How do you get to Tintamarre by boat from St Martin?

Along the north coast, from Marina Boat'On in Nettle Bay: forty-five minutes if you go straight there, longer if you stop at Grand Case, Creole Rock and Pinel on the way. The last mile is in open water and can move about when the trade wind builds.

Do you need a buoy to moor at Tintamarre?

Yes, the yellow buoys in Baie Blanche, open to boats up to fifteen metres or fifteen tonnes. The three white buoys are reserved for diving clubs. Anchoring is prohibited in la Lagune, on the south side, and on coral; our boats are under ten metres, so you may anchor on bare sand more than twenty metres off the beach if every yellow buoy is taken.

Do you see turtles at Tintamarre?

Baie Blanche is a feeding and nesting site for green and hawksbill turtles, and you come across them in the seagrass on almost every trip. In nesting season, leave the top of the beach alone.

What does a day at Tintamarre cost?

€650 for ONE LIFE 29 and €750 for PALOMA for the full day, 9:30 to 16:30, up to ten people. €400 and €450 for a half day. Fuel is extra at €1.60 per litre, so €50 to €80 for Tintamarre.

Tintamarre by boat from St Martin

Q: Are there restaurants or water on Tintamarre?

No. The island is deserted: no shop, no water, no shelter. Reckon on a litre and a half of water per person for half a day. The last place to find food on the route is Pinel Island.

A deserted island ten minutes past Pinel. No jetty, no bar, not one house: white sand, turtles in the seagrass, and nothing else. You bring everything, you leave nothing.

The run from Nettle Bay to Tintamarre, along the north coast and past Pinel. In sand, the departure point.

Tintamarre close up, from Pinel. You moor in Baie Blanche, facing St Martin and so in the lee. In yellow, la Lagune, on the south side, where anchoring is prohibited.

What the day looks like

Grand CaseYou run along the bay of the island's gourmet village, twenty minutes out.
Creole RockMask and snorkel inside the nature reserve, the first stop of the run.
Pinel IslandThe lunch stop, and the last place you will find anything to eat or drink.
Baie Blanche, TintamarreThe mooring, on a yellow buoy: the island's only real beach and its only sheltered coast. Very good snorkelling right beside it, and a path across to the windward shore.

Fuel: about €50 to €80

Worth knowing: Baie Blanche is a feeding and nesting site for green and hawksbill turtles. You come across them in the seagrass on almost every trip. In nesting season, keep away from the top of the beach.

Getting there

You leave from Marina Boat'On, in Nettle Bay, and run the whole north coast. Forty-five minutes if you go straight there, a good deal more if you stop on the way, which is rather the point.

The last mile is in open water, between Pinel and the island. When the trade wind builds, it moves about: nothing like the Anguilla channel, but tell us the day before if anyone aboard is prone to seasickness.

Tintamarre fits into a half day, but it is tight: you get two hours on the island. A full day is a good deal more comfortable.

Mooring and the reserve

Tintamarre lies entirely inside the Saint-Martin National Nature Reserve. You moor on the yellow buoys in Baie Blanche, open to boats up to fifteen metres or fifteen tonnes. The three white buoys are reserved for diving clubs.

Anchoring is prohibited in la Lagune, on the island's south side, and on coral. Both our boats are under ten metres, so if every yellow buoy is taken you may anchor on bare sand, more than twenty metres off the beach.

Ashore the rule is simple: take no coral, no live shells, no sand, no artefacts. No fires, no pets, no fishing, and all rubbish leaves with you. Fines run to €1,500 and the reserve patrols with the maritime gendarmerie.

A deserted island, in the literal sense

No shop, no water, no shelter. Reckon on a litre and a half of water per person for half a day, twice that if it is hot and you stay. The beach offers almost no shade: if you want some, bring it.

A path crosses the island from Baie Blanche to the windward shore, ten minutes on foot. You pass the remains of a rough 1930s airstrip and the cisterns of an old farming estate. The brown noddy, a protected bird, nests on the site.

What the day costs

€650 for ONE LIFE 29, €750 for PALOMA, 9:30 to 16:30. That is the price of the boat, whether you are two or ten. Fuel is extra, read off the engine meter and billed at €1.60 per litre, so €50 to €80 for Tintamarre.

As a half day, €400 and €450, 9:30 to 13:00 or 13:30 to 16:30.