Definitely not walkable - but taxi's are available. Orient offers watersports, including parasailing and jetskis. Beach bars with many different types of food. Club Orient's beach offers a clothing optional environment, with chairs & umbrellas available for rent.

"But then I think about the good times, down in the Caribbean sunshine..." (J.B.)

At Club O, two chairs and an umbrella were $18 the last I heard. We prefer to spend most of our days on the beach doing as little as possible. One of our favorite activities is watching the boat people as they walk by.

Club O is to the right as you leave the taxi stand and walk toward the Beach. If you are brave, you can try that beach; not so brave, turn left and walk toward the non nude section. Topless is OK on that part of the beach. That is where you will find most of the water sports.

Not sure on any water sport pricing but it is the best place to go. The Dutch side is commercial and just another stop on the cruise. Get off the boat early and taxi to OB. You should find your water sport fix first and have at it. Look at the menus and figure out lunch and enjoy some of the best food of your trip. Then get up your nerve and head to Club Orient. Disrobe, swim, sun and get some drinks at the perch. Make your way back to the cabs and keep repeating to yourself all the way back to the ship " why did I waste my day doing water sports, eating and keeping my suit on when I just could have went straight to Club O and had the best day of my life"

At Club O, two chairs and an umbrella were $18 the last I heard. We prefer to spend most of our days on the beach doing as little as possible. One of our favorite activities is watching the boat people as they walk by.

Club O is to the right as you leave the taxi stand and walk toward the Beach. If you are brave, you can try that beach; not so brave, turn left and walk toward the non nude section. Topless is OK on that part of the beach. That is where you will find most of the water sports.

Orient Beach has a variety of activities, parasailing, wave runners, etc. You will need to take a taxi and it is about 30 minutes from the cruise port depending on traffic. You can make arrangements with the driver to pick you up at a designated time and location for your return trip. We've done that many times and the taxi drivers are very helpful. The taxi stand at the port is located at the end of the pier on the right hand side. The fares are published so don't be concerned about over charging.

Taxi zones and rates are at:
http://taxistmaarten.com/zones-rates/

I will repeat the very good advice I was given on this very site, when I asked what to do on our first visit from a Norwegian cruise in March of 2013.

Be the first ones off your boat. Head through the market DIRECTLY to the taxi stands. It is about a 20 minute ride to Club O.

Ask for a personal taxi. If you want to save a couple of bucks, ask if anyone else in the taxi area wants to go to OB with you in a taxi. Your beach time is going to be precious. Do not waste it trying to save a few dollars by getting in a van. If I recall correctly, you will spend an extra $10-$20. Getting a taxi puts you at the head of the line and will save you time.
This can also be the difference between getting a pair of chairs at Club O, or getting nothing.

The taxi will drop you off at Pedro's. Yellow umbrellas (Club O) are to the right. Look for chairs that do not have any bands (or possibly ribbons) attached to the frame. When you find 2 that are not tagged, they are yours to use. Make yourself at home, and a beach boy will be around to collect the money sometime in the next 10 minutes to 4 hours. I have always just given them a $20. They put 2 day bands on your chairs and you are done.

That was our first nude experience, and the neighbors we met were incredibly nice. We have been there twice from cruises, and you will never meet a more accommodating group of people. Our last trip our chair neighbors took us around to meet all of their friends as well, and shared their wine and cheese with us too. I think they secretly felt sorry for us 'boat people', knowing we had to leave early.....

I took the opportunity to dine sans clothing at Papagayos for lunch, while my wife was less comfortable and opted for topless. Unfortunately, due to having to get back to the ship, we have yet to enjoy the camaraderie of the happy hour Perch line.

When it is time to go, just head back toward Pedro's. Both times we were there, there must have been 6 to 12 taxis hanging out trying to get fares. I am paranoid about missing the ship, so we usually leave a bit too early, but the trips back have taken us 30 minutes or more, depending on traffic.

I have not been there since the new buildings went up, so the drop off and pick up points may be slightly different, but I don't think that is the case.

I don't have many posts here, so you might be able to search for my older posts. In there you will find the original advice I was given, which was spot on.

|Just searched and I believe the advice and my trip report have been archived. Not sure if you can retrieve them or not.

There are also often chairs and blue umbrellas set up between Pedro's and the Club O yellow umbrellas. I'm not sure who rents them, probably Pedro's, but anything on the Club O side of Pedro's is clothing optional.

Golfnuut: If your post was 10 to 12 years ago, it would have been on the old board. There used to be a link to it on this board, but I can no longer find it. Not sure that we have archived posts; I was unable to find that either. The posts only go back to October, 2014, and this board has been in existence since well before that. Seems that this board replaced the old board in about 2004. Kerry may have access to the old posts, but I don't think they are available to us commoners.

Golfnut58
We (kycpl) were the folks that posted all the info for you before your first visit. Tried to find it to repost for these folks but apparently it is now archived.

Kentucky Couple

Originally posted by KYCPL

Golfnut58
We (kycpl) were the folks that posted all the info for you before your first visit. Tried to find it to repost for these folks but apparently it is now archived.

Kentucky Couple

[wack]

1. You folks can search the archives. When using the search function be sure to put a check in "archived posts" .

2. My reply (with link) below contains Golfnut's archived post which contains a link to the reply you mention.
But here is what your reply to him at the time said:

Originally posted by golfnut58

I will repeat the very good advice I was given on this very site, when I asked what to do on our first visit from a Norwegian cruise in March of 2013.
I don't have many posts here, so you might be able to search for my older posts. In there you will find the original advice I was given, which was spot on.

|Just searched and I believe the advice and my trip report have been archived. Not sure if you can retrieve them or not.

Do you mean this post?
http://www.orientbeachforum.com/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=6274&SearchTerms=advice

Thanks moderator

I just didn't notice the "check archives" box.

Kentucky Couple

If anyone is interested, this is the link to ALL the info that Golfnut58 found useful. The cab fare is now a couple of dollars higher each way, but the two chairs and umbrella cost is still $20. We just returned from a cruise day in November.

Also the dollar is considerably stronger than is was when the original post was published so the difference between dollars and Euros is not as great.


http://www.orientbeachforum.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6176&SearchTerms=KYCPL


Kentucky Couple

Originally posted by OBXDay

Not sure on any water sport pricing but it is the best place to go. The Dutch side is commercial and just another stop on the cruise. Get off the boat early and taxi to OB. You should find your water sport fix first and have at it. Look at the menus and figure out lunch and enjoy some of the best food of your trip. Then get up your nerve and head to Club Orient. Disrobe, swim, sun and get some drinks at the perch. Make your way back to the cabs and keep repeating to yourself all the way back to the ship " why did I waste my day doing water sports, eating and keeping my suit on when I just could have went straight to Club O and had the best day of my life"

Boy, if this site had a Facebook "Like" button, I'd have slammed on it for this reply!!! So true!!