Saint Martin (French: Saint-Martin; Dutch: Sint Maarten) is 33-square-mile an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately 300 km (190 mi) east of Puerto Rico. The main cities are Philipsburg (Dutch side) and Marigot (French side).St. Martin's Dutch side is known for its festive nightlife, beaches, jewelry, exotic drinks made with native rum-based guavaberry liquors, and plentiful casinos.
The island's French side is known for its nude beaches, clothes, shopping (including outdoor markets), and rich French and Indian Caribbean cuisine.The island is home to accommodations including hotels, villas, and timeshares, many of which are privately available for rent or sale.Because the island is located along the inter tropical convergence zone, it is occasionally menaced by tropical storm activity in the late summer and early fall.
Shopping on St Maarten and Saint Martin offers duty-free goods in numerous boutiques. Popular goods include local crafts & arts, exotic foods, jewelry, liquor, tobacco, leather goods, as well as most designer goods. Most often the designer goods are offered at significant discounts, often up to 40% lower than US retail prices.Saint Martin uses the euro as its currency, the exchange rate is favorable: one euro = one dollar in many restaurants and stores.
On the half-French, half-Dutch island of Sint Maarten/St. Martin, . There's plenty to do, from world-class water sports on the Dutch side to world-class dining on the French side, and there's also plenty of nonstop airline service. Consider renting a villa.
Where to stay
Because the island’s so small, you can set yourself up anywhere. Taxi costs will add up, but local car-rental agencies offer cars for about US$35 a day.
Lonely Planet author Brandon Presser’s favorite spot, calling it easily one of the best deals in all the Caribbean, is Les Balcons d’Oyster Pond, a collection of hillside villas with bay views at Oyster Pond. Prices start at 100 euro in high season – dropping by up to 35% after April 15.
Simpson Bay on the Dutch side has many good-value accommodations, perfect if you can handle the sounds of nearby Juliana airport – many guests swear they don’t notice. One popular option is the Horny Toad Guesthouse.
Coral Beach Club is offering seven nights for the price of five until December 15 and a 20% discount from January 5 through April 15. Book through Sint Maarten/St. Martin villa specialist Marilyn Pulito of Villas in Paradise, who has access to 15% discounts on additional villas starting in January.Classic island experiences.
Classic island experiences
Good news: the bulk of day trip visitors coming by cruise cling to the souvenir/eating strips of Philipsburg and Marigot – leaving much of the island’s highlights to overnighter guests and locals.
For starters, beaches. Friar’s Bay, just north of Marigot on the French side, is a popular local swimming spot with beach bars and full-moon parties. Quieter is nearby Happy Bay, a powdery bare stretch of beach reached by a dirt path that twists over a bumpy headland.
The goofiest beach experience – and a perfect dot to the exclamation point if you arrive for your departing flight early – is set just below the Juliana airport runway at Maho on the Dutch side. Revelers laze and drink, then rush to the sand to pose whenever arriving jets zoom by just beyond reach to pose for photos that look seriously faked. The jet-beach hub is the festive Sunset Beach Bar – a $6 taxi ride to/from the airport terminal.
Don’t leave the island without splurging on a meal at Grand Case on the French side, the self-dubbed ‘gourmet capital of the Caribbean.’ Its beachfront road is linked with open-air restaurants that emulate a Parisian experience, but with a sea breeze. If that’s too fussy, there are lolos, Creole barbecue shacks clustered by a seaside picnic area.
No comments:
Post a Comment