Finally ... St Maarten/St Martin

[brainyguy9999]

My fiance and I have finally decided on St Maarten for our honeymoon April 18-25, 2004. I was wondering if anyone here has been there and can give us some must do/definitely avoid tips.

We are going to stay at a clothed resort (she's not a nudist, yet) on the Dutch side. However, she said that there was a possibility she would go with me to a nude beach if she could keep her bathing suit on if she wanted to. I obviously agreed.

So, anything related to what to do or see in non-nudist venues would also be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.


bg

[brainyguy9999]

My fiance and I have finally decided on St Maarten for our honeymoon April 18-25, 2004. I was wondering if anyone here has been there and can give us some must do/definitely avoid tips.

We are going to stay at a clothed resort (she's not a nudist, yet) on the Dutch side. However, she said that there was a possibility she would go with me to a nude beach if she could keep her bathing suit on if she wanted to. I obviously agreed.

So, anything related to what to do or see in non-nudist venues would also be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.


bg

[RalphVa]

There's Orient Beach, probably on the other side of the island from your hotel. Not sure what their rules are, whether CO or nude.

Take one of the trips over to St. Barts and walk straight back and over to the other side (easy walk) where there's a beach where you can be nude. The wife doesn't have to be. Did this with my wife. There was a nude gal there at first and then just me.

You'll find a lot of topless/nude on the boats in the harbor on the French side of St. Maarten.

[luvnaturism]

We were at St. Martin recently, and also stayed on the Dutch side. You can easily find lots of information about the island on the web.

The only nude beach on the Dutch side is Cupecoy Beach. We didn't try it, as all the information we found talked about it being particularly hot (due to cliffs that cut off the wind).

Orient Beach is absolutely wonderful. The Orient Beach Club is at the the south end, and that's where clothing is optional. It wasn't crowded when we were there, but even so the club had plenty of staff out keeping an eye on things (and collecting rentals for lounges and umbrellas). It felt very safe and orderly. You can park in their parking lot and walk through to the beach. They also have a small store if you forgot something, and we loved their restuarant.

There are eating places and shops all up and down the beach, so it's fun just to walk the length up and back. You'll need to wear something to do that, though topless is accepted (topless is OK at all the beaches on the French side).

We found driving around the island to be quite easy, though there are traffic jams at times. You can't go fast, but it's not many miles either. There are good eating places everywhere, but be sure to look at the prices before you go in. Food is available in every price range, including the astronomically expensive.

If you like snorkeling, consider taking one of the excursions that goes to one of the little off-shore islands. We took one from the Dutch side that went all the way across to the west and then up to the north end of the island. That's not as far, or as much time, as it might seem, but it gave us a good look at the island.