One day trip to St Maarten
Aug 29th, 2009, 07:43 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
One day trip to St Maarten
We will be staying on Anguilla but I want to spend one day on St. Maarten. What would you recommend for the day? Would you recommend the Dutch side or French side? It sounds like the public ferry drops you off at the French side. Can you walk to shopping and eating from the ferry stop? What restaurant would you recommend (we will probably be in casual clothes since we will spend the day walking around)?
Thanks
Thanks
Aug 29th, 2009, 11:17 AM
#2
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 5,967
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The ferry from Anguilla leaves at the dock in Marigot which is "in the heart of town". All of the shops & in town restaurants are within walking distance. You can even walk to Fort St. Louis if you like to explore old fortresses.
You'll need a cab or rental car if you want to venture out to the beaches, other points of interest or the Dutch Side.
As far as things to do, well there's a whole island and two cultures to explore. Do a google search for "St. Marti Things to Do" and you'll find a whole host of ideas. Pick the one's that interest YOU the most.
You'll need a cab or rental car if you want to venture out to the beaches, other points of interest or the Dutch Side.
As far as things to do, well there's a whole island and two cultures to explore. Do a google search for "St. Marti Things to Do" and you'll find a whole host of ideas. Pick the one's that interest YOU the most.
Aug 31st, 2009, 07:03 AM
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,944
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well, St. Martin has at least two things that Anguilla doesn't have: shopping and a big, busy beach (Orient Beach). You'll need to decide just how you want to spend your day on St. Martin.
The ferry dock is right in Marigot, which is the capital of French St. Martin. There are tons of stores and restaurants in Marigot. The restaurants mostly front the marina and many of them are quite good. As to the stores, well, there is no shortage of places to spend your money. From high end to junk. If you confine yourselves to Marigot then you won't need a rental car.
If you decide that while Anguilla has beautiful beaches, you'd like something a little livelier then hail a taxi and head to Orient Beach. Here you'll find lots of people, water sports, some wonderful beach restaurants, more shopping for beach apparel, and most likely a few naked people. Just be sure to arrange a return trip with your taxi driver.
St. Martin is so very different from Anguilla that you might like to hire a car and explore. You can certainly do it yourself or perhaps Cap Juluca can arrange a private trip for you around the island.
Just a word of caution that if you are off exploring, especially if you are on the Dutch side, traffic can be pretty bad getting back to Marigot. Keep your eye on the time and the last ferry back to Anguilla.
Enjoy your time on St. Martin. While I love the tranquility of Anguilla I also love the liveliness of St. Martin. It's a nice mix.
The ferry dock is right in Marigot, which is the capital of French St. Martin. There are tons of stores and restaurants in Marigot. The restaurants mostly front the marina and many of them are quite good. As to the stores, well, there is no shortage of places to spend your money. From high end to junk. If you confine yourselves to Marigot then you won't need a rental car.
If you decide that while Anguilla has beautiful beaches, you'd like something a little livelier then hail a taxi and head to Orient Beach. Here you'll find lots of people, water sports, some wonderful beach restaurants, more shopping for beach apparel, and most likely a few naked people. Just be sure to arrange a return trip with your taxi driver.
St. Martin is so very different from Anguilla that you might like to hire a car and explore. You can certainly do it yourself or perhaps Cap Juluca can arrange a private trip for you around the island.
Just a word of caution that if you are off exploring, especially if you are on the Dutch side, traffic can be pretty bad getting back to Marigot. Keep your eye on the time and the last ferry back to Anguilla.
Enjoy your time on St. Martin. While I love the tranquility of Anguilla I also love the liveliness of St. Martin. It's a nice mix.
Aug 31st, 2009, 07:06 AM
#4
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,944
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oh, and one other thing. You did ask about casual clothes. No worries there. You'll see mostly shorts, sundresses and flip flops. And if a cruise ship happens to be in then all bets are off. You'll see EVERYTHING.
Aug 31st, 2009, 10:46 AM
#5
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 323
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Trust me,I don't think you are going to want to leave Anguilla once you get there. St. Martin is vastly different, and you might wish you didn't waste the day. I don't mean to be harsh at all, but this is a very common opinion with people that love Anguilla. If you do spend a day there I would do it on the front end of your trip rather than the latter. Just my opinion.
Sep 1st, 2009, 02:06 AM
#6
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I completely agree with sharona and, as usual, completely DISAGREE with Anguillagirl !
sharona's advice is pretty spot on, whereas Anguillagirl - as always - considers that the only place worth visiting in the Caribbean happens to be the boring flat island where SHE lives !
I too admit to being predujiced (but not as much as Anguillagirl) ! I live on the French side of St Martin, and if anyone suggested to me that I should move to the Dutch side, I would leave the island immediately - but NOT for Anguilla !
The two sides of St Martin (French) and Sint Maarten (Dutch) are as different as chalk and cheese. If you only have a day on the island I strongly suggest that you give the Dutch side a miss - unless of course you like casinos (12 to choose from) KFC, Burger King, highrises, timeshare, big traffic jams and a very commercialized atmosphere !
The above are some of the main 'attractions' the Dutch side has to offer - fortunately NONE of these (apart from one very small timeshare, and the occasional traffic jam) exist on the French side.
If you do decide to spend your limited time on the island on the French (civilized) side, I definitely agree with sharona - don't bother to hire a rental car. Marigot, the capital, is very compact, with a nice relaxed atmosphere, and you will find plenty to do there without needing a car.
Do take a look at Marina Royale (an easy walk from the ferry dock). It's not huge and crammed with 'floating gin palaces', but it is very attractive, and has good boutiques and restaurants. My personal favorite is La Tropicana, but it is advisable to book.
If you want to see Orient Beach (it would be a shame not to !) take a taxi from Marigot. It is about a 15 minute drive away, and is the hub of beach activity on the French side. It also boasts a number of interesting beach bars, some of which serve pretty decent food, and very decent drinks !
You can then return to flat and sleepy Anguilla, having seen a very different - and in my biased view - much more interesting, island. One other thing that you should know is that St Martin does not have so many banks as Anguilla where you can keep your money !!
sharona's advice is pretty spot on, whereas Anguillagirl - as always - considers that the only place worth visiting in the Caribbean happens to be the boring flat island where SHE lives !
I too admit to being predujiced (but not as much as Anguillagirl) ! I live on the French side of St Martin, and if anyone suggested to me that I should move to the Dutch side, I would leave the island immediately - but NOT for Anguilla !
The two sides of St Martin (French) and Sint Maarten (Dutch) are as different as chalk and cheese. If you only have a day on the island I strongly suggest that you give the Dutch side a miss - unless of course you like casinos (12 to choose from) KFC, Burger King, highrises, timeshare, big traffic jams and a very commercialized atmosphere !
The above are some of the main 'attractions' the Dutch side has to offer - fortunately NONE of these (apart from one very small timeshare, and the occasional traffic jam) exist on the French side.
If you do decide to spend your limited time on the island on the French (civilized) side, I definitely agree with sharona - don't bother to hire a rental car. Marigot, the capital, is very compact, with a nice relaxed atmosphere, and you will find plenty to do there without needing a car.
Do take a look at Marina Royale (an easy walk from the ferry dock). It's not huge and crammed with 'floating gin palaces', but it is very attractive, and has good boutiques and restaurants. My personal favorite is La Tropicana, but it is advisable to book.
If you want to see Orient Beach (it would be a shame not to !) take a taxi from Marigot. It is about a 15 minute drive away, and is the hub of beach activity on the French side. It also boasts a number of interesting beach bars, some of which serve pretty decent food, and very decent drinks !
You can then return to flat and sleepy Anguilla, having seen a very different - and in my biased view - much more interesting, island. One other thing that you should know is that St Martin does not have so many banks as Anguilla where you can keep your money !!
Sep 1st, 2009, 09:23 PM
#7
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 686
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
anguillagirl, I really wish you would stop bashing st maarten. we all know your feelings. so maybe you should just refrain from posting about SXM at all, instead of always being so negative.
The OP asked a legit question about what to do on SXM. The OP did not ask if he/she should go to sxm. If you didn't have any places to recommend to the OP, then IMHO, you perhaps should not have responded at all.
The OP asked a legit question about what to do on SXM. The OP did not ask if he/she should go to sxm. If you didn't have any places to recommend to the OP, then IMHO, you perhaps should not have responded at all.
Sep 2nd, 2009, 02:45 AM
#8
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well said Barbara.
This woman is a pain !!
Most people, I think, know that if you like Anguilla you don't like SXM, and vice versa, but Anguillagirl is SO predjudiced I begin to wonder exactly why.
I think that maybe she must have had a seriously bad personal experience on our island - possibly brought about as a result of her own attitude.
I do not like Anguilla, but I would not post vitriolic messages in response to anyone planning to visit the place.
I think that if she has nothing objective to say it would be better if she refrained from posting - but then we would have no excuse to point out just how predjudiced she is !
This woman is a pain !!
Most people, I think, know that if you like Anguilla you don't like SXM, and vice versa, but Anguillagirl is SO predjudiced I begin to wonder exactly why.
I think that maybe she must have had a seriously bad personal experience on our island - possibly brought about as a result of her own attitude.
I do not like Anguilla, but I would not post vitriolic messages in response to anyone planning to visit the place.
I think that if she has nothing objective to say it would be better if she refrained from posting - but then we would have no excuse to point out just how predjudiced she is !
Sep 2nd, 2009, 05:24 AM
#9
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,944
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I must be an exception because I like both Anguilla and St. Martin. It's kind of like apples and oranges -- I love both and I don't understand why some people say you can't enjoy the differences.
Alm, definitely spend your day on St. Martin. I believe you are spending 10 days at Cap Juluca? CJ is pretty quiet so you might enjoy having a different experience on SXM.
PS: Orient Beach might be my favorite beach in the world. Well, at least the ones I've been to.
PPS: DavidSXM's recommendation of La Tropicana was exactly the restaurant I was trying to remember. That's my favorite, too, although many of them along that stretch are quite good.
Alm, definitely spend your day on St. Martin. I believe you are spending 10 days at Cap Juluca? CJ is pretty quiet so you might enjoy having a different experience on SXM.
PS: Orient Beach might be my favorite beach in the world. Well, at least the ones I've been to.
PPS: DavidSXM's recommendation of La Tropicana was exactly the restaurant I was trying to remember. That's my favorite, too, although many of them along that stretch are quite good.
Sep 2nd, 2009, 10:59 AM
#10
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I don't know when you will be arriving, but right now Marina Royale is very quiet, and La Tropicana is closed for vacation as are many of the other restaurants and boutiques, so be warned. As an alternative you could try Le Chanteclair which IS open, and is my second favorite.
After all now is the middle of the hurricane season, and many businesses give their staff a break of several weeks at this time, or re-furbish, as there are not that many tourists around.
Don't let that put you off though - there is still a lot to do and see in Marigot, and with due respect to Anguilla, the atmosphere is much more animated - that maybe because it is French rather than English (and I say that though I am a Brit myself !).
After all now is the middle of the hurricane season, and many businesses give their staff a break of several weeks at this time, or re-furbish, as there are not that many tourists around.
Don't let that put you off though - there is still a lot to do and see in Marigot, and with due respect to Anguilla, the atmosphere is much more animated - that maybe because it is French rather than English (and I say that though I am a Brit myself !).
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
BlueSkyColorado
Caribbean Islands
10
Jun 1st, 2011 12:26 PM
