When we were there a month ago, the attendance was way down. Maybe 50%, or less, of what it had been. But that isn't surprising as Club O isn't even open! However, Club O was the most active place on the beach by far.

From June 28 through July 8 I counted between 60 to 90 people between Pedros and Papagayo.

I was planning to go to SXM in November but if there is still not much there, I don,t know if I want to spend $3000 if there are not many people there and food and drink and entertainment, etc is scarce. We usually stay at the Alamanda which is supposed to open in Oct. Any advice?

Obeach

Generally, the island starts to get busier at the end of October even though high season starts in December. I think that by November more things will be happening. I've read plenty of trip reports for this year with many people sharing good news about great trips.

Originally posted by Obeach I was planning to go to SXM in November but if there is still not much there, I don,t know if I want to spend $3000 if there are not many people there and food and drink and entertainment, etc is scarce. We usually stay at the Alamanda which is supposed to open in Oct. Any advice?

Obeach

I think there is plenty there. The beach is open with chairs/umbrellas available in several locations, the restaurants in the Village are open, the cafes in the Plaza across the street are open, the submarine will be open, if it isn't already, Club O's beach is open with food available, and the Dutch side has plenty of night life, if that is what you are looking for. If you haven't already, read my Orient Beach report for June, 2018. It is in a thread of its own on this board.

Alamanada is supposed to be open in October. I would contact now to book, if they will take a booking this early. When we were there last month, Alamanda was looking good and was on the road to recovery. If Alamanda isn't open there are a bunch of other places to stay. I haven't kept up with all of them, but VRBO has rentals in the Village area, as well as elsewhere.

There are plenty of people about, but it isn't crowded like it sometimes can be. Plus, and very importantly, the people need our support. The Island is almost 100% tourism dependent; they need our help. Go in October. If you don't enjoy your time on the Island, I will reimburse you for the trip.

Originally posted by Obeach I was planning to go to SXM in November but if there is still not much there, I don,t know if I want to spend $3000 if there are not many people there and food and drink and entertainment, etc is scarce. We usually stay at the Alamanda which is supposed to open in Oct. Any advice?

Obeach

I think there is plenty there. The beach is open with chairs/umbrellas available in several locations, the restaurants in the Village are open, the cafes in the Plaza across the street are open, the submarine will be open, if it isn't already, Club O's beach is open with food available, and the Dutch side has plenty of night life, if that is what you are looking for. If you haven't already, read my Orient Beach report for June, 2018. It is in a thread of its own on this board.

Alamanada is supposed to be open in October. I would contact now to book, if they will take a booking this early. When we were there last month, Alamanda was looking good and was on the road to recovery. If Alamanda isn't open there are a bunch of other places to stay. I haven't kept up with all of them, but VRBO has rentals in the Village area, as well as elsewhere.

There are plenty of people about, but it isn't crowded like it sometimes can be. Plus, and very importantly, the people need our support. The Island is almost 100% tourism dependent; they need our help. Go in October. If you don't enjoy your time on the Island, I will reimburse you for the trip.


Hey Christa. As I recall, weren't you a bit apprehensive about your post Irma trip? I think remembering that fact gives me more confidence in your positivity. We're super excited for our Christmas trip. Thanks for all the great posts. We'll make sure to do a trip report too.

Yes, we were a bit apprehensive, but after we got there, and everything fell into place, all was good. Glad we did it.

On Thursday we only counted about 20-30 one the beach, at least half of which were clothed (probably from our ship). Being September (and the anniversary of Irma) I'm not sure if those numbers sound normal or even lower than the usual low season numbers.

We were there before the parking lot to the Perch was open and ended up getting dropped off at Orient Village. if the submarine is the Yellow Submarine pizza place at the end of Orient Village right behind the Bikini Beach Club, then the construction didn't look very close to finished yet.

Did you actually walk down to Club O Beach, or did you stay at Orient Beach close to the Village? I have a hard time believing there were only 10 to 15 naked people at Club O Beach. That would be extremely low, even post Irma.

By now the Yellow Submarine should be finished and it should be open. When we were there three months ago it was looking as if it would be finished in a month or two.

Hopefully we will get more updates from board members to get a more accurate report of the current situation. I hate to think things are the way you have described them; that would be very bad news. But I realize things change, and progress goes in spurts and stops.

I am on the island this week and we went to Club O beach this morning (9/10). Got there very early, the guys were just starting to set up the chairs and the chain was still across the entrance by the Perch Lite/Club O sign. We got settled in right in front of the Perch Lite and there was just us and maybe 2 others further down by Papagayo's. Within 10 minutes we saw 2 more couples arrive and set up next to us. We stayed on the beach until about 12:30 and when we left we only saw about 12-16 people on the Club O beach. We didn't go north of the rocks by where Pedro's used to be. No ships in port today, so maybe that's why? Anyway it was a great day.

I'm sure being the off season and no cruise ships has a big effect on the numbers. Looks like there will be two ships in tomorrow (9/11) Are you spending more time at Club O? Hope you and the misses have a great time and please give us a report!

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Life's a beach!

We are hoping to go back at least 1 more time. Being newbies at the C/O beach and my Irish fair skin we want to make sure we give it a days rest. Hoping that the weather will cooperate.

Originally posted by thedeputydog We are hoping to go back at least 1 more time. Being newbies at the C/O beach and my Irish fair skin we want to make sure we give it a days rest. Hoping that the weather will cooperate.

Sun block is the best friend Irish fair skin has. I am fair skinned with blue eyes, but it is European fair skin, not Irish, and I know a thing or two about keeping fair skin from burning. Use sun block and use the Club O umbrellas, which I am sure you are doing. Also wear a hat.

Please let us hear more about your trip.

"Sun block is the best friend Irish fair skin has. I am fair skinned with blue eyes, but it is European fair skin, not Irish, and I know a thing or two about keeping fair skin from burning. Use sun block and use the Club O umbrellas, which I am sure you are doing. Also wear a hat."

My wife has the same Irish fair skin. She uses 100spf and it works great. She has spent plenty of consecutive days on the beach with nothing but sun block and umbrellas. Do be sure to cover every bit. One year she missed the top of her feet and the burn was incredibly swollen--she couldn't get her sandals on!
I used 4spf last time. No problem with sunburn. My problem is that I forget to flip over and I wind up looking like a black and white cookie.
We'll be down for Christmas/New Year--I'll be sure to post a report.

Sounds good Deputy, and as mentioned, sun block everywhere!

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Life's a beach!