Friar's Bay, St. Martin: The Beach Bar and the Walk to Happy Bay
A small local beach on the French side, with a better one twenty minutes over the headland.
Why Go
Friar's Bay is a short, sheltered cove north of Marigot with a beach bar on the sand, a car park at the end of a dirt road, and no development at all. It is where French-side residents go on a Sunday. The real reason to know about it is the path at the northern end: twenty minutes over the headland brings you to Happy Bay, which has no road, no facilities, no buildings and, most days, almost nobody on it — the best walk-in beach on the island.
The Experience
The bay is small and calm, backed by trees and reached down a rough track off the Marigot–Grand Case road. There is sand, shade, a bar and very little else, which is the appeal — this is the antithesis of Orient Bay. The crowd is local and relaxed, busiest at weekends and quiet on a weekday morning. Over the headland to the north, Happy Bay is longer, wilder and completely undeveloped, with a clothing-optional tradition and no facilities of any kind. The path is not signposted and not paved but it is obvious once you find it, starting at the far end of Friar's Bay beach and climbing over the rocks and scrub. Both bays face west, so the light in the late afternoon is the best of the day. The pairing is what makes this stretch worth a whole afternoon rather than an hour: a shaded, sociable beach with a bar and a cold drink, and twenty minutes away over the rocks a beach with nothing on it at all. Very few places let you choose between those two things without getting back in a car.
What to Try
Spend a morning at Friar's Bay and walk to Happy Bay in the afternoon, taking water — there is nothing at all on the second beach. Kali's Bar is the fixture on Friar's Bay sand and has been for years. Fée des Caraïbes and Sushi One SXM cover eating nearby, and Golden Grove Farm & Garden inland is the agricultural stop. The Silk Cotton Grove Art Gallery is the small local gallery. If you want the walk without the beach at the end, La Piste Anse Guichard is the other trail in this area. Otherwise this is a place to sit under a tree, swim in flat water and do nothing, and the Tennis Club de l'Île de Saint Martin is about the only structured activity within reach. Combine it with Grand Case, ten minutes north, and you have the best version of a French-side day: an empty beach in the afternoon, a shower, and dinner on the boulevard afterwards without ever driving more than fifteen minutes in any direction.
Insider Tip
Do the Happy Bay walk, and take everything with you. It is twenty minutes over the headland from the north end of Friar's Bay, there is no road, no bar, no shade to speak of and no lifeguard, and that is exactly why the beach is empty. Go in the afternoon so you finish with the sunset, wear something better than flip-flops for the rocky stretch, and carry more water than you think you need.
The Practical Stuff
Friar's Bay is about twenty-five minutes from Princess Juliana airport across the open border, ten from Marigot and ten from Grand Case. You need a car; the access road is a rough unsurfaced track off the main road and there is no public transport. Parking at the end of it is free and informal and fills at weekends. The beach is public, as all French-side beaches are, and the only facilities are the beach bar. Happy Bay over the headland has none at all. This is the French side: the euro is official with dollars accepted, and French is the everyday language. Hurricane season runs roughly June to November.
Common Questions
How do you get to Happy Bay?
On foot from the northern end of Friar's Bay beach, about twenty minutes over the headland on an unmarked rocky path. There is no road, and no facilities when you arrive.
Is Friar's Bay worth visiting?
For a quiet local beach with a bar and shade, yes — and as the starting point for the walk to Happy Bay, which is the best undeveloped beach on the island.
Is Happy Bay a nudist beach?
It has a long-standing clothing-optional tradition, informal rather than designated, helped by the fact that it has no road access and very few visitors.
Where do you park for Friar's Bay?
At the end of a rough unsurfaced track off the Marigot–Grand Case road. Parking is free and informal and fills at weekends, when the bay is busiest with local families.
How far is Friar's Bay from Grand Case?
About ten minutes, and the same from Marigot. Princess Juliana airport is roughly twenty-five minutes away across the open border.
Are there facilities at Friar's Bay?
A beach bar and some natural shade, and that is all. Happy Bay over the headland has nothing whatsoever, so carry water, sun protection and anything else you will need.
Pair It With
- Happy Bay Guide — The empty beach twenty minutes over the rocks.
- Kali's Bar Guide — The bar on the sand that anchors the bay.
- Friar's Bay Beach — Calm shallow water and trees to sit under.
