TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Topless?

In the "Textile, CO, or Nude" thread, which apparently is controversial, there's some mention of "topless" areas. In all the times we've stayed at Club O, we've just never gotten off our butts to wander up the beach; since we are now (June) going to be staying a little north of Club O, a question from the Mrs: because it's French, is ALL of Orient Beach topless? She'd like to know both the legality and the custom. Thanks!

Yes, all of Orient is topless.

As is all French beaches.

Topless is seen and practiced all over the French side. That said, I’ve seen topless on Dutch side at mullet and karackter beach bar

We've seen topless at Karackter in the past also, but the original OP also asked about legality (in addition to custom). Topless &/or nudity is not legal on the Dutch side.

Thank you and correct.

Topless is not illegal on Dutch-side.

Yes, is all topless.

Basically, while going topless is neither legal nor illegal on the Dutch side, the vast majority will NOT practice toplessness and in particular, the local population in general neither practices nor, in many cases, appreciates it. There will always be some who will and with things being the way they are today there is virtually no right or wrong and given the present economical situation of the island as whole, I doubt anyone would challenge the practice. More often than not, the topless bathers are a very small minority group.

It may not be illegal; I'm not educated on the law regarding that. However, it is not culturally accepted by the residents of the country. As visitors, we should be respectful of that.

I stand corrected then. I was told it was illegal, but that might have been in reference to full nudity. In any event, I think that the individual circumstances and the customs of where one is sunbathing should be taken into account. We have been to Club O many times and have nothing against nude (or topless) sunbathing, but I think it’s important to remember we are guests on the island and remain respectful of our surroundings at all times.

In any event, the original OP asked about toplessness on Orient Beach and that is indeed legal.

As was mentioned by others, legal, but not very common. At least not anymore. Being that my wife and I only go every few years I get more of a snapshot in time rather than a continuous movie. 14 years ago there was a much higher percentage who would go topless than I saw on more recent visits. Interesting, although there are more American's than French on the beaches most days, this trend mirrors what has happened in France itself where topless sunbathing has become less common in recent years.

Illegal on the Dutch side? Heck, I've been going topless on that side for many years now, but I'm a guy and didn't know differently (lol).