How is St. Maarten for families?
 

Thinking of a trip to St Maarten. How is the island for families? I've read about great food, and nice to have 2 cultures to visit. Beaches look nice. I assume Caribbean side is better water?

Any advice would help. Flights right now for March travel is insane! But trying to narrow down a location.

wants:
great beaches
good/great snorkeling
zip lining or hiking or animals
good food

thanks for your help!

The French side of St. Martin has better beaches in my opinion, but Dawn Beach on the Dutch Side is pefectly fine. I think it's a great destination for families, and you might consider basing yourself at the Radisson Blu. As long as you have a car, you'll be able to get around easily. And the Radisson is close to Orient Bay as well as Grand Case.

There are great adventure activities at Loterie Farm, which has zip lines. St. Martin is not a great snorkeling destination, but you can find some decent places.

no good snorkeling there, for that you need

Virgin Islands
Turks and Caicos
Caymans
Bonaire

It does have great food and zip lining

Beaches are nice but not quite what other islands have

great shopping, casinos, tons of fun

FYI most beaches are topless some are nude. Not a biggie but might affect your decision.

I probably would not take my small children to St. Maarten for the reason mentioned above of nudity. The beaches are very nice but I would have to answer to many questions about topless women and sometimes fully nude people for young inquiring minds but it is a very European island so many people probably find that normal and are okay with it.

I think St. Martin is a great place for families. Regarding the nudity, our 6 and 8 year old children came with us to France this summer and after about 5 minutes they stopped looking and asking about the topless women. It really was not an issue but everyone has their own comfort level. On St. Martin it is very easy to avoid fully nude people if you do not want to see them.

I don't believe you will see that on Dutch side-we stayed at Divi resorts on the Dutch side for one week in July. It is a wonderful resort for families, and more than likely they probably have a kids club as most Divi resorts do. We are seniors so we did not look, and also since it was off season. I would not hesitate to suggest Divi resorts to anyone on the Dutch side. Great beach geared for kids and the town of Philipsburg is close by although not walking distance. There are plenty of restaurants and a nice boardwalk there. They also offer tours of the island.