TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin splitting a the island for two weeks?

Hey folks.
Don't post here much anymore, just watch. Haven't been in a decade and plan on going back next year and want to make it epic, 10 days to 2 weeks.
So the question is if you were to stay on both sides of the island which side would or have you done first and second.
Disclaimer: we used to stay on Orient and will stay there again and for the Dutch side I am all in on BSV, have never stayed there but this forum has me sold.
All and any thoughts are greatly appreciated, there's no way to thank all the folks on this site for all the info over the years!

Honestly, I have never understood this idea of staying two different places while on vacation, as the thought of having to pack up all my stuff and move mid vacation turns me off immensely. But if someone somehow FORCED me to do it, I would do French side first I guess, so that I could save the best (BSV!!!) for last!!!

BSV is s great choice and I think you will be very happy there. You can walk next door to El Zafiro for drinks or a meal or if you’re the ambitious type, you can walk to Sunset Beach Bar to watch Plains. I wouldn’t make that walk at night but we have driven to the Dunes Casino down the road a few times.

And unlike Carol, we always start out on the Dutch side but have relocated to the GCBC a few times so we could park the car and enjoy the other best of two worlds.

Carol, we have been itching to get back to Orient and we also have spent time talking about staying at BSV. We've had a decade to dream!! We pack light, and especially for SXM. Nightlife isn't really our thing. We like to get up early and enjoy the day in the sun and relax at our residence and cook dinner at night. Thanks for the input. I have been leaning the way of ending the trip at BSV.....

Pat, thanks for your feedback also! It's you and Carol who have sold me on BSV!! There will be 2 to 4 adults and one 10 year old at the time. I know that the 10 year old will be beside himself over the whole island, I've kinda been hyping it since he was born. Sounds like BSV would be a great spot for him to see the planes come in and out when we aren't on the beach!

And for that matter, the ten year old can watch the planes from the pool deck or from the observation deck on the other end of BSV. My DH is a plane watcher and he loves it there for just that reason in particular. Keep a close eye on the ten year old when in the ocean as the waves can be tough but watching the yachts off your deck is another great pleasure..

Well Pat you just sold the BSV even more, you should get a kickback for referrals.

This is really a good question, and I differ a bit from Carol's approach because St. Maarten/Martin is really two cultures on one island! So, instead of going to Aruba for a week and then Martinique for another week you can experience both dutch and french cultures on SXM. But, I would spend my first week in either the Simpson Bay or Maho areas. A place like Simpson Bay Resort would be ideal, because so many of the awesome restaurants in this area are within walking distance (i.e. Skip Jacks, Toppers, La Sucriere) if you like to walk. In the Maho area places like the Sonesta Resort or the Royal Islander are nice because both Maho Beach and Mullet Bay Beach are within walking distance, and there are restaurants within walking distance here as well. Or, you could go in between Maho and Simpson Bay and choose the Beachside Villas or even Mary's Boon, but it will require a rental car for dining at night, etc. Besides, after landing on St. Maarten and going through the airport experience it's kind of nice to get settled right away rather than endure a long trip to Orient Bay.

Then, at the midway point of your vacation you can pack-up and head to Orient Bay and choose a hotel like Esmeralda or the soon to open Palm Court, or just reserve an AirBnB. Many of the restaurants in this area are back up-and-running including the Yellow Submarine, Le Piment and L'Astrolabe. From here, places like Grand Case, Anse Marcel, and Pinel Island are relatively short trips and would break-up having to go to Orient Beach every day.

Whatever you decide you can't go wrong either way!

SammyM I fully agree that no matter our choice we aren't gonna go wrong!
Thank you for the info on where to stay and go on the Dutch side.
We've traditionally stayed over at orient and hunkered down in that area, short of day trips and going to grand case to grab dinners to go from either sky's the limit or talk of the town. And at this point I'm not even sure they around. I'd hope so!

You can't go wrong either way. This year we are trying that same thing, staying first in Orient Village for 6 days for our beach fill, and the Atrium in Simpson bay for 4 days to experience the bars and restaurants that are within our walking distance. My thought were we would be close to the airport on the last day.

My point is that I don't think you need to move your sleeping arrangements to enjoy both sides of the island, which is what we've done for years! Regardless, enjoy your stay, regardless of what you choose.

On the French side I would suggest Orient Village. I think your 10 year old would enjoy the more residential feel and the village at night is a good atmosphere.

I would never split a stay and we go for 3 to 4 weeks at a time. You pretty much loose a day moving and the island is small enough to drive to either side for the day in short time.

Shaggy,

We’ve done the split trips many times with no regrets. But moving from place to place after four or five nights doesn’t appeal at all. You do lose the better part of a day packing and moving so make it worth your while. We did three nights st one location and then moved to another for our last two weeks during our last trip and those first three nights I never felt like I was ‘home’ becsuse I knew I’d soon have to move again. Moving is definitely a hassle so make it worth your while.

And FYI, you’re gonna love BSV. Everybody does once they ve tried it that first time and travelingblight is definitely a huge bonus if you’re moving place to place.

We have split vacations on SXM into one week Dutch another on French side. For us it lowers need to drive through some of the worse traffic on the island. We love dining in Grand Case, Orient Village, and near Pinel Ferry. We hate driving to those areas so we stay in Grand Case one week so we're closer.

This past March trip we stayed two weeks at Beachside and while I could stay there forever, I missed Grand Case and Orient Village in the evenings.

We pack light so shoving things back into a carry-on for the move doesn't bother us. Of course in years when we stayed at Divi we would have to pack up anyway and move to another unit for 2nd week if we weren't lucky to find the one we were in to be available (not TS).

In our case i don't really feel we will loose a day as we booked a snorkel excursion during the change over day. We don't normally split, but thought we would try something different to get a feel for the other side.

X2

Whenever we travel, we got for 3 weeks at a time and don't mind moving. This time 2 weeks Simpson Bay Resort, 1 week OBBR. In Aruba, Renaissance 1 week, Marriott Surf Club 2 weeks. Curacao, 2 weeks Royal Resort, 1 week Naturale Curacao (only non-timeshare). Hawaii this Fall, 3 weeks, each on a different island. All with 2 bedroom great timeshare units, traded using 1 BR timeshare units or a studio lockout. Maintenance on weeks we trade averages $750. Purchase prices for the 5 timeshare units we own were less than $2K each, except for Marriott. We love the places we own or trade into, we know how to work the TS system. We enjoy staying in different areas and resorts and our moves aren't a problem. Enjoy your vacay, do it your way, and be flexible.

Hi Shaggy77,

FYI ... both Talk of the Town and Sky's the Limit lolos are indeed still around! Enjoy! We have never stayed on the Dutch side so I can't be much help with your original question!

...two weeks: 5 nights Orient village, 4 nights Atrium or villas at SB, 5 nights at everyone's favourite on Simpson Bay (want to keep it a secret!)..... don't want to drive at night, so we can walk to all our favourite restaurants, and honestly, don't find the move takes too much time or effort....

p.s......I know, BSV isn't a secret anymore, but I'm greedy.....

From an "old timer" at BSV, I can't wait to get there when I'm on my way to SXM.

This April we had won 3 nights at a lovely B&B on the French side, where we had planned on staying first.
Even though we were looking forward to the experience---close to Grand Case and some different beaches---we
wanted BSV as our final destination, since it feels like home after all these years.

We could unpack and enjoy our special place.
We didn't want to pack and then stay at a different place for 3 nights before leaving.

It's all what you prefer, but I'm sure if you stay at BSV you will be happy.........

Whats are prices for BSV? We have no dates yet. High and low seasons?

Hi. BSV is a sponsor here. Just click on the TTOL sponsors list and scroll down.