Delphine Folweiler

We will be traveling mid-october on our first <BR>caribbean trip. I had thought Great Bay Casino Resort then I saw some bad reviews. <BR>St. Thomas looks nice-don't want to spend a <BR>fortune on hotel, but want to be nice. Also, <BR>are all-inc. a rip off? Heard drinks and food not all its cracked up to be. Want to <BR>shop and try water sports. Can anyone help???

Cheri

Have been to St.Thomas 4 times and St. Maartin 3. Go for St. Maartin. Avoid Great Bay. It is a dump. St.M is a much nicer island than STT and the shopping is just as good if you're looking for jewelry and such. The next time I go I will stay on the French side, it is much nicer than the Dutch. The only good thing about the Dutch side hotels are the casinos.

Cheri

Have been to St.Thomas 4 times and St. Maartin 3. Go for St. Maartin. Avoid Great Bay. It is a dump. St.M is a much nicer island than STT and the shopping is just as good if you're looking for jewelry and such. The next time I go I will stay on the French side, it is much nicer than the Dutch. The only good thing about the Dutch side hotels are the casinos.

debra

Never been to St Maarten but just returned yesterday from STT. The one thing I would be sure of is that you can island hop easily. St John is probably the most beautiful place I have ever seen, especially Frances Bay. You don't want to miss St John. We had a wonderful time in STT. We stayed at the Marriott Frenchmen's Reef and was very pleased. The hotel is beautiful, the service and food could have been better but overall we were very pleased. We did not go all inclusive because it was an additional $200 a day and we are not big drinkers (bottle of wine at dinner is about it) and it just did not make sense to us to go all inclusive. Where ever you go you will love it.

carrie

Can't speak about St. Thomas. But agree that Great Bay is not well thought of. If you do decide on St. Maarten, don't do all-inclusive. The best part about St. Maarten, is the dining. There are some GREAT restaurants there. <BR> <BR>Mid-October is still hurricane season for St. Maarten. So you may also want to take that into consideration. <BR> <BR>Whatever you decide, hope you have a great trip !!

Lena

I wouldn't recommend St. Martin to anyone. My husband and I went last year in October and it was not one of our favorite vacations. We ran into a lot of problems as soon as we arrived. Our luggage got lost in the airport and the people weren't as friendly as the other islands that we went to.

Mike

St. Maarten is wonderful. Stay on the French side. The food in the restaurants is great. Try the food at the little grills scattered around Grande Case. Be sure to check out the marketplace and the beaches are beautiful. Check out Orient Beach and Rouge Beach. Nice snorkeling! We had a very relaxing time and found the people on the french side very pleasant. Enjoy!!

Cheri

To Lena...don't blame St. M for losing your luggage! Ours was lost there too but LIAT did it! LOL The hotel staff was not very helpful about aiding us in contacting the airline to try to get it back tho. However, that aside most people I've run into there were pretty nice.

Spanky

I've been to St. Thomas and St. Martin and loved both of them. You'll find that St. Thomas has better roads and traffic control because most of them have been American engineered. It is very easy to get to St. John by ferry which is an interesting trip in itself. You can then rent a car in St. John and spend the day at the island's magnificient beaches. Most of the island is a protected national park and the island is much less inhabited than St. Thomas. <BR> <BR>St. Martin will be a little more European since it has a Dutch side and a French side. I found the French beaches to be much more beautiful, especially Rouge. You'll find nude bathing on several beaches, including L'Orient. Topless bathing can be found on most other French-side beaches. <BR> <BR>Both islands are easily drivable and both have good roads. You'll be able to pack a picnic lunch and drive around St. Martin stopping at various beaches along the day. That would be a great day trip. <BR> <BR>I've never gone all-inclusive. Part of the fun of traveling for me is trying out new restaurants and cuisine -- and St. Martin has some of the best! We ate at LaSamanna and had one of the best meals in my life! <BR> <BR>Have a great time!

Della

<BR>We are thinking of going to St Martin the latter part of July and was wondering if the weather is good at that time or is it too near the hurricane season, what about the temperature. Does anyone know if ther is a ferry from St. Thomas to St. Martin. We are booked into St. Thomas but have a condo in St. Martin. Does anyone know about the Emerald Beach Club

Paulo Paulo

OK let's help the poster by getting it straight: <BR> ST.Martin - French side of island <BR> Sint or St. Maarten - Dutch side <BR>Best beaches and restaurants on Fr. side <BR>but casinos on Dutch side only...none like Vegas!!!Great Bay a dump in a dumpy area so avoid. Maho Beach hotel has no beach to really speak of but 2 fine pools...in entertainment area too with casino across the street.St. Thos for my money is a spot where an American feels he is in a foreign place...busy...rude so avoid. All inc. can be a good deal...watch the postings!

stephanie

It's true that Maho Beach Hotel has a small beach (directly over which planes fly in and out - and very LOW- to be honest, I thought it was kind of neat!) But we ofset our need for a nice beach by spending 3 of our 7 nights in Anguilla - took a 20 min. ferry over there from Marigot on French side. <BR> <BR>Maho is a great location for shops and restaurants which are all right there, including Casino. You could just rent a car and drive to all the other beaches for your watersports. I believe you'd want to drive to them anyway even if Maho had nice beach. There are so many beaches, and they're each different. Maho may be a little pricey, don't know rate for single room, but you can search the name and find on web for info. <BR> <BR>By the way, despite what some people say, I also like St. Thomas. Been there 2x and enjoyed it. It's easy to take ferry to St. John from there - it's less developed and pretty to drive around, great beaches.

lisa

I have traveled to a few caribean islands and used to recommend the Bahamas to first timers. I just got back from a stay at the Wyndam Sugar Bay in St. Thomas; now I would recommend St. Thomas for everyone.Since it is the U.S. Virgin Islands the island has great roads and technology.This is the first all-inclusive I have experienced(we chose this because the wedding was included in our package)and I found the food and bar service to be excellent. The resort is wonderful and has awesome views of other nearby islands. This all-inclusive was definately worth the money,even if your not a heavy drinker,we drank very little.Island hopping is easy. We went to St. John for the day which I highly recommend. You can take a water ferry from Red Hook ( 5 min.from the hotel )to St John. Its a 20 min. ride, $6 round trip. The snorkeling on St. John is awesome. Good Luck.

John

I have never been to St. Thomas but I have been to St. Maarten 3xs. Great Bay may be inexpensive, but it is located in a congested part of the island with a lousy beach. <BR> <BR>Given that, St Martin has at least a dozen excellent beaches, french-creole food food, the oportunity to check out other islands on day trips (saba, statia, St Barts and Anguilla). <BR> <BR>If I were you I would check out www.gobeaches.com for some excellent off-season specials. There is one other site that has some more specials. I can;t remember what the address is (I have it at my office). If you would like to discuss more about SXM E-mail me at [email protected]

trudie

There is no ferry from St. Thomas to St. Martin. Ferries from St. Thomas go to St. John, the British Virgin Islands and Fajardo, Puerto Rico.

maria

<BR>We just got back from St. Thomas and St. John. Got married in Wyndham Sugar Bay (all inclusive). Great place to have your wedding! Food and drinks were abundant! Then we continued our honeymoon in St. John - stayed at the Gallows Point. It was expensive but well worth every penny! Beautiful and romantic. St John has beautiful beaches. And don't forget Trunk Bay for snorkeling!

MCV

Go to St. John! Shop St. Thomas on your way to/from St. John. Get a Tracker on St. John and visit a different pristine, gorgeous beach every day. Snorkel! Sail! Take a trip to Virgin Gorda and explore the baths! In St. John we rented a home from McLaughlin Anderson, and had an excellent experience. They're on the web. On St. Thomas, we stayed in a lovely inn, The Simmonds House Inn -- very clean, very tropical, right in Charlotte Amalie -- you can walk to the shops. Phone 340-776-7776 or 888-521-7044. It was recommended to us by someone who lives in St. John. Hope you have a wonderful trip. <BR> P.S. I've been to St. Maarten, also, and what I remember about it is the shopping. You can shop anywhere. There are few places like St. John.