Tripreport Sint Maarten with tips
We visited Sint Maarten for two weeks and ….loved it! We = my husband Ton , our two children (8 and 12 years old) and myself. For my husband and children it was their first trip to the Caribbean. I had not been in St. Maarten for 26 years and to be honest….there were only a few things I still recognized. Especially the Dutch side changed a lot. But I did find the house where we lived, my old school, the hotel my father built (the Holland House Beach Hotel) and it was nice to see it back again.
Accomodation
We stayed in a bungalow at Les Balcons d’ Oyster Pond (
www.lesbalcons.com) and simply loved it! We saw a lot of hotels and resorts during our stay in St. Maarten but every evening we were glad that we were staying in the peaceful area of Les Balcons. We had lot no. 21. It’s a completely renovated large one bedroom bungalow with a huge terrace (about 30 m2) and a beautiful view over Oyster Pond and the sea. For us it was convenient to overlook the swimming pool as our kids could go out swimming on themselves. The bungalow is very tastefully decorated (with nice art and some antiques) and has a complete kitchen (even including a washing machine). The bungalows are built in a lovely tropical garden with lots of flowers and there is a small swimming pool. The managers of the complex. David and Carina, are very friendly and help you with everything. Especially Carina gives you the feeling you are her first and only guest on the complex. Every evening we ordered two baguettes (0,90 Euro) and 5 croissants (1 Euro each) and every morning they were freshly delivered at the complex. If you are looking for a nice and clean place to stay, I can really recommend it. The other bungalows were a bit smaller (mostly studio’s, very nice for two persons) but also look very beautiful. The price is good. We paid around 1.400 Euro’s for two weeks for the four of us (including tax etc).
Trips and Tips
Saba
You want to visit another island and you are looking for spectacular nature? We visited the island Saba and stayed there one night in the village Windwardside at the Cottage Club (
www.cottage-club.com), a very nice, small complex consisting of 10 white Gingerbread style cottages with red roofs and a small swimming pool (80 US dollars for one night for four persons including taxes and a bottle of red wine). We liked the island of Saba very much. It has no beaches but the nature is magnificent. Lots of flowers, picturesque houses and small villages. The island is extremely clean and the 1.500 inhabitants on Saba are very friendly. We went to Saba by a small plane (
https://64.87.107.120/farestructure.html) which is a real adventure because of the short landingstrip on the island. It takes you only 12 minutes to get to the island an it will cost you around 120 USD per person, including tax. Of course, you can also travel to Saba by boat. When we arrived on the island we hired a taxi (40 USD) and the taxi driver drove us around the island through the four different villages and told us everything we wanted to know. As you probably know there is only one road on the island that is 14 miles long.
In the village where we stayed, Windwardside, several hiking trails start. There is also a hiking shop with information. We made a nice hike (Crispeentrail) trough the forest to the village the Bottom and hitchhiked back (hitchhiking is common on the island). We had a nice lunch at the Rainforest restaurant (
http://www.ecolodge-saba.com/english/rest.htm). We had diner at Brigadoon restaurant. The service was great, the foot ok but I think we had to pay too much for what we got. I would not go to this restaurant again. On the second day we had lunch at Scout’s Place (
http://www.scoutsplace.com), a pleasant place.
If you want to know more about Saba, this is a very good website:
http://www.sabatourism.com/Anguilla
We went to Anguilla with the ferry. It leaves from Marigot every 30 minutes and costs 15 USD per person (including departure tax). We had hired a jeep via internet (
http://www.mycaribbean.com/article/articleview/260/1/66/) and were picked up from the ferry and brought to the car company to do the paperwork. Around ten in the morning we started our roundtrip around the island. Anguilla is English so people drive on the left side of the road. The island is flat and has many beautiful beaches. We especially liked Rendevouz Beach and Shoal Bay (beautiful snorkelling). Driving on Anguilla is not easy because there are almost no shields (local people told us that children destroy them, we joked, that probably taxidrivers do this!), so we got lost several times. But people are very friendly and showed us the way. I liked Anguilla, but to be honest…if I had only one day to spend on another island I would choose Saba.
Prickly Pear
If you like snorkelling you should make a trip to Prickly Pear! It has a beautiful reef and we saw hundreds of fishes in beautiful colours. We went there with a catamaran called Scooby Too (around 320 Euro’s for the four of us, including lunch and free drinks) and the trip was very relaxed. Reservations can be made by Carine.
Flying zone on Lotery Farm
You will find this place close to Pic Paradis. In this forest-like area they have built a track of climbing and flying from one treetop to the other. You are safeguarded continuously by two chains and led through the track by a guide in app. 1 hour. Ton and the children loved it! In fact, my kids say this was one of the nicest things they did on Sint Maarten. We had to pay 25 Euro’s per person, but….even if they had given me 3000 Euro’s I would NOT have joined them. You really have to be a little adventurous, in a good condition and you should not be afraid for heights (which I am). Go there early in the morning (9.00 am), because it can’t be busy during the day.
Sint Maarten Park
Close to Philipsburg you will find a small zoo, called Sint Maarten Park. Comparing to the Zoos in Europe and the ones I saw in the US, this is very, very small Zoo with just a few species. But still it was nice to go there with the children and spend there an hour. I wander if this zoo will stay open the next years because there were almost no guests. It deserves a visit, even if only to support the people that try to keep it running (and the animals).
Old House
You want to see an old Sint Maarten house from the inside and hear stories about the Old days? We visited the Old House (on the road from Orient Beach to Oyster Pond) and liked it very much. The host is a very enthusiast man who can’t stop telling you about his ancestors that lived in this house and the way they lived, and the important guests who visited this cottage (Queen of Holland, Heineken etc).
Beaches, beaches, beaches
We loved them all! Bay Rouge, Orient Bay, Mullet Bay, Friairs Beach….they where all pretty. Because we were in the off season there were almost no people on the beaches.
I went to Dawn Beach once. When I was young this was one of my favourite beaches and maybe it will get nice again when the building is completed but now it looks awful.
Restaurants
The nicest dinner we had was at Tabba Khady in the Oyster Pond area. Many people on TTOL wrote about it already, so that is why we went there. We loved it. Service, ambiance, food…everything is great! But to be honest…we like almost every restaurant! We also liked the Lolo’s at Grand Case very much (the ribs and fish are great), Mark’s Place (close to the Grand Marche), Antoine’s (Philipsburg), Poulet d’Orleans etc. We had a big barbeque on the terrace of our bungalow so we also often cooked ourselves.
Thanks to you!
So this was what we did on St. Maarten. I want to thank you all for the information I found on this board and answering my questions. I hope some of you will find information they are looking for on this site. If you have any questions, please mail me!
Karin Freke
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