Orient Bay, St. Martin: The Island's Best-Known Beach
Two kilometres of Atlantic sand, a row of beach clubs, and wind most afternoons.
Why Go
Orient Bay is the beach that most people picture when they picture St. Martin — a long arc of pale sand on the Atlantic side of the French half, backed by a row of beach clubs with loungers running down to the water. It is the busiest beach on the island and the most organised: you pay for a lounger, someone brings you lunch, and the day arranges itself. It is also breezy and open to the ocean, which makes it lively rather than glassy, and which is why the surf and windsurf schools are here rather than on the Dutch side.
The Experience
The bay runs for about two kilometres with the beach clubs concentrated at the southern end and the sand emptying out as you walk north. The water is shallow a long way out but the Atlantic swell reaches in, so there is usually chop and often real waves — good for a boisterous swim, less good for a toddler. Behind the beach, Orient Bay village is a small grid of restaurants, boutiques and holiday apartments, quiet compared with the sand. Hurricane Irma hit this bay hard in 2017 and rebuilt it unevenly: several of the old names are gone, the naturist tradition at the northern end is much diminished from what older guidebooks describe, and some lots are still empty. Cruise excursions arrive around eleven and leave by three, which is the busiest window and the easiest one to plan around. Outside it the bay is a very different place, and the walk north is how you find that out.
What to Try
Pick a beach club and settle in: Kkô Beach Bar & Restaurant, La Playa Beach Bar & Restaurant, Coco Beach and Le Sud all put a lounger, an umbrella and a kitchen in the same place, and the difference between them is volume and crowd rather than quality. L'Astrolabe Restaurant and Café Plantation are the sit-down meals back from the sand, and Coda Bar is the drink. Sxm Surf School by SXM Surf Explorer teaches in the break here, which is the most reliable on the island. Walk north away from the clubs if you want the beach without the sound system — the far end is usually near-empty. Pinel Island is a short shuttle from Cul de Sac just up the coast and is the obvious half-day out. Food Market Mont Vernon is the practical shop if you are self-catering nearby.
Insider Tip
Come early or come late. The beach clubs fill from mid-morning and the cruise excursions land around eleven; before nine and after three you get the same beach at a fraction of the density, and the light is better at both ends. If the wind is up — and it often is here in the winter months — walk to the southern corner, which is the most sheltered part of the bay, or accept that this is a beach with weather rather than a swimming pool.
The Practical Stuff
Orient Bay is about thirty minutes from Princess Juliana airport on the Dutch side, crossing the open border with no formalities, and fifteen to twenty from Marigot or Grand Case. Parking is in lots behind the beach clubs and along the road, generally paid at the clubs and free further out; it fills on cruise days. This is the French side: the euro is official although US dollars are widely accepted, French is the everyday language with English common on the beach, and shops keep French hours. Loungers and umbrellas are paid for, and access to the sand itself is free — French beaches are public. Hurricane season runs roughly June to November, and this bay faces the Atlantic, which is why 2017 did so much damage here.
Common Questions
Is Orient Bay the best beach in St. Martin?
It is the best known and the most organised, with beach clubs the length of it. Mullet Bay on the Dutch side is calmer and less commercial, and Happy Bay and Friar's Bay are quieter still — the right answer depends on whether you want service or solitude.
Is Orient Bay still a nudist beach?
Far less than older guidebooks suggest. The clothing-optional tradition at the northern end was centred on a resort destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017, and what remains is much diminished. The main stretch is an ordinary beach-club beach.
Do you have to pay for Orient Bay?
Not for the beach — French beaches are public and the sand is free. Loungers, umbrellas and service from the beach clubs are paid for, and parking at the clubs usually is too.
How far is Orient Bay from the airport?
About thirty minutes from Princess Juliana on the Dutch side. The border is open with no passport check, and Marigot and Grand Case are fifteen to twenty minutes away.
Is Orient Bay good for swimming?
It is shallow but exposed to the Atlantic, so expect chop and often real waves. Strong swimmers enjoy it; families with small children usually prefer the calmer Dutch-side beaches like Mullet Bay or the sheltered southern corner here.
When is Orient Bay busiest?
Between about eleven and three, when cruise excursions arrive. Before nine and after three the same beach is far emptier, and the light is better at both ends of the day.
Pair It With
- Kkô Beach Bar & Restaurant Guide — A lounger and lunch without leaving the sand.
- Pinel Island Beach Cove — The half-day across the water, just up the coast.
- Sxm Surf School By Sxmsurfexplorer — The island's most dependable surf, with instruction.
