TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Some very quick notes

Went to Mark's on Friday for their mussels which come in on that day. Well...we arrived just before 5p and they were "sold out" ..only two other tables occupied and one had four patrons having said mussels..I was told that you have to reserve them in advance and include them in your reservation...Hmmmm..

Today enjoyed a zero traffic day..no major car collections anywhere..felt like old times. Decided to check out Anse Marcel and the hotel there. Interesting drive up thie hill but again no traffic. Parked in the lot and walked to the hotel and were told by security we could not "check it out" so we left. So much for that

Took a ride to the Pinel parking lot and....ANYONE who comes here AND Friar's and complains about the road getting into Friar's is just kinda weird. The entrance road to Pinel parking lot is 10 times worse than the road to Friar's/Happy Bay ever was. Close to bottoming out the car...

Checked out Monoprix on our way back. Nice store but the fresh veggie/fruit prices are a tad up there. Like 60 Euro/kg for cherries, 30 for small tomatoes and 30 for asparagus. Pass...

Nice weather today...and did i mention it was an enjoyable traffic free drive

"and did I mention it was an enjoyable traffic free drive"

We spent 3 weeks in Maho Dec/Jan and only once were we held up in traffic on Union Rd and that was because of a car accident. Other than the usual stop and go traffic in Simpson Bay and that's because of people trying to find a parking spot and of course driving through Marigot is always bad.

When there are lots of ships in the traffic is usually bad on the Dutch side because of the amount of tour buses on the road. One pool day on the deck of La Terrasse we counted 10 double decker buses that parked across the road from Maho Market to give their passengers their 1/2 hour on Maho Beach, traffic was a mess. Not to mention the other buses that drop their passengers off for the day at Maho Beach.

We use the Tortuga Cam for checking out the volume of traffic. When the cam follows a plane down to the end of the runway (Lagoon end) you can see if the traffic is parked or moving into Simpson Bay and also you can see if the traffic is moving towards the Causeway.

Well maybe I'm just unlucky then 'cuz I've been her for 7 days now and this is the only day I haven't been using interesting phrases while driving 4-5 mph or stopped while someone tries to make a left turn..anywhere...welfare road, causeway roundabout, Marigot (particular ugly when the road near Super U is being worked on during the week, hill up and down to Phillipsburg...everywhere.

Today was nice

Edit to add: I should mention that one area that has had reasonable traffic is near Sunset Beach...just normal roundabout traffic

Was on island same time as Whale Tail and apparently it was because school was out, so that reduced traffic a lot.

Sorry about the traffic, I think they did one side of the road in front of the Super U and I guess now doing the other side.

Easier to cut through by the port and bypass that Super U road

That is odd about the mussels at Mark's Place. I had them in August and did not reserve an order, but I did notice the two times I went there, some unfamiliar staff and they were not busy. I found this rather odd as they usually do a brisk business with locals and take-out orders.

Glad the traffic has not been bad for you.

Given your list of complaints, I gather that you will never come back.

Too bad you didn't go to the other end of Anse Marcel. Anse Marcel Beach Restaurant has fabulous food. A day at that end of the beach is pure bliss.

We have been coming to SXM every year for around 20 yrs and have noticed changes in the Island over that perod. I think it reasonable to reprort these differencess rather than make believe they are not there.

We will return next year,,,,

Absolutely agree. I think it is "nice to know" what to expect. Had it not been for this board and people talking about the arrival process last year, I would have been ill prepared!
So, it is nice to report the good AND the bad. Just because you are reporting it doesn't mean you are necessarily complaining. Just pointing it out!

"Took a ride to the Pinel parking lot and....ANYONE who comes here AND Friar's and complains about the road getting into Friar's is just kinda weird. The entrance road to Pinel parking lot is 10 times worse than the road to Friar's/Happy Bay ever was. Close to bottoming out the car..."

One would think that the owners of said establishments would bring in a road grader to level out the road for better excess!!???
Some years back, the back road to Orient was re-graded!! That was a "mind field" back then!!!