St. Martin. Anyone been there? (1 Viewer)

[Larry Fletcher]

Going on vacation to St. Martin in July. Anyone ever been? Pros/cons. what not to miss?

thanks.

 

[JonZ]

I was there for a day during a cruise about 4 years ago. Nude beaches,cuban cigars and great looking women.

Have a good time

 

[Paul_Medenwaldt]

I was also there on a cruise 2 years ago. Nice beaches, but missed out on the nude ones.

Liquor is very cheap there. We came home with 6 bottles of booze. I got a bottle of B&B for $9, Crown Royal for $10. But most of the liquor is in stores that try to sell you jewelry. If you are interested in the jewelry, hold out as long as you can, they will go very low on their prices. We didn't buy anything, but the guy thought he had my wife snookered in getting a bracelet. I kept pulling her away and every time I did the guy would quote a lower price.

Watch out for crooked cabbies and pick pocketer. We had a cabbie drinking some hooch during some of our stops. Also you almost have to get in writing how much the cab ride will be, because they will try to change the price of the cab fair at the conclusion of your trip.

Our stay was a few hours, but it does have some nice scenery.

Paul

 

[Bill Lucas]

I'm going there on a cruise in August. BTW, it's St. Maarten.

 

[Jed M]

It will be very hot in July. I have spent a lot of time in the Caribbean. My grandparents had a house in the BWI and we used vacation there and the VI quite a bit when I was younger.

I would recommend to drink a lot of fruity alcoholic drinks, and don't forget to try Ting. Its an island soft drink that is delicious. I think it is actually from Jamaica. I would also recommend scuba diving. They will teach you if you don't know, but it is beautiful down there with all the tropical fish and possible shipwrecks. Another thing that is fun down on those islands is that they usually have some type of open beach pit bbq parties once a week at night that are pretty fun with a steel drum band and all. So, to recap, I recommend in this order, drink, scuba, eat. It should be fun, enjoy.

 

[Larry Fletcher]

Bill, I think the Dutch side is St.Maarten and the French side is St. Martin.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Sint Maarten is a nice and strange island. I stayed mostly on the Dutch side. It is fairly Americanized and many people go there to check out the jewelry. While I was there, I took some amazing photos by Grand Bay (or great bay?) from a resort they had there.

BTW, it's St. Maarten

Yes but it also depends on which side you are referring to... the French or the Dutch.

 

[Philip_T]

I can tell what not to do. We stopped there for a day on our last cruise about 1 1/2 years ago and decided to rent some scooters and drive around the island. Narrow roads + fast driving locals + 4 American tourists on 2 scooters = a near death experience. Seriously, it wasn't that bad, but there were times when the locals would pass you doing 50 and come within inches of you. Other than that, the scenery was beautiful and we got to see alot of the island. Drove the scooters up to Pic Paradis (high spot on the island) for some great views and stopped at an empty beach near Long Bay I think it was. Whatever you decide to do there, enjoy!
Regards,
Phil

 

[Shane Martin]

I'm going there on a cruise in August. BTW, it's St. Maarten

As pointed out it depends on which side of the island you go to. We went there on a cruise last Nov and it was one of our favorites. The sand on their beaches is just amazing. Shopping is good there too if you know what to look for and can bargain. IIRC the nude beaches are on the French Side.

 

[Randy Tennison]

We were there last September. We liked it, but I don't need to go back. It was kinda depressing in some areas, due to the poor living conditions.

I prefered St. Thomas, and St. John. Much more beautiful, and better beaches.