dailln4n4

A friend of mine has chartered a sailboat for a trip around the island in late Jan. When our 5 day sailing trip is over, we'll have 2 more days to hang out and see St. Martin. The island seems to be a big cruise ship and tourist destination. We tend to shy away from "touristy" and prefer quieter and less explored parts. Do you have any recommendations on some reasonably priced, but still nice places to stay that would be quiet, tranquil and safe? what about day trips? Thanks in advance for any tips

Statia

I'm not sure what you consider reasonable, but Grand Case Beach Club sounds like it might fit the bill. Both the hotel and the general area. It's a quiet fishing village on the French side with many gourmet restaurants and a wonderfully calm beach.

You could easily day trip to Anguilla by ferry from Marigot.

LLindaC

St Martin is quite built up and the traffic is terrible at times. It can take over 30 minutes to get from Marigot to Philipsburg. We stayed at the end of Orient Bay once and loved it, but the place is pretty wild now. I like it in small doses. Anguilla is just the opposite. Quiet, unspoiled, friendly people. I'd choose that for my stay. You can also take a day trip to Saba from St Martin.

Barbara1

I agree with Statia. Grand Case Beach Club and the village of Grand Case is quiet and very nice.and there is lovely dining there.
You can drive ot orient Beach and hang out there for the day if you wnat. There is no traffic between Grand Case and Orient.
day trips to Anguilla or Saba are possible.

Barbara1

there is another hotel in the Grand Case area which is nice also
The Dove's Nest
http://www.info-res.com/dovesnest/

dailln4n4

Thanks everyone for all your replies. I was at a complete loss on where to begin - i.e. French vs. Dutch side, etc so this definitely helped.

One last question - for those 2 days do you think it will make sense to rent a car? And if so, will a reservation need to be made in advance?

Thanks again!

Barbara1

hi
I would definitely rent a car for those 2 days.. that way you can travel to different beaches and genrally see the entire island.
it is good to make reservations in advance in late January because that is the busiest time of year.

Lizzie518

I would definitely recommend Le Petit Hotel, also in Grand Case. It is on the opposite end of the village from the Grand Case Beach Club.

If you are looking for less tourist-y, than I think you would be better off on the French side. Le Petit Hotel would also fit the bill as it is a ten room hotel, right on the beach, all rooms have an oceanfront view. The reviews on tripadvisor are pretty accurate. If you stay in Grand Case I would say that you could do without a car if you wanted. All the restaurants you could possibly want are within walking distance. If you wanted to go to Orient Beach for a day, it's about a $12 cab ride one-way. It depends how much sight-seeing you wanted to do.

Barbara1

Le Petit is fabulous but it is expensive... They were asking for reasonably priced hotels.

dailln4n4

Hi,
I can't thank you all enough for your tips. Our schedule has allowed for 3 full days post sailing, so we've decided to take a ferry and reside on the island of anguilla. From all the research i've done thus far, it seems like a much better option for the type of sleepier vacation we're looking for.

Now I just have to pick a place to stay and rent a car there!

Thanks again

LLindaC

You made a great call. They have the friendliest people there and it's absolutely beautiful and pretty much unspoiled. You won't be rubbing elbows with thousands of cruisers and fighting traffic. Are you sure you need a car? The cab drivers are great...tell them when you need them and they show up. If they can't, they get another driver to do so.