Grega2475

We have been to St. Martin staying on the French side. Have any of you been to St. Martin (French side) and Maui? How do you compare these two vacation sights? We need to travel in mid Dec and are considering Maui.

montereybob

I've been to both destinations you mentioned. There is no comparison between them. It is apples and oranges. Maui is a much larger island, more lush and tropical, many more beautiful beaches and great snorkeling spots than in St. Martin. The culture is American/Hawaiian not caribbean. There are many more great restaurants and beautiful scenic sights than in St Martin. If you've never been to Maui, definitely go. It's heavenly. To learn all about Maui before you go----what to see and where to stay, I would suggest getting the book: Maui Revealed by Doughty.
Have fun.

sf7307

Although we never stayed on the French side, we have been to St. Maarten a couple of times, and to Maui a number of times. I remember the first time we rented a car on St. Maarten/St. Martin to drive around the island, and were shocked by how small the island was -- we could have turned the car in after an hour! Also, the island isn't "tropical". Point is, I completely agree with bob -- Maui is a tropical island, in the palm tree sense of the word. While there are plenty of beautiful places in the Caribbean, St. Maarten really isn't one of them.

Grega2475

The French side is completely different than the Dutch side.The Dutch side is American.There are alot of beautiful beaches and sunsets.We think the french restaurants are wonderful.It's very cosmopolitan.Thanks for the info. on Maui.

sf7307

Grega, I've been in both, just not stayed on the French side. I like it, too, but it's very different from Maui. Where on Maui are you thinking of staying (each area is different from the others - Wailea, Kihea, Kapalua, Kaanapali, Lahaina, Paia, Hana....)

Moravecglobal

Maui is better! But be aware. Maui News Feb 17 2010. Activity, food prices are hurting visitors

A tourism executive said, "We haven't seen such revenue and visitor declines in Maui since we've been keeping records."

A fresh sign of the woes are being unleashed by a Maui economy mired in boom-time pricing marketing and the Great Recession.

Those vacationing on Maui are, unfortunately, not finding ways to reduce their restaurant and activities expenses once here. Visitor confidence in finding reasonably priced activities and restaurants in Lahaina/Kaanapali is exceptionally low.

Next year will not be any better than this year if the needs of visitors cannot be met.

TravelGram

I agree with all of the other writers. We own a timeshare on St. Maarten and Maui. Maui is definitely more tropical and lush and there's certainly lots more things to do. St. Maarten is nice but we've been there twice and to Maui 8 times (which do I like better?). We use the timeshare in St. Maarten to trade only now. We have found the people on the Dutch side to be friendlier than the French side.
As for the prices on Maui. I didn't think they were any higher than they were 2 years ago. If you go for the food, you can spend a TON of money. But there are many moderately priced restaurants too so it doesn't have to be super expensive. If you buy your own food (breakfast and maybe lunch), get a Safeway card while you're there and it will save you a few bucks. Another good way to save money is to shop at the markets in the deli section. They all have freshly prepared food and it is very reasonably priced.