Saint Martin: Part 5 - Orient Bay Beach

Mar 2

Orient Bay is a 2-mile-long beach on the northeast side of Saint Martin. It was severely damaged by Hurricane Irma with beach bars and a lot of the vegetation gone. We were shocked to see online photos of the empty beach after the hurricane. Since then Orient beach came back to life with many beach clubs and restaurants fully restored.

We drove to Orient Bay to see for ourselves if the famous beach was back in full swing. In the past, we only briefly stopped there. Orient Beach is pretty windy so the water is almost always on the rougher side with waves which is a big no for us.

As we drove to the beach we noticed lots of cute restaurants, ice-cream and pizza places, small supermarkets located on Avenue des Plages that leads to a parking area.

We parked our car easily and went for a walk along the beach. We were greeted by the colorful green umbrellas of Bikini beach. It was nice to see the beach almost as busy as before.

Bikini beach chairs looked comfortable and the restaurant was built further away from the water as were the other restaurants on the beach.

We walked through Kakao beach restaurant and bar to take some photos.

Kakao restaurant has ample seating in the shade for dining.

I liked how they designed the whole area. Natural colors and materials look great against the bright colors of the sea.

The bar area also looked inviting.

Kakao chairs were spaced well. Beach beds are also available for rent.

Next we walked by Kontiki beach restaurant and bar.

The design of the restaurant is also pleasing to the eye.

Kontiki has attractive seating under gazebos and their beach chairs have ample space between them.

It was windy that day and the waves were too strong for us to stay for a swim.

Even though we couldn’t swim, that didn’t spoil our mood as it was a beautiful day and it was nice to soak in the sun and admire the amazing Caribbean colors.

Since it gets pretty windy at Orient beach, it’s a great place for kite surfing.

Overall we liked how Orient beach looked. The restaurants are well designed and have nice comfortable beach chairs with cushions. There seemed to be more space and it didn’t feel as crowded as it had been in the past. Below are two photos from before Hurricane Irma:

Orient beach felt much more crowded then.

We also stopped at Orient beach in the evening when the restaurants were closing for the day and only a few tourists were left on the beach.

We liked the quieter feeling.

The south corner of Orient beach had some chairs and umbrellas set up. I believe it’s a clothing optional section near Perch Lite.

The sun was about to set which made the evening even more wonderful.

We enjoyed walking along the beach and taking photos. There were more locals on the beach than during the day. Some were walking their dogs, others were doing yoga on the beach. We never saw this side of Orient beach before and we really liked it.

We were lucky to see a group of people with horses. Unfortunately we didn’t ask where they were from and if they belonged to a stable/ranch. I was frantically trying to take photos while running along them for a bit.

We were so happy to see the baby horses.

Orient beach is a large and exciting beach. If you like being among lots of people, it’s a great beach to spend your time in. It has plenty of options for memorable meals as well.

Below is my painting of Orient Beach.