St Martin Beaches: Choosing Your Beach Day

St Martin beaches split along two lines: the border and the coast. The French side (Saint-Martin) has the long Atlantic strand at Orient Bay, the calm village bay at Grand Case and the quiet Terres Basses coves; the Dutch side (Sint Maarten) has the plane-watching beach at Maho, the lagoon-side calm of Simpson Bay, the cliffs of Cupecoy and the reef beach at Dawn Beach. Caribbean-facing west and south coasts are generally calmer; Atlantic-facing east coasts are windier with more swell. Conditions change daily, there are few lifeguards, and every beach on the island is public. Here is how to choose your beach day, with the side named each time.

St Martin beaches at a glance

• Calm water, facilities: Grand Case (FR), Simpson Bay (NL), Great Bay in Philipsburg (NL), Anse Marcel (FR).
• Long beach, clubs and water sports: Orient Bay (FR).
• Quiet, few or no facilities: Baie Longue, Baie aux Prunes, Baie Rouge (FR, Terres Basses), Happy Bay (FR), Friar’s Bay (FR, two bars).
• Spectacle: Maho (NL) for aircraft; Cupecoy (NL) for cliffs and sunsets.
• Surf and swell: Guana Bay (NL), Dawn Beach (NL) and Baie aux Prunes (FR) on the right day.
• Island day: Pinel (FR) by boat from Cul-de-Sac; see our Pinel Island day trip guide.

French side: Saint-Martin

Orient Bay

About a mile of white sand on the northeast Atlantic coast, with beach clubs renting loungers and umbrellas for a daily charge, restaurants on the sand and operators for kitesurfing, jet skis and parasailing. The tourist office notes stronger trade winds here than elsewhere, so expect chop and occasional seaweed. The southern end, near the former Club Orient, is clothing-optional. It suits people who want a full-service beach day; it is not the quietest or the calmest.

Grand Case

A narrow strip of sand along the restaurant village on the northwest coast, with very calm water and, according to Frommer’s, a roped swimming area for children. Lunch and dinner are steps away. The beach is small and busiest in the late afternoon; parking is scarce.

Friar’s Bay and Happy Bay

Friar’s Bay (Anse des Peres) is a small cove between Marigot and Grand Case reached by a bumpy side road, with two beach bars and good sunset views. Happy Bay is a ten-minute walk north through scrub from Friar’s Bay, with no facilities at all and clear water for snorkelling. Carry water and leave nothing in the car.

Anse Marcel

A sheltered cove in the far north, reached by a steep road, with shallow protected water and a marina. It suits families and swimmers who want calm conditions; there is little to do beyond the bay.

Terres Basses: Baie Longue, Baie aux Prunes and Baie Rouge

Three beaches on the French Lowlands peninsula, west of Marigot, all public by law despite the private villas behind them. Baie Longue is a long, wide, often near-empty sweep with a steep drop-off and undertow reported; Baie aux Prunes (Plum Bay) is secluded with public parking, no services, and surf near the rocks; Baie Rouge has reddish sand, cliffs, a rock arch at the western end, strong undertow at times and increasingly optional beachwear as you walk west. None has public facilities, so bring everything. See our Terres Basses area guide for access notes.

Le Galion

Inside the nature reserve south of Orient Bay, Le Galion is reef-protected, shallow and calm, and one of the better beaches on the island for small children. Kitesurfing is prohibited in Galion Bay by prefectural order.

Dutch side: Sint Maarten

Maho

A short crescent at the end of the Princess Juliana runway, with aircraft passing less than 100 feet overhead on final approach according to the airport itself. Bars line the beach for the show. The sea can be rough, and jet blast at the fence during departures is a genuine hazard; this is a spectacle beach, not a swimming beach for children.

Mullet Bay

Just west of Maho, a palm-backed white-sand beach that the Tourism Bureau describes as calm most of the time with a few waves. Frommer’s notes it is rarely crowded and has snorkelling along the rocks. Facilities are basic.

Cupecoy

A string of small sand pockets beneath limestone cliffs on the western tip, near the French border. The sand width changes with the weather, there is a steep drop-off and swells, and clothing is optional toward the northwest end. Good for sunsets and photographs; poor for small children.

Simpson Bay

A long crescent facing the Caribbean beside the lagoon, with calm water, boats offshore and the Simpson Bay restaurant strip behind. Frommer’s notes a steep drop-off close to shore. It is the most convenient beach for anyone staying near the airport.

Great Bay, Philipsburg

The capital’s town beach, backed by the boardwalk and its bars. Water is calm and the sand is cleaner than a port beach might suggest; on cruise days it is crowded, on other days it is quiet. Best combined with shopping or a ferry departure.

Dawn Beach and Guana Bay

Both on the east coast. Dawn Beach has reefs immediately offshore, views to St Barts and regular wave action, with resort and condominium properties behind it. Guana Bay, north of it, is more exposed still and suits surfers and walkers rather than swimmers; there are no facilities.

Practical notes for every beach

• Conditions vary: Atlantic swells in winter and sargassum in summer can change a beach from week to week; ask locally the day before.
• Lifeguards: assume none. Watch children on drop-off beaches (Cupecoy, Simpson Bay, Baie Longue).
• Manchineel trees: the Saint-Martin tourist office warns their sap and fruit are toxic; do not shelter under them in rain.
• Cars: break-ins at quiet beach car parks are reported; leave nothing visible.
• Reserve rules (French side): inside the Reserve Naturelle, which covers Orient Bay’s islets, Le Galion, Pinel and Tintamarre, fishing, drones and collecting are prohibited.
• Naturism: practised at Orient Bay’s southern end, parts of Cupecoy and western Baie Rouge.

For families weighing calm water against convenience, our guide to St Martin with kids ranks the same beaches by age. The short version of St Martin beaches: go to the Caribbean-facing coast for swimming, the Atlantic coast for wind and spectacle, and pack for no facilities anywhere outside Orient Bay, Grand Case, Simpson Bay and Philipsburg.