TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Post Irma kids to do?

Last time we were there, it was so relaxing. January 2016

Background, We are a couple with 2 elementary school kids. We can hang all day at La Terasse and its pools or the beach. We love SXM. But the beauty of it is we really dont “plan” a ton of activities, we try to chillax!!

Usually, when we arrive, we first would go to the butterfly farm, then get nice and toasty and head for galion beach. Days 2-5 we usually hit the French side and more beach (never actually went to Orient).... then by day 6 we hit the butterfly farm again and galion beach. We rent jet skis in Phillipsburg, do some shopping and lots of eating.

Now, post Irma, we have to assume that the butterfly farm is no more.

Now have kids 11 and 9 years old, just curious what you guys recommend to do with them at these ages, in these times? We’ve never done daytrips nor snorkeled there. Starting to think that perhaps a day trip to Saba, Anguilla or Torgua are ideas? Just curious ...Thanks!

When are you planning to arrive on your trip? What vacation dates?

The Butterfly Farm is closed after Irma.

Day trip to Anguilla and there are two forts on SXM you can visit.

As well as the butterfly farm being gone, there is no longer a restaurant at Le Gallion, or chair rentals. Have you checked out the Carousel in Simpson Bay? You might check out a day trip to Anguilla, as I believe they often have a snorkeling opportunity.

Hi mirrodie: I want to give you some suggestions from my last visit with my 11year old son in August, 2017. I hope others on-island or recently visited can chime in if these activities are still available?

We loved renting Kayaks to go to Pinel Island. It was fun and exercise! We also rented a pedalo (a foot boat with a canopy) from Simpson Bay. It was super fun. We pedaled all the way under the bridge to see the big yachts -which I know someone posted there aren’t any right now. . We did the tandem jet skiing but my son was a little scared. We did something called “Big Martha” (I think), which was a big raft you secured into, and a jet ski towed you around. We spent a lot of time at Mullet Bay and there were two big boats that would anchor there, they let my son climb aboard and jump off which he loved. In Philipsburg, there was this giant, portable, floating gymnasium in the water. My son absolutely loved it but ended up with severe chafing from the life vest and his 100 jumps into the sea. I really don’t know if any of these activities are still going on? We also did a day trip to St. Barths which was cool because they also have a famous airport and the beach next to it is just beautiful. Good luck!! I hope someone will comment as to whether or not any of these things are up and running again. Enjoy your trip!

Also, my son’s favorite beach, with three years of visits, accumulating many months of staying in St.M, is Karakter! He loves the beach, the music, the food and the nonstop airplane activity. And he always met other kids there too, usually from Canada. Though we always traveled in Dec/Jan or June/July/August.

I know for sure the portable gym (WISPA) is gone.

Elaine,

Do they have the floating playground at Kim Sha that used to be there?

If your kids are swimmers, Soualiga Destinations out of the marina in P’berg next to Chesterfields, has awesome power boats for a three stop snorkeling trip. They get very high reviews on Trip Advisor and really do offer fun excursions. We’ve also taken a daysail to Anguilla with snorkeling stops along the way and finally, lunch with beach and pool time at Rendevous Bay. This trip was out of Simpson Bay-and a very pleasant day.

If you’re up for other Island trips, the flight to and the landing on Saba are exciting all by themselves and Saba is known for the hike up Mt. Scenery. But it’s not a beach destination so that might be a negative with kids. There’s a small museum there with some interesting artifacts and a taxi tour will take you through the hydroponic garden. Again, it’s small but interesting but maybe not for kids the age of yours.

And as already suggested, the flight to St.Barts is always fun and the landing is definitely a hoot. In all honesty, I think ‘other island’ day trips are a waste of time and money for that age group since Anguilla and St. Bart’s are basically just more but different beaches which become expensive options for a young family.

Have you considered the rhino safari or the atv trips? We haven’t done either since I doubt my back would enjoy them. I’m not sure about zip lining at Loterie Farm - it may not have survived last year’s hurricane - but a day there at their pool is nice, too. And lastly, there’s the gondola up to the top at the Emilio Wilson property. That’s about all I can think of since so many of the things we used to do with our family no longer exist. And truthfully, our daughters at that age were usually pretty content to spend most of their days swimming and snorkeling at Zmullet Bay Beach.

Don't think the Tiki Hut is back up and running

Never saw one there

Presidents day week. WOW, thanks for all the replies and recommendations. Actually we just did ziplining and kayaking on Long Island, so we have some adventurous types here. Didnt know about the rhinos and atvs.

yeah I figured ther butterfly farm was no more. now that they are older, time to check out new venues and support the island with our tourist $$$

Thank you all again and keep em coming!

You should revisit this thread and ask the question again right after the first of the year. I am quite sure there will be quite a few more opti9ns available that people can share with you.