Jennifer

Hello all,<BR>My husband and I are expecting our first child in April and want to get away for 4 nights in the beginning of December for our &quot;last hurrah&quot; before the bambino comes. Of course, I want to go now before I get too huge to enjoy myself. We are trying to decide on a tropical place and don't have our hearts set on anything. We have done some looking into St. Martin and Aruba. I fear St. Martin is like St. Thomas? Can anyone speak to that? We didn't like St. Thomas but loved St. John.<BR>Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

HHHRRR

Having stayed on both several times I would be more inclined to recommend Aruba. Both have great dining. While St. Martin has more beaches they tend to be small and not always there due to storm damage. The main beaches on Aruba are very long and nicer than those on St.Martin. There is little or no crime on Aruba which can't be said of St. Martin, especially the last few years. St. Martin is a more lush island while Aruba tends to be arid. The areas around the resorts on Aruba are beautifully landscaped. These are just my opinions formed over our trips to both islands. For good package prices see http://www.aruba4u.com We have used them ofor our last trips to Aruba with great prices. Hope this helps.

Allison

I think it depends on what you like to do. Both islands have shopping, I felt that the beaches in st martin were much nicer. Aruba's beaches seemed narrow and pretty crowded even in the off-season. The food in St martin is amazing. I personally love the french influence but it's not for everyone.

Tim

I found St. Martin to be dirty. Go to Aruba. Better beaches and great restaurants.

fyi

Didn't find too much similiarity between St.Martin/SintMaarten and St. Thomas but I was only on the French side. Dutch side didn't appeal but then Aruba doesn't either and I enjoy some of St. Thomas. Someone described Aruba as having no soul and I thought that a good description since it was much too developed along the beach with high rises and commercialism. I enjoyed the French influences and the dining was vastly superior than on Aruba on St. Martin. A quick hop and you can explore the magnificant beaches of Anguilla for a day trip or even St. Barth's which is wonderful and either have the more genteel ambience of St. John. Aruba can be uncomfortably windy and both islands have problems with crime although St. Martin's is publicized and talked about more. <BR>

fabila

I have been to both twice and while Aruba has beautiful beaches it doesn't compare to the nightlife and choices you get in St. Martin. You have both French and Dutch influenced bars, restaurants. It is not dirty as previously posted, and there are so many beaches to choose from. <BR><BR>We found all the restaurants in Aruba to be pricey but in St. Martin you have lots of &quot;lolos&quot; which are beach bars serving very reasonable food and they are big on Happy Hour so you get 2 for one. The drink prices are also cheaper normally in St. Martin than Aruba. Beer and soda was priced very high in Aruba.<BR><BR>Aruba is also very windy which near the high-rise hotels can be an issue. <BR>