A Day Trip to Pinel Island, Where It's Kosher to Tag Tiger Sharks

Where: Pinel Island, St. Martin

St. Martin has typically been considered the brief stopover island for fabulous jetsetters who then fly onward to St. Barth's. That is until our writer Shira Levine discovered that the bipolar island with a French and Dutch identity crisis is worth lingering on for a few days. Questions or suggestions? Let us know.

There are no cars or hotels on Pinel Island, which makes the tiny island just five minutes off the shores of French Cul de Sace and the northern tip of Orient Bay so charming. Pinel is quintessentially the place St. Martininers go to relax. Yes, a Caribbean island for Caribbean islanders to get away from their Caribbean island and relax.

Pinel doesn't try to be fancy and that's why it's been able to retain a popular, universal appeal without feeling over crowded and lame. (The cruise ship set don't make it over here.) There's just an old wooden dock and a shack that rents kayaks. Small, family run ferry boats make the five minute jaunt countless times a day, and charge $7 a person, because well, why not?

Besides picnicking at Le Karibuni (order the lobster) and swimming in the warm, shallow waters, visitors can go tiger shark tagging with a company called Wakawa. (No killer whale tricks here!) The company of hot French surfer dudes from France and a few Americans from the Midwest really stress the whole eco tourism angle, which is a good think because they still take groups to "fragile and protected areas [but] in a low impact way."

This makes it all the more exciting that they've recently added the awesomely adventurous yet educational Tiger SharkLab tour. The tour gets tourists up close and personal while also collecting data like length, weight, sex, and age, as well a tagging the shark's dorsal fin with a tracking tag. The Wakawa crew lest tours take pictures and pet the shark while meanwhile taking a DNA sample for genetic fingerprinting. Crazy!

Price is $300 a person and groups max out at six people. Wakawa will take kids six and up.

Insider Tip: When you arrive on Pinel Island you will see a large sand spit. Behind that a stand of Coconut palm trees, and then a small hill that makes up this picture perfect paradise. There are no cars, no roads, (and of course no ATM!) However, you will find three beach bars/ restaurants. One is run by a Frenchman, the other is a local tiki-hut style place serving BBQ food, seafood and grilled fresh lobster as well. The third, called "Up On The Key," is new.

Full Disclosure: Shira Levine was a guest of the Tourism Board of St. Martin aka The French Side.

[All photos by Shira Levine]

All photos by Shira Levine

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