Pinel Island vs Orient Bay Beach

[Hedgeclipperz]

Good morning, cruise community! 

 

I am looking into either checking out Pinel Island or Orient Bay Beach

 

To get to Pinel Island I will either need to take the ferry or do the kayak "excursion" thing with Caribbean Paddling, vs Orient Bay we could take a cab. 

 

I've never been to St Martin before, and I'd love to hear y'alls thoughts- which is the better experience? Quieter beach/fewer crowds, better water, etc?

 

Thanks! 

 

(PS if it makes a difference, it would just be my husband and myself; no kiddos, so not worried about the physical exertion of kayaking.)

[mountainsandbeaches]

I was in st martin for the first time a couple weeks go. My wife and I went to orient beach, we had hoped to go paddleboarding but almost none of the vendors were open. We ended up grabbing a couple chairs and an umbrella from one of the many little clubs for 5 or 6 hours. Most of the places were pretty empty, maybe 20% of the loungers taken, throughout the day but picked up a bit at lunch especially at the restaurant portion. Rain moved in that afternoon and chased most people away. Water was also a little cool (due to the storms?) which kept a lot of people out of the water.

 

I have no idea if this was typical or not for a monday in january.

[ymncruise]

I’ve been to Pinel Island a few times when staying in St Martin. We took a boat to the island. It is wonderful, but I don’t think I’d go there unless you have a lot of hours in port. I’d be afraid of missing the ship if the traffic is bad in the afternoon. We usually go to orient bay, but on our last trip, our taxi driver recommended mullet bay, so we went there. We liked mullet bay  a lot and plan to go there again. 

[peanutzmom]

We’ve vacationed a lot in St. Martin, and Orient Beach is our favorite hang-out. Pine Island is nice, but it’s a bit of a trip out there, and it’s remote - not as many amenities as Orient Beach.

[dohertm1]

If you've never been to the French side, Saint Martin, I highly recommend Orient Bay, which is a long, beautiful beach with crystal clear water. So relaxing. If you're adventurous, rent a car and also visit Marigot (history and local shops) and Grand Case, known as the Culinary Capitol of the Caribbean. 

[SnorkelAway]

I agree with above comments - that if you have never been to Pinel or Orient, go to Orient this first time.

[fatcat04]

Pinel is a bit of a hike but the waters will probably be calmer. Orient is gorgeous on its own but the water can be a bit rough sometimes (it was for us this last trip). Both have beach clubs with chairs and umbrellas for rent and restaurants for lunch. Lovely corner of the world to visit. Can't go wrong with either one. 

[SpaceCowboy9]

I'm a fan of Pinel, but can't go wrong with either.  Pinel is a little more chill and as someone said above, Orient's water can be a little rougher.  It was also rather windy at Orient, but I've heard it is a February/March thing.

 

If you are on a cruise, we used Bernard Tours to get us over to Pinel & back

https://bernardstours.com/

 

Go to Yellow Beach on Pinel & order the fruit plate -- Awesome!

https://www.yellowbeach.restaurant/

you can reserve a spot on the beach

[mitsugirly]

We did the kayak to Pinel and I thought it was a fun day (my older daughter...not so much because it was too strenuous for her so she complained lol). You can find my review and plenty of pictures HERE

[ValerieJo]

On 3/19/2022 at 10:11 AM, mitsugirly said:

We did the kayak to Pinel and I thought it was a fun day (my older daughter...not so much because it was too strenuous for her so she complained lol). You can find my review and plenty of pictures HERE

 

I've wanted to do this trip the last couple of cruises.  Since they were cancelled, our next one that stops in St. Martin/Maartin is in January 2023.   Of course, I'm a few years older now but do kayak on occasion.  Can you give me a rough idea of about how long you had to spend kayaking to get to Pinel Island and about how long it took to get back?

 

Thanks for the great review.  

[mitsugirly]

4 hours ago, ValerieJo said:

 

I've wanted to do this trip the last couple of cruises.  Since they were cancelled, our next one that stops in St. Martin/Maartin is in January 2023.   Of course, I'm a few years older now but do kayak on occasion.  Can you give me a rough idea of about how long you had to spend kayaking to get to Pinel Island and about how long it took to get back?

 

Thanks for the great review.  

Looking at the time stamp from my pictures, it was around 1/2 hour to get there or less. Coming back, we did not come straight back but stopped at the little island beside it so I can't comment on the coming back time. 

[jean87510]

In December we used Caribbean Paddling for a day excursion to Pinel Island.  We experienced great snorkeling on the little island right before Pinel.  Probably the best we've seen in SXM.  I highly recommend this excursion.  We are going to do it again this December.  We did go to Pinel and hiked around then just got a couple of drinks as we were more interested in kayaking, snorkeling and exploring.  Best day of our port intensive cruise.

Edited April 5, 2022 by jean87510

[renroc13]

On 3/2/2022 at 11:09 AM, SnorkelAway said:

I agree with above comments - that if you have never been to Pinel or Orient, go to Orient this first time.

I would suggest a tour there. They just drop off and pick up. We spent a great deal of time on the French side for years. Driving back to the ship could be a nightmare traffic is so bad and slow on cruise days. I am not certain what on OB is up and running. We loved the French Restaurant on the beach for lunch and Celebrity used them for years chairs and umbrellas but I am not certain who has recovered since the hurricane.

[SnorkelAway]

Things are up and running on Orient Beach - lots of choices.  The only really big difference is that Club O remains in ruins - but the beach bar/restaurant (Perch) is operating and there are chairs and umbrellas available on the beach.

 

I do not think it necessary to do a ship excursion to be sure of getting back to ship on time - just allow reasonable time for a taxi back.