St. Martin's best beaches, chosen by locals: Mullet Bay, Baie Rouge, Happy Bay and more

On foot from the villa: Baie Longue and Plum Bay

The two beaches closest to Villa Zenitude are also two of the quietest on the island. Baie Longue, 1.8 km of open sand facing south-west, is a 10 to 15 minute walk. Plum Bay, smaller and wilder, with good snorkelling around its rocky point, is 5 to 10 minutes away. Neither has a bar, loungers or a lifeguard, so bring water, shade and a mask.

They face different directions, so when the swell makes one rough the other is often calm. Each has its own guide, with access, parking and swimming conditions.

Baie Rouge: clear water, pink sand and the bars that are gone

Baie Rouge, or Red Bay, is the third Terres Basses beach, on the north side of the peninsula, 5 minutes away by car. It is about 1.4 km of sand with a faint pink tint, clear water and rocks at each end that are good for snorkelling on calm days. Along the coast to the west there is a natural rock arch; stay out of the caves and swim-throughs whenever there is any swell.

For years Baie Rouge also had its beach bars. Chez Raymond and its neighbours mixed some of the best cocktails on the island and served food and loungers for next to nothing. They had been part of the beach for as long as most regulars could remember, but they never had a permit, and after complaints from neighbours they were removed. Today there is nothing to buy on the beach: bring water, food and an umbrella. Raymond has not gone far: he now runs a lolo on the Marigot waterfront, and his food is still excellent.

Park along the road above the beach, take the path down, and leave nothing in the car.

Mullet Bay: the beach Lionel recommends most

Mullet Bay, on the Dutch side, is 5 to 10 minutes from the villa and within walking distance of Maho. It has the best of everything: come with just a towel, or rent loungers for the day, and there is a more upscale beach bar and restaurant if you want lunch. What Lionel loves most is the mix of people. Locals and visitors from the nearby hotels and timeshares share the sand, and it feels like the island's melting pot.

The swimming is generally safe, but there is no lifeguard, and depending on the season the beach can shelve steeply into the sea. You will see planes coming in to land at Princess Juliana, catamarans anchoring in the bay for a few hours and jet skis for hire. Parking is free, but it fills up at weekends and after work. Mullet Bay is also a cruise excursion stop, so it gets busier on big ship days.

Cupecoy: cliffs, coves and the best sunset bar

Right at the border, 5 minutes from the villa, Cupecoy is a string of small coves under ochre sandstone cliffs. You reach it by a staircase cut into the cliff, or more easily from the western end by Dany's beach bar. How much sand there is depends on the tide and the swell: at high water the coves can almost disappear. The cliffs are undercut, so don't sit beneath the overhangs. The stretch beyond Dany's is clothing-optional by custom.

Dany's is Lionel's favourite sunset bar on the island, all year round. The Sunset Bar & Grill at Maho is fine for watching a plane land, but it is not the place for the sunset. The only better view of the sun going down, he says, is from the villa's terrace.

Maho Beach: once, for the planes

Maho is the small beach at the end of Princess Juliana's runway, where planes land just overhead. It is worth seeing once, and it is a short walk from Mullet Bay. Do not hold the fence or stand behind a jet that is about to take off: the blast can throw people onto the rocks and concrete, and in 2017 it killed a visitor. Watch the landings, not the departures.

Friar's Bay and Happy Bay: lunch, then the walk

Friar's Bay, 15 minutes away between Marigot and Grand Case, is a calm bay popular with local families and never too crowded. It has changed over the years, and its famous full-moon parties are over, but it has kept its soul. The last stretch of road is bumpy and the parking is a free dirt lot. For lunch, Friar's Bay Beach Café is the big red one on the sand.

Then walk to Happy Bay. The trail starts at the far right end of Friar's Bay as you face the sea, past the restaurants, and climbs over a small hill: about 10 minutes each way, so wear sandals rather than going barefoot. Happy Bay is untouched, with no bars, shops or facilities, and some visitors swim without clothes. Go for an hour or two rather than the whole day: leave your towels at Friar's Bay, where the food and shade are.

Grand Case: for the end of the day

Grand Case beach, 25 minutes away, runs along the village's restaurant street. The water is calm, but its real moment is the end of the day: a drink with your feet in the sand as the sun goes down, then dinner. It has a different feel from every other beach on the island, and it says a lot about St. Martin's spirit. Micheline and Lionel's restaurant pick there is Le Cottage. If you drink, have a designated driver or take a taxi home: the police often run checks on that road.

Anse Marcel: the calmest water and the best drive

Anse Marcel is a cove on the north coast, about 35 minutes away and probably the furthest beach from the villa, so you will need a car. The drive is part of the pleasure: the road over the hills has views of Anguilla or St. Barth, depending on your direction. The water is calm, shallow and warm almost all year, which makes it the safest beach on the island for young children.

Its beach restaurants are more upscale than anything on the Dutch side. Micheline and Lionel recommend the Beach House at Anse Marcel Beach, which has parking, and Lionel can book loungers and lunch for you. One caveat: the hills around the cove block the wind, so it is not the beach for the hottest days.

Orient Bay: the Atlantic side

Orient Bay, 30 minutes away on the east coast, is a must, but a different kind of beach: it faces the Atlantic, not the Caribbean, so there are often waves. It is the island's best beach for kitesurfing, jet skis and water sports, with a long line of beach bars and restaurants. The far south end is a naturist beach.

At certain times of year, sargassum seaweed washes up on this coast. Ask before you drive over.

Ilet Pinel: worth planning a day for

Pinel is a small island just off Cul-de-Sac on the north-east coast, inside the Saint-Martin Nature Reserve: white sand, shallow turquoise water, a marked snorkelling trail and two beach restaurants. It is unique and worth a day, but it is not a beach you decide on at the last minute. You have to drive across the island to the pier at Cul-de-Sac, about 35 minutes from Terres Basses, then take the shuttle boat: a five-minute crossing that runs roughly every half hour during the day.

It also costs more than a beach on the mainland. The boat is about €10 or US$12 return per person, usually paid in cash, and loungers and an umbrella from the beach restaurants run to about €35 a day for two, before lunch. Go early, check the time of the last boat back, and bring a mask for the snorkelling trail.

Le Galion: for the curious

Le Galion, on the east coast south of Orient Bay, has shallow water and no facilities, and it is a good kitesurfing spot. It is also where local families gather to celebrate holidays, so it is the place to see the island's own beach culture rather than its visitors'. If that is what you are after, ask locally whether it is a good day to go, don't go alone and leave nothing in the car. Otherwise, there are easier beaches.

Why Micheline and Lionel skip Simpson Bay

Simpson Bay, on the Dutch side, is one of the island's longest beaches and features in every guide, which is the problem: it is lined with hotels and timeshares and packed with visitors. There are good spots along it, depending on the day and what you want, but from the West End the beaches above are quieter and closer.

Before any beach

A few rules that apply all over the island:

• Beaches are public on both sides, but on the West End access is restricted at night.
• There are no lifeguards on most beaches. Look at the water before you go in, and if the waves are breaking hard, try a beach facing another way.
• Leave nothing on view in the car, especially at quiet beaches.
• Bring water and shade: on the Terres Basses beaches and at Happy Bay, there is nothing to buy.
• Carry some US dollars in cash: beach bars and loungers are often cash, and dollars are accepted one for one with euros in many places.
• Clothing-optional stretches exist at Cupecoy, Happy Bay and the south end of Orient Bay. Everywhere else, swimwear stays on.