Terres Basses, St. Martin: a residents' guide to the West End

Where is Terres Basses?

Terres Basses is the peninsula at the far western end of St. Martin, on the French side. The Caribbean Sea surrounds it on three sides and Simpson Bay Lagoon lies inland. Two roads lead in: one from Sandy Ground and Baie Nettlé on the French side, and one through Cupecoy on the Dutch side, which is the quick way to the airport.

It is almost entirely residential. Large villas sit in gardens on big lots, and there are no apartment blocks, shops, bars or through traffic. The only hotel is La Samanna, on Baie Longue. A residents' association runs the area, and its security gates are staffed 24 hours a day. The gate by La Samanna only opens with a resident's card, so visitors come in through the other gates.

That is the reason to stay here: quiet days, dark nights and beaches with room to spare. The price is driving out for almost everything else.

The three Terres Basses beaches

Each beach faces a different stretch of sea. Baie Longue faces south-west, Plum Bay west to north-west, and Baie Rouge north towards Anguilla. When a swell is running, conditions can be quite different from one beach to the next on the same day, so it is worth knowing all three.

• Baie Longue (Long Bay): 1.8 km of pale sand, the longest undeveloped beach on the island and usually the emptiest. Deep water close to shore, no facilities, La Samanna at one end. The one to choose when you want a beach to yourselves, and for long walks and sunsets.
• Baie aux Prunes (Plum Bay): about 1.1 km of sand between rocky points, with no facilities. Great snorkelling around the point when the sea is flat, and one of the island's busiest sea turtle nesting beaches. Surfers arrive when a north-west swell does.
• Baie Rouge: 1.4 km below low red-orange cliffs, with a rock arch at the western end and Anguilla on the horizon. A car park at the top and a staircase straight down to the sand, no houses on the beach, and usually the easiest of the three for swimming. Locals love it, and Micheline and Lionel swim here all year round.

Are the Terres Basses beaches public?

Yes. The shoreline in Saint-Martin has to stay open to the public, even where the land behind the beach is privately owned. Each Terres Basses beach has a public access point: Baie Longue's main entrance and car park are near La Samanna, Plum Bay's entrance is at its northern end and Baie Rouge's is at its eastern end.

To reach Baie Longue or Plum Bay you drive into the residential area. When the guard at the gate stops you, say you are going to the beach and you will be let through. Baie Rouge's car park is off the main road, just outside the residential area, with a painted staircase down to the sand.

Park only in the car parks or at the roadside, never across a gate or driveway, don't cut through villa gardens, and leave nothing on view in the car. None of the beaches has toilets, showers, food or a lifeguard, and access to the beaches is restricted at night.

Swimming: read the sea first

These are open beaches, with no reef offshore and no lifeguards. On most days the water is clear and easy. When a swell arrives, mostly in the winter months, waves break hard and close to the shore, the sand drops away steeply and currents run along the beach.

Look before you go in. If waves are running high up the sand, swim at another beach that day, or stay in the shallows. Check the water's edge for stones too: depending on the sea, rocks that are usually buried can be exposed. Snorkel only when the sea is flat.

What it's like to stay in Terres Basses

Micheline and Lionel have lived here for years and still describe Terres Basses as a calm they have not found anywhere else. Mornings start with birdsong, which carries on through the day. Evenings belong to the sunset over the sea, and at night the sky fills with stars, with the lights of a cruise ship sometimes passing on the horizon. At Villa Zenitude no neighbours are in sight, and you see the sea without hearing the waves.

Apart from the beaches, nothing is within walking distance. Baie Nettlé, 5 minutes away, has what you need day to day: the Cadisco fuel station with a small grocery, the Bacchus bakery for bread, croissants and pastries to take back to the villa, and Mezza Luna and La Cigale, the two restaurants Micheline and Lionel go to most. Porto Cupecoy, 5 minutes away on the Dutch side, has a small Carrefour. For the best food shopping, drive to Monoprix in Marigot (it costs a bit more), and for breakfast sitting down, Chez Fernand in Marigot beats a bakery run.

A few practical things. Tap water is not for drinking: houses run on rainwater tanks, topped up with the island's desalinated mains water. Power cuts happen on the island from time to time (Villa Zenitude has a generator). Mosquitoes come out at dawn and dusk, so keep repellent for then; during the day they are not a problem.

Terres Basses is on the French side, so French rules apply and cards are charged in euros. Cross into Cupecoy and you are in Sint Maarten, where cards are charged in US dollars or guilders. In cash, both sides take euros and dollars, often at one for one, so it is worth carrying some US dollars.

Getting around from the West End

You need a car. There is no public transport in Terres Basses, and a taxi has to be booked for every ride back. Through Lionel, Villa Zenitude guests get a discount with Golfe Car Rental, who meet you at the airport with the car; you leave it in the airport car park when you fly home. Typical drive times:

• Baie Rouge and Porto Cupecoy: 5 min
• Maho Beach and Marigot: 10 min
• Princess Juliana Airport: 10–15 min
• Friar's Bay: 15 min
• Grand Case: 25 min
• Orient Bay and Philipsburg: 30 min
• Oyster Pond: 35–40 min

Tips from people who live here

What Micheline and Lionel tell their guests:

• Want lunch, drinks and a lounger? Go to Mullet Bay on the Dutch side, between Cupecoy and Maho. Loungers are cheap to rent and there is always a mix of locals and visitors, so you never feel like a tourist.
• Happy without a bar? Baie Rouge is their pick: park at the top, take the stairs down, and swim at the beach the locals love.
• Want a beach to yourselves? Walk to Baie Longue.
• Have lunch at least once at the lolos on the Marigot waterfront, the small local Creole and Haitian restaurants by the market. They are all much the same in quality, so pick the busiest one; Chez Raymond is excellent.
• Going to Marigot? The Sandy Ground bridge opens at 8:30 am and 5 pm and traffic backs up while it does. Around those times it can be quicker to go round by the airport and the Causeway bridge.
• Snorkel at Plum Bay when the sea is calm.