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
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