It's a shame there's so much destruction of the buildings and infrastructure.  It's possible some areas may be "dedeveoloped" which could help expand nude use in the future.  Knowing how "island time" runs for construction and how the logistics of rebuilding half the islands will be I think it may be 10 years before things are anywhere back to normal.

 More importantly, the people of St Martin and St Maarten have been delt a serious blow to their current and future health and happiness.    Let's all wish them the best.   My wife and I have spent our St Martin vacations on the west coast of French St Martin (Grand Case area) and have seen pictures of the terrible devastation of both modern and traditional construction. The resort where we stay has started a fund raising effort not for the resort but for the employees who will be out of work for a year or more.   

 The best way I've found to keep up on what's happening on SXM is TTOL (Travel Talk Online: http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=stmartin ).

We are heading there this week, Staying in the Orient Beach area. We will be spending most of our time on the nude section, but have a variety of thongs and g strings for the walk through the textile side.

Spark - please post a trip report!!! We've been to SXM (always Club Orient) about a dozen times, all before Irma. In those days a miniscule bikini, thong or g-string was fine on the beach and in Orient Village, presumably it still is. Be sure to visit Luis the Bikini Guy - not sure where he is now but you'll see his sign. Have a great time!

Things are great on Orient Beach. There are lots of men and women wearing thongs on the nude and textile side of the beach. Lots of guys in bikini style suits as well. It’s not as busy as before Irma but still an awesome place with lots of choices for food and drink

We have t been to any other beaches as of yet but I wouldn’t think there would be any issues . I have seen lots of pictures from different sxm forums and there are plenty on men and women in minimal swim wear. Have a blast on your trip!! We are!!

We are home now after a wonderful trip to St Martin. As said earlier, we stayed on Orient beach mostly. We did go to Phillipsburg one day for a Jet Ski excursion, where we rode for 2 hours half way around the island and then through the Lagoon. Both my wife and I rode in thongs and have the tan line to prove it, LOL. There were no issues. On Orient beach there were more thongs then one could count on any given day, There were men and women from their twenty's to who knows how old. We saw quite a few couples walking the beach , both in thongs. There is one couple we have seen there before that have matching suits and change about 3 times a day, always matching each other. The men who were not in thongs, wore bikini style briefs and square cut styles quite a bit. even the regular shorts were well above the knees. There were still your standard board shorts, but there were a lot less of them. Great to see!!!

Is it safe to day that St. Maarten has fully recovered from the hurricane that blasted through there a year ago ?

It is not fully recovered, Club Orient, the accommodation part has not been repaired yet . The nude beach area is open and chairs and umbrellas are available by Cedrick. They have the Perch Light Bar serving food and drink and a reasonable price . There are lots of accommodations available through Airbnb and homesaway at Orient village . The area has a lot to offer still , We had a wonderful holiday and met many awesome people , locals and visitors . I think it is a great place to visit!!!

Spark2100, thanks so much for the reassuring update. Orient Beach is just about my favorite place on earth, so it's very reassuring to read that it is returning to its true grandeur. I was apprehensive about booking a trip for fear that I might not even be able to get a chair and umbrella during the closure of Club Orient. It's also encouraging to read that thongs were well represented. When I went for the first time in 2001, I saw plenty of male thongers. However, with each passing year, it seemed they became less and less common. Granted, I always go in July, the beginning of the off season, so I'm sure I'd see more in the high season simply because there are more visitors. When I went in the summer of 2016, I still only saw a couple of other men in thongs each day, but I did at least see a pretty marked decline in board shorts, with a lot more guys (including the younger set) opting for square cuts or briefs. I'm glad to see the trend continues.

Returned from a week at St. Martin, mostly at Orient Beach. The beach itself is better post hurricane Irma because it is now wider, and rebuilt businesses are set back further than before. So it seems less crowded. Club O remains in ruins at the far south end, but a beach chair / umbrella concession and small bar provide service for day trippers. Without the resort, there are some guys lurking among the ruins. Mostly older folks were present. About half the crowd was nude. I walked down and took advantage of the location to remove my swimsuit while there, but did not stay. I wore my teardrop g-strings, the smallest suits of anyone all week. I walked the length of the beach twice per day. I got no negative reactions from anyone I met. I was mostly ignored. I did get a couple of compliments. Few pictures were being taken of others, and very few selfies. For women there were 1% thongs and 10% cheekies. Three g-strings. Up to 5% topless, all along the beach, including women walking along the beach topless. Rare topless plus thong. For men I saw a dozen thongs and three g-strings all week. Maybe 1% bikinis on men. But here's the real news: less than 5% board shorts. Mostly mid-thigh trunks. An older couple walked the beach each day in matching thongs, and another couple were spotted with g-strings. It seemed like much of the beach use, especially on a weekend, was by locals. About 10% of people were fully clothed. Of course, at the Club O south end, there were more thongs and topless, but it doesn't count. I spent some of my time midway along the beach. An attendant set me up right in the middle of all the beach chairs, and other people filled in around me, and they paid no attention to me. One day the beach got crowded when cruise ships had docked. I talked to a couple of cruise passengers who said their ship had over 6000 people on board. Most were Americans, so the proportion of minimal swimwear decreased while they were there. At nearby Pinel Island there's a good sized beach used by a mixed group of people, locals and tourists. About half of people there were clothed and were just hanging out in beach chairs or at the bar. Of those women with swimsuits, about 5% had cheekies, and just one thong. No topless. For the men, I spotted a couple of bikinis. Rare board shorts. Everyone ignored me in my g-string. At a nearby hotel, I used the pool every day wearing my g-strings. No reactions from anyone. About 5% of the women went topless at some point. The pool seemed to be taken over on the weekend by local families with lots of children, but they were present part of the day most of the week. They ignored me. On a weekday one child was nude and no one cared. So for minimal swimwear this part of St Martin is the same as before. No problems, even when more crowded. Observation: maybe one person in 20 is in good shape, but even plus size people are wearing less. This helps with acceptance of whatever anyone wears.

These are good reports Animal and Sting theory. I have always wanted to go to St. Martin. Is it expensive?

String Theory, what hotel & pool did you frequent?

Any board member traveled to St Martin recently during pandemic? I miss Orient beach.

W’ve been to SXM over dozen times over the years, always staying at Club Orient. We did visit last November on a cruise and went to Orient Beach. Club Orient remains in a totally wrecked state since Irma. The new parking area is in the circle where the newest concrete chalets were. The Perch has been rebuilt after a fashion but I heard that Willy the long term bartended returned to Belgium long ago – it’s just not the same. Naked is still fine where ClubO used to be and topless & thongs or g-strings are fine everywhere else on Orient but it’s just not the same. We didn’t walk up the beach to the bar/restaurant area – keep up with TTOL or orientbeach.com for the latest on Orient Beach. Such a shame.

We have been to St Martin many times as well . The last 5 trips , we have stayed on Orient beach . 4 times at the Alamanda , the last time above the pizza place on the Main Street of Orient Village. We are a coupe in our 50’s now . As far as comfort level , it is what you make of it . We spend our days on the club O end of the beach . As soon as we hit the sand , I strip to a thong or g string and my wife does the same . She doesn’t even pack a top for trips here. When we get to the rocks, the tiny bottoms come off . If we choose to go back to one of the beach bars for lunch , the a tiny bottom goes back on when we cross the rocks again . ( the rocks are gone now so I am not sure what the line will be) On the textile side , I have seen many thong wearers , men and women , young and old . I guess it depends onthe week you are there. The cruise ship gawkers show up and take their stroll . I have seen people I know walk by . The world didn’t stop. We were both on a nude beach . Shame on you for wearing clothes , lol. At the end of the day we walk back to our room . We cover as we leave the sand . We have never had an issue . We have met some amazing people and built long lasting friend ships while there . If you want to look for reasons not to return , I am sure you could find them about just about any destination . I was a young man when we first went to St Martin . It solidified the fact I could wear a thong in public and not be centred out.

Spark One of these years we’ll definitely return to SXM, probably staying at one of the nudist (Jardin D’O or Resident Adam & Eve) BnB’s. Our experiences have pretty much mirrored yours on Orient Beach, meeting people over the years who have become true friends. One of our daily routines at Orient was to walk down to the beachside restaurants for lunch – wearing a semi transparent half pareo or a g-string. The Pirate and Chez Leandra were our favorites. We did go to Baywatch once but never went back because Andy was such an idiot. Then stopping by Sexy Fruits, Adam & Eve or Luiz Gomes bikini hut. Of course the “boat people” would all be there gawking and drinking Caribes two at a time, decked out in their Hawaiian shirts, pale skin, street shoes and stupid grins. Doomed to return to the ship at the end of the day while we would be there the next day to do it all over again. Keep going, Spark, maybe someday we’ll run into you and end up adding you to our list of terrific kindred souls we’ve met on Orient Beach.

I'm back to SXM although there was a lot of hassle (COVID testing, pre-approval...). It is still my favorite place. Since Irma, the island's economy has never recovered. Now COVID... The shuttle bus driver for my rental car said it was supposed to be the busiest time, but now almost empty everywhere. I'm living at Orient Beach. During weekends, there are more people on the beach but still way far from the traffic before Irma, also far from last year before covid. On weekdays, most part of the beach is almost empty while interestingly the nude section looks the busiest. There is a guy, maybe a French expat, always in a thong roaming on the beach. Including me, there are no more than 3 male thongers on the entire beach. Most people on Orient Beach are French, and 99% in board shorts, making me initially suspect they are Americans. I only saw a couple of conservative briefs or square cuts.

I read that the recent series of hurricanes have damaged or destroyed the renovations at Orient Beach and the nearby district. This is very sad.

I didn’t notice any, to be honest. New restaurants have been built at OB and it looks better than last year when I was here. Food is still delicious.

Just wrapped up my vacation at Orient Bay. I had a great time. It was great time to visit. Cheapest hotel/BnB rates ever. Not crowded at the beach. Restaurants are all open. Food is always delicious. People couldn't be warmer, maybe because they are dying for more tourists. In the morning, I always walked the beach in a mesh g-string or a TM thong. Unlike the old days pre hurricane, I didn't see any nude walkers, but I don't think that would be a problem. During the day, at first, I tried to stay on the textile side as I preferred thonging. I started with a TM thong that left nothing to imagination when wet. No problem at all, maybe because the beach was never crowded, but the water wasn't as calm as the nude side for swimming/snorkeling, so I finally always settled on the nude side. I was one of very few people who still wore something there, but I found people seemed to pay more attention to me in a mesh g or c-thru thong. One day before sunset, I switched to a pair of Japanese sheer swim brief and walked on the textile side. I found more guys than women looked at my crotch. (Maybe this is a guy thing?) A Frenchman even took off his sunglasses to check out my package. Another morning, another Frenchman walking with his family on the beach also did the same thing to check me out while talking with his family. I found it quite interesting. People were not shy at all as long as I wasn't. I stayed at a condo unit in Palm Court Hotel. The pool was always empty, and I was always the only person in a lounge chair, and I was always in a g-string. One day, the pool maintenance guy saw me in a Joe Snyder black mesh g-string. We greeted and then he minded his own business. On my departure day, I still had some time before checkout, I decided to lie on a lounge chair in my underwear (TM sheer white thong). As soon as I settled, a French family showed up. The wife was in a 2-piece bikini, while the husband was in swim shorts above the knee. They greeted me and then ignored me and went play with their kids in the pool. Overall I had a great vacation. SXM is my favorite place in winter. SoBe/Haulover is my favorite in warmer seasons.

We are a gay couple planning a week vacation in St Martin French side. We’d like to spend most of our time in thongs, in a cottage or a condo close to the beach. Any recommendations or suggestions? Thanks for any advice you can provide!

This is a trip report from back in January. Of note, all the other times I had been were either between April and September, I.e., this was our first time going in the "high season" vs. the cheaper and less busy "low season". Everything was MUCH busier than times I had been in the past and there was definitely a higher ratio of French to American tourists. We stayed at a private villa inland with its own pool for 4 days, then the rest at orient bay. Orient bay was actually kind of a mixed experience. I'll try to summarize the good and bad: 1) The early morning nude/thong walk the length of orient bay is alive and well. Plenty of people going nude or topless for a walk the length of the entire beach before/around 8am every day. I did the walk every morning in a small thong and it was quite nice. No troubles no reactions from people. 2) In the past, I've seen a lot more textiles mixed in the nude section: Couples where one doesn't want to go fully nude, guys in thong/speedo, etc, mixing in with the mostly nude crowd. This trip the nude section was pretty much 100% nude. We setup to tan in our thongs in the nude section twice and actually heard MANY negative comments of people not being shy about voicing their displeasure that we didn't completely disrobe - and our suits were TINY. It got to a point where my fiance felt uncomfortable and we had to leave. 3) Renting chairs at any of the beach bars on the textile side was fine for thonging. No real reactions other than some very minute positive ones. 4) As a guy, walking around in a thong on the textile side was a much different experience than just hanging out at chairs. It got A LOT more attention, more than I cared for. Also, just setting up in the sand on those occasions where we didn't want to spend hours and justify the cost of the chair rental, surprisingly also got a lot of attention. There was something about renting loungers that made you just blend in, or maybe the show of spending money had something to do with it, I don't know, it was weird. A very cheeky bikini cut (for me, a guy) walking around on the textile side garnered much less attention than my thongs. Again, it stood out to me how noticeable the line was where people felt the need to react vs. ignore. Note, no cruise ships were in port for these observations. So it can't be explained by that. 6) Restaurant scene / bar was the busiest I had ever seen it. This trip I had packed a bunch of showy outfits. Short shorts that were cheeky even, scooped out tanks, things I wouldn't wear walking around any beach town in the US. No looks whatsoever. I actually really enjoyed experimenting with different showy off-beach outfits, even sarong cover ups for sitting at the beach bars. Probably has to do with so many people staying there for the nude section, also wanting to wear as little as they can when outside the nude section. Some other trip highlights: 1) Happy bay was amazing as always. Quite busy versus the past times I've been, even midweek. About 70/30 clothed/nude. No problem walking around in a thong and being sociable. More locals hanging out than I remember. 2) Bay rouge was my absolute favorite beach the whole trip. With there no longer being a bar there, the crowd seemed much more bohemian and do your own thing. Able to walk for what felt like miles along the beach in total comfort wearing tiny strings. 3) Kayaked to pinel from orient, spent the day on pinel. Walked the trails in our thongs and spend some time on the nude beach side, then threw on a sarong and got a bunch of caribs at the bar. Crowd that hangs out in the chairs at pinel is more typical tourists. Women could wear very little but I definitely stood out as a guy in something skimpy. I had enough caribs that I didn't care by the end. In all it was a good trip. Having a private place for a few days and just being lazy by a private pool was very nice, we will do that again. I think for our next trip, we will still stay at orient for the convenience of walking to many places to eat/drink, but perhaps not really hang out at orient bay for the beach, at least not in high season. Bay rouge and happy bay are just so much more relaxing to us, and being that we don't sit still well, it was nice to walk around and feel carefree.