Beaches to visit on the Eastern Itinerary

[calhous2]

We will be leaving for our Eastern Magic cruise in less than 2 weeks. I can hardly wait for November 2nd to arrive!

I have a few questions for the experienced Eastern itinerary cruisers.

Rather than doing any excursions, we and two other families we are travelling with are planning to go to the beach in St Thomas and St Maarten and hang out and then do some shopping. Can anyone confirm whether our beach choices are good ones or whether you would recommend something different?

St Thomas: Magens Bay
St Maarten: Orient Beach. We will have two boys in 1st grade and 3 girls in 4th grade- is there nude bathing at Orient Beach? If so, can anyone recommend any other beaches that are beautiful, yet appropriate for kids?

At any of the beaches, can chairs be rented?

Oops - one more question-- should we beach first and then shop or vice versa? I didn't know if there were benefits to one order over the other.

Lastly- how much should we expect to pay for cab fare? Is it per person or per cab? Should we expect to barter, or is it pretty standard? Also- I'm a little afraid of being left behind- if we ask the driver to come back to get us at a certain time, is there any reason to worry that we won't find a cab to take us back?

Thanks for your help and recommendations!

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Magen's Bay would be a lovely choice. It is a beach that makes "top ten of the world" lists in lots of magazines. But if you want to snorkel while you're there, you might be disappointed. If that's the case, try Coki Beach instead.

You may see topless women or nude people at just about any beach on the French side of St Martin (as well as a few beaches on the Dutch side of St Maarten), but you would be <i><b>most</b></i> likely to encounter this at Orient Beach. If this is something you don't want your kids to see, try Dawn Beach instead.

 

[RellingTwin]

Dawn Beach in St Martin is very nice. DH did see some topless sun bathers WAY DOWN the beach when he went for a walk.
Cab fare, 2 beach chairs and umbrella was about 50.00(2 adults 2 children). We asked that the cab come back at 2pm and he was there right on time. If by some chance they don't come back there is a rest/bar right there that can call you a cab.

 

[jrabbit]

We went to Orient Beach on St. Maarten and yes it is a clothing optional beach. It appears that different areas of the beach have different amounts of undress. We had 3 kids with us age 10 to 14. It didn't seem to be a problem for us. We were in an area where almost everyone was properly attired. Most of those who weren't were women going topless. There were a few folks totally naked.

Remember that most of the folks there that are going topless or without are locals or have been there for a while. Everything sort of blends in with the sand - except for that guy off of a cruise ship who forgot that the sun is way more intense down there and that "down there" hadn't been exposed to any sun for years and years. I saw his backside any I can guarantee you that he had trouble sitting down for a long time - very unnatural shade of red. I can only assume that the front side was in similiar condition - ouch!!