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Best area to stay on Aruba? megamania 5 hours ago Hello there
I have never visited the island of Aruba......have always travelled to Sint Maartens instead.
The draw to sxm is food, and live entertainment, as well as beautiful beaches.
If I would like to travel to Aruba, what area do you experienced with Aruba, feel would be a similar fit?
Love beaches, love nightlife, and certainly, never do an All inclusive as I do not like them

Any tips, suggestions, etc would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

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Accommodations in Zermatt Husker 5 hours ago Planning a winter trip to Zermatt and looking for hotel recommendations. We aren't rich, but have a decent travel budget to work with. We were there on the cheap in our early 20s, before starting a family, and loved it. Now we are retired and have time to go back. I'm sure Zermatt has changed a lot in the last 40 years. Hoping it still has that same charm.

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Bread pulled from sxm markets RonDon 7 hours ago I don't know how to post the article from Daily Herald.

It reads several brands of USA bread pulled from SXM markets due to weed killer contamination. Here in US it's Sara Lee, Dave's, Wonder Bread to name a few. So, just a head's up.

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Women's hockey spoiler alert SXMScubaman Yesterday at 09:15 PM USA gets Gold 2-1 in OT over Canada

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Dawn Beach Rum Punch Yesterday at 06:26 PM Hello all,

Hope all is well. Have been coming to sxm for over 25 years but took a hiatus and just started again 2 years ago. My wife and I have explored the whole island again but have yet to hit the Dawn beach area again.

Is there a place to rent chairs there for the day where you can order/get served drinks and food like on Orient?

I sure do miss the Scavengers beach bar days long before the massive Marriot was built

Thank you

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Boaty Ball question Rhyno 02/18/2026 11:54 PM Sorry if this has been asked and answered! We will be in the BVI in March. I bought the BB subscription for myself and one crew. Does the crew person get his own login credentials? If not how do we both try to reserve at the same time? We will be on the same boat of course!

Thanks in advance!

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Moorings 44.3 versus Mooring 46.3 Matt 02/18/2026 12:10 AM Hi All,

I am trying to choose between the Moorings 44.3 (Dufour 44) and the Moorings 46.3 (Beneteau Oceanis 46.1) for a charter. Anyone have any experience with either or both of these? Mostly interested in getting the best speed and performance generally, both under sail and under power. I know I should have fairly low expectations for sailing performance on a charter boat (and I do), so maybe it's a question of "least bad". Thanks very much for your thoughts.

Matt

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Banking Question Husker 02/17/2026 11:09 PM I had some work done on my boat recently and am trying to pay the vendor with a wire transfer. My bank (BoA) is insisting on a IBAN number in order to make the international transfer. IBANs used mainly in Europe. BVI banks (First Caribbean International in this case) do not use IBANs for transfers. I've been around in circles with BoA on this and they can't help me. Anyone out in TTOL land have similar experience? Is there some sort of work around? Appreciate any help. Thanks.

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Days 1-3 so far, so yummy the captain 02/17/2026 03:53 AM You guys have always been so helpful. Here is giving back by way of trip report.

Day 1 was an LONG one. We just happened to wake up at 03:00 and couldn’t fall back asleep. Arrived JFK at 0530 for an 0715 boarding & ontime departure at 0800. Arrived on aa1959 out of JFK. Arrival was early but a 10 min wait for our gate to clear. No bags to grab, so we quickly hooked up w Leslie. Always a fair pricing and super convenient service! This was the 2nd time we got a car with the plate R1.

Checked into Maho, jumped into beach attire & we were enjoying rum punches at the Driftwood an hour AFTER touchdown. This is why we chose SXM as our go to simple vacay. All our other trips are heavy planning so SXM is relatively easy.

After our traditional welcome drink (sadly without our firstborn who’s in Uni), we headed back to the pool. This was the busiest Ive seen the last Terasse pool. The economy seems to be booming this year if these numbers are any indication!

First nights dinner: Beirut. How had we driven past this so many times? Well, we have no picky eaters on this trip (but he’s missed!)! We didnt have reservations and given the long travel day, we forgot it was Valentine’s Day. We arrived at 1700 and they were super accommodating. We ordered kibbeh, kebabs, garlic shrimp ….2 apps, 2 entrees and 1 cocktail. Also included was a bowl of lentil soup, so darn goooooooddd.

$123 not bad and we were plenty full. Needless to say we were exhausted. Got back to Maho and were in bed by 2130.

Day 2 Sunday. Walked over to the Deli for a pair of coffees. Lovely chatting with the girl behind the counter.
Then I drove the ladies up to Grand Case. Besides enjoying food, our daughter is a girly girl. She loves styling her hair, skin, makeup , scents…..just the day before she was raving about perfumes. So we surprised her with a perfume making class at Tijon. The owner Mimi met us at 10:30 and for 90 minutes, the ladies donned lab coats and methodically concocted their own potions. I attended as the photographer and it was a nice activity I’d recommend.

By noon, we were going to head to Hercule Resto for takeout Haitian Creole food. But I tapped Mimi for ideas & she recommended Villa Royale. OH MY GOD. Their food was SO GOOD. Got to talking to them and they warned us that Carnival was about to start in Marigot and would block our return to Maho (Daughter had a 3 hr online class at 1400). So we grabbed 3 platters of food and took the long way east, through the French Qtr.
2 platters of griot, one with mushroom rice, the other with plantains, and 1 grilled chicken platter w rice & beans. $55 and we have leftovers…You HAVE to try this place. Plus it was very pretty inside though Im unsure if it was just for Valentines Day.

While daughter did her class in the room, we walked around Maho VIllage then hung out poolside.

Later that night we enjoyed JAX for the first time. 3 cocktails, a chateaubriand and the grilled salmon….$209. It was good for a steakhouse but….I dont think their ovens are hot enough for a fantastic sear with a nice charred crust. Just my opinion. The service and drinks were fantastic. Aike was a great server.

day 3 Monday. Shopping in Phillipsburg…thanks for the DK Gems recommendation. My wife is awesome. Wanted to get her something special. She only had me donate $1000 to the Dk Gems fund. She really is a cheap date!

A few cruise ships in town but it didnt seem overwhelming. Trying to see if I want to bring home some liquor….Have a look at how pics. I got to see how the pricing is for these bottles!
She needed to get her new ring sized so we paid then headed to Reveil Matin for brunch around noon. Breakfast wrap, an omelette and avocado toast, 3 drinks….$80 We can now say we’ve been to both locations.

Afterward, we got back to Maho and hung out poolside for a bit before heading out to Bistrot Caraibes for dinner.

Rode up to Grand Case and that was a helluva meal. I’d never ordered a full lobster before. I’ll sometimes get tails with a steak. The ladies ordered shrimp, salmon. The guy tells me to choose a lobster.. Im a noob. Perhaps they should have said, you sure you want this big one on your first run?

Nah, I got a 7.5 pound lobster, half Thermidor, half grilled. We shared. It was delicious. And 1 cocktail…..$500. USD.

The guy let me choose 7/5 lbs LOL. Too funny.

I have left over lobster…anyone want any? I am STUFT. If I dont get rid of this, I need to search out someone in need! Im serious. If no one here is suitable and wants, were are the local homeless?

Lets see if I can throw up some pics

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