TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Arriving this Saturday...couple of questions!

Hi all,

You all were very helpful a few months back with rental car questions as I planned out our trip. As I stated then, we are returning for our first trip to Sint Maarten in nearly 10 years this Saturday for a week's stay and we can't wait, after having gone pretty much at least once a year since the early 90s with my family when I was a teenager and into my 20s/30s (pre-kids). Now we are coming back as a family of my own with our 12 and 10 year old boys in tow. I have a couple of questions hopefully all you experts can help with!

We're staying at Flamingo for the first time after decades at La Vista where my parents were owners. Does anyone know if Flamingo has laundry facilities available or laundry service? I didn't see anything on their website saying they did. It would make packing light much easier to be able to do a load of laundry midweek. Or if there is a laundrymat nearby that does laundry service. Also, does anyone know if they provide beach towels at Flamingo which would save a lot of luggage space.

I always loved going to Pinel for a day on previous trips, though I had seen now that advanced reservations are recommended to get beach chairs/umbrellas. Is this actually needed as I wasn't sure which day we were going try and go yet so hadn't made a reservation. How far in advance should I make a reservation and also is there a preference on which of the restaurants to reserve at?

We plan on doing a day trip to Prickly Pear with Aqua Mania at SBR. Any other recommended excursions that will keep our very active boys entertained? I thought about zip lining, though I highly doubt my wife or I would do the zip lines ourselves, so somewhere that they would let the kids do them on their own while we watch. Maybe even half-day boat charters for snorkeling as both my boys are really excited to snorkel.

Any recommendations for renting beach chairs and umbrella for the week in case we go to beaches that don't have rentals available? We always enjoyed Baie Rouge but understand that there are no rentals there anymore since no more Gus' or Raymond's.

Thanks in advance! You all are the best!

If you are staying in one of the villa units in building 3, 4 or 6 you'll have a washer and dryer in your unit. Otherwise there are washer dryers in building 7 for all to use. Beach towels are provided and can be exchanged once daily.

Thanks SXMScubaman! We're not in the villa units. We just have a 1 bedroom king ocean view room with a sofabed for the boys. But glad to know that they have laundry room available and also beach towels.

Reservations aren’t required for either places on Pinel. However, this time of year I would encourage you to do so. Especially if you want a lunch reservation as well. Both Karibuni and Yellow Beach use WhatsApp or Facebook messenger for reservation. I have received timely responses from both. Both restaurants are excellent. Karibuni is more French & Creole. YB has a mixture of French and American dishes. You can get lobster at both. YB has a resident turtle that your boys may find cool.

Thanks Todd_Melinda_K! Appreciate the information. My younger one will be all about a turtle hanging out! He's an animal lover for sure.

Regarding chair/umbrella/cooler rental, I've had success renting from Pack Light.

When I rented from them in 2023, they dropped-off and picked-up. Reasonable prices.

Of course, the obvious downside is that you'll have to lug around whatever you rent. For me, it was a good deal. A lot less expensive than renting chairs & umbrellas at beach bars/hotels. And having the cooler was good as well. For cooler ice, I brought (from home) empty plastic (Gatorade, etc) bottles, filled them with water and froze them.

Thanks BillDauterive! I'll take a look at Pack Light and see what we can do through them.

You might also want to check with Alyssa at La Vista; she was renting chairs. She may only rent them to La Vista guests, though.

I saw on a prior post she rents to non guests too. It's a side business like her storage boxes.

Thanks GaKaye! That is convenient since we'll be next door at Flamingo. Can't wait to get on the plane tomorrow morning and touch down at SXM!