St. Martin - Budget Travel Questions
 

We want to plan a holiday in November. Just a week, and I want beaches and snorkeling.

I thought about Roatan (we were there 2 years ago and loved it), but November is historically the wettest time of the year. So then we thought about Cozumel. Not a bad option, but tonight I started thinking about other areas in the Caribbean. Years ago we went to Guadaloupe & Martinique, and now we think we'd like to visit St. Martin. I checked Westjet and there's direct flights from Toronto to St. Maarten. (There's even a seat sale on right now - fare would be about $700 in November.) I've found a few cheaper places to stay on VRBO (< $100 / night) - they're in a place called French Cul de Sac.

We're a couple, late 50's, early 60's. We're what I'd call 'frugal travellers'. We've done lots of independent travelling in Mexico, Central America, Turkey, Australia and so on. For this trip, I want to go somewhere that's easy to get to and a place where the weather is likely to be good, although I know there are no guarantees.

So I have a couple of questions - is Cul de Sac an OK area? How's the weather in November? I think the hurricane season is usually just about finished by that point.

Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks, Susan

do you mean french cul de sac? what hotel are you looking at?

For detailed weather data for any given period on almost any given island (including St. Martin) or destination go to www.wunderground.com. Use the Travel & Activities dropdown menu to select "Trip Planner". Enter the airport code for your intended destination (SXM for St. Martin) and your plnned dates of travel. You be directed to all types of weather data showing what actual conditions were everyday during that period over the last 10 years. After studying that data you'll know more about the weather than most locals.

You are correct, November is Hurricane Season in the Caribbean. No one can give you any guarantees about the chance of a major storm affecting St. Martin this coming November. You can research the frequency of huricanes for SXM (or any other Caribbean destination) by using the "Climatology" link at: www.stormcarib.com - there you find data showing showing the number of huricanes that have affected any given island during the past 150 years. Look at the statistics for your planned month of travel and decide if you are comfortable with the odds.

FYI - IMO the Cul de sac area is OK.

I'm actually looking at a couple of studios (http://www.vrbo.com/174630 and http://www.vrbo.com/224981) Both of them get fairly good reviews. I posted on Tripadvisor and people tell me that the area is not all that convenient. But it sounds as though it's possible to walk to a beach. Are you familiar with that area?

The other area that I've heard about is Oyster Pond. There looks to be a couple of small hotels (Les Balcons d'Oyster and Les Caravelles) where the prices look good. It also seems that there are a number of restaurants nearby.

But for some reason, I'm still drawn to the other area! Any advice?

One priority for us is access to snorkeling. I don't think we'd snorkel every day, but we would like to be able to snorkel a few times.

Thanks,
Susan

Thanks Roamsaround. You're right - no guarantees anywhere! On our flight to Buenos Aires in February, our plane ran into mecanical problems while landing in Santiago to drop passengers off. As a result, all the passengers were put up in a hotel and Chile was hit with the earthquake that very night. We ended up spending 6 nights in Santiago. It was quite the experience .....

That's part of the reason we want to get away in the late fall. We eventually ended up in Buenos Aires (having cancelled our plans to go to Uruguay and Iguazu) and we loved our time there, but we came back to Canada feeling as if we needed another holiday. We thought maybe a week in the Caribbean would be something nice to look forward to.

How would French Cul de Sac compare to Oyster Pond?

I probably sound all over the map! Up until last night, I thought we'd be going back to Cozumel.

Susan
the french cul de sac is a nice area.
i think it is a convenient area to be in. you can take the ferry to Pinel right there. you are a few minutes from Orient beach and Grand Case is a 10 minute drive away. Oyster Pond is a very nice area too. there are a few nice restaurants and hotels there, but I think it is further away from most other areas.
Le balcons does get good reviews though.

Thanks Barbara. Last night I had convinced myself that we couldn't possibly afford to go to St Martin in November (am I made of money, blah blah blah). But today I'm starting to change my mind - I'm driving my husband crazy with my endless deliberations and rationalizations!

Well, I've made the decision - we're going to St. Martin. I'm booking the flights closer to the end of November. Looking forward to it!

That sounds odd - I'm booking the flights now, but we're travelling the end of November ....

Cul de Sac is nice, but you will need a car to get around, otherwise you're far from most things. Fron Cul de Sac you can walk to the ferry for Pinel, or the 'Decharge' Beach... but you won't want to do that every day. A car is a must.
Food quite expensive on SXM, but not too bad if you're self catering.
You may want to check out http://www.st-martin-maarten.com for some advice + vouchers giving you discounts.

Thanks. Yes, we had decided that we needed to have a car. I figure we'll do some self-catering and some meals out. I'm quite happy that we've made our decision!

We are considiering a trip to the Cul de Sac area in March, I would love to hear about your trip and the area.

I'll be sure to post a report when we're back.