A Day Away from the Crowds in St Martin.
Escape to Pinel Island: A Hidden Slice of Caribbean Tranquility.
Looking for concrete details and tips? Go straight to the Practical Information section.
I had walked a few minutes among barely visible paths in the shrublands covering most of Pinel island, and I finally arrived at my destination. Below me lied a desert, white-sand beach, wedged between the azure waters of the Caribbean Sea and the vibrant green of wild seagrape trees. It felt like a postcard-perfect view of paradise. I was minutes away from the crowds on St Martin but the main island felt so far away, I could have convinced myself I was stranded on an isolated atoll in the middle of nowhere.
This was my third cruise stop in St Martin (or Saint Maarten), the tiny Caribbean island known for being divided in two by an international border, separating the French side to the north from the Dutch side to the south. I had previously explored the territory’s main tourist attractions, namely Phillipsburg, the capital on the Dutch side, Marigot, the cute one on the French side, and the famous Maho beach, where planes landing to the nearby international airport pass (literally) right above your head.
This time, I wanted to find a part of St Martin few people knew about, and I set my sights on a place that was technically not on the island, but right next to it. Separated from its bigger sister by a tiny, shallow bay, Pinel island (Îlet Pinel, in French), boasts some of the best beaches around, and a lack of crowd that appealed to me. If I wanted to play Robinson Crusoe for a few hours, this would be the perfect spot to do so.
Feeling like I wanted to be among the first people to step on its powdery sand, I left the Grand Princess ship right after we were cleared to go onshore, grabbed a $30 taxi from the port, and reached the ferry pier at Cul-de-Sac, on the French side, in less than thirty minutes, before 9am.
Arriving on Pinel island, with a view of the main beach.
The boat schedule for Pinel island said “one departure every thirty minutes” but failed to note the first ferry would leave around 10am. Being the very first person on the pier should have been a big giveaway, but with no cell service, I had to wait for signs of life while hoping that today wasn’t a national holiday I wasn’t aware of.
Luckily, people started trickling in around 9.30am, and a ferry lined up by the pier a few minutes later. Before 9.45am, a full boat carried us on the slightly choppy waters towards our final destination.
Getting to the island felt dream-like, as the main beach to the left of the wobbly arrival pier extended in the shallow waters as a sand spit, dotted with bright-yellow beach chairs, all empty and aligned with such precision that it made me think I was about to land on a Wes Anderson movie set.
The chairs quickly filled up with some of my fellow passengers, who had decided to come on the island for a day of relaxation. Instead of following them, I started walking towards the right side of the beach, beyond the perimeter allocated to the restaurants, as I had seen, from afar, a small path cut in the grass that seemed to lead towards other parts of the island.
A wild beach on Pinel island, but not my final destination.
Pinel island was named after a famous 17th century pirate who tried to claim the nearby island of Saba for himself, failed, and ended up crashing his ship on the small islet that now bears its name. Today, there is no sunken ship to be found, and the only permanent inhabitants of the 28 acre (0.12 square km) island are iguanas and hermit crabs.
The island is famous for its main beach, where we docked, a stunning slice of Caribbean perfection, facing the quiet bay, with water a bright saturated turquoise color that felt surreal. The beach is home to two restaurants that serve fresh, delicious food, and for most people visiting the island, this part of Pinel island is where their trip begins and ends.
I wanted to head back and leave my WhatsApp messages unanswered for a little while longer.
My goal was to explore the island and find my own place to unwind, no beach chair needed. Following that small path in the grass, I started walking towards the western side of the islet and quickly reached a second beach. There was no one around, and the view over Orient bay, a few miles south, was gorgeous. The beach formed an almost perfect crescent shape, but was very exposed to the winds and the waves, which, on this side, were much less subdued than in the bay. I felt this wasn’t going to be my place to relax for the day, and kept on walking.
In fact, I started climbing a bit towards the northeastern part of the island, and quickly reached its modest peak, topping at a not-so-impressive 66 feet (or 19 meters). It still afforded me a panoramic view of the island, and of St Martin in the background.
The quietest beach (i.e. my beach) on Pinel island.
And this is when I saw it. Looking to the west, towards the northern shore of Pinel, lied a beautiful, secluded beach, partially hidden by a small forest of sea grape trees. From afar, it looked like everything I was looking for: lapped by gentle azure waves, with no one in sight, it begged me to go and check it out.
It seemed I couldn’t beeline straight down, for the forest of trees seemed quite dense, and I could see a jumbled outcrop of unfriendly rocks beyond it that I thought best to avoid. Instead, I went back down following the edge of the small forest until I could find an opening in the trees and, scaring off a couple of friendly iguanas along the way, made my way towards the sand.
This beach had no name, but I quickly wanted to christen it as my own. Here I was, a few minutes away from the hubbub of Orient Bay, the iconic, bustling beach on the eastern side of St Martin, surrounded by exactly no one. It was hard to believe 10,000 cruisers had set foot on the island today. They were nowhere to be seen in my little paradise. I spread my towel on the sand, leaving the first footprints of the day, and lied down with a content sigh.
Around me, all I could hear was the crashing sound of the waves. Above me, all I could see was blue sky and a few fluffy white clouds. I was starting to think that maybe, I didn’t need to head back to the cruise ship at all…
Yellow Beach sun chairs by the eponymous restaurant.
Reality quickly came crashing down, in the form of a sweet French-Canadian family walking down the path I had taken minutes earlier. Suddenly, this was no longer my own private beach. I was reminded that beauty is best shared, and I happily complied - after all, this beach was wide enough for more than just a few people.
When I left, a couple of hours later, to get refreshments on the main beach (I hadn’t brought any food or water with me, the methodical planner that I am), there were no more than ten people on the long strip of sand. This wasn’t a beach where the cacophony of children playing or the laughter of teenagers challenging each other to a dive would break the harmony I think we all felt. This beach was a delicate balance of perfection, and we were all, somehow, respecting it.
It made me think I was about to land on a Wes Anderson movie set.
Back by the pier, I realized I was not only thirsty, but also starving, and luckily, food and drinks at the Yellow Beach restaurant were reasonably priced (and, quite inexplicably, the place accepted USD at the rate of 1 USD = 1 EUR, a bargain for greenback holders). Hungry for wifi, I watched my Whatsapp notification badge go higher and higher - I had been offline for a few hours, and it felt good to be connected again, yet I quickly missed the seclusion of my little secret beach. Back here, this was life as usual, people chatting, splashing each other in the water, ordering cocktail after cocktail. More people kept trickling in with each ferry arrival.
There, it felt like time had stopped, and all I needed was sunscreen and a hat. I really wanted to head back and leave my WhatsApp messages unanswered for a little while longer.
Another view on Pinel island's main beach, with St Martin in the background.
Instead, I decided I would come back the next time I am in St Martin, and pretend to find that same beach by chance, like the first time. That it seemed so random a find made my time there even more enjoyable.
I waited for another full ferry to arrive, and slowly, almost reluctantly made my way towards the pier. There weren’t many people leaving Pinel island yet, but I had a ship to get back to. This time, Pinel island’s pull hadn’t been strong enough to convince me to leave it all behind.
I found a taxi at the pier, and half an hour later, walked back onto the Grand Princess, in the oppressive late-afternoon heat, still thinking about my nameless secret beach on that tiny little island, and plotting when I would come back to enjoy it again.
What stayed with me
I loved the feeling of being away from the busy beaches of St Martin without having to go very far to find piece and quiet. Pinel island felt like a well-kept secret - maybe, the additional ferry ride made it less of an option for a lot of people. In any case, I enjoyed the sense of remoteness and the few minutes of absolute loneliness on one of the nicest, wildest beach I have ever laid a towel on.
Practical information
(everything you wanted to know about Pinel island, near St Martin - updated November 2025)
In a nutshell
The small Pinel island is located close to St Martin’s Orient bay, an 8-minute water taxi ride from the Cul-de-Sac ferry pier. It offers stunning beaches and few people on them.
Taxi from the cruise port costs a fixed $30 for up to 2 people and the drive lasts about 30 minutes.
The water taxi costs EUR10 / USD12 round-trip, and runs every 30 minutes or so from 10am to 5pm (last departure from Cul-de-Sac at 4.30pm)
The boats ferrying passengers to and from Pinel island, seen at the Cul de Sac pier.
Getting to Pinel island
How to get to St Martin from abroad: St Martin’s international airport, Princess Juliana (SXM) is actually located in the Dutch part of the island but serves both the French and the Dutch sides. Many flights are available from key hubs in North America (daily to New York, Atlanta and Miami, several times weekly from Chicago, DC, Toronto or Montreal). The island is also served daily from Paris with AirFrance and several times weekly from Amsterdam with KLM (the KLM return flight stops in Trinidad before heading back to Amsterdam, however).
How to get to Pinel island from the Phillipsburg cruise port in St Maarten (Dutch side): the majority of tourists arrive in St Martin by cruise ship. There were 1.3 millions of them in 2023 (the most recent year with data available), and the Phillipsburg port can sometimes see 6 ships docked at once on peak days.
From the cruise port, the easiest way is to take a taxi to the ferry pier in Cul-de-Sac, on the French side of the island. There is a taxi station within the port with signs leading to it. Pricing is fixed at $30 one-way for up to 2 people, and the fares are listed on a board by the taxi stand. The taxi will take up to 4 people (the fare per person is $12 for a 4-person trip). With little traffic, the drive should take anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes. The 8-minute ferry ride from Cul-de-Sac happens about every 30 minutes from 10am to 5pm (last departure from Cul de Sac at 4.30pm, last return from Pinel island at 5pm).
The ferry costs EUR10 or USD12 return, only payable in cash just before boarding the boat in Cul-de-Sac.
One of the many man-made paths on Pinel island.
When to go to Pinel island
The best months weather-wise to visit Pinel island and St Martin are during the dry season, between December and April, with February and March being the driest months. This is also peak season but the islet doesn’t really get super crowded on weekdays (it’s a different story on weekends).
November and April are good shoulder season months, with pleasant weather and fewer crowds.
I visited Pinel island in November 2025, while 4 cruise ships carrying 10,000 passengers were in port, but the main beach was only half-full, and once I left it behind me to discover the rest of the island, I saw less than 15 people total. In other words, you’ll find a peaceful spot even on a busy cruise day.
It’s always good to check how many boats will be in town on they day(s) you plan to visit. The schedule is here.
What is the ferry timetable to and from Pinel island
The ferry service starts at 10am everyday and ends at 4.30pm from Cul-de-Sac, and 5pm from Pinel island.
Ferries leave every 30 minutes. The ride lasts about 8 minutes.
It is possible that the first ferry leaves early if it is full before 10am, so if you want to take that one, it pays to get to the pier early.
The most direct way to the secret beach passes by the restrooms.
How much is the ferry to Pinel island
The round trip fare is EUR10 or USD12 (both currencies are accepted). Payment is cash-only, at the pier in Cul-de-Sac just before boarding the boat.
Safety in Pinel island
The binational island of St Martin is very safe - so much so that the US State Department travel advisory labels it a level 1 territory, meaning there are no specific safety precautions to take when visiting. The island is as safe as it gets, level 1 being the lowest level possible.
Keep in mind these travel tips
The French side of the island is technically part of the European Union and uses the Euro currency, while the Dutch part isn’t part of the EU and uses the US dollar, but it is fairly common to use the USD in both parts of the island. Credit cards are widely accepted in the territory even for small amounts - it was never an issue for me, but I only used my Visa card as some shops had a sign saying AMEX cards weren’t accepted there. It is frequent to be asked that tips be handled in cash.
I mentioned the French/Dutch border a lot, but it is nothing more than a line you can cross freely. There are no ID checks, no police controls, only a monument with the French and Dutch flags you will pass by without stopping.
Taxis only accept cash (USD is fine, even on the French side).
English is widely spoken on both sides of the border, while French is more prevalent on the north side of the border.
SPF will be your best friend. The UV index may be low in the morning and evening, but during the day, it gets pretty high.