which is the best beach excursion in st. maarten

[COTY]

we will be traveling rccl's 7 night cruise to the eastern caribbean. we are looking to book an excursion with our 3 children in St. Maarten. RCCL offers 4 different beach excursions. Can anyone tell me which one is the best as far as beach, lunch, and beach water sportsfor the kids.

thank you!

[Sheffie]

I don't know about the beach water sports. We loved Dawn Beach. Beautiful, and great snorkeling. We didn't like the beach downtown as much, but others do. I believe thay have watersports there. Orient beach has water toys. You need to remember that these are European type of beachs (country) and may see some partial or maybe more nudity. Maybe not.

 

I would do it on my own rather than go with a ship's excursion. Check out the Ports of Call to find out even better info.

[jeniferlyn]

We just returned from the NOS this past Saturday. We went to Divi beach and it was great. When we arrived there were only about three other people on the beach. It is a resort beach but we had no problems using the showers and bathrooms by the pool area. They rented fins, masks, chairs, etc. I also saw jetskis and a food area on the other end of the beach. We spent about four hours there and still had plenty of time to shop. We also had a taxi driver who came and picked us back up to go shopping.

[TexasMom2]

Definitely would not recommend Orient Beach. The views are pretty but the surf is very rough. The sand drops off about 10 feet out and the waves are strong. From an adult's perspective, the drinks were too small and you had to walk to the bar to get another 8 oz, after what only seemed like 10-15 minutes. The RCCL tour wasn't worth the money for 2 hours at the beach, especially after a 30 minute bus ride.

[BopRN]

We just spent 10 days in St. Maarten so I can speak first hand since we did 7 beaches in 10 days. Orient was our favorite...went back twice...watersports are available there. We did not have hardly any surf. I think it depends alot on the weather. Keep in mind there may be an occasional nude couple strolling the beach. The nudist club is far down the beach but some of those persons feel it is their right to walk the entire beach. There was topless bathing on all the beaches....less at Divi and Mullet Bay than the beaches on the French side. It is a European cultural thing and even though it was offensive to us, no one makes a big deal about it. There is nothing you can do if you want to spend the day on the beach. Divi was a very nice beach, our 2nd favorite. When we were there, no surf. We revisited when a storm was kicking up, and the surf was huge. That's why I said it must be the weather.

 

I have pictures of all the beaches we went to and will be happy to e-mail those to you.

Betsy

[karensi]

Can anyone else comment about Dawn Beach? We will be doing the Southern Carrabean in April '06 and are looking for a quiet, not too crowded, beach. Also want to be able to rent lounge chairs, buy a drink and/or something to eat, and have use of bathroom facilities. How would Dawn Beach measure up? Thanks for your help :), Karen

[Kviolasr]

We've spent time at both Orient and Dawn beaches, love them both. Dawn is definitely the more secluded of the two, though it still has everything you need (facilities/food/chair rentals, etc). Dawn has excellent snorkeling (Orient does not). If nudity is an issue for your family, Dawn is the better choice.

[kyriecat]

I agree that Dawn Beach is the best. We spent a week on St. Maarten/St. Martin and explored several of the beaches. Dawn Beach was our favorite. There is a restaurant/bar, restrooms and changing area, and lounge chairs for rental. It doesn't have boat or jet ski rental so it's quieter than some of the other beaches. It's also rather secluded since you have to drive through the hills to get there, but getting a taxi back tot the ship wasn't a problem since severals taxis were waiting by the restaurant. There were a couple of topless women but you will see that almost everywhere on the island.

[dlbutler5]

We booked the Lord Sheffield square rigger. They have food (BBQ) and beverages included onboard and they stop to snorkle. It would be good for everyone. You can check them out online at www.lordsheffield.com

[FlyingPhotog]

The best excusrion in St Maarten hands down is the "America's Cup 12-Metre Regatta." I did it last Wednesday. Loved every minute of it.

 

 

Now doesn't this look fun??

 

[COTY]

thank you all for your responses. It was all very informative. we can't wait to get their and have decided to rent a jeep and travel to dawn beach and then tour the island. Happy cruising!

[lmmn]

We booked the Lord Sheffield square rigger. They have food (BBQ) and beverages included onboard and they stop to snorkle. It would be good for everyone. You can check them out online at www.lordsheffield.com

This excursion gets great reviews. If I were to take children, I would book this excursion. I have heard you have to book way in advance, as it fills early.

[kathi29]

thank you all for your responses. It was all very informative. we can't wait to get their and have decided to rent a jeep and travel to dawn beach and then tour the island. Happy cruising!

 

Depending on when you are going, give some thought to renting an air conditioned vehicle. We rented a Sorrento and we were a lot happier with true a/c than what we would have found with a jeep. Do the jeeps even have 3 seatbelts in the back?

 

We chose Little Divi for our beach time last week. It was very uncrowded, crystal clear water, clean bathrooms, all sorts of rental things, no problem getting an umbrella and chairs. With the kids, it was an awesome choice.

[mergle55]

We went on Dolphin swim and it was the best. They took us to the island of Anguilla which was absolutely beautiful. We had 3 small children with us 5,6, & 8 all whom had the time of their life. Afterwords there is time on the must beautiful beach I have ever seen, and then they feed you, best trip we have ever taken.

[cruizeblues]

We went on Dolphin swim and it was the best. They took us to the island of Anguilla which was absolutely beautiful. We had 3 small children with us 5,6, & 8 all whom had the time of their life. Afterwords there is time on the must beautiful beach I have ever seen, and then they feed you, best trip we have ever taken.

 

Did you book the Dolphin swim through the ship or on your own? If on your own, do you remember the name of the company? My kids would really love to do this excursion!!:)

[KreiderCarter]

The best excusrion in St Maarten hands down is the "America's Cup 12-Metre Regatta." I did it last Wednesday. Loved every minute of it.

 

 

Now doesn't this look fun??

 

 

 

I'd second that, one of the best excursions I've ever taken.

[michelle45]

It may sound a bit odd suggesting a bar for an excursion with children, but we visited the beach and bar that was right at the edge (and I do mean the edge) of the airport on St Maartin and we all loved it!

The beach bar was lovely, the food was enjoyable and the experience of seeing the planes come in and take off was brilliant!

[cruisingsouth]

How did you book your trip to Anguilla? Was it through a private tour operator or through the ship. I did not see anything listed from RCI. It sounds wonderful and we are very interested. Thanks.

[mergle55]

It was booked through RCI and it was called Dolphin Discovery. It was definatley the best excurison I have been on to date.