If you are looking for nude beaches in the Caribbean, a good place to start is St. Maarten/St. Martin. Specifically the French side, which is St. Martin. Here you will find one of the most famous nude beaches, Orient Bay Beach. It’s a beautiful stretch of sand is typically the first choice for many St Martin visitors seeking that full body tan.
Nudity is tolerated (even though formally not allowed) on numerous other beaches on the French side, St. Martin. Nevertheless as the other beaches are not real naturist beaches, we’d point out that the guideline is to be conscious of other people, families with kids and people’s houses. So do not just stroll about or sit down nude where ever you wish, but select peaceful places, where you’re not in anyone’s way. If individuals display any kind of indication of annoyance, proceed to a more remote location of the beach, there’s always a private spot.
If you are planning a trip to St. Martin/St. Maarten, grab a guide book so you don’t miss the best things to do, and that includes the nude beaches. 🙂
While Orient Beach is the most famous, we’ve have a several other beachesIn addition to Orient Bay, we’ve got a few other suggestions on where in St Martin you can keep your clothing optional!
First, let’s find out where exactly St. Martin/St. Maarten is.
Where is St. Martin & St. Maarten
This island is in the northern part of the Caribbean and part of the Lesser Antilles. If you would like to know more about the Lesser and Great Antilles and Leeward and Windward Islands, you can click here.
St. Martin / St. Maarten is surround by the beautiful islands of Anguilla, St. Barths, Saba, Statia, St. Kitts and Nevis. If you are looking to get there, it’s only a three and half hour flight from New York, two and half hours from Miami.
Difference Between St. Martin & St. Maarten
Just as a quick refresh, St. Martin/St. Maarten is the smallest piece of land in the world occupied by two countries. The south side of St. Maarten is Dutch, while the north is French St. Martin. They share an open boarder and you can easily travel from one side to the other.
There are a few things that are different though, you’ll find all the casinos on the Dutch side, they are not permitted on the French side. You’ll notice the language difference when traveling to both sides. French is obviously spoken on the north side and English on the south side. But you’ll get along just fine if you speak English on the French side as well. Just remember to be polite!
The main airport on the island, Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), is in the Southwest corner of the island, more or less right where the French and Dutch sides meet. This is the famous airport where you see the planes landing directly over the beach.
The Low Down on St. Martin Nudity
Say good bye to those tan lines! If you are looking to beach in the buff, here are a few things to know.
You are typically going to find all your nude beaches on the French side of the island. French culture is more open about nudity and you will find nude beaches on just about all of the French Caribbean islands. Know that Orient Bay Beach is technically the only clothing optional beach on St. Martin, there are other beaches where people and officials look the other way and nudity is okay. Just look to see what others are doing and you should be fine.
It should go without saying, but be courteous don’t star or take pictures of anyone. Most people who go to nude beaches do it often and don’t care what anyone else looks like. So just go with the flow and enjoy your own nude beach experience.
Okay, it’s time to drop the swimsuits in the sand and explore the top nude beaches on St. Martin!
Nude Beaches Map For St. Martin
1. Orient Bay Beach
While due to damage sustained by Hurricane Irma in 2017, Club Orient is not operational at this time. This was the nudist resort on the island and they are dealing with some insurance and financial issues at this time. We will keep you updated when they begin to rebuild. With that said, the nude beach at Orient Bay is going strong.
This is the most famous and technically the only nude beach on St. Martin, so you can expect crowds while you’re there. So if you are looking to go nude with no one else around, this is not the beach for you.
To get there, head to the Orient Bay Village area. Here you’ll find a bunch of restaurants, stores and parking. Drive until you see the Kontiki Beach restaurant. There is a big parking lot just past the restaurant. Here you’ll find the where Club Orient use to be, this is the line between the normal beach and the clothing optional beach.
2. Pinel Island
Pinel Island is a great island just off of Cul-de-Sac Bay which is towards the north east side of French St. Martin. It’s a popular spot with tourists, so you might not think it’s a great place to drop the clothing, but I’m going to tell you how to get away from the crowd.
The beach is small, but beautiful. You probably won’t be completely alone and chance are that the other people who ventured to this side of Pinel are there to bare it all as well.
There might not be a lot of shade due to the hurricane a couple years ago and it might be a little breezy due to openness to the trade winds.
3. Happy Bay Beach
If clothing optional is your jam, then you’ll be a happy castaway on Happy Bay Beach. Located just around the corner (to the west) of Grand Case, this gorgeous secluded beach is a great place to drop the suite and skinny dip the day away.
This is still an unofficial nude beach on St. Martin, but you’ll find nude sunbathers almost every day of the week, with a little more on the weekends.
4. Petites Cayes Beach
Located on the far northern tip of St. Martin, Petites Cayes is a beautiful and natural beach, free of resorts, homes, and any other signs of civilization. The perfect place for a nude beach!You know the phrase, the best places are hard to get to? Well this is sort of the case in this situation.
To get to Petites Cayes, it requires a descent hike of 30-40 minutes. So remember to bring water. The trail head is to the right of Anse Marcel. The waves and wind can be strong due to its unsheltered position, but you’ll be able to find some calmer spots near the edges of the beach.Because of the remote location of this St. Martin beach, you probably won’t see another person there, especially on a week day. So get naked, go for a skinny dip and get rid of those tan lines!
5. Cupecoy Beach
Cupecoy Beach is the only “clothing optional” beach on our list that is located on the Dutch side of St. Maarten. I had to ask a couple people about this one to make sure that it was indeed a “nude” beach. One of my local contacts said yes, they’ve seen nude sun bathers there, and the other local contact said no, they hadn’t. So just keep that in mind. If a St. Maarten official approaches, they worst they will do is ask you to cover up.
This beach is located right on the French and Dutch boarder on the western most spot of the island, near the airport. That close proximity to the board maybe why it’s okay to be naked on Cupecoy Beach.
There’s a small place to grab drinks and food called Dany’s Beach Bar. You know we love a good beach bar! You can also snag a beach chair and sit back and relax. Dan will come back to collect so you don’t have to worry about seeking him out.
That concludes our list of St. Martin nude beaches! We hope you found it useful. Just remember, basically you can go nude or topless on the French side but most people tend to only do that on Orient and Happy these days. To further help you, here are a few recommended places to stay so you can soak in the beauty (naked or not) of St. Martin/St. Maarten!
Pin It To Pinterest!
St. Martin & St. Maarten Hotel and Transportation
Here are a few recommended hotels near some of the nude beaches in our list. We also always recommend you rent a car when on a Caribbean vacation. It’s the best way to explore and it saves you money on cabs. Click here to book your rental car.
- Esmeralda Resort – Orient Bay
- Secrets St. Martin Resort & Spa – Anse Marcel
- Hotel L’Esplanade – Grand Case
- Hotel La Plantation – Marigot
- Villa Pinel – Orient Bay
If you have any questions about beaches or anything else on St. Martin / St. Maarten, we are happy to help. Hit us up on Instagram at @CaribbeanCastaways and send us a message.
If you’re planning a trip to the islands, make sure you grab a Caribbean Preferred Discount Card. It’s the largest collection of Caribbean discounts on the internet and it will save you hundreds. It can even get you free drinks at some pretty awesome bars and restaurants throughout the islands! You’ll love it.
Cheers and enjoy those nude beaches!
Ryan – RumShopRyan
P.S. – Leaving soon? These recommended links below will help you save money and book your trip:
- Get your flight with Skyscanner (you’ll never miss a cheap flight)
- Get your accommodation with Booking.com – They have great deals
- Love Pets and a Free Place To Stay? Definitely try Trusted Housesitters
- Need travel tips? Grab a Guide Book
- Need anything on Amazon, use this link, thank you!
- Get your travel insurance with World Nomads or AXA Travel Insurance
- Find our recommended Caribbean hotels, restaurants, charters, & tours here
- Need something else? Check out our list of favorite companies on our resources page
We use all the companies listed here or on the resource page. By booking through these links, the small commission we earn helps us bring you more Caribbean content so that you can save money and have a better island vacation. Crystal and I greatly appreciate any support!