Beaches

The island has 39 beautiful white-sand beaches, so it's fairly easy to find a place to park your towel. Warning: If it's too secluded, be careful. It's unwise to carry valuables to the beach; there have been robberies on some remote strips.

Regardless of where you stay, you're never far from the water. If you're a beach sampler, you can often use the changing facilities at some of the bigger resorts for a small fee. Nudists should head for the French side of the island, although the Dutch side is getting more liberal about such things. Here's a rundown of the best, starting on the Dutch side of the island.

Popular Cupecoy Bay Beach is very close to the Dutch-French border, on the western side of the island. It's a string of three white-sand beaches set against a backdrop of caves, beautiful rock formations, and cliffs that provide morning shade. There are no restaurants, bars, or other facilities, but locals come around with coolers of cold beer and soda for sale. The beach has two parking lots, one near Cupecoy and Sapphire beach clubs, the other a short distance to the west. Parking costs US$2. You must descend stone-carved steps to reach the sands. Cupecoy is also the island's major gay beach. Clothing is optional toward the northwest side of the beach.

Also on the west side of the island, west of the airport, white-sand Mullet Bay Beach is shaded by palm trees. Once it was the most crowded beach on the island, but St. Maarten's largest resort, Mullet Bay, remained closed at press time, so the crowds aren't so bad anymore. Weekdays are best, as many locals flock here on weekends. Watersports equipment can be rented at a local kiosk.

Another lovely spot near the airport, Maho Bay Beach, at the Maho Beach Hotel and Casino, is shaded by palms and is ideal in many ways, if you don't mind the planes taking off and landing nearby. This is one of the island's busiest beaches, buzzing with windsurfers. Food and drink can be purchased at the hotel.

Stretching the length of Simpson Bay Village are the 2km-long (1 1/4-mile) white sands of crescent-shaped Simpson Bay Beach, west of Philipsburg before you reach the airport. This beach is an ideal place for a stroll or a swim. Watersports equipment rentals are available, but there are no changing rooms or other facilities.

Great Bay Beach is best if you're staying along Front Street in Philipsburg. This 2km-long (1 1/4-mile) beach is sandy, but since it borders the busy capital, it may not be as clean as some of the more remote choices. On a clear day, you'll have a view of Saba. Immediately to the west, at the foot of Fort Amsterdam, is picturesque Little Bay Beach, but it, too, can be overrun with tourists. When you tire of the sands here, you can climb up to the site of Fort Amsterdam itself. Built in 1631, it was the first Dutch military outpost in the Caribbean. The Spanish captured it 2 years later, making it their most important bastion east of Puerto Rico. Only a few of the fort's walls remain, but the view is panoramic.

On the east side of the island, Dawn Beach is noted for its underwater life, with some of the island's most beautiful reefs immediately offshore. Visitors talk ecstatically of its incredible sunrises. Dawn is suitable for swimming and offers year-round activities such as sand-castle-building contests and crab races. There's plenty of wave action for both surfers and windsurfers. The road to this beach is bumpy, but worth the effort. Nearby are the pearly white sands of Oyster Pond Beach, near the Oyster Bay Beach Resort. Bodysurfers like the rolling waves here.

Top rating on French St. Martin goes to Baie Longue on the west side of the island, a beautiful beach that's rarely overcrowded. Chic, expensive La Samanna opens onto this beachfront. Its reef-protected waters are ideal for snorkeling, but there is a strong undertow. Baie Longue is to the north of Cupecoy Bay Beach, reached via the Lowlands Road. Don't leave any valuables in your car, as many break-ins have been reported along this occasionally dangerous stretch of highway.

Isolated Friar's Bay Beach lies at the end of a winding country road; its clearly signposted entrance intersects with the main highway between Grand-Case and Marigot. Although you certainly won't be alone here, this is a less-visited beach with ample parking. There's some topless sunbathing, depending on who happens to show up. Friar's Bay is known for its "dueling" drink shacks including an outpost called Friar's Bay Beach Café (no phone) where you can purchase a painting on display or order one of Laurent's platter of stuffed mussels. The competitor is Kali's Beach Bar (tel. 590/49-06-81), where Kali himself serves some of the island's best burgers and barbecue. Ask Kali about one of his "full moon parties," featuring reggae bands on the beach along with a bonfire and plenty of drink. Tip: Have one of the staff here point you in the direction of Happy Bay, where you avoid the crowds and discover a beach of natural, sandy beauty set against a backdrop of palms. You can snorkel around the rocks, or order the makings of a picnic at one of the bars.

White-sand Grand-Case Beach is right in the middle of Grand-Case and is likely to be crowded, especially on weekends. The waters are very calm, so swimming is excellent and it's a good choice for kids. A small but select beach, it has its own charm, with none of the carnival-like atmosphere found elsewhere.

To the east of Grand-Case, follow the winding road up and over Pigeon Pea Hill. The spectacular setting of Anse Marcel comes into view. If you'd like to anchor here, check out Caraibes Watersports (tel. 590/29-57-64), offering snorkel gear, bike rentals, parasailing, or kayaks. You can swim here or else take a hike for 1 1/2 hours north over a hill and down to our favorite and most pristine beach on island, Baie de Petites Cayes. This is also the most idyllic spot on St. Martin for a picnic. A ribbon of brilliant white sand beckons, and the waters always seem to be a shade of turquoise. Part of the fun of coming here is the hike itself, with panoramic views stretching all the way to Anguilla.

On the eastern side of the island, Orient Beach is the island's only official nudist beach. There's steady action here: bouncy Caribbean bands, refreshments of all kinds (Dom Perignon to Beluga caviar), watersports, and clothing, crafts, and jewelry vendors. Everyone comes to enjoy this stretch of velvety white sands. The coral reef off the beach teems with marine life, making for great snorkeling. Club Orient, the nude resort, is at the end of the beach; voyeurs from cruise ships can always be spotted here. This is also a haven for windsurfers. When you tear your eyes away from the topless French beauties showing their wares, or the sunscreen-slathered Lotharios parading their endowments, you can turn to food. Kon Tiki (tel. 590/87-43-27) is your best bet, serving everything from jerk chicken to sushi. Bikini Beach (tel. 590/87-43-25), which also stays open for dinner, serves every food item from American styled hamburgers to Spanish-influenced platters of paella studded with lobster.

Finally, for the most isolated and secluded beach of all, you have to leave St. Martin. Ilet Pinel, off the coast at Cul-de-Sac, is reached by a ferry ride off the northeast coast. Ferries, costing US$6 per passenger, run from Cul de Sac to Pinel daily on the hour from 10am to 4pm. Watch for the last return trip at 4:30pm. You can hop aboard a CNS Watersports catamaran from Orient Beach for US$45 per person. The island has no residents (except wild goats), phones, or electricity. You will find fine white-sand beaches, idyllic reefs with great snorkeling, and waters ideal for bodysurfing. Once on Pinel, head for Karibuni (tel. 590/-39-67-00), the longest running beach bar in this country. This waterside restaurant and bar is famous for its fresh lobster lunches. At Pinel Watersports, a hut on the beach, you can rent pedal boats, water bikes, kayaks, and snorkeling gear.