Hello All,

My girlfriend and I are planning a trip to St Maarten/St Martin and are wondering what the best place to stay on the island is for a combination of great beaches and great night life. We are in our early twenties and this'll be our first real vacation together. We will be traveling from Boston and we don't want to spend more than 3500 on flight and stay. Any help would be great appreciated!!

you will find more action at night on the Dutch side, especially around Maho area. Alot of good restaurants, bars and casinos, couple of night clubs. Nice beach near by (Mullett Beach). Well known Orient beach is on opposite side of the island on the French side. Alot of people that like active night life stay on Dutch side and drive to French side during the day, rathen then opposite-drinking all night and then driving back in the dark. Car rentals are very inexpensive on St martin and Island is easy to navigate.If you can't rent a car I would stick to Maho area as everything is within walking distance. I would check out Sonesta Maho Hotel,Caravanserai Hotel, Royal Islander

I agree....the Maho area is what you are looking for. Try Royal Islander or Maho resort, as well as Caravanserai, as suggested by Snubes. You have Mano beach right there, as well as Mullet Bay beach very nearby. As for nightlife in the area you have Bamboo Bernies, Cheri's Cafe, Sunset Beach Bar, Bliss, etc. I agree that if you plan to party it's best to stay in this area so you don't have to drive at night

yep, definitely the Maho area.
and be sure to rent a car while you are on the island. That way you can travel around during the day and go to different beaches.

Barbara, since we post on so many of the same threads, and obviously think alike since we always have such similar advice, we are just going to have to meet up for lunch one day when I'm on St. Maarten. It would be nice to meet you in person sometime.

Hello All,

Thank you for all your insightful advice and information. I will discuss all that you have said with my girlfriend and we'll decide on our travel plans. Thanks again everyone!

Does anyone know how expensive it is to take a cab over from the french side to the dutch side?

I haven't done it in quite awhile, but my guess would be about $15 to $20 one way, depending on what part of the French side you are on.

Statia
I would love to meet you.
Let me know when you will be in SXM again.
you can email me at [email protected]

I will do that, Barbara. I will only be there passing thru SXM to the US a few times in the next several weeks, but I'll be in touch the next time I'm on island for any length of time.

Let us know what you decide on phle18.

The Dutch side is more active at night. We have always stayed on the French side at Orient Bay since we prefer a more quiet time.
When we were there in July, a cab ride from Orient to the casino was $25-30 each way.
Have fun!