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Beaches, the coast explorer

Walk the coastline, not a list.

Fifteen stretches of coast, thirty-seven beach records. Pick a stretch of coast and see exactly what sits on it: what it is called, what else people call it, and how far we have actually got with checking it.

27 with a sourced pageNone walked in person yet

The coastline, stretch by stretch

Swimmers in turquoise water at Maho Beach watch a small twin propeller aircraft on final approach, with a cliff and resort buildings on the right
Dutch side

Maho and Cupecoy

3 beaches · none walked yet

  • Cupecoy Bay seen along its line of sandstone cliffs, with turquoise water breaking onto a narrow curve of sand

    Dutch side

    Cupecoy Beach

    Also called Cupecoy Bay Beach, Cupecoy Bay, Cupe Coy

    Sourced, not yet walked

  • Swimmers in turquoise water at Maho Beach watch a small twin propeller aircraft on final approach, with a cliff and resort buildings on the right.

    Dutch side

    Maho Beach

    Maho & Mullet Bay

    Sourced, not yet walked

Dutch side

Cole Bay and Indigo Bay

2 beaches · none walked yet

  • Dutch side

    Cay Bay Beach

    Also called Cole Bay Beach

    Listed, not yet written

  • Dutch side

    Indigo Bay Beach

    Also called Indigo Beach, Indigo Bay, Cay Bay Beach, Secret Beach

    Sourced, not yet walked

Atlantic waves breaking over rock and coral formations along Dawn Beach, the open-ocean shore adjoining Oyster Pond, under a blue sky
Dutch side

East coast

2 beaches · none walked yet

  • Empty white sand at Dawn Beach running down to turquoise water, with a line of surf breaking over the offshore reef and open Atlantic beyond

    Dutch side

    Dawn Beach

    Oyster Pond

    Sourced, not yet walked

  • Dutch side

    Oyster Bay Beach

    Listed, not yet written

A brightly painted beach bar with a windmill on its roof on the Philipsburg boardwalk, with people walking past under a blue sky
Dutch side

Philipsburg

2 beaches · none walked yet

Dr. Thomas LiptakWikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA 4.0
Sailboats and yachts anchored in Simpson Bay lagoon with a green hillside backdrop under blue sky
Dutch side

Simpson Bay and Pelican

3 beaches · none walked yet

  • Dutch side

    Pelican Key Beach

    Listed, not yet written

  • Elevated view over Simpson Bay and the lagoon from a hilltop, showing the long curve of the beach between the headland and the airport

    Dutch side

    Simpson Bay Beach

    Also called Simpson Bay, Simson Bay, Simsonbaai

    Sourced, not yet walked

Sunset clouds massing over the water at Guana Bay on the Atlantic east side of Sint Maarten
Dutch side

Southeast coast

2 beaches · none walked yet

Joanna KalafatisFlickrCC BY 2.0

  • Dutch side

    Geneve Bay Beach

    Listed, not yet written

Elevated panoramic view down over the enclosed bay at Anse Marcel, with dry hillside in the foreground and open sea beyond the headlands
French side

Anse Marcel and the north

2 beaches · none walked yet

Wilson CELINIWikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA 3.0
  • Elevated panoramic view down over the enclosed bay at Anse Marcel, with dry hillside in the foreground and open sea beyond the headlands

    French side

    Anse Marcel

    Also called Anse Marcel Beach, Plage d'Anse Marcel, Lonvilliers

    Sourced, not yet walked

  • French side

    Petites Cayes

    Also called Baie de Petites Cayes, Plage de Petites Cayes, Petite Cayes

    Sourced, not yet walked

Elevated view down over Cul-de-Sac bay, with terracotta-roofed village housing along the shore, yachts anchored in turquoise water and Pinel and a smaller islet lying offshore
French side

Cul-de-Sac and the northeast

4 beaches · none walked yet

SV ZanshinWikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA 3.0
  • Elevated view down over Cul-de-Sac bay, with terracotta-roofed village housing along the shore, yachts anchored in turquoise water and Pinel and a smaller islet lying offshore

    French side

    Cul-de-Sac

    Also called Cul de Sac, French Cul-de-Sac, Baie de Cul-de-Sac

    Sourced, not yet walked

  • French side

    Grandes Cayes

    Listed, not yet written

  • The low green islet of Pinel seen across shallow turquoise water from the St. Martin shore

    French side

    Pinel Island

    Also called Îlet Pinel, Ilet Pinel, Île Pinel, Pinel Islet

    Sourced, not yet walked

  • An empty stretch of pale sand on an uninhabited island, with turquoise shallows in front and low dry scrub behind

    French side

    Tintamarre

    Also called Île Tintamarre, Îlot Tintamarre, Tintamare, Flat Island

    Sourced, not yet walked

The sheltered crescent of Friar's Bay on the French side of Saint Martin, calm water meeting pale golden sand
French side

Friar's Bay and Happy Bay

2 beaches · none walked yet

Richie DiesterheftFlickrCC BY-SA 2.0
  • The empty white sand of Happy Bay on the French side of Saint Martin, backed by palms with no buildings anywhere in frame

    French side

    Happy Bay

    Marigot

    Sourced, not yet walked

The beach at Grand Case curving away past wooden restaurant buildings raised on stilts at the sand's edge, with loungers, a child walking the waterline and swimmers standing in calm shallow water
French side

Grand Case

2 beaches · none walked yet

Paul SablemanWikimedia CommonsCC BY 2.0
  • The beach at Grand Case curving away past wooden restaurant buildings raised on stilts at the sand's edge, with loungers, a child walking the waterline and swimmers standing in calm shallow water

    French side

    Grand Case Beach

    Also called Plage de Grand Case, Grand-Case Beach, Grand Case Bay

    Sourced, not yet walked

  • French side

    Petite Plage

    Listed, not yet written

A view from the hill at Fort Louis over the red and pastel rooftops of Marigot, its waterfront square and marina, with boats moored in the bay
French side

Marigot and Sandy Ground

3 beaches · none walked yet

David StanleyWikimedia CommonsCC BY 2.0
  • A small boat resting on the sand at the western end of Baie Nettlé, with the shoreline running away behind it

    French side

    Nettle Bay

    Marigot

    Sourced, not yet walked

  • French side

    Round Hill

    Also called Plage du Morne Rond

    Listed, not yet written

The shallow flat water of Baie de l'Embouchure running out toward the sandbar and reef line beyond
French side

Orient Bay and the east coast

4 beaches · none walked yet

Thierry PierrardWikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA 4.0
  • The low green islet of Caye Verte sitting on the horizon in turquoise water off Orient Bay

    French side

    Green Cay

    Orient Bay

    Sourced, not yet walked

  • The shallow reef-sheltered water and pale sand of Le Galion, the lagoon running out flat and clear toward the reef line

    French side

    Le Galion

    Also called Plage du Galion, Galion Beach, Baie du Galion, Baby Beach

    Sourced, not yet walked

  • Rows of loungers under blue and white umbrellas on the white sand outside a beach bar at Orient Bay, with turquoise water beyond

    French side

    Orient Bay

    Also called Baie Orientale, Orient Beach, Plage de la Baie Orientale, Orient Bay Beach

    Sourced, not yet walked

French side

Oyster Pond

1 beach · none walked yet

  • French side

    Baie Lucas

    Also called Coralita

    Listed, not yet written

Empty pale sand curving between low green headlands at Baie aux Prunes, with clear turquoise water and nobody on the beach
French side

Terres Basses

3 beaches · none walked yet

Rennett StoweFlickrCC BY 2.0
  • Empty pale sand curving between low green headlands at Baie aux Prunes, with clear turquoise water and nobody on the beach

    French side

    Baie aux Prunes

    Also called Plum Bay, Plum Beach, Plage de Baie aux Prunes

    Sourced, not yet walked

  • Looking along the empty sand of Baie Longue with the Caribbean on one side and the beach running away to a distant point

    French side

    Baie Longue

    Also called Long Bay, Long Beach, Plage de Baie Longue

    Sourced, not yet walked

  • The reddish-gold sand of Baie Rouge running below low ochre cliffs, with clear water along the shoreline

    French side

    Baie Rouge

    Also called Red Bay, Plage de Baie Rouge, Red Beach

    Sourced, not yet walked

French side

Elsewhere on the island

2 beaches · none walked yet

  • French side

    Lovers Beach

    Also called Plage des Amoureux

    Listed, not yet written

  • French side

    Petite Baie

    Listed, not yet written

The island gets described as having 37 beaches across its 87 square kilometers, and that number gets repeated everywhere without anyone showing their working. We are building the list properly instead: every beach with a source for its name, a stated rule for what counts as one beach rather than two, and the Dutch side and French side kept straight. What is below is what has been checked so far, grouped by the stretch of coast it sits on. It grows as the sourcing does.

27 of these 37 records have a page of their own so far. A beach gets one when we have checked the parking, the chairs, the food, and the water against sources rather than guessed at them. The other 10 are listed with the stretch of coast they sit on, and point to the area around them where there is one.

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