TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Grand Case

Not being familiar with this area, is this a beach that one can visit for the day or is it mostly for people staying in their hotels/resorts? Are there beach bars, shops, and restaurants along the beach as you walk? What about parking? Any tips would be appreciated. TY

Yes to all. It is a pretty calm beach, not real wide but long. There are a couple of good beach bars along the strip. Rainbow, Calamos Cafe, LOVE Hotel and the beach at the Beach Club are all great places to spend the day. The shops are mostly on the boulevard. There is a public parking lot about midway down the boulevard as well. It is best as an afternoon beach as you will be facing the sun and the sunsets are special from there.

The free parking is in the Grand case Cultural Center, just across the street from the Calmos Café. There is always someone there asking for $5 but he is just hustling money ask the parking is free.

During the DAY, it's pretty easy to just find someplace to park on the street.

During the day, if you can't find a parking spot at the public lot or on the street, you can park in the grass lot for free - they don't start charging until about 6pm. The beach is lovely. And it is fun to jump off of the old pier and swim in the calm water.

Although I have heard of these reports, I always park there and never have been approached by anyone asking for money.

I so wanted to do that but chickened out.....I would make sure you know what your are jumping into as that old condemnable pier could have some hazards in the water. I would snorkel by it first on a day with bright clear water.

Thanks to all. So....the opinion is that it's a pretty nice beach to spend the day? I don't hear too much about this beach like I do about the other favs.

IMHO, if your main focus is the beach, there are better choices. If you are looking for a good place to watch the afternoon sun while enjoying one of the beachfront bar/restaurants, Grand Case is a good choice.

Grand Case is diverse. You have water to swim, uncrowded beach to stroll, beautiful view of British island Anguilla and Creole Rock off shore., shops & restaurants to break up beach time. Worth doing but as others have posted, if beach is the main thing there are others to try: Baie Rouge Friars for example but limited beach foods and no shops. Or Dreams in Nettle Bay. Beautiful setting, great food but not a good swim area.

One day on every trip if we're not staying at Grand Case Beach Club, we spend time on the beach, have lunch, stroll. A lilttle quiet fishing village during the day and lively in the evening with restaurants & some music.

PS there's a perfumer in Grand Case. You can have a blend made just for you and you can see production. We always bring our first visit guests there. They have a nice line of sun care products too.