Best beach to spend the day at?

[shellster1]

I was lucky enough to spend a summer in St. Martin. Because of a couple of cruises I took prior, I just had to see the whole island. There are so many amazing beaches. Although the restaurants and services are nice at Orient, it is actually one of my least favorites because of the sargassum. Same goes for Dawn. My faves, (in no particular order) are Mullet: a bit crowded, but the beach is great, Friar's: similar to Mullet but the food is better and you can snorkel over to a secret beach plus it's usually not as crowded as Mullet, The Rainbow at Grand Case: Staff is amazing, lots of fun and the beach is gorgeous, Anse Marcel: because of the beauty and it's always pretty quiet. There's also a wonderful upscale restaurant with has nice chairs and excellent food. I'm actually surprised no one has mentioned Anse Marcel. It might be my top choice. And lastly, of course, Pinel Island. It might be my favorite...hard to choose. I've been back a couple times since, on a cruise. One day I picked Mullet because it's not too far from the ship. The other time I picked Anse Marcel. It's a hike from the cruise terminal, but totally worth it.  St. Martin is by far my favorite island that I've ever been lucky enough to visit!! 

[tunisbridal]

Anyone know how friars beach is now?

[Candleonwater]

On 11/3/2019 at 6:45 PM, tunisbridal said:

Anyone know how friars beach is now?

 

We just stopped there the other day (during our ATV excursion).  It looks pretty good.  I was surprised at the drop off into the water though.

 

[NBliving]

On 5/3/2019 at 10:56 PM, shellster1 said:

I was lucky enough to spend a summer in St. Martin. Because of a couple of cruises I took prior, I just had to see the whole island. There are so many amazing beaches. Although the restaurants and services are nice at Orient, it is actually one of my least favorites because of the sargassum. Same goes for Dawn. My faves, (in no particular order) are Mullet: a bit crowded, but the beach is great, Friar's: similar to Mullet but the food is better and you can snorkel over to a secret beach plus it's usually not as crowded as Mullet, The Rainbow at Grand Case: Staff is amazing, lots of fun and the beach is gorgeous, Anse Marcel: because of the beauty and it's always pretty quiet. There's also a wonderful upscale restaurant with has nice chairs and excellent food. I'm actually surprised no one has mentioned Anse Marcel. It might be my top choice. And lastly, of course, Pinel Island. It might be my favorite...hard to choose. I've been back a couple times since, on a cruise. One day I picked Mullet because it's not too far from the ship. The other time I picked Anse Marcel. It's a hike from the cruise terminal, but totally worth it.  St. Martin is by far my favorite island that I've ever been lucky enough to visit!! 

 

I know it's been a while since you posted this @shellstar but hopefully you'll see it and be able to answer 🙂  We've been to St. Martin twice on cruise ships.  First time, before Irma, we rented a car and drove to Mullet beach (loved!) and then Marigot to have some pastries and shop.  Second time, post Irma, we took a cab to Orient Bay.  We had a great day there.  Not too windy and beautiful beach and water.  We are going again next month and want to try a new beach.  From my notes for our first cruise, I had Grand Case written down.  Do you think it's doable to rent a car and drive there ourselves? Or is it better to take a cab?  We are there from 7 am - 5 pm. I've read about Rainbow Cafe and that looks like it would work for us as we like to get food, umbrellas and chairs.  Any other suggestions if we go there?  I'm interested in Anse Marcel too.  I haven't heard of it so if you can give me any tips for that as well I'd appreciate it.