This is my first post after being a TravelTalk “stalker” for several years. I first want to say THANK YOU for all the great information, advice, and recommendations we have gotten from this forum! Our travels to SXM have been much smoother because of it! We especially appreciate all the info on entry requirements. We did ID Now at Walgreens. Had results in 20 min. Submitted PDFs of tests and vaccine records to EHAS and had approval within a half hour. Be sure to check spam folder! Also we rented a car from Kenny’s based on recs here. Great service from Lesley!

We just left our favorite island on Monday after a 10-day visit. It was our 7th visit. I know…we’re still newbies! We usually go in March so this was our first summer visit. Flamboyant trees were gorgeous!

One of the definite highlights of our trip was meeting Need Island Time and her fun husband. We spent many enjoyable days visiting with them on the beach.

In years past we have stayed in Orient Village, eating at restaurants there or Grand Case. We have never ventured out much from our comfort zone. This time we stayed in Oyster Pond and decided to go with some of the recs from TTOLers. Here’s the list of restaurants we visited, ranked in our order of preference:
Dinner - Big Fish, Le Piment, Mama’s Pizza, Pineapple Pete’s, Toppers, GreenHouse, Mark’s
Lunch - Karibuni (Pinel), Perch Lite, Orange Fever
Entertainment - Red Piano, Pineapple Pete’s, Hole in the Wall

Seaweed became increasing worse as we were there. Orient Beach was bad. They were doing their best to keep up, but fighting a losing battle. Further down, near the old Papagayo, there was none when we left. It’s so bad in Cul-de-Sac that I got a headache waiting for ferry. None on Pinel. Dawn Beach is completely covered and boy does it smell!

Again, thank you for all the recs and detailed travel information! It was a great trip and we’ll be back in March.

Welcome to TTOL.

Glad you had a great trip and welcome to TTOL! Nice of you to 'pay it forward' with info about your trip. That's how we all survive, waiting for the next trip!

So where did you stay in Oyster Pond and what did you think of the place?

Glad to hear that you Folks had a great vacation.
Stay safe.

We stayed at Princess Heights through a private owner (VRBO). It was a last minute change due to curfew at the time on the French side. It was well-equipped and spacious, but decor was tired. View was great! We had some issues with AC and ice maker and Princess Heights was immediately responsive. We felt that it was very secure.

We've stayed in Oyster Pond at several places & really enjoyed Les Balcons. l'Oasis, and Bread n' Butter are also very good. Curious though, why do so many people think Mama Pizza is Mama's Pizza? Not being critical, just confused.

We had a blast with you guys also! So much fun! Just hope we meet again on the island!

Glad you had a great time. To bad about Dawn beach!! YEARS ago, that was one of our favorite beaches!! AHHH Ms.Bee's ribs!!!