From the Ship
Cruise Port to Orient Bay
Forty-five minutes each way. On a six-hour call that is most of your day, and we would rather say so.
The honest number
Forty-five minutes each way.
That is from the cruise terminal at Pointe Blanche, across to the French side and up the east coast. There is no shorter way and no traffic-free hour that makes it thirty.
So before anything else: an hour and a half of your port day is the drive. Whether that is a good trade depends entirely on how long you have.
Does it fit your call?
A nine-hour call — say in at 8am, all aboard at 5pm. Ashore by 8:45, at the beach by 9:30, leave at 3, back by 3:45. That is about five hours at Orient Bay, and it works comfortably.
A six-hour call — in at 9am, all aboard 3pm. Ashore by 9:45, beach at 10:30, and you would need to leave by 1:30. Under three hours on the sand for ninety minutes in a car.
We will take you either way. But on a six-hour call we would suggest Mullet Bay, which is a genuinely good swimming beach 25 minutes away, and you would get twice the time in the water.
That is the sort of thing we would rather tell you before you book than after.
What is actually there
A long, wide beach on the Atlantic side with proper infrastructure — several beach clubs along its length, loungers and umbrellas for hire, restaurants, and toilets and showers.
The clubs differ from each other more than people expect. Some are loud and social with a bar scene; others are quiet and family-oriented with good food. Turning up at the wrong end of the same beach changes the day, so tell us the group and we will point you at the right part.
The far southern end is a naturist section. It is separate and signposted, and it is not something you wander into by accident.
The water
Because it faces the Atlantic, Orient Bay gets more wind and more swell than the west-facing beaches. On a calm day it is superb. On a windy day the sand blows and the water is choppy.
Ask us on the morning. If it is one of those days we will say so, and the honest answer might be to go somewhere else.
Back on board
We plan the return from your all-aboard time, working backwards with real margin, and the return is guaranteed. With a 45-minute drive we build in more slack than we would for a 20-minute one.
What it costs
The official tariff from the cruise port to Orient Bay is €35 for one or two passengers, then €14 per person for three to five and €12 each above that. It is priced in euros because it is a French-side journey.
For six people that is €72 each way, €144 for the round trip — and a metered fare does not include a driver waiting at the beach for five hours, which on this route is the part that matters. See the full rates.
Questions people actually ask
How long does it take to get to Orient Bay from the cruise port?
About 45 minutes each way on a clear road, and it is the honest number rather than the optimistic one. It is the far corner of the island from the terminal, across to the French side and up the east coast.
Is Orient Bay worth it on a port day?
On a nine-hour call, yes, if the beach is what you came for. On a six-hour call it is an hour and a half of driving for about three hours of beach, and there are better uses of the day.
Do I need a passport for the French side?
No. There is no border post and no checkpoint — a sign at the roadside is the whole formality. Bring identification as a matter of sense; nobody will ask.
Is it a nudist beach?
Part of it, at the far southern end, and it is well signposted and separate. The main stretch with the beach clubs is not.
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Checked and updated 4 September 2026.