A perfect St. Maarten Beach: beautiful Mullet Bay
On the half French-half Dutch island of St. Maarten, beaches exist to suit almost every personality, every taste, and every generation. There’s Le Galion, with its family-friendly, placid waters on the French side, or Maho Beach with its party atmosphere, rocking beach bars, and incredibly loud, low flying planes. (For a look at exactly how low these planes fly over Maho Bay, check out this post.) But just near the famous beach that airliners cross on their way to the Princess Juliana Airport, there’s another one, with slightly less drama and absolutely gorgeous seas: Mullet Bay.
(Surfers at Mullet Bay. Photo (c) Island Runaways.)
Truth be told, you can’t go wrong with any of the 37 St. Maarten/St. Martin beaches, because they all feature that mesmerizing blue water. I literally wondered aloud, “Are they putting blue dye in the water?” (They are not, but it looks so surreally aqua blue that it almost glows. Incredible!) If you’re just starting out on the island, however, I’d recommend Mullet Bay as a great first experience.
(A great first beach stop. Photo (c) Island Runaways.)
For one, it’s centrally located, near a lot of the hotels on the Dutch side. People tend to rent lounge chairs with umbrellas here, and I’d recommend doing that too. Why not? It's nice to feel pampered on vacation. You’ll find little huts selling grilled chicken and other inexpensive and tasty lunch meals. And of course, there's no shortage of cold beer, sodas, and tropical cocktails.
(Lounge chairs & lunch: what more do you need? Photo (c) Island Runaways.)
But it goes without saying that the star of the Mullet Bay show is the sand and the sea. On the far left side of the beach, you'll see some waves. I watched some guys and girls doing pretty cool surfing tricks. (These aren’t huge waves, though; the water’s still swimmable.) On the right hand side of the beach, the ocean’s calmer, just right for taking a relaxing dip. There’s a long enough stretch of sand for an enjoyable stroll.
When the Island Runaways team tested it out, we had to admit, Mullet Bay "ticked all the boxes," as the Brits say. We tried out everything: lounge chairs, body boarding, sunbathing, lunching, ambling along the sand, even snorkeling, and in the end, we agreed: it’s an essential part of the St. Martin scene. You can understand why photographers might come here to take photos for tourism campaigns—it really is a stunning spot to laze away an afternoon.
Chilling out at Mullet Bay in St. Martin. Photo (c) Island Runaways.)
Have you been to St. Martin already? Do you have a favorite beach? Leave a comment below or find us on Facebook!