A trip to Saint Martin / Sint Maarten, a Caribbean island , January 2005

The island measures about 10 miles from north to south and also about 10 miles across west to east. It is a little dry but but also very green with small internal mountains rising up to 1500 feet. The northern half of the island is French territory and the southern half Dutch. There are beautiful public beaches on a large number of bays surrounding most of the island. Tourism is clearly the lifeblood of the island.

The island could be labeled "second world." The beaches are lined with tourist hotels. But in the interior the native African descended population lives in solid, decently sized, but ill-kept houses wildly interspersed with dirty commercial areas. The roads everywhere are narrow, in very poor condition, and clogged with small cheap cars and trucks. Parking is a challenge in most areas. Currency used on the Dutch side is pretty exclusively dollars although the official currency is Dutch guilders. On the French side the currency is the Euro but the dollar is also accepted virtually everywhere. The current conversion rate on the French side (1 euro = 1.35 dollars) is poor for Americans. Surprisingly the island lacks high quality hotels. There are no Sheratons or Marriott's. Our hotel on the Dutch side, The Holland House, was $135 per night and our hotel on the French side, The Beach Plaza, was $250 per night. Despite the price difference the quality was about the same.

French Saint Martin

On the French side there are three principle areas where tourists may find themselves, Marigot, Grand Case, and Orient Beach. The small city of Marigot on the west side of the island is the largest population center on the French side and their center of government. It has many restaurants with a number of them clustered in an area called Marina Royale. Immediately adjacent to the marina is a small area with high quality "designer" stores. On the bay Marigot also has a fair sized "tourist" market selling Caribbean clothing, trinkets, jewelry, and art.  The restaurants on the French side in Marigot and all areas are quite good, but expensive. An average decent meal with a glass or two of wine will cost $75 per person.

About 5-10 minutes North of Marigot is the Village of Grand Case. It's a small town on a bay with a narrow beach. There are only two or three hotels. It has about 20 well rated restaurants that border the beach. They are spread over a half mile or so, hugging a narrow street. As with most of the areas on the island it is a contrast. Quaint restaurants and shops are interspersed with poverty ridden homes and barefoot children running about.

Traveling further north and east you will encounter the Orient Beach area. The beach here is high quality, wide and a mile or two in length. On the northern most end of the beach is Mont Vernon, a large modern condo and hotel complex. Further down the beach you will find some wonderful quiet and tropical hotel accommodations bordering the beach. This beach was flooded with Americans. The southernmost end of this stretch is a nudist beach.

The Dutch Side

The Dutch side natives pride themselves on their justly described friendly nature. This side also has three main tourist areas including Simpson Bay, Philipsburg, and Oyster Pond/Dawn Beach. We stayed in Philipsburg, the center of government for the Dutch side and the port where the many cruise ships dock. The town is working hard to upgrade its image. Front Street, which runs along the hotels and restaurants situated on the bay, has just been rebuilt. This street is lined with dozens of top line jewelry stores seemingly run primarily by Arabs. There are also several small casinos. While there are a number of light food oriented eating establishments there were only a handful of places where a full service dinner could be obtained. Philipsburg also has an outdoor market, catering primarily to ship tourists.

View of the Philipsburg Harbor from our Hotel Room. The ship on the right is The Queen Mary 2.	View from midtown west down the beach