St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

dewdrop Posted: Aug 15, 2008 02:21 PM

St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

We're planning a trip there December, and know there is a french side & a dutch side, but we're not sure which to pick.

Any ideas/ suggestions?

Thanks!

Toots123 Posted: Aug 15, 2008 02:28 PM

Re: St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

Yes..for our honeymoon and we LOVED it !!

There is no quick answer to this question becasue it depends on what you're interested in. Beaches??? Nightlife???? Peace and Quiet??? We stayed on the Dutch side (near Maho) and ate and drank there but went to the beaches on the French side (Friar's Bay and Baie Rouge).

Check the honeymoon board. I know there are posts about it there as well.

You're going to love it!

dewdrop Posted: Aug 15, 2008 02:30 PM

Re: St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

i've heard about Maho. very centrally located, right? convenient.
which hotel did you stay? was it right on the beach - oceanfront?

Toots123 Posted: Aug 15, 2008 02:35 PM

Re: St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

We rented a villa on the Lagoon. Very nice, from Jennifer's Vacation Villas. 5 minutes to Maho Beach.

Maho is a small, but hopping, little area. Not the best beach but the Dutch side does not have the best beaches to begin with. You can just drive over to the French side - its easy and quick.

FM me if you want more details.

JennNicole Posted: Aug 15, 2008 03:15 PM

Re: St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

The dutch.. I think but I was there sometime before the updates.
The french is awesome for eating out

bonch20 Posted: Aug 15, 2008 03:32 PM

Re: St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

i would suggest trying to stay away from the euro...it's so high right now!

GinaZ Posted: Aug 15, 2008 03:56 PM

Re: St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

I stopped there on a cruise. We were on the dutch side. it was very fun around there! i heard teh french side was beautiful! I think the island is small enough that you can explore both parts.

dimples092907 Posted: Aug 15, 2008 04:13 PM

Re: St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

We are going in September for our anniversary. I can't wait. My aunt and uncles have been there twice and loved it. I also have an old co-worker who is originally from there and she sent me a list of all things to do. I will FM you. I will also let you know how it was when we get back. We are staying for a week at a timeshare.

dewdrop Posted: Aug 15, 2008 04:29 PM

Re: St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

oooh, nice!!!! have a great time! and thanks so much for the list~!

snwb08 Posted: Aug 15, 2008 05:03 PM

Re: St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

dutch side: more fun, has casinos, more nightlife

french side: better food, beautiful beaches

I stayed on the french and we rented a car - definitely do this - and checked out all the beaches. My sister is there right now; she just bought a timeshare.

have fun - I loved St. Martin!

FYI - I believe the Euro is only on the french side, and the guilder or something is the dutch; but they usually take dollars

MushesGirl Posted: Aug 15, 2008 05:42 PM

Re: St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

ooo yeah...loved it! dh and i stayed on the dutch side, at the Pelican resort...on cheap carribbean.com we got an awesome deal..we loved the pelican...it has its own casino, deli, the rooms have kitchens so you dont have to go out for every meal, pools, tennis court, beach. Awesome! we hardly left the resort but i went to the french side to sight see, wasn't impressed. we loved the restaurants on the dutch side! everywhere we ate was fabulous....fm for any info. have a great time!

SoonToBeMrsScott Posted: Aug 15, 2008 08:47 PM

Re: St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

I did for my honeymoon we stayed on the dutch side the island is very small you can stay on either side and enjoy it all

eelharas4700 Posted: Aug 15, 2008 09:30 PM

Re: St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

we went there on a cruise 2 years ago....it was my favorite!! i would go back in a heart beat!! i think the island is small enough where if you stayed on one side you could 'sight' see the other side. i think we went to the french side though.

FutureMrsBeck Posted: Aug 16, 2008 11:00 AM

Re: St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

We JUST went there like 3 weeks ago for our anniversary and LOVED it!! By far my favorite carribbean island... so clean, everyone was friendly (both on the dutch and the french side), and the beaches were gorgeous. The food was amazing, and there were so many places to go we need to go back to hit the ones we missed... also, the Eruo really isn't a problem if you stay on the Dutch side, because only the French side uses it, and on the French side, the shops will make 1 euro = 1 dollar so there's no hike in prices since we make up the majority of their tourism.......my advice....

-Stay at the Westin (on the Dutch side, they treated us like royalty and the Dutch side doesn't use the Euro so it's cheaper to stay on)
-gorgeous infinity pool
-right on one of the most beautiful beaches of the island
-they sent us choc covered strawberries and champagne, and upgraded us when we told them it was our anniversary

-Go to Marigot on the French side for the marina and the fun shops, plus the best mall you'll every go to

-Go to Philipsburg for more shopping, a pretty beach/boardwalk, and bars

-Simpson Bay for bars and to watch the planes land (Maho), also for the best sunsets

-Orient Beach is a 'clothing optional' beach (we didn't go, but it's the one with the most activities)

-Grande Case is where most of the fancy French restaurants are... we ate at Le Testevin, SO nice, and the food was incredible, but there's a million to choose from
-If you're looking for something realllllllly cheap in Grande Case, they have 'lolo's', which were basically BBQ's right on the boardwalk and they smelled incredible
-Dinner at the restaurants wasn't any more expensive than LI restaurants, just be careful f the French wine list... not only is that in Euros (not adjusted either), but it's French and expensive! Some of the wines cost more than our plane tx!

Def go!!! we loved it!!!

FutureMrsBeck Posted: Aug 16, 2008 11:02 AM

Re: St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

2 more things I forgot lol...

Don't forget Jet blue flies there, and it's pretty cheap and SO easy

Also, if you want to (we didn't feel the need though), you could take a Ferry to Anguilla or St Barts for a little variety. We were there for 6 days and we didn't need to go to any other islands, but you could if you want to, and it wasn't that expensive to do

Jenn04 Posted: Aug 16, 2008 12:55 PM

Re: St. Martin/ St. Maarten -Anyone been?

They have beautiful beaches and we went to the french side (I think Orient Point). We had a blast and did some water sports there. Sorry I dont have much to offer but only stopped there on a cruise ship.

Also....I believe Anguilla is just a short boat ride away...you should check it out bc I heard its BEAUTIFUL!