St. Maarten/St. Martin has as many beaches as it has square miles, 37 to be exact. Both the French and the Dutch side of the island have been blessed with stunning, sandy beaches that will make some of our fellow Caribbean islands weep with envy.
Taste is based on personal preference, they say, but here are the 5 best beaches according to us here at Brightpath.
- Mullet Bay
Long deemed the beach of choice of the locals, Mullet Bay is any beach goer’s dream. It’s a beautiful stretch of white sands along the golf course. The water here is crystal clear and it’s great for plane spotting away from the crowds on Maho beach. This beach features a few charming little huts selling food and drinks, while umbrellas and lounge chairs are available for a small rental fee. Mullet Bay remains popular with families and Sunday is the big beach day. If you are not big on crowds, go during the week instead.
- Grand Case
One of our favorite beaches on the island has got to be Grand Case beach and the reason for this is simple. It’s located in the delightful fishing village of Grand Case, popular for it’s restaurant row, a street filled with many gourmet restaurants. There are more gastronomically amazing places to eat at here, than there are days in a week.
Bring your own chair and umbrella or rent some at Captain Frenchie’s, Rainbow Beach Club or at Le Temps de Cerise. Take a stroll on this beach, feel the sand between your toes and take in the beauty of the setting sun over Anguilla on the horizon. When the sun sets, walk over to restaurant row for a delectable meal.
From February to April each year on Tuesdays, the Grand Case boulevard is the place to be for the famous Les Mardis de Grand Case or Harmony Nights, a street fair with arts, crafts and food by local vendors and carnival music to swing your hips to.
- Baie Longue
Talk about the perfect beach. Baie Longue means Long bay and this beach is exactly that: the longest stretch of pure white sand on the island. While just a beautiful backdrop for the many mega villas in Terres Basse or Low Lands, the island’s luxury resdent area, Long Bay is a quiet haven for beach goers.
From “Point du Canonnier” the most western point, all the way to La Samanna Hotel, the island’s most exclusive five star resort, Long Bay is two miles of gentle waves crashing on the shores.
There is no shade on this beach, neither are there any beach bars, so bring your own umbrella, beach chairs and a cooler with cold drinks. But this is also the reason why this beach is one of the least frequented beaches on the island and that means that you can often have Long Bay all to yourself. What it lacks in beach bars and watersports, it makes up for in stunning blue and white beauty. Sit on this beach till the sun goes down. Guaranteed you will have the best seat in the house for the most stunning of island sunsets. You may even get to see the mythical green flash.
- Happy Bay
We are absolutely sure that if you look up secluded beach, a picture of Happy Bay shows up. Accessible only by boat or two short hiking trails, one of which is over private property, Happy Bay is one of the more quiet and hidden beaches on our list. Recently it has gained in popularity as the location for the famous SXM Music Festival, but that is just 4 days in March. The rest of the year this beach is quiet bliss. Because of this it has become popular with the nudists amongst us but if this does not faze you, Happy Bay is an absolute gem.
- Orient Bay
Speaking of nudists, Orient Bay is the beach where clothing-optional became a thing. It is where the nudist resort was until very recently. These days Orient Bay has much more clothed people than naked tanning on its shoreline.
It has always been the place for watersports from jet skis to parasailing.
Colorful umbrellas line up this beach and soft house music makes one think of Ibiza in the summer. It is a beach enjoyed by young and old and is definitely the beach to see and be seen. If the saying Rosé All Day had a face it would be Orient beach. Sip on champagne (or rosé) while people watching or just take in the sun. Whatever your favorite beach pastime is, a day spent on Orient Bay is a day well spent.
As you can see, French St. Martin is obviously the winner here, with 4 out of 5 beaches in this list but in all honestly it is not a fair comparison since the French side is larger than the Dutch side and counts at least 21 out of the 37 beaches as their own. Regardless of where the best beaches are located, there are 37 to choose from island-wide and an open border between the French and Dutch sides.
We are sure you will have fun discovering them all, one beach at the time.
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