Myself, wife and 2 daughters (13/16) had the pleasure of spending a week on SXM and another on some surrounding islands. We had done this 21 years ago on our honeymoon, we thought we’d treat our kids (and ourselves). Here are some of the highlights:

Flight: Delta/ATL; terrible doesn’t even begin to describe how bad that was (ATL terminal confusion/ Delta’s poor customer service). Good thing this was the lowest point of the trip and the pain ended quickly.

Carib. VIP: I’d use them again, especially if it’s your first time, need help with luggage, or make some one feel special (my girls did).

Car: Hertz; got a Corolla. Had no problems, even brought it back with a few new scatches and a small dent (due to parking challenges), no extra charge.

Phone: Sharron Harris; worked great all over the island plus St. Barts, St. Kitts, Nevis, and Tintamarre. I was a hero with my girls for that!

Hotel: L’Centre Royal Loisiana, Marigot. Small, clean, inexpensive (read few amenities) but just what my wife wanted right smack downtown. Got 2 rooms, worked out great as we weren’t there much anyway and entertainment was right out the front door.

Restaurants: Never had a bad meal or bad service, obviously some were better than others:
-Zee Best (Marigot): super croissants, French toast, crepes. Ate there 3 times.
-Pedro’s: good burger, beach and beer. What more could you want?
-Aqua: Didn’t eat, but drinks were good while waiting at the airport.
-St. Germaine: my least favorite. Mediocre entrees great desert crepes, worst service in the group, didn’t do $ = euro. Nice view of the harbor.
-L’escargot: good, a little different, enjoyed it. A little pricey.
-Baywatch: as good as everyone says it is. Andy was great. Ate there 3 times.
-L’Alabama: WOW! Wonderful meal, great atmosphere. I’d definitely go back.
-La Crossanterie: Great breakfasts, crepes. Ate there 3 times (found it after being recommended by Deepti!).
-Thabba Khaddy: good meal, atmosphere, a little different in a good way.
-Talk of the Town: again as good as everyone says. Ate there twice.
-SSBB: had fun here. Decent food, beach, beer, and the idiots plane surfing!
-Peg Leg: Kids ate and liked it. Funny Tshirts.
-Tropicana: had to wait for a table, but well worth it. Another fab meal overlooking the harbor. I’d definitely go back.
-Spiga: hands down my favorite meal of the week (and most expensive), but worth every dime. I’d fly back just to eat here. It was also Christmas Eve which made it special too.
-The Village: decent pizza, was open on Christmas day. Worked out great.

Other activities, observations and memorable events:
-DK Gems and Deepti were as advertised on the board. All the girls got at least one thing. Everyone was very happy (I was a hero and my AMEX didn’t melt).
-Almost everyone was very friendly even when English and bad French was used.
-Orient Beach was where we spent most of our time. Luiz made the girls suits which looked great. Other activities were (beside excessive eating and drinking) bananna boat, parasailing, henna tattoos, music. The girls didn’t pay too much attention to the occasional nudity, they mostly thought it was funny.
-Supermarche Match: EXPENSIVE. Also sold booze to 16 year old and wouldn’t take it back.
-The girls shopping gene got a real workout. My AMEX didn’t implode ‘till we got to St. Barts!
-Marigot market worth the trip on wed. got some paintings we really liked.
-Pburg: car got towed. What a racket! Parked with everyone else on a street, gone 2 hours. Took 45 min and $65 to get it back. Shame on me. All private enterprise, no cops.
-Traffic really bad at times (mostly between Pburg and Marigot), even though most vendors said the week before Christmas was slow.
-With respect, I was glad to hear the locals wish us a “Merry Christmas” and not worry about the PCBS. It was refreshing.
-Ft. Lewis: vandalized, but worth the hike.
-Ganga men/ panhandelers not as bad as the hawkers and “braid laidies” on Front Street.
-I had no problem waiting for the shoppers as long as I had a $1 Carib and someplace to sit!
-Snorkeling not great, but we knew that going in.
-Used mostly cash, CC for the BIG stuff. Worked out perfect.

The trip was a wonderful family vacation. We also went on the Windjammer which was fun, but won’t intermingle the details in this forum.

Thanks to all of the (constructive) posters that took A LOT of the guesswork out of having a great time.

Glenn from sunny Scottsdale AZ.
<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" />[color:"blue"][/color]