hike Archives | Rum Therapy

November 1, 2013May 29, 2019

Happy Bay, St. Martin

A beautiful tropical beach really does make us happy, so when we heard about a beautiful beach on the french side of St. Martin called Happy Bay, we thought we really had to see it.

It’s a 15 minute hike to get to Happy Bay from Friar’s Bay, and the day we explored that side of the island we were in flip flops. We thought we’d attempt the hike anyway.

There’s parking for the trail in the lot behind Friar’s Bay and the path to Happy Bay which can be found on the north side of Friar’s Bay Beach Cafe.

There’s a section of trail that was a little rocky, but then it opens up to a nice meadow. Small signs painted on several rocks indicate where to go.

There are some nice views of Friar’s Bay and surrounding coves from the trail.

A gate mid-way down the trail opens up to a beautiful meadow.

Pass under the tree with the beautiful canopy to get to Happy Bay Beach.

We hear that Happy Bay is usually very quiet with very few people and although there were quite a few people playing in the water and enjoying the beautiful sand while we were there, there were still a lot of quiet spots to enjoy the sunshine and gentle surf. Currently there are no amenities available at Happy Bay, so be sure to bring in any snacks and drinks you might need.

Or, just make a stop for lunch and some drinks at Friar’s Bay Beach Bar/Cafe or Kali’s Beach Bar when you get back to Friar’s Bay!

Even if you’re in your flip flops – if you like beautiful, less crowded beaches, the hike to Happy Bay is well worth it.

Have you been to Happy Bay?

Find Happy Bay on our St. Maarten/ St. Martin Map

To see more posts on St. Maarten/St. Martin and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

September 16, 2013May 29, 2019

Pinel Island, St. Martin

In the northern part of Orient Bay on the French side of St. Martin and just off the town of Cul de Sac, lies a small island called Pinel. Depending on who you talk to or the travel guide you read, Pinel Island can also be called Isle Pinel, Ilet Pinel, or Ile de Pinel.

We visited Pinel Island last year during a sail around St. Maarten/ St. Martin, but if staying on or visiting St. Martin, Pinel Island is very easily accessed by ferry from the town of Cul de Sac.

The day we visited, Pinel Island was very busy and the beach was much more crowded than we normally like and we hear that is really pretty normal for the small island – and many people obviously don’t mind the crowds! Even though we’d probably rather spend the day at a quieter beach somewhere, we still had fun and recommend a visit for the following reasons:

Pinel Island main beach has lovely soft sand and the water is clear and very calm. It’s a great area to bring the family to play in the water. You can also kayak over from St. Martin.

A short hike from the beach you can find a snorkel trail with decent snorkeling and we were told that snorkel equipment can be rented there.

If you continue up the trail from the snorkel trail and you’ll be treated to fantastic views of St. Martin and Orient Beach.

At the top of the trail you get a good look at the island of Tintamarre and if you look south, you may even catch a glimpse of St. Barths.

There are also a couple of more deserted beaches on Pinel that you can reach and explore via a short hike.

Umbrellas and chairs on the beach in front of Up on the Key Beach Bar/Restaurant

After your hike, you might want to head back down to sit under a beach umbrella and enjoy a frosty beverage. At the time of our visit, there were three beach bars/restaurants on Pinel: Karabuni, Up on the Key and Yellow Beach.

Karabuni Beach Bar/Restaurant. Known for it’s fresh Lobster

Yellow Beach Bar/Restaurant (located under the thatched roofs)

While writing this article, I found a FB link for Up on the Key that said the beach bar/restaurant was razed this past July amid some controversy (see article in The Daily Herald), so as of this writing, it looks as if Up on the Key is no longer located on Pinel Island. For those of you that have been there, it was the two story structure in between Karabundi and Yellow Beach. Too bad – they served up some good rum drinks and friendly conversation and I’m sure the beach looks quite different now.

Just a few more colorful images from our day of sun, fun and rum at Pinel Island, St. Martin…

Find Pinel Island on our St. Maarten/St. Martin Map

To find more posts on St. Martin and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

July 19, 2013May 29, 2019

Sandy Cay, British Virgin Islands

Between Tortola and Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands there’s a small uninhabited island called Sandy Cay.

Sandy Cay is quite small, yet larger than it’s also uninhabited sister island to the north, Sandy Spit. Both islands have become popular with the many people who love to sail the BVI and with excursions from neighboring islands, yet are so very fun to visit and you might still find yourself enjoying the island by yourself, depending on the time of year you visit.

What we liked most, well there’s really nothing we didn’t like…but the island has an amazingly beautiful beach that wraps around nearly half of it, gorgeous blue water and great views of neighboring islands.

We’ve visited Sandy Cay a couple of times and during one of our visits we took the path that cuts through the center of the island. We left from the beautiful, warm, sandy beach on the south side and worked our way through what felt like a jungle.

On the path we saw a multitudes of crabs scurrying around as well as lush green foliage.

View of Tortola from Sandy Cay

The path began to open up after a few minutes and we could see just how different this side of the small island was from the other. Instead of palm trees, there was cactus and the shoreline on this side was very rocky and rough.

Instead of palm trees, we saw cactus, and the shoreline on this side, although still beautiful, was very rocky and rough.

From our vantage point on this side of Sandy Cay, we could see Sandy Spit’s white sliver of sand in front of Green Cay with Little Jost to the left.

After spending a few moments checking out the phenomenal view, we headed back to the south side to spend some time on the white sand beach and play in the crystal clear blue water…

Have you been to Sandy Cay?

Find Sandy Cay on our Jost Van Dyke Map

To see more posts on the British Virgin Islands and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

July 18, 2013May 29, 2019

Drunk Bay, St. John

Ever go to the beach to check out the….flotsam art? We didn’t take the short hike to Drunk Bay in St. John specifically for the art, but we ended up finding it to be, well, quite entertaining, actually.

Drunk Bay does not have one of the typically gorgeous St. John beaches, such as any of the north side beaches, but we found it worth a visit nonetheless. Walk down to the pretty Saltpond Bay Beach and look for a trail that takes you to Salt Pond (you can find Saltpond Bay and Drunk Bay on our St. John Map). Walk past the Salt Pond, (which we are told is a good place to collect useable St. John sea salt) and towards the rocky shoreline of Drunk Bay.

As you near the shoreline, you will begin to see some rather unusual man-made coral and rock formations scattered about.

Decorated with pieces of coconut husks, driftwood and other items washed up from the sea, some of them are quite unusual and perhaps even artistic? It appeared to be a virtual outdoor art gallery!

A few were even anatomically ~~correct~~ similar.

Apparently the collection is continually changing with the tide, the weather and the anonymous artists that come to create their own Drunk Bay masterpieces.

An easy hike and something quite different. Glad we went.
Is some of your artwork on display at Drunk Bay?

To see more posts on St. John and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC