Antigua vs. St. Maarten
 

Hi all,

My husband and I are planning a week or so getaway in May and are choosing between Antigua and St. Maarten. We are choosing between these two because we can use our Continental miles for a direct flight from EWR. Has anyone been to either/both? I would appreciate any insight and suggestions as to which destination is preferable!

Thanks in advance!

Add Anguilla to the mix -- you can fly into St Martin & take a 20 minute ferry ride to paradise. Also St Bart -- a 10 minute plane ride from St Martin.

Thank you MaryD. I did look into Anguilla but my concern is the cost and our budget. Based on my brief research, it seems Anguilla resorts and restaurants are much more $$ than Antigua and St. Maarten. It does look beautiful though.

If you reckon that Anguilla is expensive - then forget about St Barts too - it ain't cheap either !

If you like St Martin - either the French side (St Martin) or the Dutch side (Sint Maarten)you won't like Anguilla anyway !

The two islands are completely different. Anguilla has some superb beaches (the ones on St Martin are pretty good too), but there isn't much to do on Anguilla other than lie on the beach and eat well - at a cost. By and large, if you like Anguilla you won't like SXM, and vice versa.

Both sides of St Martin offer plenty of diverse activities - amazingly so for an island of only 37sq.miles. The two sides of the island are, however, like chalk and cheese !

The Dutch side is heavilly developed, very commercial, and Americanized. There there are Casinos (12), KFC, Burger King, high rises, masive time share developments - and excellent duty free shopping on Front Street in the capital, Philipsburg, however don't forget that the ENTIRE island is duty free !

The French side is considerably less commercialzed, partly because only a very few cruise ships visit, as there are no deep water mooring facilities. Also there are excellent restaurants - not ALL of which are extremely expensive (there are a few good ones on the Dutch side too) but there are no high rises, KFC, Burger King casinos etc. and unlike the Dutch side, there is only one very small time share development.

The atmosphere on the two sides of SXM is completely different.

I guess which side you prefer all depends on what you are looking for. The Dutch side tends to be less expensive as it is - essentially - a US$ area, whereas the French side is Euro based, though the US$ is accepted everywhere.

How it compares with Antigua I don't know as, so far, I have not been there.

I hope this helps anyway.

We have been to Antigua a couple of times and love it there for so many reasons:
1. The yachts
2. History
3. Culture
4. All kinds of accomodations
5. Sightseeing

Antigua is less dense in country - insane in the city (only one.) St. Maarten/St.Martin is perhaps overbuilt in country but has a lot of options - and a lot of small towns - none of them like Vegas but variety is nice. St.Martin (X2) is experienced and well set for tourists - and not tied into big buck players. The same is not true for Antigua. Stay St. Martin (either side) and somehow see Antigua on one day trip -you'll probably confirm the choice was good. St. Marten can seem crowded in places but with a little study, you can find peace and solitude.