St Martin beach with 15 year old boy

Charles wrote:
I don't know what shuttle you are talking about. I always take a taxi
for $6 and get dropped of at Kakao or Bikini Beach which are at the
opposite end of the beach from the nudist clubs. The vast majority are
not going topless or nude there or even on most of Orient Beach since
as you say there are many cruiser passengers but every time I have been
there I have always seen some topless and total nudity even far away
from the nudist hub.


When you leave the ship and reach the pier, turn right and walk towards
the tour buses. Follow the signs that say "shuttles and car rentals" you
will eventually see the shuttles. They take you to several different
areas on St. Maarten. We wanted to go to the beach at Maho Bay to watch
the airplanes land, but the driver told us that the large planes do not
land until after 3:00 in the afternoon, and this was early in the
morning. We chose to visit Orient Beach. Before that I used a taxi or I
rented a car. I never realized the shuttles were there, until I walked
over to a check on a car rental (this was after the port remodeled).
That is when I saw the shuttles the first time. The shuttles are parked
side by side, with signs telling you where each shuttle is going and
people line up in front of the signs. When the shuttle is full, they
talk off then they get another shuttle. It is convenient and the price
is not bad. I have pictures, if I can find them.


Becca

Becca wrote:
When you leave the ship and reach the pier, turn right and walk
towards the tour buses. Follow the signs that say "shuttles and car
rentals" you will eventually see the shuttles. They take you to
several different areas on St. Maarten. We wanted to go to the beach
at Maho Bay to watch the airplanes land, but the driver told us that
the large planes do not land until after 3:00 in the afternoon, and
this was early in the morning. We chose to visit Orient Beach. Before
that I used a taxi or I rented a car. I never realized the shuttles
were there, until I walked over to a check on a car rental (this was
after the port remodeled). That is when I saw the shuttles the first
time. The shuttles are parked side by side, with signs telling you
where each shuttle is going and people line up in front of the signs.
When the shuttle is full, they talk off then they get another
shuttle. It is convenient and the price is not bad. I have pictures,
if I can find them.

Keep clicking on the satellite photo, and you will see the shuttle area
on the right hand side of the photo. There are four rectangles, that is
the shuttle area.


http://www.panoramio.com/photo/649013


Becca

Orient Beach is NOT topless it is a clothing optional beach. That means
anything goes or not goes on the body.

I think he will see many other children his age on this beach, and
probably feel right at home.

In article , Becca
wrote:

When the shuttle is full, they talk off then they get another
shuttle. It is convenient and the price is not bad. I have
pictures, if I can find them.


Good to know that there are shuttles but I don't see the advantage
since the price was $6 for the shuttle and a taxi was $6 a person to
Orient. I will take a look for them next time. The taxi will pick you
up at a prearranged time. Will the shuttle?

Don't know where the shuttle dropped you off at Orient but the whole
beach is a nude beach. Not just topless but full nude is allowed on the
entire beach. There is a tradition that the full nudists stay around
the area of the nudist clubs and not at the other end where Bikini
Beach and some other beach clubs are located. However every time I have
visited Orient at the "non nude area" I have seen at least one or two
total nudes. And a few topless women in that area.That said there is
not much nudity or even topless in that area, most are not total nude
and the vast majority of women wear tops so some taxi drivers and
others have called it the non nude area but that is only by convention,
there is no rule or enforcement.

--
Charles

Charles wrote:
Good to know that there are shuttles but I don't see the advantage
since the price was $6 for the shuttle and a taxi was $6 a person to
Orient. I will take a look for them next time. The taxi will pick you
up at a prearranged time. Will the shuttle?

The shuttle returns to the beach every 30 minutes. I will check on the
fees next time I go, the last time I was there I did not leave the pier,
the time before that I took the water taxi into town. Next time I go to
St. Maarten, I would actually like to visit the beach, they are so
beautiful.


Becca

On Mar 15, 7:44*pm, nekochan wrote:
Which non topless beach is a good choice on St. Martin with a 15 year
old boy? *I'd prefer one with a snack bar. Is it difficult to get
taxis back and forth? We're docking in Phillipsburg. Thanks in advance.

Honestly, the beach right in downtown Phillipsburg is perfectly fine
for your purposes.

Jeff

On Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:58:41 -0400, Lee wrote:

On Sun, 21 Mar 2010 09:04:41 -0700 (PDT), jeffcoud
wrote:

Honestly, the beach right in downtown Phillipsburg is perfectly fine
for your purposes.

They have built a second new pier in St. Martin, and have been
dredging for that for the past year or so.

Lots of sand from the dredging has been added to the "downtown" beach,
making it much wider that it once was.

Plenty of places to get snacks and drinks, and public restrooms at the
tender pier.

It does lack the panache of Orient, or even Airport Beach.
there is nothing in the world like standing in the water watching a
747 land on your head!
Joseph Coulter
Joseph Coulter Cruises and Vacations
www.josephcoulter.com

On Mar 15, 6:44*pm, nekochan wrote:
Which non topless beach is a good choice on St. Martin with a 15 year
old boy? *I'd prefer one with a snack bar. Is it difficult to get
taxis back and forth? We're docking in Phillipsburg. Thanks in advance.

Hi, Nekochan, we were at Orient Beach on Wednesday. It cost $6 per
person each way to get there via group taxi (a large panel van). We
arrived around noon--naturally, that is peak "crush" time, so we had
to stroll the beach toward the left end of the crescent (less crowded)
as you face the water to find some available beach chairs. There is a
bar/restaurant at each section of the beach--you pay them for a two
chair + umbrella set up. We ended up at Waikiki Beach Club for $25;
I've heard there are deals beginning at $20, some including a drink.
As explained by others, if you go to the far right end, that is the
"au natural" beach. The balance is simply European--you can expect
some topless women.

Orient was not very lively this week--which surprised me, as it is
Spring Break season. You can rent water toys at Wind Adventures, see
http://www.wind-adventures.com/ There was parasailing off power boats
for $30.

We've never been to Maho, "the airplane beach," but I'm wondering if
it might be a more interesting beach scene for a teenage boy?

Not knowing the rest of your itinerary, how many beach days you're
doing, your prior Caribbean experience, etc., I'll just add that our
teenagers' vote for St. Maarten...hands down...goes to the America's
Cup mock race. See http://www.12metre.com/ Mom & Dad liked it, too!
Another time, we had a blast on the Golden Eagle catamaran with
snorkeling and mud bath on remote isle. See http://www.sailingsxm.com/golden.htm#sailaway

Diana Ball
Austin, TX

Thanks for all your advice. We're going in August, and I'm concerned
about the Heat (he is extremely sensitive to heat and motion), which
is why I'm thinking a non excursion would be better, since we wouldn't
be locked into anything, although I am going to check out the one's
you said.

St. Maartin is probably our only beach day, but all the beaches
everyone suggested sound great.

Thank you for your advice everyone.