It's been a long time coming. My son who will be 12 has only heard mythical stories his whole life about some island called St Martin. There will be an epic surprise Christmas gift for him and my wife tomorrow night when the holiday dust settles. I just booked us for 10 days in April unbeknownst to them. We will be staying in the Orient area. And like I said it's been 13 years, so any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. This board and all the people on it have always been a wealth of knowledge and kept me sane over the years of not getting back. Thanks to everyone for constantly posting. Merry Christmas to all!!

What a cool gift! Orient has changed a lot in the past 13 years, no ramschackle joints on the beach to eat, which is kind of a shame, but there are still tons of great places to eat. And the square there is a vibrant place, filled with many fantastic restaurants. The sand and the ocean are still lovely, with great views out toward Green Key and Tintamarre. There is also a ton of grocery (and other) shopping which is between Orient and Grand Case, including the huge Super U, one of the best grocery stores on the island. Enjoy!!

We just returned from two weeks in the village, you will want for nothing right there. You can walk to a different restaurant every day and still not see them all in 10 days, beaches are great. If you do want to explore a bit then ParrotVille is fun particularly for kids, inexpensive too, also a trip to the Rain Forests adventures is fun, two chair lifts and some optional zip lines plus an observation deck at the top for spectacular views. You can zip line back down if your brave enough or take the chair lift back down, well worth the money. Plane watching at Maho is a must for any 12 year old and truth be told even after 20 plus years we old folk still enjoy it as well. The Yoda museum in Phillipsburg was interesting but not much else for a 12 year old in town IMHO. Have a fabulous time.

10 bonus points for the use of the word "ramshackle."

Thanks Ritchard!! Merry Christmas!!!

Ahhhh I long for the "ramschakle". I'd walk a mile or 4 to have breakfast at Baywatch and see Andy and Cheryl. And I'd walk the same 4 miles to have a 'ti punch at Boo Boo's. I know nothing is forever and memories are always with me. But honestly I'm super pumped to see what the island looks like now. Thanks for the info.