Water Sports in St. Martin
A vacation in St. Martin/St. Maarten would be incomplete without at least a couple of days of water sports. We found that we could choose any of the water sports that interested us – snorkeling, scuba diving, sailing, windsurfing, water skiing, or zipping along the coast in powerboats in search of deserted coves. We were in St. Martin for two weeks and we spent almost every day at the beach. This small island has quite a variety of activities for visitors be it golf, horseback riding, and hiking. For those who love the sea, there are theme cruises, charter boats to nearby islands, sailing, and deep-sea fishing trips. For us, what was more interesting than all of these was the range of water sports that we were able to indulge in.
Beaches like the clothing-optional Orient Beach and Baie Rouge are more popular amongst the locals and visitors for swimming and sunbathing, though snorkeling off Baie Rouge near the rocks is quite interesting. Water sports enthusiasts should head to Dawn Beach and Maho Beach on the Dutch side for some excellent snorkeling. If you are looking for some sightseeing from the sea to get a different perspective and do some snorkeling, you could take a powerboat snorkeling adventure. The full-day charter includes a stop at Creole Rock for snorkeling and at Sandy Island to sample its underwater treasures.
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Sailing to Tintamarre, an uninhabited island known for its diving sites and Prickly Pear, an island in Anguilla’s marine park were two of the best snorkeling trips we have enjoyed in the Caribbean. Around St. Maarten, wreck sites like Proselyte and coral formations like the Maze with monarch reef make for excellent scuba diving. Guided deep-sea fishing excursions focus on big game fish like marlin, barracuda, sailfish, and kingfish.
