Our first trip there was in 1987, and somewhat by accident. It was definitely pre-internet and we were dealing with a travel agency, who was setting up a trip to Aruba for us. About two months before we were leaving, she called and said the flights to Aruba were being cancelled for some reason, and wanted to rebook us to SXM instead. I very reluctantly agreed. We had to travel about 16 hours through various airports and finally got to the Sea Palace late at night. We thought it was the only building on the street it was that dark and quiet. Woke up the next morning at 11 a.m. (I never sleep that late!!)and couldn't believe the view. Went outside and couldn't believe there were all these little shops on the street. My husband still jokes about the $19 Seiko watch he bought that first trip. The roads were in really rough shape (or non-existent) and potholes everywhere (they've been replaced with speed bumps). Eventually made it to Aruba, and while nice, it doesn't draw us back like SXM does.