got there early and by noon, I’d say there was maybe 25-30 people there.

 

The service was very good, the drinks decent and the food was hot and tasty. The bathrooms were clean and operational.

 

Taxi was $20 for two each way and easy to get. Traffic back to the ship was horrendous so allow 45-60 minutes to be safe even though it should take half that time.

 

No regrets on choosing this beach. Thanks for the helpful comments to help make the right decision.

Thank you for the update! Appreciate the insight on the continually improving conditions.

We just got back from our cruise and enjoyed a fun day at Karakter Beach on March 8th. The wave action was strong all over the island but that did not impact our stay. There were not too many people here, we got there early and by noon, I’d say there was maybe 25-30 people there.

 

The service was very good, the drinks decent and the food was hot and tasty. The bathrooms were clean and operational.

 

Taxi was $20 for two each way and easy to get. Traffic back to the ship was horrendous so allow 45-60 minutes to be safe even though it should take half that time.

 

No regrets on choosing this beach. Thanks for the helpful comments to help make the right decision.

Did you arrange for your taxi to come back and get you at a specific time ? I am concerned about the traffic :(

:o