Mullet Bay Beach-Our day in St Maarten 2/20/18

[Tommy3putts]

This was our first visit to St Maarten. After Irma we never gave a thought to changing to a different Itinerary. We are glad we had the opportunity to spend a day here on our Celebrity Equinox Cruise.

 

We had no firm plans on which beach we would do, but given the limited beaches that were ready we decided to avoid the crowds that would be at the beaches near the port and go to Mullet Bay Beach (the other side of the airport). We had a great enjoyable day. Not crowded and we had Cheap Beer and reasonably priced food.

 

NOTE: In interests of full disclosure. There are no permanent structures here. Do not expect beach bars and restaurants. That’s not here. What is here are friendly people serving food and beer under tents. There are picnic tables and plenty of beach chairs.

 

ALSO NOTE AND PLAN for traffic. It was horrible both ways. It took an hour to get to the beach and almost an hour and a half back. It’s $9 USD pp. They are doing road construction on the road leading to the cruise terminal. It is down to one lane and caused a major back traffic back up.

 

 

My .02 on IRMA-

 

Irma was definitely a mean old lady to SXM. So sad in many ways. But they are bouncing back. The majority of the homes on the hillsides survived virtually unscathed. The towns and hotels are an entirely different matter. Most of the major hotels suffered catastrophic damage and haven’t been touched while waiting insurance settlements. The tourist area restaurants are all still closed. Some are damaged some not. But it doesn’t matter because the hotels are closed and there are no long term tourists. Another sad sight was the many boats and expensive yachts that haven’t been touched. Just sitting abandoned.

 

The cruise calls to SXM are making a difference. The people are so happy to see us. But alas they need the longer stay visitors to come to the hotels and eat at the restaurants. This probably wont happen for a year or more. They are stuck in a vicious circle.

 

For those going there soon, please.....GO!!!! But, manage your expectations. They are still hurting. The insurance companies and Dutch Government’s failure to help— on the Dutch side anyway—-is borderline criminal (my .02).

 

I took some pics of the damage but decided not to share here. There are plenty to see here in the St Maarten forum.

 

Here are a few pictures of our day in St Maarten

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SDA1125]

Thanks for posting the update. I am going in May and so far its looking like Kim Sha Beach for us. What was your impression of the stores / shopping at the dock ?

[Tommy3putts]

Thanks for posting the update. I am going in May and so far its looking like Kim Sha Beach for us. What was your impression of the stores / shopping at the dock ?

 

 

 

The port area (other than the road construction) is fine and all open. I didn’t stop at any of the shops in the cruise port area. They were all open and looked busy (3 big ships in that day). The bar areas were busy as well.

[RMH]

Thanks for posting. Was the construction only located between Philipsburg and the cruise terminal? Or did you have construction on the way to/from Mullet Bay outside of Philipsburg? We typically walk from the town to the cruise terminal and I am wondering if this would allow us to avoid the construction and traffic? Thanks.

[Tommy3putts]

Thanks for posting. Was the construction only located between Philipsburg and the cruise terminal? Or did you have construction on the way to/from Mullet Bay outside of Philipsburg? We typically walk from the town to the cruise terminal and I am wondering if this would allow us to avoid the construction and traffic? Thanks.

 

 

 

Yes. The road construction is only between the cruise terminal and Philipsburg.

 

There was traffic at other points on the drive to Mullet Bay. This was caused by back ups at the several “round-about” intersections.

 

Several people did the walk or water taxi to town from the cruise ports without any problems.

[jordanaire]

Thanks for posting the pictures! We'll be there in April and can't wait to visit our favorite port of all. I sure hope that the friendly people will overcome this horrible experience and get back on their feet as quickly as possible. I'm sure that they truly appreciate every cruise dollar spent on their wonderful island.

[hishorselover]

Thank you for posting these picture and bringing me back to island paradise. We spent a few hours at Mullet Bay last year and were in heaven.

[BlessedandGrateful]

Thanks for posting this. We are arriving by cruise ship tomorrow with a port day from 8-5.

I spent a week in St Maarten with my mother last summer and Mullet Bay was our favorite beach.

My husband and I have planned to rent a Spyder to cruise around the island visit a couple beaches tomorrow. Are the roads around the island mostly drivable? Don't want to spend all day sitting in traffic.

 

 

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[BlessedandGrateful]

What were the food and drink prices at Mullet Bay? Wondering how much cash to bring.

 

 

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[Tommy3putts]

What were the food and drink prices at Mullet Bay? Wondering how much cash to bring.

 

 

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Food items ranged from $5-12

 

Beers were around $3-5 ea.

[BlessedandGrateful]

Thanks!

 

 

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[tiba99]

This was our first visit to St Maarten. After Irma we never gave a thought to changing to a different Itinerary. We are glad we had the opportunity to spend a day here on our Celebrity Equinox Cruise.

 

We had no firm plans on which beach we would do, but given the limited beaches that were ready we decided to avoid the crowds that would be at the beaches near the port and go to Mullet Bay Beach (the other side of the airport). We had a great enjoyable day. Not crowded and we had Cheap Beer and reasonably priced food.

 

NOTE: In interests of full disclosure. There are no permanent structures here. Do not expect beach bars and restaurants. That’s not here. What is here are friendly people serving food and beer under tents. There are picnic tables and plenty of beach chairs.

 

ALSO NOTE AND PLAN for traffic. It was horrible both ways. It took an hour to get to the beach and almost an hour and a half back. It’s $9 USD pp. They are doing road construction on the road leading to the cruise terminal. It is down to one lane and caused a major back traffic back up.

 

 

My .02 on IRMA-

 

Irma was definitely a mean old lady to SXM. So sad in many ways. But they are bouncing back. The majority of the homes on the hillsides survived virtually unscathed. The towns and hotels are an entirely different matter. Most of the major hotels suffered catastrophic damage and haven’t been touched while waiting insurance settlements. The tourist area restaurants are all still closed. Some are damaged some not. But it doesn’t matter because the hotels are closed and there are no long term tourists. Another sad sight was the many boats and expensive yachts that haven’t been touched. Just sitting abandoned.

 

The cruise calls to SXM are making a difference. The people are so happy to see us. But alas they need the longer stay visitors to come to the hotels and eat at the restaurants. This probably wont happen for a year or more. They are stuck in a vicious circle.

 

For those going there soon, please.....GO!!!! But, manage your expectations. They are still hurting. The insurance companies and Dutch Government’s failure to help— on the Dutch side anyway—-is borderline criminal (my .02).

 

I took some pics of the damage but decided not to share here. There are plenty to see here in the St Maarten forum.

 

Here are a few pictures of our day in St Maarten

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful pictures! Please tell me which beach did you go to and where did you find those awesome beach chairs! I will be heading there in April and trying to find a place where I can go with my two kids.

 

 

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[Bosjoe]

Thanks for posting this. We are arriving by cruise ship tomorrow with a port day from 8-5.

I spent a week in St Maarten with my mother last summer and Mullet Bay was our favorite beach.

My husband and I have planned to rent a Spyder to cruise around the island visit a couple beaches tomorrow. Are the roads around the island mostly drivable? Don't want to spend all day sitting in traffic.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

I rented a jeep 2 weeks ago and the roads are drivable, I circled the whole island with no issues. The only construction ws the port area, but we didn't hit a ton of traffic there. Coming back about 2pm or so from Mullet bay was a good amount of traffic.

[Bosjoe]

What were the food and drink prices at Mullet Bay? Wondering how much cash to bring.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

We got 3 sodas frys and 2 bbq chicken for $20, and gave a $5 tip. Very tasty chicken.

[Talex831]

For those going there soon, please.....GO!!!! But, manage your expectations. They are still hurting. The insurance companies and Dutch Government’s failure to help— on the Dutch side anyway—-is borderline criminal (my .02).

]

 

 

 

From what I understand the Dutch side is in much better shape and has gotten much more assistance than the French side has gotten from France.

 

 

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[Tommy3putts]

Beautiful pictures! Please tell me which beach did you go to and where did you find those awesome beach chairs! I will be heading there in April and trying to find a place where I can go with my two kids.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

This post (see title of thread) is about Mullet Bay Beach. My first post should provide all the details.

 

There were families there (seemed very family friendly) but there were also several ladies going topless, which is allowed. If this bothers you don’t go there.

 

Also there were old fat guys wearing banana hammocks (speedos) too. Now that was gross! 🤣

 

Cheers

Tom

[Tommy3putts]

From what I understand the Dutch side is in much better shape and has gotten much more assistance than the French side has gotten from France.

 

 

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From what I saw the Dutch Government hasn’t been much help either. In addition to the hotels and businesses, there were government buildings that haven’t been touched either.

[Tommy3putts]

We got 3 sodas frys and 2 bbq chicken for $20, and gave a $5 tip. Very tasty chicken.

 

 

 

Yes. We thought it was a great place. Cheap food and beer and a beautiful ocean.

 

I could have done without the constant interruption of folks trying to sell me something.

[Tommy3putts]

I rented a jeep 2 weeks ago and the roads are drivable, I circled the whole island with no issues. The only construction ws the port area, but we didn't hit a ton of traffic there. Coming back about 2pm or so from Mullet bay was a good amount of traffic.

 

 

 

Sound like you were there around the same time as we were. The traffic from port to MB was bad, but not nearly as bad getting back to port. The roundabouts caused most of the backups. The construction by the port during peak season is a head scratcher.

 

What were your thoughts on the French side’s hurricane recovery?

 

Thanks

Tom

[RMH]

This post (see title of thread) is about Mullet Bay Beach. My first post should provide all the details.

 

There were families there (seemed very family friendly) but there were also several ladies going topless, which is allowed. If this bothers you don’t go there.

 

Also there were old fat guys wearing banana hammocks (speedos) too. Now that was gross! 🤣

 

Cheers

Tom

 

Were all of these pics from Mullet Bay? I did not think you could see the cruise ships from there, and I don't remember the straw umbrellas (but I spent most of my time in the water).

 

The topless ladies are hit or miss - we've been there three times and did not see any toplessness (is that a word?) two of the three times, and only saw one person topless laying on beach chair one time. But the warning is good because it certainly can happen.

[Tommy3putts]

Were all of these pics from Mullet Bay? I did not think you could see the cruise ships from there, and I don't remember the straw umbrellas (but I spent most of my time in the water).

 

 

 

The topless ladies are hit or miss - we've been there three times and did not see any toplessness (is that a word?) two of the three times, and only saw one person topless laying on beach chair one time. But the warning is good because it certainly can happen.

 

 

 

You are correct you cannot see the cruise ships from the beach. I took that pic on the return drive to the cruise port. The first four pictures were taken at Mullet Bay.

 

I recall seeing around 4 to 6 women going without tops. No issues at all. No one, including the families there paid any attention one way or the other. I don’t mind “toplessness” at all. It’s the banana hammocks that are scary!

[RMH]

You are correct you cannot see the cruise ships from the beach. I took that pic on the return drive to the cruise port. The first four pictures were taken at Mullet Bay.

 

I recall seeing around 4 to 6 women going without tops. No issues at all. No one, including the families there paid any attention one way or the other. I don’t mind “toplessness” at all. It’s the banana hammocks that are scary!

 

100% agree about the banana hammock alert. That one should be in BOLD TEXT!

[Tommy3putts]

Correction the first photo is of our arrival to SXM. Photos 2, 3 and 4 are of Mullet Bay Beach

[tiba99]

This post (see title of thread) is about Mullet Bay Beach. My first post should provide all the details.

 

There were families there (seemed very family friendly) but there were also several ladies going topless, which is allowed. If this bothers you don’t go there.

 

Also there were old fat guys wearing banana hammocks (speedos) too. Now that was gross! 🤣

 

Cheers

Tom

 

 

 

So if I tell the driver to send me to mullet bay beach I can find beach huts no problem?! That’s all I want nice beach and some where I can sit. For the topless girls and speedos my girls are going to learn body parts very fast LOL LOL

I’m screwed regardless if I go to mullet or Orient for topless I just want to make sure there are some amenities like food, chairs and beautiful water.

 

 

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[Bosjoe]

Sound like you were there around the same time as we were. The traffic from port to MB was bad, but not nearly as bad getting back to port. The roundabouts caused most of the backups. The construction by the port during peak season is a head scratcher.

 

What were your thoughts on the French side’s hurricane recovery?

 

Thanks

Tom

 

The French side is definitely behind the Dutch side, but I did see work going on in the Marigot and Orient beach area. From Marigot area down to Mullet bay hardly saw anyone working on those resorts till you got into the Mullet Bay Area.

 

Definitely back ups on the roundabouts heading back to the port area, but I have actually seen it worst sometimes coming back in the afternoon, but we were the only ship in port that day.