St. Maarten/St. Martin - Best Beaches

Visitors to St. Maarten who tear themselves away from shopping long enough will find that many of the bathers on the French side sun themselves sans swim suits. Baie de l'Orient is a beautiful mile of white sand that is the island's most famous nude beach. Baie Longue (Long Beach) is considered the best beach on the entire island, French or Dutch side.

At the Dutch end of St. Maarten, Cupecoy Beach offers a fine view of the sunsets. Bordered by 50-foot cliffs, Cupecoy has many small, almost private coves, a far less crowded beach than nearby Mullet Bay, one of the island's busiest. Mullet Bay is where hotel guests and cruise ship passengers are brought by the van and truck load. Mile-long Simpson Bay near the airport is popular with windsurfers and not nearly as crowded as Mullet Bay. (For more about St. Maarten beaches, see Beaches With Attitude)

Anguilla - Best Beaches

The tiny island of Anguilla , which can be reached by short ferry boat from St. Martin, has some of the Caribbean's best beaches. The sand is thick and soft and the water incredibly clear. Yet the beaches are rarely crowded because the island is still little developed. The two-mile long Rendezvous Bay is fine for late evening walks, but nothing compares to gorgeous Sandy Island, the idealized version of a deserted island. It must be reached by boat; rides are available from Sandy Ground, a busy harbor which has a fine beach in its own right. Shoal Bay, Barnes Bay and Mead's Bay are also excellent beaches.

St. Barts - Best Beaches

Tiny St. Barts (St. Barthelemy) is a chic French outpost little known to most travelers.
Topless bathing is a common sight but, surprisingly for a French island, nude bathing is forbidden.

St. Jean is the busiest beach but the talcum-filled beaches at Anse des Flamands and Anse de Colombier are hard to top.

Antigua & Barbuda - Best Beaches

Antigua claims to have 365 beaches, one for every day of the year. That's probably an exaggeration but it is still possible to find secluded coves where you can be totally on your own. The most popular beaches are at Dickenson and Runaway Bays, both with their cluster of big hotels. Just past the equally popular Jolly Beach are some nice deserted stretches.

  
As fine as Antigua's beaches are, it's debatable whether any really equals the breathtakingly clean beaches of neighboring Barbuda . Only just beginning to develop, the secret sands of Barbuda should be crowd-free for some time.

To Part 4 Best Caribbean Beaches

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To Best Caribbean Beaches 2

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