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.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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

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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.

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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

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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Sandy-Cay-5-O
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.

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

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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.

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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…

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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