TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Not your average trip report - Nov 4 - Nov 26

Hello all! For the NOOBs I am not your typical tourist; my family is from SXM going back generations, and us kids were born in the states but spent summers on the island. With that out of the way, here's a random assortment of thoughts.

This wasn't a vacation. At 96, my dad passed away after living a full and long life, so me and my siblings came down for the services and all the other things one must do. Here are my observations of those three weeks:

Flights down. I got a decent last minute flight out of DCA via Delta. I'm not a fan of connecting in ATL but beggars can't be choosers. Smooth flights all around, deplaned via a ramp and honestly can't remember if we took a bus or walked. In any case, the immigration line was long. It moved, slowly, and for whatever reason my passport scan would not work, so I had to go see the agent, which was fine. Bags came out soon and then I was off to find the folks from Unity for my car which leads me to...

TRAFFIC. Never in my almost 50 years of life have I ever encountered so much traffic at random points during the day (and it not be the height of festive). I landed around 2. It took me almost 2 hours to get my car and get myself over the causeway to Colombier (where my family is from). I would go on to complain about the traffic like the old person that I am becoming almost every day lol

EATS. We ate in most nights, but we made several trips to Calmos - 5 to be precise. The food, the drinks, the views, the service, all fantastic. By our last visit, it felt a little bit like Cheers to us. We loved the old toes in the sand Calmos from back in the day, but clearly love the new version! We also had to stop at O'Plongiour in Marigot - a must for us. We also got takeaway from Sandy's in Marigot twice. Their whole fried snapper is a delight. Carl's in colebay - their donuts and pastries are amazing. We made two trips there!

Random island thoughts. Aside from the traffic, the over-development on the dutch side is crazy. The existing infrastructure can't handle what's there, I don't know what's going to happen when all these projects come online. The mudslides that happened while we were there will only increase. On the plus side, the island never looked so green; it was so rainy while we were there, which eventually broke the heat we initially arrived in. We got a taste of the Christmas winds, and I miss that so much.

Leaving. Check in was smooth, security moved (even if the line was longish). I had to take a work call so I tried out the new priority lounge. I completely understood what someone here said earlier about folks not clearing tables. Hopefully they hire more help because the one dude doing it was not enough. I didn't really eat anything and had one drink. I mostly was there for the quiet, so not sure I'd do it again. Flew United direct back to DC (we walked out to the plane). I really wish Delta would start direct flights from DC; every single United plane I am on is so old and gross. I know they have newer planes dangit!

Anyway, we did a lot of other random things you wouldn't care about - visiting relatives, dealing with french bureaucracy, took a 2 day trip to Anguilla to decompress, spent a crazy amount of time at ACE, etc. We mostly spent time reminiscing about my parents, how lucky we are to call this place home, how much we'll miss them, and how we can't wait to be back next year.

Thanks for the report and condolences.

The Dutch side really needs to get a handle on the situation in MANY ways!

I’m sorry for your loss. May he rest in peace.

Thanks for the report. Regardless of age, it's always sad to lose your dad.

Our deepest sympathies go out to you on the loss of your Dad. May he rest in peace and may your memories bring you comfort.

We were on island from November 4-14 and agree about the traffic, especially in Marigot and Simpson Bay. Fortunately we spent a lot of time in Grand Case and Orient, and traffic wasn’t so bad there.

My condolences on the loss of your father. It's never easy to lose a parent, no matter what age. Nice that you were able to be there and share your loss with family. Thx for your report and wishing you peace.🙏

Thank you for your thoughts, and sincere sympathies on the loss of your father.

I totally agree with you about the infrastructure. I think its status is going to cause an increasing drop in longtime visitors to the island. I may well be one of them.