We recently stayed in Orient Beach and had a wonderful time. We stayed at the Alamanda which was a 30 second walk to the restaurants in the village and across the path from the beach. We enjoyed the village atmosphere in the evening, having late dinners with lots of wine of course. We even went to a beach party at Kontiki one night which was a lot of fun.

Orient is a beautiful beach, however, when it's crowded...boy is it crowded!! We couldn't stand being there on cruise ship days. We also found the "vendors" to be annoying and every 30 seconds we had to say no thank you to someone selling something. Luckily Le Galion is a 10 minute walk away but an entirely different experience.

We also discovered on this trip that we actually prefer Grand Case as a place to stay. While the beach is not as wide, it's much more laid back. Of course, the restaurant choices in the evening are wonderful too. So on our next trip we will be staying in Grand Case and visiting Orient during the day if we get the urge.