beaches in St Maarten

[nana of twins]

Has anyone taken the French Riviera Beach excursion in St. Maarten with Holland America? Reviews say its a great beach, but very, very crowded. Any suggestions?

[slabeaume]

We don't often do the HAL excursions, but we did do this one since we had plenty of OBC to burn. It went to Orient Beach. The price included an air conditioned bus ride to the beach, plus chairs, and all the rum runner (or whatever they were---good) you could drink. They had umbrellas to rent for an additional fee. The part of the beach we were at was near one end of it and didn't seem all that crowded to me. It's a big beach and lots of water. We attempted to snorkel and did see a few fish, but nothing too exciting. We did walk along the beach and came across more crowded places, but all in all we enjoyed the day. I have some pictures of this excursion here---under the port day of St. Marten:

http://travelingwithsue.blogspot.com/2014/05/2014-april-11-22-maasdam-southern.html

[G&G]

If you have never been to St Maarten, HAL excursion is good. We usually take a taxi to Orient Beach. Very easy to do; taxi stand just outside shops with many people going to the beach. Orient Beach is beautiful; but clothing is optional and at one end of beach is all nude.

 

If you do this on your own they are many places to rent chairs and umbrella; were there last March and cost $15 for two including drink for two.

 

Just be aware if a lot of ships in port it will be crowded.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Things must have changed in the last couple of years.

When we did HAL's Orient Beach excursion, there was an area roped off for our excursion, had chairs and umbrella. A couple of drinks and lunch was included in the price.

Very nice beach and we were not crowded.

[cabinluvn]

Be aware that most of the old beach bars have been torn down and they are rebuilding with traditional beach bars. They have left a couple of larger beach bars standing. I don't belief they are completed yet,miso not sure what the status is for tourists. Club Orient is untouched by this remodeling of the beach

 

 

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[G&G]

Be aware that most of the old beach bars have been torn down and they are rebuilding with traditional beach bars. They have left a couple of larger beach bars standing. I don't belief they are completed yet,miso not sure what the status is for tourists. Club Orient is untouched by this remodeling of the beach

 

 

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When were you there ?

[cabinluvn]

We have not been for awhile. I follow the forum: traveltalkonline.com. You can go to anywhere and follow discussions. I follow the St Martin one because we used to go there once a year for 2-3 weeks at a time. On the St Martin forum you can ask any question about the island, including the best things to do off a cruise ship and private tour companies that will lick you up at the cruise port. A very good resource!

 

 

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[Hlitner]

There are 37 beaches on St Maarten and DW and moi have visited them all while we were on the island (in a condo rental). I have no clue as to where HAL takes their tours but suspect it is the usual Orient Beach. Getting to this beach (and many others) is easy and inexpensive via shared taxis from the port. And there are folks at the taxi area who do organize the taxi riders so you get the decent shared rate.

 

For those who want to escape the crowds and commercialism of Orient Beach/Bay there are many other better choices. For example., if you have young children or simply prefer very calm water that is easy to enter (very gradual slope) we like Galion Beach (where there is a decent beach cafe). If you want to totally escape all cruise passenger there is Happy Bay Beach on the French Side (most folks hike to this beach from the Sunset Cafe area). And there are more then 2 dozen other beach options :).

 

Hank

[Copper10-8]

Try Maho Beach, located at the threshold of Princess Juliana Airport's Runway 10, for a little extra. Incoming commercial aircraft on short finals going literally feet over your head and a can of jet blast being opened from those departing that same rwy;)

[iflyrc5]

You might want to check out Bernards tour on the St Maarten ports of call forum. He does a great tour with small groups and takes you to Maho beach, Orient Beach and other stops along the way. Gets great reviews - we have gone with him several times and will be touring with him again in Feb.

[Fouremco]

Try Maho Beach, located at the threshold of Princess Juliana Airport's Runway 10, for a little extra. Incoming commercial aircraft on short finals going literally feet over your head and a can of jet blast being opened from those departing that same rwy;)

A recent post over on the RCI board includes a photo that shows that the beach has been washed away from the area at the end of the runway:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=47677832&postcount=19

[Hlitner]

Folks go to Maho for the planes and adjacent beach bar/cafe. The beach itself is somewhat underwhelming and usually too darn crowded. If we want a beach in that part of the island (a good location when the winds are blowing and causing rough seas elsewhere like on Orient) we usually go over to Mullet Bay Beach.

 

We would add a word of caution about Maho. While many have had a lot of fun watching the planes (and holding onto the fence for dear life) it is not without some risks. There are been some nasty injuries (especially from takeoffs) when a pebble or rock gets blown into a watchers face. If you Google "jet blast injuries at Maho" you will find a few stories and there are many more that have not been publicized (the island benefits by keeping these incidents quiet). That being said, DW and I have spent our share of time at Maho although we do generally stay well clear of the fence during takeoffs. But seeing the large KLM 747 pass a few feet over one's head is quite an experience (it used to only come twice a week).

 

Hank

[Copper10-8]

A recent post over on the RCI board includes a photo that shows that the beach has been washed away from the area at the end of the runway:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=47677832&postcount=19

 

Wasn't aware! Thanks for the intel