Trip Planning - First time to SXM

Hi,

We have our very first trip booked for St. Martin this coming April! We will be staying at Divi Little Bay on the Dutch side and will have a rental car.

There will be 4 or 5 of us and we are looking for recommendations on where to grocery shop, buy wine, go to dinner, go dancing, what beaches to visit, etc. We would like to do a day trip to Anguilla as well, so would love insight into what day is best (I thought maybe a cruise ship day?) and what area is best (was thinking Shoal Bay East?). 3 of us would also love to have massages on the beach somewhere. We will arrive on a Saturday afternoon and depart on a Weds afternoon. I would greatly appreciate suggestions on all of your favorite "do not miss" type places. Thank you!!

Since you are only going to have 3 full days I would probably skip leaving the Island and just try to relax and experience SXM.

That's what I was going to say also. Saturday will be trashed, with arriving, so you will only have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday as full days, and would hate to waste a day going off island when there is so much you can't see in a couple of weeks, let alone three whole days!

Anguilla is on my bucket list! I have been wanting to go there for so many years, but just never made it. Not sure that I can be that close and not hop over though!!

Divi is a bit isolated from most of the places to eat, etc., so glad you have a car. As far as grocery shopping, my recommendation would be the Grand Marche by Mark's at the roundabout. And grocery stores in SXM sell wine and liquor, so no need to go somewhere else to buy wine if you don't want. However, you could try out Booze it Up store, a TTOL sponsor, as they have lots of selections of wines, liquors, etc. You didn't say how old you are, so not sure what type of dancing you are interested in. Prive is a night club which is in Simpson Bay. You also have Tantra, which is another nightclub, more for the younger crowd than I am though. For dinner, mercy there are a million places, what type of food do you like? As far as massage, you can probably get one through your hotel.

Enjoy!

Up to you, but once you arrive on island, you may change your mind. I personally never really understood the attraction. It's a beautiful beach, but that's about it for me. A lot of people love it there though!

Depending on time of day you arrive I would start with a quick road trip around the island in a rental car to get the feel of the island. That can be done very easily in a couple of hours. Beach days I would recommend would be a day at Orient, day at Mullet and a day at Pinel or some other beach destination you came across in your travels the previous days.
You can also incorporate a stop in Grand Case at one of the LoLo's on the way back from one of the beaches or go there for lunch beforehand depending on what beach you go to and what route you've taken.
I would not take the time to go to Anguilla with having such a short stay. To much to see and do in St Maarten with so little time.

I agree about the Anguilla day I wouldnt want to lose any of my precious 3 days if i was you. If you do go to the lolo's then you could make a day of it on the beach in Grand Case. Stroll the streets and read the menus, more than likely you will get hungry again and make dinner reservations to go back to that night.

As for Divi, i have heard but not had the luxury of trying that the restaurant at Divi is much much better. They apparently have a new executive chef and he is revamping the whole thing. Sometimes the best choice for the first night is eating at the resort so thought i would throw that out there.

If your reason FOR going to SXM is a trip to Anguilla then go for it....

I've been going to SXM for over 15 years and have never had the desire to leave the island to go to another

Just have to add our 2 cents...we also wanted to go to Anguilla each year, finally did a few years back, glad that's over...nothing to do except see beautiful beaches there are plenty in SXM...enjoy the opportunity to see this beautiful island and save that trip for when you have a longer time period.

We stay at Belair which is right next to Divi on Little Bay. As others have stated, your age, interests and palate will dictate where you go to eat and enjoy entertainment. Since you have a car I would recommend Chesterfields for lunch or dinner. It's close and food and service is very good. If you want a bit more upscale, Antoine's right in Philipsburg could be a good choice (valet parking). First timers are usually surprised that almost all restaurants are casual. You will know how many cruise ships are in since they will enter Sint Maarten right in front of you at Divi.

I waited 20 years to go over to Anguilla, and I wonder why I waited so long. It is spectacular, definitely offers a feel that St. Martin simply doesn't offer (and vice versa).

Yes, I'll be going back over again this year.

To the OP, there is a ferry in Marigot. Inexpensive, runs regularly, very easy to do. I strongly suspect you won't regret it.

Hey everyone has their own preferences.. For Bob and I the top three are

1. Mullet Bay - Often nice waves and good food..
2. Baie Rouge - The sand can be tough but it is my #1 destination...
3. Orient - If you have never been to SXM you have to try it... It is the most commercialized which is why we have it at #3. If we want jet skiing, parasailing etc we don't have to travel to the islands... Having said that it is beautiful and you have to see it

For OUR tastes you could leave Pinel out... some love it.. we don't

After 9 trips now we have not made it to Anguilla because we are normall on SXM for only 2 weeks and it has everything we want. So just can't comment on whether it is worth it.

We are 50 somethings.. Out night life is the Red Piano Bar and Cheri's... If you want something more "high energy" I am sure others can advise....

Relax.. have fun.. It is indeed Paradise

Liz

Have to agree with Liz. Pinel does nothing for us. Last time my son started getting sucked out into the Chanel and it literally sucked!

I LOVE Divi's beach. There is sometimes a drop getting into the water but it is usually manageable.
Another favorite of ours is Friar's bay. And you can't beat the Friar's Bay Beach club for lunch.
We went to Pinel once and we were not impressed. The water was never more than waist deep unless we wanted to go into the boat channel.
We enjoyed Anguilla the one time we were there but not enough that we care to get back there.

Everyone has a different idea of what works.....we love AXA and find it to be a totally different vibe than most of SXM. No traffic to speak of and I think of it often as the place where the folks who used to make up the 'Friendly Island's' population have gone. They seem to have a little laugh in their voice and a kindly approach towards those in need of assistance and a brand of patience towards visitors that used to be the norm on SXM and which is not as prominent there these days, IMO.

If the OP is so inclined, even if time is short, I say "go for it....." At that point, even if I hate it - which I highly doubt will happen - it's one more thing to be scratched off their bucket list.

We had been visiting SXM for about twenty-five years before we ever got around to visiting Saba and we discovered, even without any beaches, it's a great place to visit and one that suits us perfectly, particularly when we feel the need to escape from reality and totally chill. My first thought is why did we wait so long, and the other would be, I'm thinking we're fast approaching the need for another stay-over there. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Thanks, everyone! We are actually going to celebrate my 40th birthday We would like one "fun" night for dancing and a few drinks, but not with 20 somethings (no offense to them, but at 40 it will just be depressing!). As far as food tastes, honestly we are pretty open. We do love Steaks, Italian and Japanese, but that being said we can get those here. Would love to have someplace with some "island flavor", maybe one night of a fancier dinner for a true bday celebration. I appreciate all of the comments so far and will be looking into them all.

Glad to hear the Divi beach is nice. We may end up just staying there, but it is nice to have some options. We want to relax and catch up on rest as all of us going have young kids. At the same time, we want the option to have some fun one of the nights we are there!

For those who went to Anguilla - what is the best quiet beach with a good beach bar. Also, do either of the two islands have speciality drinks that are specific to them? For instance, when we went to BVI it was Bushwhackers and pain killers. Thanks!!

Hi, just back from 2 ½ weeks. We went to Anguilla for the day early Feb on a day SXM was to have 5 cruise ships, one of which was the Allure, previous trip was 2013. Went with another couple, one of whom was a little squeamish about the trip so we splurged and took the GB Express. Lovely – 9am or 10 am to and 4:30 or 5:30 back. Leaves from near the airport – you need to book in advance. Not inexpensive, $90 pp rt plus $13 Anguilla depart fee [apparently only the French side from Marigot charges a depart fee from SXM]. About 25 minutes to, but it was exactly 20 minutes back – twin 300hp Yamaha’s. No parking at the Ferry terminal, you either park at the airport and walk or use a cab [which is what we did]
Cabbed to Shoal Bay East – lots of cab options when you get to Anguilla, but we used the cab driver we used before – “Tall Boy” – we reserved with him by email - he knows the island well. He told us when he would be back to get us to the ferry at the time GB said to. Sure enough at the time, a beach boy came by to say Tall Boy was there. Turns out the beach concession person and the lounger person were also related to Tall Boy!
Camped out on Shoal Bay east in front of Madeariman’s – 2 chairs and an umbrella were $10 – the chairs are not associated with any resto
Another beach bar – Hanks?, had a sign no charge for chairs if you eat there
Liked the Madeariman food and free wifi if you ate there – not a basic burger bar, we enjoyed our lunches. Shoal Bay was lovely, walked it end to end.
Gwen’s has moved and was rebuilding up the beach, seemed to serve drinks and had chairs but no food and they were obviously building so not so peaceful if you camped there
Note gigantic house – villa - being built a bit from the beach down from Gwen’s giant observatory pods atop – was told one pod is for a telescope, the other two are bedrooms??
Note, not an inexpensive day, bring dollars – cost per person for a party of 4 - $190 – includes cab to and from the Ferry dock in SXM, GB Express, depart fee, Anguilla cab, lunch and loungers. Had we used the Marigot Ferry, would have been closer to $135pp

You are not on SXM for long - to me I would not go, lots of great suggestions for your limited time - but if on your bucket list, go for it

J&B

For your birthday dinner, one of the French restaurants in Grand Case would be perfect. My suggestions, in this order, would be L'Estaminet, Le Pressoir, and L'Auberge Gourmande. None of these is waterfront, but the quality of the food more than makes up for the lack of a water view (which you can't really see anyway as it's dark by the time you eat dinner). All will offer gourmet French cuisine.

There is a flavored rhum made on the island called Ma DouDou. You will see it in handpainted bottles in all of the grocery stores, and will probably be served some after your meals in most French restaurants. Some restaurants serve their own version of flavored rhum. It's served in a shot glass, but imo it's better sipped to enjoy the full flavor.

If this is the only trip you can plan on going for the next couple of years, then yes, go to Anguilla and enjoy it, knowing that like people are saying, it costs a pretty penny. If you can book another trip in the next year or two, try staying overnight in Anguilla to start the trip for a day or two, then moving over to SXM for the balance of the trip. Your group would likely have fun at The Red Piano in SXM, but it is a distance away from the Divi. I am partial to Monday nights there, but note that it is smoky in that place. If we want a place to sit, we might get there around 8, but the action starts after 9. Very attentive cocktail waitresses there. Our groups have shared many a bottle of champagne there. I am sure you will enjoy your birthday, whatever you choose.

Regarding your desire to see Anguilla...go for it! Anguilla is different than St Maarten. It's quieter,less crowded, has more of a Caribbean feel to it and has beautiful beaches. You could take the early ferry over, get a tour of the island and have the driver bring you to Shoal Bay east for the day. You'll tell him what time to return to bring you back to the ferry. When we vacationed in St Maarten, we would take a day trip to Anguilla but it was never enough. Finally, we booked a separate trip each winter for our Anguilla fix. Enjoy!

My wife and I also enjoy Anguilla. Have been there a few times. Don't forget to take your passport when you head to the ferry and leave as early as you can to get a full day on the island. Remember to get back in time for the last ferry back. Be in big trouble if you miss it! We have always rented a car where you get off the ferry. I really enjoy driving on the left side of the road which you do in Anguilla. We love visiting the Aquaponic farm at the Cuisinart Resort. The curator, Howard Resh gave us a tour one trip. Don't know if he still does that personally, but you can take a tour of the place. Turn left when you exit the road that runs from the ferry. Ask for a map when you pick up the car. Close to the Cuisinart is Bankie Banx's Dune Preserve. Food is OK but the atmosphere is pretty neat if Bankie is there. On the other side of this part of Anguilla is Blanchards Restaurant. Also a great place to eat either inside or on the beach. Mead's Bay is where this beach is located and we enjoy it almost as much as Shoal Bay East. If you decide to go to Blanchards, buy their book "A Trip to the Beach" and read it before you go. You'll appreciate the place even more. But, the reason you want to go there is to see Shoal Bay East. Don't miss it. Take your snorkel gear if you have any. You won't be disappointed. As takeus2sxm said, the beaches are less crowded as are the roads. But, don't forget the map. You will love your day!

You will want to visit Grand Case for sure and just walk down the main street and pick a restaurant. We happen to like Spiga and Piazza Pascal but there are numerous restaurants to pick from.