We’ve been in July and weren’t worried. But we are really available in August and saw good deals on airfare/lodging and then I remembered Hurricanes. September would be a no go for us, but how many scary storms hit in August? Roll the dice?
Been in SXM for most of August the past two years with no significant storms. Sahara dust has probably helped (yes....it can be a good thing). But there is no real way to predict what might happen.
We have been traveling for the last 30 years during the last two of weeks of August into the early days of September and besides the humidity, we have only three times we can remember of when we had weather to worry about.
One was a cat 2 which affected SXM for maybe 24 hours.
Hurricane Earl (I believe 2010) was a bit more winds with the palms bending to the ground) kept us sequestered to our room for a long 24 hours followed by a day of no travel Earl was quickly followed by Tropical storm Fiona which bought the floods
Really was never worried about this storm as we were assured Royal Islander could easily withstand these weather conditions Generator kicked in immediately and watched Shrek which was fed into the TV by RI over and over as there were no live stations RI checked on all guests often
Last and certainly will not be forgotten ERMA, the storm of all storms She came during the end of our second of three weeks and developed slowly picking up tremendous speed day by day
Even though we follow conditions stating across the ocean, this one really surprised us Although we started about 5 days out to try to get off the island, there was no flights or sea travel to get off the island until the last night when we were graced with two seats on the last flight off the island the day the storm hit
A series of events led to us getting on a plane almost like hitting the lottery I believe two young women who didn't speak good English did not confirm their flights and we were fortunate enough to get them
We continue to travel this time of year but we would not hesitate to get off the island if really bad weather is predicted Before hand we thought it could never be that bad until Erma changed everything
Zanshin showed you an interesting chart, but you never know. There is always that odd storm. We were on St. John in NOVEMBER, for 'left handed Lenny" and had to be evacuated off, just ahead of the storm. We used to go to SXM or on cruises a LOT in September. We were actually on a cruise when Luis hit SXM. We were scheduled to go to the Eastern Caribbean, including SXM, and the ship instead went Western Caribbean. It was a very odd cruise, the sea was absolutely dead flat calm in the Western Caribbean. Now, living in Florida, I am more worried about something hitting our house here during hurricane season. I personally wouldn't be worried about going to SXM in September, if it weren't for living in Florida.
Hurricane prediction is a lot better now than it was years ago. If you go, just be very careful about watching the weather and make sure you buy trip insurance. It is a good time to go, for no crowds anywhere. Just know, as JD says, it's hotter during August and September.
Go here - https://stormcarib.com/climatology/TNCM_all_isl.htm You'll find the dates every tropical storm/hurricane to strike St. Martin from 1851 to 2019. Study the data and you'll find that during those 168 years there have only been 18 hurricanes that affected St. Martin in August. You'll have to decide if you like the odds.
Carol, not to change the subject but what type if insurance do you get? I always get Allianz through American Air but I just had a heart episode. I've looked at the sponsors here but there are so many choices some of them pretty expensive. Been coming for 20 plus years and the years are building up!!!!
DandG--I always book through "insure my trip", here on TTOL. We always book a comprehensive plan, which covers a multitude of things. You can compare insurance policies side by side, to see how they stack up. Insurance policies vary widely, depending on what you need to insure against. For us, I don't really care about the airfare, for example, as we usually book with FF miles and if we need to cancel, we can change the dates on them. Also don't generally get too worked up about stuff like trip interruption, baggage stuff, etc. For the hotel, if we're staying at Beachside, we figure we can hopefully work something out on that.
I am worried about BIG stuff--like medical evac and uncovered medical expenses out of the country. Medicare pays NOTHING outside the US. We have a supplement plan, but it only pays 80%, I also generally look for PRIMARY medical coverage, which means that they pick up from the first dollar (after any deductibles) and you don't have to pay UP FRONT, which you could have to do, if the medical is secondary coverage only. Often, that means that you have to pay it up front, and then wait (and hope) they will reimburse you, perhaps months and months later.
In your case, you probably will need to look very hard at pre existing conditions. Many policies do not cover them, if for example, you need to be med-evacked (sp!!!) out. Some policies will cover pre existing conditions, IF the policy is obtained within a short period of time from when you originally made any payment toward the trip. Insurance is a difficult subject and you need to make sure you read all the fine print!
You are a little early but hurricanes can happen any time in season. My experience here for Bertha Also ate at DE Liveos on a Sat. and per wrong way Lenny it was gone on Wednesday.
Personally having been through Irma I wouldn’t go during the official hurricane season at all. But my trip earlier this year was probably my last trip to SXM anyway…
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