{"id":3662,"date":"2016-09-27T09:00:12","date_gmt":"2016-09-27T13:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=3662"},"modified":"2016-09-14T02:20:18","modified_gmt":"2016-09-14T06:20:18","slug":"thirty-seven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=3662","title":{"rendered":"Thirty-Seven"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2016 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n

Thirty-Seven! \u00a0Yes, there are\u00a0thirty-seven\u00a0beaches to visit on the island of St. Maarten!<\/p>\n

While we loved the beach in front of our condo, we learned that many people pack up and drive to other\u00a0beaches seeking a\u00a0different experience each day.<\/p>\n

We checked out a few others on our 8 day trip…here are our thoughts.<\/p>\n

Simpson Bay Beach<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/a>Simpson Bay Beach parallels the runway of Princess Juliana International Airport and the picturesque fishing village of Simpson Bay. \u00a0Primarily undeveloped, this beach runs to the foot of the Pointe Burgeaux rocks and was the beach in front of our rental unit. Though a little rougher on some days than the tranquil waters on other beaches, the sand was very soft, the water very close to our door and hardly a soul was ever on our beach.<\/p>\n

Although our boys snorkeled the waters many times, no reefs are present and the only things that they ever found were some starfish and a few sand dollars. \u00a0But the most exciting thing happened one day…we were extremely fortunate to witness a nest of baby turtles hatching and making their way toward the water!<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"img_4212\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Great\u00a0Bay Beach<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"img_8949\"<\/a>Located in the heart of Philipsburg, a promenade runs most of the way across its length and a great many bars and restaurants line the beach, making it a very convenient place to take in some sun. \u00a0The waters are flat, clear and warm and there are plenty of beach chairs for rent and jet skis for hire.<\/p>\n

Because\u00a0it is convenient to the cruise ship port, accessible by a convenient water taxi, on cruise ship days, expect it to be quite the hopping place! \u00a0It is a great place to get some shopping done as many vendors walk along the beach, but a block away there are lots of stores to browse when the sun’s rays get to be a bit too much!<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Grand Case<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"img_9040\"<\/a>After departing Philipsburg, we headed up the eastern side of the island. \u00a0Not quite which beach to try next, we decided to stop in the charming fishing village of Grand Case. \u00a0A little concerned when we first set eyes on the area, we found the beach to be a bit narrow and not many chairs appeared to be available. \u00a0After walking a bit, a wonderful Frenchman at Le Soleil restaurant offered us the use of his loungers.\u00a0\u00a0He was extremely attentive and brought us beers throughout the afternoon and kept an eye on our belongings (though I don’t think there was much risk in our things walking away).<\/p>\n

\"img_9041\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Grand Case Bay is a long narrow beach lined by celebrated gourmet restaurants and smaller barbeque-style eateries known as lolos. \u00a0The smell from these lolos was divine and we actually came back on another day for lunch!<\/p>\n

\"img_9026\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The water was calm, clear and flat and although not much to see in the way of snorkeling, my boy did find some pretty large starfish. \u00a0There was also a partially collapsed pier that extended into pretty deep water providing a great place for my boys and some of the local children to do some diving and back-flips. \u00a0Creole Rock is also located just off-shore and attracts many jet-ski tours, snorkelers and divers.<\/p>\n

Dawn Beach<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Located on the western side of the island, Dawn Beach was a bit difficult to find. \u00a0After pulling into the Westin Dawn Beach Resort and Spa and asking the security guard how to find the access point, we were instructed to park in the Westin’s lot and walk along the right side of the property.<\/p>\n

\"img_4108\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Though we found fine sand and beautiful palm\u00a0trees, there were also continuous\u00a0piles of seaweed\u00a0lining\u00a0the water’s edge as well as extremely rough water. \u00a0Not spotting many swimmers or sunbathers, we decided to leave the location. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"img_4105\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Orient Beach<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Often described as the “Saint Tropez of the Caribbean”, we were anxious to see what this beach entailed. \u00a0Situated on the north-eastern part of the island, it is one of the island’s largest and most popular beaches and well-known for being a clothing optional beach.<\/p>\n

\"img_9455\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Having not planned to spend much time at this beach, as we had heard that chair rental and drinks were quite expensive, we pulled up and took a peek at what there was to offer. \u00a0 There were many restaurants, hotels, shops and water-sport rentals, such as jet skis, kayaks,\u00a0sailing boats and paragliding trips. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"waikiki-beach\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The water was a beautiful shade of blue, although much rougher than what we expected. \u00a0There were many small beautiful islands dotting the\u00a0coast, such as Caye Verte, Tintamarre and Pinel Island, the latter of which\u00a0is accessible by small ferries. \u00a0Although visiting Pinel Island was tempting, we had just visited Anguilla the day before an decided to stay on the mainland.<\/p>\n

Mullet Bay<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/a>Mullet Bay was recommended by another visitor at our villa unit. \u00a0We were told to try and visit on a weekday as weekends were quite busy with locals.<\/p>\n

Finally, making our way to this fine-sanded beach, located near a golf course and Maho Bay, \u00a0we found the parking lot to be quite full…even on a weekday. \u00a0The beach was quite steep descending into the calm, clear and blue\u00a0water and extremely\u00a0packed as three catamarans, filled with cruise ship passengers,\u00a0<\/span>were docked in the bay. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There were a large number of chairs for rent and a\u00a0bar and restaurant. \u00a0The ruins of the Mullet Bay Resort were visible on the point on the left side of the beach and provided for some nice photographic opportunities.<\/p>\n

Maho Beach<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Having seen pictures of airplanes flying right over Maho Beach, I have always wanted to visit. \u00a0World-famous for its unique location right at the business end of the Princess Juliana Airport runway, crowds gather each day to watch airplanes take-off and land. \u00a0This is a must-see!<\/p>\n

\"img_9247\"<\/a><\/p>\n

More busy when cruise ships are in port, the narrow beach becomes extremely crowded and finding a place to lay a towel is difficult, although leaving anything on the beach makes it susceptible to jet blast blowing it away! \u00a0Some chairs are available to rent at the Sunset Bar and Grill.<\/p>\n

The water is calm, clear and blue and much quieter on days when cruise ships are not in port. \u00a0There are a couple of restaurants and bars\u00a0flanking each side of the bay, with the most popular being, Sunset Bar and Grill as well as a small supermarket on the northern end of the beach.<\/p>\n

Some snorkeling can be done on the southern end of the beach and you may see the occasional tourist boat docked nearby for this reason.<\/p>\n

Each of the many beaches on St. Maarten are different and offer many unique opportunities and amenities. \u00a0\u00a0Whatever it is that you are looking for…privacy, snorkeling, dining, watersports, relaxation…there’s a beach for that! \u00a0Set out in your rental car and see how many you can check out on your vacation!<\/p>\n

For more pictures, check out Facebook, Snapping the Globe and Instagram, @snappingtheglobe.<\/p>\n

\"st-_maarten_beach_map\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2016 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved. Thirty-Seven! \u00a0Yes, there are\u00a0thirty-seven\u00a0beaches to visit on the island of St. Maarten! While we loved the beach in front of our condo, we learned that many people pack up and drive to other\u00a0beaches seeking a\u00a0different experience each day. We checked out a few others on our … Continue reading Thirty-Seven<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,111],"tags":[119,113,121,61,112,62],"class_list":["post-3662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-caribbean","category-st-maarten","tag-beaches","tag-caribbean","tag-islands","tag-photography","tag-st-maarten","tag-travel"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snappingtheglobe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/IMG_9229.jpg?fit=5472%2C3648&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3662"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4168,"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3662\/revisions\/4168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}