Trip Report – St. Martin July 3-10
We arrived in St Martin and were met by taxi driver Louis Richardson. We arranged the pick- up per recommendation of fellow forum posters. Louis was polite and efficient. He charged $40 for transportation to Club Orient with a quick stop at the grocery store (Grand Marche). I will add that we bought a case of Carib beer and 10 bottles of wine for a grand total of $53. …..Okay we did have some left overs.

We arrived at Club Orient and quickly checked in. We got a little beach time in before we relaxed and watched the sunset . We toasted the sunset with wine, cheese, a few nuts and some wonderful French bread.

Our first full day was the 4th of July. We brought a couple red, white and blue wraps – plus some beads- and participated in the parade along Orient Beach. We met several people and had a fun walk down the beach. The beach goers seemed to enjoy the parade. We stopped at Pedro’s for a while and then took in some time at the Perch bar. It really was a fun day and still plenty of time to just relax along the beach. We skipped the big party at Papaguyos. It seemed low key and was crowded. I think we just needed the down time.

We quickly settled into a routine. Morning nude walks along the whole beach. French pastries and bread from Club O’s boutique – then time on the beach. Near noon, we would then walk to Orange Fever. Our favorite lunch was a 4 cheese pizza that included blue and goat cheeses. Add a couple cold Caribs to this platter and you have a very tasty treat. After lunch – back to the beach and wait for sunset and that glass of wine.

We did take the Tiko Tiko all day cruise. We had 8 people on our cruise and all were pleasant and fun. The time passed quickly – lots of bobbing in the water, sipping a few drinks and enjoying the nice lunch on the boat. We were definitely glad we did the trip. Not so sure it is worth the $115 per person price tag – but definitely worth a try. ( A shark did swim by me when I was in the water – not sure what type but he kept on going- it was right after lunch and I think the others thought I was kidding – until the silhouette drifted in front of them)

We also left the beach one other time to go to Phillipsburg. We are glad we did it but was my least favorite part of the trip. The day was hot and muggy. Eating lunch, we had sweat just running off our bodies and definitely missed the ocean breezes at Orient Beach. We did pick up a few sovegniers and had a change in scenery.

Overall, it was the most relaxing week, No cell phones, no TV and one French radio station. We will confess that we brought our computer to watch a few movies and did check our emails a few times. The sand was so soft, I only put sandals on a couple times.

We did eat the evening meal out a couple times at Orient Village. We had excellent meals, which were presented very beautiful. Our favorite was Little Italy. Though the flare was much more French than Italian – we could not rave about the meal any more. We also ate once at Papaguyos. The food wasn’t bad but not presented with any flare. The service was slow, as most people complained, but we were in no hurry.

Here are a few tidbits…..

We did walk from Orient Village across the beach to Club Orient at night – approx 9pm. We had no problem either time.

Willie in the Perch Bar worked her buns off on the 4th of July and was a great host. As busy as she was, she always smiled.

The Orange Fever was our favorite stop each day. As reluctant as we were to stop – we recommended it to everyone we met. A large 4 cheese pizza, 2 cold beer s each…..and a bill for $19 (and cheaper options). The food and service were excellent – the view was also fantastic.

The fresh pastries and bread were wonderful each morning. Total cost under $5 – we had coffee in the room and our morning breakfasts on the patio were peaceful and wonderful.

The nude walks along the beach in the mornings were an incentive to get out of bead. The breeze blowing, the ocean lapping – wonderful.

The people at Club Orient were wonderful. Everyone was friendly, respectful and helpful. To the lady at the airport who has been to the island 18 times and was appalled that were staying at Club O - plus she made rude comments about the people there…….sorry, you are missing out on a wonderful place.

Special thanks to all those who answered my questions and posted other great information. You assisted us in preparing for this trip and getting the most out of it. It was a vacation of a lifetime.

PS – the leftover wine….we stopped two couples walking by and gave them each a bottle. They both loved wine and were very appreciative…..paying it forward!