Thanks Pat. Have always enjoyed your sage viewpoint here. I guess for the reasons you noted...congestion,etc, and feedback from other visitors...we've sought the more laid back element on the French side. I believe the term is "sand gravity"...hard to resist sometimes and venture out. We'd always meant to visit the Dutch side more thoroughly, but time always seemed to escape us. We've spent time in the Netherlands and France and enjoyed both places immensely. So having both countries on the same island makes St Maarten/St Martin a very special place for us to visit. Thanks again. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />