We are arriving Sunday the 28th for 14 days. Our longest stay has been 9 days and as was the case with all trips we never stop going full speed as vacation mode is in play with the time flying by and a dreaded countdown of having to leave. Is anything worse than leaving SXM? I have a business to run so a longer trip has not been possible. Now with retirement looming and having a place and a car on the island, this trip will be different.

This trip is a test drive for long stays with no responsibility to being connected to home with the exception of family. We have all the essentials at the condo . The flight will include a half filled backpack. No suitcase of any kind.

I am not sure what it will be like staying at our place, cooking most if not all meals for days at a time, driving to a place just to run errands and similar routines. In addition we have a pretty nice vehicle compared to what vehicles we have rented so going over the potholes and speed bumps is less feared. I must admit that after a few days I dreaded things like the Mullet parking lot and crossing the golf course in Cupecoy as a Corolla or similar make it a rough going.

The people on this board have provided so much valuable info that I wonder what we would have done had it not been available. It really is great to hear opinions and experiences and tips on all the aspects of the island. I am not sure we can get advice on what to do on the island while not in vacation mode and I am a little nervous about retirement, but if any place can be counted on to live a good life it seems SXM is tough to beat. Any feedback on things to do would be appreciated and we hope to get to know more people in person this trip and ones to follow.

We've been doing 2-week trips once or twice a year for many years. We always think that amount of time will be enough - but somehow it never is! Things we've never tried but have wanted to have been a trip to Parrotville, a visit to Tijon to make our own perfume, a zipline experience. Also, a visit to the Marigot Market is always fun. Maybe a visit to one of the neighboring islands - Anguilla for the gorgeous beach, St. Barths for a French immersion (fly for the best experience), Saba (for this I would do an overnight, but a day trip is great too. And fly here). You could do one of the many snorkeling trips. honestly, after going for so many years we've done almost all of these. Now we just enjoy days spent on the beach and then a fabulous meal at one of the many great restaurants.

And don't be shy about making friends on the beach or at a restaurant or with the Friendly Islanders. We've made life-long friends and now we visit all over the US too!