vicnroy

I must say I am a bit embarrassed to ask this question but, it's better to be safe than sorry.

We've visited several islands in the past, and our favorties are: Nevis, Grenada, St Lucia, Bonaire, Tortola. On the other hand, we didn't enjoy St. John, Grand Cayman, Provo, or Nassau.

From those lists, you'd correctly guess that we prefer the "laid-back". We understand and appreciate "island time", and we thoroughly enjoy meeting and speaking with locals (as well as fellow travelers). Will we receive the same warm welcome in French St. Martin, even as not-sophisticated, non-French-speaking Americans?

Thanks!

DavidSXM

Hi. You will have no trouble at all communicating in English with anyone on this island !

99% of everyone you will meet on the French side will speak at least English and French, and most probably some Spanish too. Less French is spoken on the Dutch side, but EVERYONE there speaks English.

The older 'native St Martiners' usually do not speak other languages as fluently as the younger persons however. You must remember that true 'native' St Martiners - on either the French or Dutch side - are fairly thin on the ground.

Though many have been born here, their families have arrived from all over the world - there are a very large number of different nationalities on the island.

As St Martin / St Maarten survives on a single pillar economy - tourism - in order to communicate with the visitors who make that possible, the residents all pretty much have to speak English to make a living.

If you treat everyone as you yourself would like to be treated, you will find everyone friendly, helpful and welcoming.

One small tip however - don't leave the word 'please' at home!
You will get a much better reception if you use it rather than just saying - as unfortunately far too many visitors do - "Gimme two beers" !

Enjoy your trip.

vicnroy

Thanks DavidSXM. Regarding your advice to "treat everyone as you yourself would like to be treated" and "don't leave the word 'please' at home": well stated! These simple gestures have served us well during all of our travels; we've rarely felt unwelcome anywhere. It's good to know that St Martin will be the same. We're looking forward to our visit in March!

Callaloo

Although I speak several languages, French is not one of them -- though I've got a few phrases and some "menu French" in my vocabulary. When staying in Grand Case in French St. Martin, I found that "Bonjour," "Bonsoir," "Merci," and "Sil vous plait" went a very long way towards ensuring pleasant interactions. In fact, when we were checking back in to St. Martin after a few days in Anguilla, when I started my encounter with the immigration agent with "Bonjour," he started speaking French to me -- and only when he saw my puzzled smile did he realize that I had no idea what he was saying; but my effort smoothed the path to a very nice chat.

Although I have no personal experience, I've heard that the islanders in Guadeloupe and Martinique are not too tolerant of non-Francophones. Whether or not that's the case there, it is most decidedly not the case in St. Martin.

beanz

We visited St Martin four years ago and are going back there in two weeks (yay!). I'm Canadian but speak some French and my husband is French-Canadian. I spoke to everyone in English, and didn't have a problem, though the front desk staff was quite happy and encouraging when I practiced my French on them. We also found that everyone was very friendly, and never really had any issues with "rudeness". That said, I would caution you that there IS a cultural difference - remember that you are visiting a "satellite" version of France, and thus may sometimes find that some of the people seem reserved and at times can even come across as "snooty". Try not to see it as rude though, they are just less inclined to be loud and talkative, and as others said, using "please" and "thank-you" can go a long way.

That said, if during your stay, you're longing for a "taste of home" with some very "Americanized" atmosphere on the French side, there's a rib shack on the beach at Orient Bay that I'd highly recommend (look for the place that's covered in US license plates). The food is good and the American owners are incredibly open and friendly. We ate there and found ourselves sharing a table with other couples (all US travellers) because there weren't enough seats. I tend to also err on the side of "more reserved", and often shy away from Americanized touristy areas (which is why the Dutch side isn't as appealing to me), but I found this place really uplifting and relaxing to eat at.

travelenthusiast

LOL Callaloo! The same thing happened to me in the Tap Five store. I don't speak French but I learned how to say "Hello. How are you? in French" After I said that the counter worker started spesking in French and I felt bad that I had to confess that I don't really speak the language. There is a worker in one of the beach bars that speaks Spanish and I had a nice converstion with her in Spanish.

Vicnroy - Don't worry. You'll be able to easily communicate with most people in St Martin. We never had any problems. Enjoy! Have you decided on a hotel or area that you like?

DavidSXM

A large percentage of the bartenders, restaurant and hotel staff on the French side of this island speak Spanish ! If you still think you might have a problem take a look at the following website : www.langcommlingo.com.

GoAway

I remember the first time I spent a week on St. Martin, I found that I was generally greeted with 'Bonjour, hello'. If I answered 'Bonjour' back, the shopkeeper continued talking in French. I quickly learned to just say hello, since I don't speak French!

I also found it interesting that when I paid for something with US dollars, the change would be counted back to me in English, but if I paid in Euros, the change was counted back in French. Even when they knew I spoke English.

Barbara1

unlike most Americans, many people who live on St. Maarten/St. Martin are bi lingual or more.

DavidSXM

Barbara - with no disrespect to our American cousins - you probably have heard the following old definitions which I was taught many years ago at school:

A person who speaks three languages is ........ Trilingual !

A person who speaks two languages is .......... Bilingual !

A person who speaks only one language is ...... American !

Barbara1

luv it! LOL

Salsa_Andy

Just vacationed in St. Martin 2-3 weeks ago. We stayed at the Radisson in Anse Marcel and everyone that spoke French was friendly and spoke English to us. Somehow, they were able to figure out by the way we dressed, looked or carried ourselves that we were Americans....although my girlfriend is of French-Canadian heritage, they always spoke English to us. One French restaurant in Grand Case was promoting a Superbowl party and every TV inside was airing the game.....I'd say they were very accomodating to Americans. All the resorts and restaurants were struggling in this economy and they were always happy to have Americans come spend money.

wiley1827

Language will not be problem.

You want "laid back" ? - Go to French side, pay in Euros which will hurt, and find town/hotel/beach that are a little off the track - Grand Case for example.

Traffic and shopping in St. Martin (both sides) is grim and not at all laid back. But get to your room and stay around - forget touring.

Consider villa rentals/condos as well as hotels. Good deals abound.

Skip Orient Beach etc - no big deal - long drive - hot as hell - and truly not the "best in the world" that seems to be said.

P.S. : St. John always seemed laid back to me, compared to others you mentioned - but it can seem ritzy and pricey to the uninformed. 3/4 of the island is park - that seems pretty calm to me!

DavidSXM

As I pointed out in a post elsewhere on this forum this morning, Grand Case beach is NOT nice - apart from the very small section to the right of the Grand Case Beach Club which is not bad, and at least the water there is clean.

The main beach is very scruffy, and usually has quite a lot of uncollected rubbish - empty bottles, cans etc. The water has recently been tested and found to be polluted, plus the view 'inland' from the beach is mostly of the rear of the restaurants and other properties on the Grand Case Boulevard, which look nice from the front, but are VERY unattractive from the beach side.

Orient Beach is hardly quiet - if peace and quiet is what you are looking for ! There are quite a number of beach bars, some offering pretty decent food, all offering excellent drinks, and all kinds of water sports are available.

The beach is usually 'manicured' in the early morning during the 'season' by means of a large rake drawn behind a John Deere tractor, so it doesn't suffer from the same problems as Grand Case, and anyway the beach bar operators ensure that their areas are kept tidy, plus the water is clean.

In my view, the latest Orient Bay addition, Palm Beach - which only opened on December 20th last year - is a great alternative to the many other existing choices. It is more 'up market' than most beach bars, is located in a quieter area of the Bay, and the food is really excellent, though the service can be a bit slow sometimes.

By the way, the distance from the airport to both Grand Case and Orient Bay is almost the same (2 miles difference)despite what wiley1827 seems to imply - I know for sure, because I actually live on the side of the mountain overlooking the ocean, precisely between the two places !

vicnroy

I'm replying to my original post, having just returned from St. Martin three days ago. Language was absolutely not a problem; nearly everyone spoke at least some English, and in those rare cases where they didn't speak English, or didn't speak it well, it was a fun "adventure".

As with every place, politeness is the universal language.

I did notice one thing: when approaching someone (bartender, cab driver, store clerk, etc.), more often then not, they waited for us to speak first to determine language. When I said "hello", the converstaion continued in English; when I said "bonjour" or "bonsoir", the conversation continued en Francais....well, for a few words at least until I fell back to English!