Explore Cocos Beach Club Local Attractions
St. Maarten
Cocos Beach Club local attractions and activities include:
Activity
Water sports & Boat trips
There are great adventure trips from Aqua Mania at the Pelican Resort. http://www.stmaarten-activities.com/en/. All sorts of boat trips, Scuba, snorkeling, kayaks, jet skis, and paddleboards are available here. The website lists the many trips and excursions offered.
Boat excursions and charters
Captain Ian and crew are a friendly and knowledgeable crew that we highly recommend. +1 (721) 556-4128 is his phone number. https://www.stmaartencharters.com/
Scuba
The closest Scuba is right down the street in Simpson Bay at http://www.thescubashop.net/.
Zip Lining
Caribbean’s biggest zip line is Flying Dutchman in Philipsburg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UT64LXwauc
Loterie Farms http://loteriefarm.com/. Loterie is on the French side and also has a pool and restaurant, so it's a good place to hang out during the day. It's a bit pricey but worth it for zip lining. You must have sneakers to zip line!
Famous Bars
Sunset Beach Bar is the most famous beach bar in St Maarten http://sunsetsxm.com/. The pictures of planes landing were mostly taken from this bar or the adjoining Maho beach. It has great burgers, good drink specials, and usually has live music. It is the most famous bar.
Buccaneer Beach Bar – also has great burgers and is on Kim Sha beach. It’s across the bay and visible with binoculars from the condo. http://buccaneerbeachbar.com/.
Beaches
Simpson Bay Beach
1.25 miles of white sand and beautiful, Caribbean blue swimmable water! Right in front of your apartment! You could never leave Simpson Bay and have the time of your life.
Mullet Bay Beach
Mullet Bay is on the other side of Maho with a left turn off of the road that winds through the golf course. It's unmarked, so a little hard to find but well worth the search. It's a beautiful beach with snorkeling right off the beach. Chairs and umbrellas are rented, and there are three beach restaurants (lolos) that have great ribs, chicken, and much more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsPvqMnDEKo
Orient Beach
Orient is the most famous beach on the island. It is on the French side, lined with exquisite French restaurants and some of the finest dining in the Caribbean. so the restaurants on the beach are higher end with more and better options. Parking is easy once you find the beach. There are a lot of water sports, including parasailing. The eastern end of Orient is a clothing-optional beach club that is also famous. It's a small portion of the beach and generally secluded from the remainder of Orient Beach. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9COl_7Ufb70
Pinel Island
Pinel is visible from Orient. The entrance is west of Orient Beach. It's a cay on the northwest side of Orient Bay that has calm waters, good snorkeling, beach chairs/umbrellas for rent, and good restaurants. You take a ferry back and forth to Pinel from the mainland. Here is a link with good info on Pinel http://www.caribbeanpaddling.com/saint-martin-sint-maarten/pinel-island/
St. Maarten Restaurants
Higher End
Karakter
Karakter is located walking distance down Simpson Bay Beach and has a casual beach restaurant vibe. The cuisine is high-end beach food including some excellent fresh seafood. Karakter is truly a one-of-a-kind dining experience and people come from all over the island to eat there. It's our favorite for either lunch or dinner. It's also a good place to spend the day on the beach. If you get there by 11:00, there are usually chairs, and you can stay there all day with no extra charge for the chairs. Friday night is Jazz night with Tapas. https://karakterstmaarten.com/
Sale & Pepe
World-class Italian food close to Cocos on Simpson Bay road. Pricey but always consistently great. https://salepepesxm.com/
Isola
Excellent Italian located in Hollywood Casino in the Pelican area. https://isolaristorante.com/
La Samanna
A beautiful cliffside hotel on the French side. Great restaurant for lunch or dinner. If you go for lunch, stay and enjoy the pool and beach. https://www.belmond.com/hotels/caribbean/st-martin/belmond-la-samanna/?gclid=CjwKCAiA7939BRBMEiwA-hX5J7oXn2yjHIepN3tYal1Y6zhmzaP6bLwu_4ITdhF2HkIP7u1CjEgXNRoCwAEQAvD_BwE
Rainbow
Located on the beach in Grand Case on the French side. Grand Case is a famous Caribbean culinary destination. Fantastic French food in the beachside restaurant. Beach service with rentable chairs on Grand Case beach. https://www.rainbowcafesxm.com/
Jax
In Maho upstairs across from Casino Royale. A little pricey but great steak and burgers in an air-conditioned environment. http://www.jaxsxm.com/
Marigot Harbor – Le Tropicana
Any of the restaurants along the marina in Marigot are great for a long French lunch after shopping. But Le Tropicana is the oldest and most acclaimed. (+590 590 87 79 07)
Casual
Mary's boon
Simpson Bay beach. Great drinks. Bar food during the day and fine dining during the day. They also serve breakfast. Berry mojitos are good here. http://www.marysboon.com/
Pineapple Pete
Awesome cuisine, great chef. Best lobster thermidor on the island! Great stuffed seafood. Some off-menu items like lamb shank and escargot are house specialties for those 'in the know.' https://st-maarten.com/index.php/restaurants-dining/restaurants-n-to-z/pineapple-pete
Driftwoods Boat Bar
Bar on the Northside of Maho Beach opposite the Sunset Beach Bar. Great pizza and potent rum punches made with 7 types of rum. Pizza can be taken back to the condo or eaten in the Bohemian picnic area by the boat bar. On the other end of the beach from Sunset Beach Bar. https://www.facebook.com/driftwoodsxm
Dinghy Dock Bar
Good casual food and lots of beer selections. Good venue for sports events.
https://www.facebook.com/thedinghydock/
Calmos café
Beachfront in Grand Case great food. Awesome sunsets. There is a free parking lot close by.
St. Martin yacht club
Great for bridge opening and Happy Hour - fun bartenders! It’s a big hangout as everyone watches the yachts come through when the bridge opens. https://www.smyc.com/
Simpson Bay Bridge openings
Make sure to check this link to get to Yacht Club before the bridge opens! Also good to know the times, so you don't get caught in traffic when out and about. http://www.portstmaarten.com/index.php?id=20
Nearby Islands
St Barths
Gustavia. Great for shopping. Le Select is a famous dive bar as it's one of the two places where Jimmy Buffet's "Cheeseburger in Paradise" song was based. Burgers are great; the place has a laid-back vibe in the middle of high-end Gustavia. At night the Bazaar is the most famous bar and will sometimes have Jimmy Buffet or John Bon Jovi, or many others hop on stage and sing: www.Bazbar.com.
St-Jean beach is my favorite beach on St Barths. La Plage beach restaurant is a favorite restaurant. Eden Rock restaurant and Nikki Beach are also awesome. If I had to pick one place, I would pick La Plage. You can walk the entire beach and watch planes take off and land at the airport close by. It's one of the scariest and most dangerous airports to land in the world, so fun to watch. The bay also has many water sports, including paddleboarding, windsurfing & snorkeling.
Anguilla
Activity
Prickly Pear cay – is a great snorkeling spot! It’s on the southwest end of Anguilla. Many boats anchor there and snorkel. There is a lolo (beach restaurant) on the cay that serves basic food.
Sandy Isle – is another great snorkeling spot and unique place. There is a restaurant here as well. It’s a little tougher to get to than Prickly Pear so it doesn’t get as crowded with boat traffic. Most visitors take a ferry back and forth from Anguilla so you shouldn’t have many other boats anchored and snorkeling. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g5213296-d148030-Reviews-Sandy_Island-Sandy_Ground_Anguilla.html
Shoal Bay North is the best beach on the island, and possibly the planet! It’s on the north shore of Anguilla towards the eastern tip of the island. There is awesome snorkeling here as well where you’ll see large fish, sea turtles and rays just off the shore. You can rent chairs for cheap as Tropical Sunset or other places along the beach. Gwens is a great reggae bar on the northern end of Shoal Bay. https://www.google.com/search?q=shoal+bay+north+anguilla&rlz=1C1EJFA_enUS761US761&sxsrf=ALeKk01dKg2vfwYhPUEiyp6n3XY3ayZCpQ:1605884083869&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=acK_SIBWvdzqAM%252CS7FMNm8zuv3TSM%252C%252Fg%252F11bc8zjmxr&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQnbs11x-dZyKiDRcpdpdAxk3couw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj03vmysJHtAhWxTd8KHc6VBrQQ_B16BAgIEAM#imgrc=acK_SIBWvdzqAM
Dune Preserve is an outdoor reggae bar that is famous throughout the Caribbean. https://www.bankiebanx.net/dunepreserve
Restaurants
Anguilla has some awesome restaurants.
Straw Hat – popular high end restaurant at end of a pier on the water https://www.strawhat.com/
Blanchards – popular high end restaurant famous for owners writing ‘A Trip to the Beach’ book https://blanchardsrestaurant.com/
Trattoria Tramonto – excellent Italian food at famous restaurant on west end of island https://trattoriatramonto.com/
Cap Juluca – couple of excellent restaurants at this high end resort that’s been voted top 10 in the Caribbean. https://www.belmond.com/hotels/north-america/caribbean/anguilla/belmond-cap-juluca/
Aurora Anguilla (formerly CuisinArt) – similar to Cap Juluca with some excellent restaurants https://www.auroraanguilla.com/