TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin The spectacular views of SXM

We'll soon be traveling to our new favourite island for our second consecutive year. Once again, we will be staying for two weeks in the Grand Case area. We drove around the island a couple times without a preselected route and all the twists and turns had our internal GPS totally lost at times. It wasn't until we returned to our villa each time that we figured out where we had (probably) driven.

We both work long hours at home and most of our vacation time is spent resting and relaxing on the beach but we hope to explore the island with a more defined agenda. We witnessed many spectacular sights around the island in the car, at dinners and on a limited number of beaches. Some places we visited/dined were Maho Beach, Orient Beach, Club O, Happy Bay, Marigot Market, Tijon Perfumerie and Grand Case restaurants (L'Auberge Gourmande, La Villa, Ocean 82 and the Lolos).

TravelTalk has been an amazing place to learn about the ins and outs of SXM. We absorbed countless tips from this forum which really helped us to hit the ground running on our first visit. Thank you all for sharing your wealth of knowledge!

I'm sure that most seasoned SXM visitors have their favourite views of the island on the beach, at dinner, from the roadways and we would like to hear about them. We will definitely research the suggestions which I'm sure will help to map a route and give us a better lay of the land as we travel the island.

From the hill on the road to Ansel Marcel. Great view of Orient Bay

Fort Louis in Marigot! We've been staying at the Royal Islander since 1989 and visited this fort for the first time this past January. Walk up the hill to the Catholic Church in Marigot and you'll find the sign for the path which will take you to the top. It's a steep hike, good exercise and you'll love the view.

Paradise View has a gorgeous view, and their crepes are delicious as well!

We too agree that the crepes are delicious. Just had some yesterday for lunch. I always have a scoop of icecream on mine. The views are incredible from the restaurant. We saw a few people horseback riding. You can see most of Orient Beach and Orient Village from the restaurant.

I prefer the savory ones for lunch or brunch. The seafood crepe with a glass of crisp Sancerre is heavenly!

Totally agree, my favourite!!

Welcome home!!! On Orient beach, LaPlaya beach has a dinning deck about 30 feet off the ground/sand over looking the beach. Great photo-opp!!!

https://goo.gl/photos/r98eJbdvDLBt4WAz7

Love Paradise View!

Thanks so much for the recommendations! Ance Marcel and Fort Louis were on our sightseeing wish list. I have read on here to be aware of car break ins when visiting the Fort. We are well aware not to leave anything in the car but where is the best place to park while trekking to Fort Louis?

Paradise View looks amazing and your trusted reviews of the food has cemented a commitment to visit for a lunch.

Many times the BEST scenery is the the view you're experiencing at the time. Here's our view from our accommodations. I can't wait to return!

Looking west towards Anguilla
https://app.box.com/s/lg3x845ggclc7qyfk44zgkixaey5kjgi
Overlooking Happy Bay
https://app.box.com/s/4gomxp6sxd73pilp67hvl1tvrssgqrsq
South towards Marigot
https://app.box.com/s/x720fqv232rnvf3inc648onhx2d1q64z


Thanks again for your kindness!

When we visited the fort this past January we parked where we usually park whenever we go to Marigot; on the road right by the water between The Arawak Restaurant and Serafina's Pastry Shop. After nearly 30 years going to SXM, we never had a break-in; just don't leave anything of value in the car.