St. Maarten Orient Bay Beach

[marjb36]

Hi fellow cruisers! I am torn between booking the America Cup excursion in St. Maarten (2 of us have a tendancy to get seasick, and have never been on a sailboat) or the day at the Beach in the nice restaurant.

There is a disclaimer on the bottom of the Beach excursion that says some nudity may be observed.

 

I will have my 11 year old with me-is this a remote possibility or is it more likely to happen? If anyone has been to Orient Bay Beach could you please let me know?:eek:

 

Many thanks

Marjb36

[pboedeker]

We've been to Orient Beach about 4 times. Each time we did encounter nudity. There were topless sunbathers and nude beachcombers. Mostly these are people who really don't have the body to be strutting down the beach..but they do! :D

 

There were only a handful of nudists each time we were there. The sunbathers are hardly noticeable - unless you are looking. The nudist strolling down the beach - they are hard to miss!

[marjb36]

Thanks for your reply-4 TIMES! wow! What about the Divi Little Bay Resort? Have you ever been there? That might be more suited for us.

[K&RCurt]

I agree you WILL see nudity at Orient Beach. As previously stated there will be quite a few topless women everywhere along the beach. There will also be a few fully nude folks strolling along the beach. The further to the "left" on the beach (as you face the water) the less nude strollers there will be as the "nude beach" area is to the far right.

 

Orient Beach was one of the most beautiful spots we've been to. There were plenty of kids along the beach swimming, building sand castles and just being kids at a beach. They seemed to take very little notice of the topless sunbathers or nude beach walkers.

 

You will have to make your own choice as to how the au naturale folks will impact your child and your family's enjoyment of the beach. I do believe, however that any beach you go to on the French side of St. Martin will have some topless sunbathers. The European culture finds nothing unusual about the human body and they are comfortable sunning this way.

 

Whatever you decide, enjoy your trip.

[Coolcruise02]

Orient Beach is beautiful and you WILL see naked people! :)

[pboedeker]

You have to understand..the reason we go to St. Maarten is for Orient Beach. Not that we are nudists...but we believe it is the most beautiful beach in the Caribbean. Picture every Corona beer commercial...that's St. Maarten's look.

 

Our teenage daughters didn't really care about the nudity. They just giggled and looked the other way. If you do decide to make this trip, a brief conversation with your child about what they might see will be more than enough to prepare them.

 

I would never pass up a chance to go to Orient Beach!

[caviargal]

Orient Beach is popular with nudists and topless sunbathers because it is cloting optional. I agree that it is amongst the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean and always spend the day there while in St. Maarten.

 

Nude and/or topless sunbathing is not unusual in Europe and OB attracts many Europeans. I have never found it to be anything but a very natural experience, except for the gawkers who come it to check out the naked bodies.

[Schplinky]

We, too, loved Orient Beach and although we kept our clothes on, except for a five minute walk on the wild side, may I say that a good way to teach your child about positive body image is to let him/her see imperfect ones and not freak out about nude ones.

 

We saw nudity at the beach but one also sees that in locker rooms, science books and in movies and magazines. The nice bit about the beach is that there is no airbrushing!

[PaulaS8071]

Last time we went to St. Maarten about 2 years ago, we were a little concerned about the nudity at Orient Beach. Having said that, we did the Millie on a Med cruise a year prior and there were actually topless sunbathers on the ship! But topless and full nudity in my opinion are two different issues. Our boys were 10 and 12 at the time, so we opted out of Orient Beach and just went downtown to Everyting Cool. There were topless sunbathers there, but no total nudity. This might be a good compromise. Going back to St. Maarten this coming Easter-maybe will reconsider Orient Beach now that they are older. Not sure how the beaches compare. Opinions?

Paula

[wvufan]

Hi Marjb,

 

Perhaps the very best day we have spent in the Caribbean was the very combination you describe-America's Cup followed by Orient Beach. I noticed in your post that you referred to a disclaimer, which makes me think you were looking at a ship excursion. If you decide to go to Orient (and I suspect any other main beach), you are way ahead to take a taxi on your own. Rates are posted at the taxi area near the dock, and you can save a little sharing a cab.

 

You will likely be so wrapped up in the race that you won't get a chance to get seasick, but I suggest you drink a coke before you sail (oldtimer's hint) and focus on a fixed object on shore or horizon if you get queasy.

 

Go for it and have fun.

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[woodofpine]

Check the "Destinations" section for other beach suggestions. Keep in mind that the "French" side will have the nudity - oo-la-la francais!

 

Also, while it's adjacent the harbor area, the Phillipsburg town beach is sort of unique in the Caribbean for being as nice a beach as it is, with plenty of water toys, and literally on the back of main street shopping - some of the best shopping in the caribbean. If you're with another adult, you can leave your son on the beach for an hour or so and find some great buys (check out the linen stores esp.)

 

Another idea is to rent a car at the pier end kiosks and putter around. This island is so small, you can't really get lost even if you try. The market in French Marigot is nice. Again, this island is very good for shopping - even if your not a "shopper" by nature.

 

Orient is a very nice beach, but there are other very nice beaches as well.

[tomatopa]

one of our best days off a ship was when we rented a car on the island. we drove every where and spent time at a couple of beaches and did some shopping. we saw many nude people.....the worse were the older men in MHO. we also stopped at a resort that was closed because of a previous huricaine and the beach was deserted and there were flowering plants growing everywhere, even into the rooms where the windows were broken out...so cool. like LOST.

[Seabee]

Lat time we went we caught a cab overe to Marigot which the girls loved...but after shopping awhile we came back tp Phillipsburga dn walked to the beach in town. Found a great little open air restaurant and sat upstairs overlooking the water taxi dock. After dinner we walked down the beach and rented some beach chairs. the "cabana boys" brought out beer and drinks and we spent acouple of hours on a lovely beach within site of the ships. when we'd had enough, we caught the water taxi back to the ship. Great day! Check out the Port of Call board for more details.

[CruiseForever]

OB is such a beautiful beach, we wish that more of our cruise ships would have stopped there. It's a shame IMHO that we,Americans, get so hung up about the human body that most arn't able to enjoy OB or some of the places in Europe, as a result. Europeans are much futher advanced than we give them credit. We, as a nation, have much more sexual crime as a result of our closed minds.

[Eliger]

Thanks for your reply-4 TIMES! wow! What about the Divi Little Bay Resort? Have you ever been there? That might be more suited for us.

We have been in St. Maarten several times and have visited Orient Beach, and several other beaches. Yes, as everyone says, you will have nudity on the beach at Orient Bay. Most of the clothing optional beaches are on the French side of St. Maarten (or St. Martin). The beach at the Divi Little Bay Resort is close to Phillipsburg, i.e., on the Dutch side of the island. You will not have nudity on that beach and it is a very nice resort. However, the beach is certainly not as nice as the one at Orient Bay.

 

The last time we were in St. Maarten on a cruise, we took the water taxi and went shopping, and then we stopped at the beach adjacent to the downtown in Phillipsburg. On the beach you can see the cruise ship at the wharf. It is not a bad beach and the local businesses (restaurant and bars) are very pleased to rent you chairs and unbrellas at very reasonable prices. In my view, it is a very good option for you if you don't want to do the America Cup race.

 

Enjoy!

[CaribbeanBound]

We loved Orient Beach --- and we aren't even beach people. Awesome beach!

 

This island half owned by the French and half owned by the Dutch. We dock on the southern Dutch side. The northern French side (actually a little more than half) is named St. Martin. We shared a taxi ($6.00 per person when you have at least 3 people) from pier to Orient Beach. Hint: if you only have 2 people, wait a few minutes for someone else to join you. We got dropped off at Pedro's Bar which was empty upon our arrival at 9:30 am but standing room only when we left the beach at 2:30 pm. After walking the beach we settled in at The Pirate Beach Bar & Grill. We got two lounge chairs on the waterfront with a 3-inch-thick white chair pad, an umbrella, and two drinks for $14.00. Service by David was great. He'd check on us and reposition our umbrella to allow for more shade or sun as desired. Orient Beach is a beautiful white sand beach with blue and green waters which appeared clearer than Coki Beach on St. Thomas. This is a clothing-optional beach, and yes, folks exercising this option do walk the length of the beach or sunbathe along the beach. This beach had everything available for a price: jet ski, parasail, windsurfing, and more.

 

Here are some of the established cab rates from the pier for parties of 3 to 7 people: Philipsburg (Shopping Center) $3.00; Dawn Beach $6.00; Maho Beach $6.00; Cupe Coy Brach $7.00; Orient Bay Beach $6.00; Grand Case Beach $7.00; and Marigot (French Capital) $6.00.

 

The cab ride from the Dutch side to the French side, past the official border marker monument to Orient Beach, is rather interesting. We saw a large herd of feral goats, a couple of fighting rooster coops, a cockfighting ring, and two bordellos. (We weren't looking for the later. They were pointed out by our driver). Cockfighting is apparently legal on the French side, while the Dutch side has casinos.

 

Complete details: http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/easterncaribbean.html

[OCruisers]

Marjb36 .... There's a thread on the Ports of Call Board with a couple of good lists for where to go at Orient Beach (many have websites) ....

 

boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=221575

 

Maybe this will help a bit! Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[Schplinky]

I also meant to mention that we parasailed at Orient for $40. The price in the cruise excursion was $89.

[Seabee]

"We, as a nation, have much more sexual crime as a result of our closed minds."

 

or as the result of our open mind.

[tuggers]

In my opinion it would be a real shame to miss out on such a beautiful beach because of a little nudity. How much better to teach children that there is nothing 'shameful' about our bodies. But as there have been several comments about 'those who should not go nude' I suppose we will never be as open as our European neighbors about our bodies and will continue to make nudity a sexual thing rather than a free and natural enjoyment of the environment. Sad.

 

And yes, there is topless sunbathing on many cruise ships.

[patnjohn]

We did the Americas Cup Regatta & it was the highlight of our trip. I really think your 11 year old will enjoy it.

[KYCruser]

I also meant to mention that we parasailed at Orient for $40. The price in the cruise excursion was $89.

 

Where was the parasailing at Orient Beach for $40?