2011 Saint Martin
Things to do in St. Maarten
Loterie Farms:http://www.loteriefarm.com/
Plan on spending several hours at Loterie - if not a day. It is NOT easy to find and is off the beaten path. It is also on the French side, so you will absolutely need a car to get here. I recommend heading off early, maybe stopping on the French capital of Marigot along the way. That is if you are driving around the island counter-clockwise. The bay in Marigot is beautiful. If you get there early enough there are street vendors selling their wares, but the rest of Marigot is somewhat run down (at least it was when we were there). Be ware that I believe most food establishments will include the gratuity on the check at their leisure.
As far as Loterie - it is well worth the trip and the effort in finding it. If you aren't careful you will drive right by the turn. It will be a right turn as you are heading up a hill and you will quite literally feel like you're driving down an alley for a portion of the drive. In fact, when driving around the island counter-clockwise you will drive through a golf course and at times it feels more like you're on the golf cart path than an actual road.
Take your swimsuits to Loterie as there is a stunning swimming pool there, a beautiful cabana. Let's just say it is a first-class place to go and the views during the zip-line are the best on the island. It is a jungle and a rainforest there. We literally saw a 4 foot wild iguana fall out of a tree as it stepped onto a branch that couldn't support its weight. The rest of the wild life is reasonably tame and harder to find other than birds.
If you do the zip line, they will supply you with everything you need and the guide we had was a native Saint Martin'er who went to college in the states.
Loterie Farms:http://www.loteriefarm.com/
Plan on spending several hours at Loterie - if not a day. It is NOT easy to find and is off the beaten path. It is also on the French side, so you will absolutely need a car to get here. I recommend heading off early, maybe stopping on the French capital of Marigot along the way. That is if you are driving around the island counter-clockwise. The bay in Marigot is beautiful. If you get there early enough there are street vendors selling their wares, but the rest of Marigot is somewhat run down (at least it was when we were there). Be ware that I believe most food establishments will include the gratuity on the check at their leisure.
As far as Loterie - it is well worth the trip and the effort in finding it. If you aren't careful you will drive right by the turn. It will be a right turn as you are heading up a hill and you will quite literally feel like you're driving down an alley for a portion of the drive. In fact, when driving around the island counter-clockwise you will drive through a golf course and at times it feels more like you're on the golf cart path than an actual road.
Take your swimsuits to Loterie as there is a stunning swimming pool there, a beautiful cabana. Let's just say it is a first-class place to go and the views during the zip-line are the best on the island. It is a jungle and a rainforest there. We literally saw a 4 foot wild iguana fall out of a tree as it stepped onto a branch that couldn't support its weight. The rest of the wild life is reasonably tame and harder to find other than birds.
If you do the zip line, they will supply you with everything you need and the guide we had was a native Saint Martin'er who went to college in the states.
Aqua Mania
http://www.stmaarten-activities.com/
This group is where we scuba-dove through and offers a wide variety of ocean going activities, so don't let the scuba-diving deter you from going to visit the shop. This is where we also did the "booze cruise" through and they are AWESOME! I also think they have an intro scuba course where they will take you out after a short video to do a very shallow scuba dive if anyone is interested in trying it. Sandra is their dive master and she's great along with Swani the boat driver.
You can also book off-island cruises through these folks - but I'd recommend booking early and often throughout the first couple of days so you don't miss something you want to do. We booked a trip to St. Barths - but because we were the only ones who booked it the trip got canceled. Had we done it earlier in the week we would have made it over.
If you do book the booze cruise - regardless, I recommend either limiting your intake, or make sure you have a sober driver to get you home. Ah - the drunk driving laws as I under stand them, if a cop (and we didn't see many of them) sees you driving and suspects you might be drunk, he actually will give you an escort home with you driving your car and he either leads or follows you - I don't remember which. It is VERY relaxed - not that I would want to test it. The roads are narrow - typically wide enough for two lanes and that is about it. There was a major section of the road under construction when we were there and it held us up for several hours if we went that route.
Unless you plan on staying at the resort - a car is a necessity for going anywhere on the island. There isn't much close together.
While you're at Aqua Mania - make sure to look at the restaurant next door which is covered next.
http://www.stmaarten-activities.com/
This group is where we scuba-dove through and offers a wide variety of ocean going activities, so don't let the scuba-diving deter you from going to visit the shop. This is where we also did the "booze cruise" through and they are AWESOME! I also think they have an intro scuba course where they will take you out after a short video to do a very shallow scuba dive if anyone is interested in trying it. Sandra is their dive master and she's great along with Swani the boat driver.
You can also book off-island cruises through these folks - but I'd recommend booking early and often throughout the first couple of days so you don't miss something you want to do. We booked a trip to St. Barths - but because we were the only ones who booked it the trip got canceled. Had we done it earlier in the week we would have made it over.
If you do book the booze cruise - regardless, I recommend either limiting your intake, or make sure you have a sober driver to get you home. Ah - the drunk driving laws as I under stand them, if a cop (and we didn't see many of them) sees you driving and suspects you might be drunk, he actually will give you an escort home with you driving your car and he either leads or follows you - I don't remember which. It is VERY relaxed - not that I would want to test it. The roads are narrow - typically wide enough for two lanes and that is about it. There was a major section of the road under construction when we were there and it held us up for several hours if we went that route.
Unless you plan on staying at the resort - a car is a necessity for going anywhere on the island. There isn't much close together.
While you're at Aqua Mania - make sure to look at the restaurant next door which is covered next.
Getting ready for one of our several dives.
The Stone
http://www.st-maarten.com/index.php/featured-restaurants-n-z/the-stone-restaurant
This is one seriously good place to eat and unlike most other typical sit-down places. Don't let the prices deter you either as when all is said and done it isn't any more or less expensive than the other places to eat.
The meals are served up on hot 400 degree "stones" - which is where the name comes from. So you order your entre' and it typically comes out sizzling or searing on the seasoned stone. It is right at the bay's edge and there is typically an acoustic guitar player creating the atmosphere. If you two can sneak away an evening, away from the girls, it's even that much more romantic. You won't be disappointed here. No reservations required.
If/when you go here - just take two steps out and look up at the hotel balconies. Our condo was literally two flights up. We had the acoustic guitar music each night and it was very relaxing.
Sunset Bar & Grill
http://www.st-maarten.com/index.php/featured-restaurants-n-z/sunset-bar-and-grill
No one DARES to go to St. Maarten without visiting this place. This is THE bar to go to to hang out and watch the airplanes land. Go here early and go here often (as you can). There are speakers scattered throughout the restaurant broadcasting the air traffic control, so you can typically hear planes inbound - but it is also easy enough to watch the people out towards the landing strip. As planes start approaching, people start pointing and there is enough time to walk out to take in the landing festivities.
There is an active road between the fence and the beach and the cars do not like to stop for people in the road - although they will and they are typically only going about 5mph at the most through here. But they will honk. Oh - and for parking at the Sunset Bar - just forget about it. Park on the entrance-side or there is a public parking garage a little farther out and it is an easy walk to the bar from there. The parking garage isn't terribly easy to find as it is on the main level of an office/retail establishment before you make the turn to the bar.
Things to take if you're going to hang onto the fence:
Earplugs
Eye protection
A willingness to die.
Actually the last part isn't that bad - but you will feel the full force of the jets taking off. Landings are just loud and incredibly close. The ear protection and eye protection though is very serious. Even though the jets have certainly washed away any sort of debris from the runway, you will get pelted with the sand between the runway and the beach. It's sort of like standing in front of a jet-powered sandblaster.
If you're going to spend any amount of time there and want to just hang out, and if the tide is out, the beach there is nice, but small. If the tide is in, there is no beach at all.
The biggest jet they fly in there is the 747 and it typically comes in just before noon. All other planes pale in size to the 747 - so I highly recommend getting there before it comes in and sticking around for it to take off. The planes turn around in about an hour to an hour and a half. Some pilots like really sticking it to the stupid people (me included) on the fence and will get as close as they can and run the engines up ahead of time. Others don't, so it really depends upon who is flying that day.
Get some t-shrits or ballcaps at the bar and eat their food - it's great bar food. :D And if you sit at the bar, I want a photo of you drinking for free (which you have to be topless for).
Pineapple Pete
http://www.st-maarten.com/index.php/featured-restaurants-n-z/pineapple-pete
Nothing major here other than it was an enjoyable place to eat and I wanted to mention it. It's another of many roadside places to eat. It's fun, it's breezy in the way the place is built and their drinks are great.
Oh - that's another thing. MANY of the places there are difficult to tell if they are open, closed, abandoned, condemned or just slow. Pete's is a great example because I think the only doors on the place are on the bathrooms. There are lots of little "bars" around on the beaches. Parties crop up everywhere.
Orient-Bay Beach
http://www.st-maarten.com/index.php/intro-beaches-2/french-side-beaches/baie-oriental
http://sxmdeals.com/beaches/orient-bay/
Orient-Bay is the beach I was thinking of that you can literally spend a couple of days at this beach. There is a trampoline out in the bay, jet ski's, parasailing lots of food and very little parking. It is also very literally just down the road from the nude beach. Don't let that deter you though as there is a clear delineation between the two and the Orient Bay Beach is geared for families and not for the nudity crowd. We didn't spend much time here as it is a bit of a hike (about the same as Loterie), but it is worth it. We were just doing so much scuba-diving that we didn't feel a need to travel through the traffic construction to go sit on the beach.
Phillipsburg
http://www.geographia.com/st-maarten/anmphil01.htm
This is the biggest town on the island and has the most shopping you can do. It's pretty much jewelry store, jewelry store, t-shirt shop, jewelry store, jewelry store, t-shirt shop. One really quirky item (if there is a Star Wars fan amongst you), is the guy who designed Yoda as a character and a puppet lives on the island and has a sci-fi shop with knick-knacks from his 30 some years of designing movie items. He lives on the island and is in the shop quite frequently and if he is there he is happy to talk to anyone who comes in the door. He's an interesting little fellow.
Front Street is not the first street on the island - it is the second, so I don't know why they call it Front Street. But Front Street is where all the shopping action is at. It's about a mile or so long and has some nice places to step into.
If you want to see the cruise ships - this is where they dock at. There is a HUGE beach here as well, so again - bathing suits, towels and whatnot if you want to just hang out here.
Parking is a nightmare here - but you can't get there without a car, so if/when you do drive there, we parked several blocks out where the public parking is. it was free when we were there, so I don't think the cost is the problem - it's just finding a spot. If you do take a cab from the airport to the hotel, make sure you quiz the cab driver about specifics of driving there. They are happy to show off their island. Oh - and if you don't reserve a car and change your mind in-air or even after you get to the airport, there is a lot of hustling by the car renters right outside of customs. I'm not sure how their prices are, but you will likely be approached to rent a car when you get through customs.
Guavaberry
http://www.guavaberry.com/index.php
Ahhhh - the nectar of the island (or gods). When you're in Phillipsburg shopping, keep a close eye out for the Guvaberry store. It looks like it is an old converted home. You may walk in sober, but you will walk out drunk. They have samples, you can buy colada's and you can buy as much as you're willing to carry. In my opinion, the vanilla Guavaberry is the best, but your milage may vary depending upon what you like. The rum is made on the island with the guavaberry grown on the island, and as far as I know it is native only to St. Maarten. Like I said - I will be happy with whatever you are willing to carry back, if it's one bottle or a dozen - I'm good for it. :D
Cellular and wifi service
Service on the island - at least from AT&T is non-existent. There is a local carrier, but I didn't use it. I paid an extra $20 through AT&T to turn on International calling and we never used it because I didn't have a signal. In my opinion it still was worth the insurance just in case to spend $20, because if you don't have it and wind up using it, you will get charged the cost of a small home.
Wifi is even more non-existent. At least we had it in our rooms and we were able to sit on the balcony in the evenings, look out over the bay at the airport and use our phones and iPads. Other than that, we left everything in our hotel rooms.
Credit cards and cash
They take American dollars and with most traveling it is good to have some cash on you, but most of the world has moved onto credit cards. Make 100% sure you don't have to pay a transaction fee on international purchases. We use the CapitalOne credit card and don't have to pay for any international transactions. We still have to pay the exchange rate - no one gets around that - but even though they have the goofy commercials on TV, I did a lot of research and they are the best when it comes to miles. We use it year around and when we go to the islands, we don't have to pay for airfare.
If you can fit it in
Sign up for and take a timeshare tour. Most places will offer you a $100 or more for coming and visiting their properties. They send a driver to pick you up and take you home, so it is another way to see the island and chat with a cab driver. The tours usually take a couple of hours at most and they treat you fairly. Just make sure you go into it with "no" in mind. We already have two timeshares up in Breck and that's plenty. We don't need any more and we stick to that.
That's all for now. Any questions, concerns, comments? Let me know.
http://www.st-maarten.com/index.php/featured-restaurants-n-z/the-stone-restaurant
This is one seriously good place to eat and unlike most other typical sit-down places. Don't let the prices deter you either as when all is said and done it isn't any more or less expensive than the other places to eat.
The meals are served up on hot 400 degree "stones" - which is where the name comes from. So you order your entre' and it typically comes out sizzling or searing on the seasoned stone. It is right at the bay's edge and there is typically an acoustic guitar player creating the atmosphere. If you two can sneak away an evening, away from the girls, it's even that much more romantic. You won't be disappointed here. No reservations required.
If/when you go here - just take two steps out and look up at the hotel balconies. Our condo was literally two flights up. We had the acoustic guitar music each night and it was very relaxing.
Sunset Bar & Grill
http://www.st-maarten.com/index.php/featured-restaurants-n-z/sunset-bar-and-grill
No one DARES to go to St. Maarten without visiting this place. This is THE bar to go to to hang out and watch the airplanes land. Go here early and go here often (as you can). There are speakers scattered throughout the restaurant broadcasting the air traffic control, so you can typically hear planes inbound - but it is also easy enough to watch the people out towards the landing strip. As planes start approaching, people start pointing and there is enough time to walk out to take in the landing festivities.
There is an active road between the fence and the beach and the cars do not like to stop for people in the road - although they will and they are typically only going about 5mph at the most through here. But they will honk. Oh - and for parking at the Sunset Bar - just forget about it. Park on the entrance-side or there is a public parking garage a little farther out and it is an easy walk to the bar from there. The parking garage isn't terribly easy to find as it is on the main level of an office/retail establishment before you make the turn to the bar.
Things to take if you're going to hang onto the fence:
Earplugs
Eye protection
A willingness to die.
Actually the last part isn't that bad - but you will feel the full force of the jets taking off. Landings are just loud and incredibly close. The ear protection and eye protection though is very serious. Even though the jets have certainly washed away any sort of debris from the runway, you will get pelted with the sand between the runway and the beach. It's sort of like standing in front of a jet-powered sandblaster.
If you're going to spend any amount of time there and want to just hang out, and if the tide is out, the beach there is nice, but small. If the tide is in, there is no beach at all.
The biggest jet they fly in there is the 747 and it typically comes in just before noon. All other planes pale in size to the 747 - so I highly recommend getting there before it comes in and sticking around for it to take off. The planes turn around in about an hour to an hour and a half. Some pilots like really sticking it to the stupid people (me included) on the fence and will get as close as they can and run the engines up ahead of time. Others don't, so it really depends upon who is flying that day.
Get some t-shrits or ballcaps at the bar and eat their food - it's great bar food. :D And if you sit at the bar, I want a photo of you drinking for free (which you have to be topless for).
Pineapple Pete
http://www.st-maarten.com/index.php/featured-restaurants-n-z/pineapple-pete
Nothing major here other than it was an enjoyable place to eat and I wanted to mention it. It's another of many roadside places to eat. It's fun, it's breezy in the way the place is built and their drinks are great.
Oh - that's another thing. MANY of the places there are difficult to tell if they are open, closed, abandoned, condemned or just slow. Pete's is a great example because I think the only doors on the place are on the bathrooms. There are lots of little "bars" around on the beaches. Parties crop up everywhere.
Orient-Bay Beach
http://www.st-maarten.com/index.php/intro-beaches-2/french-side-beaches/baie-oriental
http://sxmdeals.com/beaches/orient-bay/
Orient-Bay is the beach I was thinking of that you can literally spend a couple of days at this beach. There is a trampoline out in the bay, jet ski's, parasailing lots of food and very little parking. It is also very literally just down the road from the nude beach. Don't let that deter you though as there is a clear delineation between the two and the Orient Bay Beach is geared for families and not for the nudity crowd. We didn't spend much time here as it is a bit of a hike (about the same as Loterie), but it is worth it. We were just doing so much scuba-diving that we didn't feel a need to travel through the traffic construction to go sit on the beach.
Phillipsburg
http://www.geographia.com/st-maarten/anmphil01.htm
This is the biggest town on the island and has the most shopping you can do. It's pretty much jewelry store, jewelry store, t-shirt shop, jewelry store, jewelry store, t-shirt shop. One really quirky item (if there is a Star Wars fan amongst you), is the guy who designed Yoda as a character and a puppet lives on the island and has a sci-fi shop with knick-knacks from his 30 some years of designing movie items. He lives on the island and is in the shop quite frequently and if he is there he is happy to talk to anyone who comes in the door. He's an interesting little fellow.
Front Street is not the first street on the island - it is the second, so I don't know why they call it Front Street. But Front Street is where all the shopping action is at. It's about a mile or so long and has some nice places to step into.
If you want to see the cruise ships - this is where they dock at. There is a HUGE beach here as well, so again - bathing suits, towels and whatnot if you want to just hang out here.
Parking is a nightmare here - but you can't get there without a car, so if/when you do drive there, we parked several blocks out where the public parking is. it was free when we were there, so I don't think the cost is the problem - it's just finding a spot. If you do take a cab from the airport to the hotel, make sure you quiz the cab driver about specifics of driving there. They are happy to show off their island. Oh - and if you don't reserve a car and change your mind in-air or even after you get to the airport, there is a lot of hustling by the car renters right outside of customs. I'm not sure how their prices are, but you will likely be approached to rent a car when you get through customs.
Guavaberry
http://www.guavaberry.com/index.php
Ahhhh - the nectar of the island (or gods). When you're in Phillipsburg shopping, keep a close eye out for the Guvaberry store. It looks like it is an old converted home. You may walk in sober, but you will walk out drunk. They have samples, you can buy colada's and you can buy as much as you're willing to carry. In my opinion, the vanilla Guavaberry is the best, but your milage may vary depending upon what you like. The rum is made on the island with the guavaberry grown on the island, and as far as I know it is native only to St. Maarten. Like I said - I will be happy with whatever you are willing to carry back, if it's one bottle or a dozen - I'm good for it. :D
Cellular and wifi service
Service on the island - at least from AT&T is non-existent. There is a local carrier, but I didn't use it. I paid an extra $20 through AT&T to turn on International calling and we never used it because I didn't have a signal. In my opinion it still was worth the insurance just in case to spend $20, because if you don't have it and wind up using it, you will get charged the cost of a small home.
Wifi is even more non-existent. At least we had it in our rooms and we were able to sit on the balcony in the evenings, look out over the bay at the airport and use our phones and iPads. Other than that, we left everything in our hotel rooms.
Credit cards and cash
They take American dollars and with most traveling it is good to have some cash on you, but most of the world has moved onto credit cards. Make 100% sure you don't have to pay a transaction fee on international purchases. We use the CapitalOne credit card and don't have to pay for any international transactions. We still have to pay the exchange rate - no one gets around that - but even though they have the goofy commercials on TV, I did a lot of research and they are the best when it comes to miles. We use it year around and when we go to the islands, we don't have to pay for airfare.
If you can fit it in
Sign up for and take a timeshare tour. Most places will offer you a $100 or more for coming and visiting their properties. They send a driver to pick you up and take you home, so it is another way to see the island and chat with a cab driver. The tours usually take a couple of hours at most and they treat you fairly. Just make sure you go into it with "no" in mind. We already have two timeshares up in Breck and that's plenty. We don't need any more and we stick to that.
That's all for now. Any questions, concerns, comments? Let me know.