St Maarten Best Beaches or St Martin Best Beaches – Is There a Difference?
Every visitor will see one of two amazing St Maarten beaches on arrival… If you arrive by plane, you will fly just 30 feet directly over Maho beach, site of the world famous Sunset Beach Bar voted #3 best beach bar in the world – for evident reasons when you have a ringside seat to 747 jets landing just feet away in dramatic fashion.
If you dock by cruise ship in St Maarten you will see the luminescent aquamarine colors of Great Bay and wtness the golden sands of the 2 mile arc which is Great Bay Beach. This is the gateway to Philipsburg, the capital of the Dutch side of St Maarten and sister capital to Marigot, of the French side, also known as ‘St Martin’.
With 37 beaches in 37 sq miles, St Maarten has all you could need from dusk to dawn, from extravagant to quaint or exciting to romantic.
Starting at sunrise, on the eastern side of the island (the French side ‘St Martin’) a hearty stroll the length of Orient beach will get you started for the day and should take around 1 hour end to end and back.Famous for it’s nudity at one end of the beach, it is quiet and breezy at dawn and full of activity and watersports during in the day.
During the day, your choices are unlimited – Le Galion on French St Martin, not far from Orient Bay, ,with no waves and shallow waters is perfect for small children and babies whilst Guana Bay beach on Dutch St Maarten is great for the adventurous wave catchers or wet n’ wild seekers. Mullet Bay beach is a favorite to locals and tourists alike and has a mixture of shallow or wavy for those wanting variety.
There are some ‘secret’ beaches known only to the most regular visitor or resident – these are very sparsely populated and perfect for a private and secluded family outing for the day. One of them is Happy Bay at the western end of Grand Case on French St Martin and is off-road and not sign-posted so study a map, ask a local to find it or find a rich friend to take you there by boat and anchor in the bay and swim ashore with your belongings over your head!
These are just a sample of some of the 37 spectacular beaches that you can find in this Caribbean Island Paradise – no wonder St Maarten – St Martin continues to gain in popularity and is rapidly being dubbed the ‘St Tropez’ of the Caribbean.
Only long-term islanders can supply you with the best tips on st maarten best beaches