If this is your 1st trip you should rent a car and see the island. Small, can't get lost but lots of traffic at times. And it has many sections each different from another with different views, different restaurants, ambiance.

Grand Case is a lazy fishing village by day with some shopping then a gourmet heaven at night, Very caribbean, while Maho area has shopping, night-life and is less "island-like" . So is Simpson Bay near the airport. Lots of restaurants similar to those in the states.

Anse Marcel is out of the way and quiet. Orient has a strip of oceanfront divided into several beaches, the end one is a nude beach. This strip has lots of beach bars and vendors. Nearby Orient Village has several good restaurants.

Phillipsburg, on the Dutch Side is lively during the day--boardwalk, restaurants, shops and people from the cruise ships, but dead at night.

Each area has it's own unique beach. By the airport you can sun & watch planes fly overhead. In Cupacoy area at times the beach can't be found; Maho on days has undertow; Grand Case is a somewhat quiet beach; Orient area is probably the busiest. There are hard to find coves that have rocky paths that open to beauty: Happy Bay, Friar's Bay. Anse Marcel is small, quiet but has food vends. P'Burg has lots of people. Little Bay is beautiful, quiet but has Divi Hotel & Belair which you must cross thru to the beach so parking is a problem.

No matter what you like, you'll find an area that suits you, a beach that you love. And once you've visited you'll want to return. So explore the island and find that place that meets your needs and come back.

Just look here at past posts to glean all the info you'll need.

Rosemary