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Trip Report Part 2 - April 6 - 11, 2026
lhbsurf
9 hours ago
We moved to a small villa/studio in Les Terres Basses which we have stayed in several times before and love - feels almost like home! It is convenient, beautiful, and allows us to miss the traffic most all of the time. We restocked at Maho Market after briefly dropping our luggage off. We realized we needed chairs and called to see if Lesley at Kenny's Car Rental had any. In fact he did - we rented them for a very small weekly fee - and he met us at Porto Cupecoy to bring them to us. This is the reason we only rent from Lesley - he is always so helpful and makes everything SO convenient for us!! We forgot adapters and this lodging didn't have any. We searched at the Carrefour in Cole Bay, a small hardware store, and the huge Ace hardware - no luck. Ernie did have one for his CPAP, so we just had to rotate charging during the day when he wasn't using it. Don't forget them - they're hard to find!!! Distilled water was impossible to find - luckily he uses a travel version that doesn't need the distilled water.
We ended up having to come home 5 days early due to my step-father entering hospice care - we were fortunate to secure a same day Delta ticket on Saturday. (A quick conversation with Lesley and everything was rearranged for car rental drop off as well!) I dreaded the airport and it was very crowded, but I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly they were able to move the crowds through all the lines we encountered at the Delta check in, entry gate, security and passport clearance. Less than 45 minutes from check-in to gate.
We still were able to hit a few of our favorites:
Baie Rouge, probably my favorite beach on the island. Not crowded, but had plenty of families around. The water was calm, blue, and gorgeous.
Baie Longue, pretty quiet, still a few families around, but as always unless you walk a down the beach a while, entry into the water is impossible due to rocks. With beach chairs and umbrella shade, it was an enjoyable day. We came back with a bottle of Rose and glasses for sunset. It was delightful with a few families, dogs, and couple of guys quietly singing and playing their guitars sitting beside us. I think it was the only sunset of our trip where we saw the sun touch the water - lots of clouds on the horizon this time!
Plum Bay, biggest surprised of the trip. I have read so many accounts of people being robbed here and observed on previous trips to this beach that it was almost always deserted - I didn't take my phone and no wallets, only $20 for an emergency. When we got down there around 10:30am, the small beach was packed with families - about 25-30 people in various groups. There was a little seaweed, but the grassy kind, not sargassum. It was a nice beach day, as we happened to put our chair near a good, easy spot to enter the water. We decided to come back for sunset and again found several people enjoying the beach. My guess it is a combination of more villa/condos in Les Terres Basses and the sargassum situation at other beaches that encourage people to seek out alternate beaches - but I am not sure. It was convenient to our villa and beautiful.
With all the distractions from home, I got very few pictures. We ate dinners out and had sandwiches most days for lunch, except a lunch at Cupecoy from Dany one day. We enjoyed French Cocotte, Mr. Chow (ate at the bar at he Oasis), Altro, Pineapple Pete's, and another night back at the Oasis, where we had an eclectic combo of nigiri sushi for appetizer and pizza from Roma for entree! We got the meat lovers and it was good but very salty (I think due to the ham), we'd probably pick a different pizza next time. We enjoyed all meals and were sad to postpone to next trip our plans for Le Cottage, Jai's, Spaghetti House, and a return to JAX.
I did take a few more pictures posted below. Now just trying to decide our timing for next year's trip!
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Rainy Day
fabila
10 hours ago
We had a rainy day, with at least four heavy downpours throughout the day. Despite that, we still managed to get in some lounging and swims at Kim Sha Beach.
Ate lunch at Buccaneer Beach Bar, which has really stepped things up. The buildings now feature some great pirate-themed murals, and the bathrooms have been completely redone—air-conditioned, clean, and clearly well maintained. (Bathroom entrance leads to 3 individual bathrooms with privacy doors)
For lunch, I had the chicken teriyaki sandwich—moist and flavorful—with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onions, accompanied with fries. David went with a cheeseburger with similar toppings and fries; it was a generous portion, definitely larger than your typical 6 oz patty.
Another thing to note is that Peli Deli is now called Pelican Supermarket (or something similar), and it’s been rearranged since our last visit. The store is very well stocked and prices l seemed on par with some of the larger supermarkets.
You can now park in the lot where it and Red Piano are located. The first half hour is free, and after that it’s paid parking. The last time we visited, there wasn’t any accessible parking because the spaces had yellow bars that required a key to open them and we didn’t see any place where you could get that key?
Later, we stopped at the SMYC before heading back to the villa.
We had an enjoyable evening dining with our friends at Spaghetti House in Jordan Village. We reached out to Katarina earlier in the day to secure a reservation and pre-order three portions of her homemade lasagna, which turned out to be a great choice. The lasagna was served with a bold meat sauce flavorful and satisfying.(not the best photo attached but looks can be deceiving)
David went for the blackboard special, choosing the gnocchi with shrimp and clams, and couldn’t stop raving about how good it was.
One concern: we were told the forecast for the next few days may be more of the same, with heavy rain expected. Really hoping that turns out to be wrong.
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Edge II ferry sold
SXMScubaman
Yesterday at 04:38 PM
Aqua Mania posted this. No mention if new owner will continue service to Saba
"We would like to announce that the Edge II ferry has sold. The purchase is immediate and does not allow for us to be able to make a last voyage.
Edge Ferry Service started connecting the islands in 1993 and it has been a great honor and privilege to serve the island of Saba. Together we have braved rough seas, aftermaths of hurricanes and lock downs … forging a great partnership and friendship with the island people of Saba.
It is quite heartbreaking to end this journey together.
Our special thanks to Captain Mikey Gumbs who started his journey as Captain on Edge in 2006.
Our crew, staff and management are proud of safely transporting countless guests and residents to and from the island, over these past 33 years.
Our special relationships with taxi drivers, Tropic’s Restaurant, James Johnson, agents, dive shops and the many, many individuals and businesses who have supported both Edge vessel’s journeys, will be missed.
Aqua Mania Adventures will continue to promote and support travel to the unique and beautiful island of Saba."
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iVisa ED Card Required?
Husker
Yesterday at 02:10 PM
I read recently that a iVisa ED card is required for the BVI. I suspect this is actually not the case. ChatGPT confirms its not required for entry to the BVI. Is this a new requirement?
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Sunday
fabila
Yesterday at 12:15 PM
We decided to spend the day relaxing by the pool for a change of pace, and instead of putting together our usual baguette sandwiches with cold cuts, we opted to go out for lunch. Headed over to D’s Beach Bar, where a female solo musician was playing—she sang some current songs as well as moving renditions of a popular Amy Winehouse and Etta James song. She had a very smooth and powerful voice. Very enjoyable and relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
David ordered the pulled pork sandwich with fries—huge portion and very tasty. I went with the three fish tacos (panko-crusted) that come with a lime crema sauce. Unfortunately, the sauce just didn’t work for me this time—it tasted a bit off.
We spent the rest of the afternoon unwinding before heading to Mr. Chow for dinner. We started with the crispy spicy tuna rice to share— they had a nice kick.
For my entrée, I had the General Tso’s shrimp, tempura-fried coated in a typical General Tso sauce, served with a couple of pieces of tempura broccoli. This dishes is one of my favorite’s here. You get a choice of sides (white rice, brown rice, smashed potatoes, or wasabi mashed), or you can upgrade to fried rice for $6. I went for the fried rice upgrade, it was fairly plain, with a bit of soy sauce, scallions, and a small amount of egg. I doubt that I would opt for the fried rice in the future.
David ordered the duck breast with blueberry sauce on the side and whipped potatoes. It came out medium rare as requested, but unfortunately it was quite chewy. He also didn’t care for the blueberry sauce, so ended up eating the duck without it. The portion was large and cut into thick slices, which may have contributed—or possibly it just hadn’t rested long enough before being sliced. He ate a few pieces but didn’t finish it.
When the server checked in, we mentioned the issue. He was polite, though we didn’t fully understand his response at the time. When the bill arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to see that 30% had been deducted from the duck (originally $42), which we appreciated.
We wrapped up the evening with a cocktail at the bar before heading back—overall, another great day in Saint Martin!
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Where to stay in Grand Case?
LauraJim
04/12/2026 08:15 PM
Hello all!
We will be staying in Orient Bay for 3 weeks and thought we would find a place for a couple nights in Grand Case. Does anyone have a favorite place to stay there that is on the beach? TiA
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flying in tues from miami for bareboat charter
tamrap
04/12/2026 06:23 PM
Hi , we are flying in tues from miami on american to EIS to begin a bareboat charter starting wed april 15 for 8 nights onboard. The weather looks a little rainy so I wanted to ask you guys what we should expect. Also, I have read if the runway is wet or its raining that planes cant land at EIS so what are experiences with that? Do they divert to SJU or STT mostly? we are bringing rain slickers and good fun attitudes so we will be fine. Just hoping we can land and begin our charter on time- we have done this before and always had great weather so this rain trough forecast is a first! any helpful thoughts and ideas are appreciated!!!
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RTFF
cwoody
04/12/2026 01:42 PM
Have a UA 12:20 arrival to STT scheduled for Thur May 7.
Think we can make the 1:50pm RRFF?
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Another day report
fabila
04/12/2026 01:36 PM
Breakfast at the SMYC, great to see the place busy . Made it for a bridge opening always exciting to see the mega yachts coming into the lagoon .Coming from New York, where smoked salmon on a bagel is a serious standard, I’d say they did a pretty solid job here. That’s what I ordered, and I really enjoyed it—smoked salmon with a generous schmear of cream cheese, plus capers and a wedge of lemon to top it off. Paired with a bloody Mary with shrimp, a perfect breakfast.
[Funny story last year instead of ordering it as stated on the menu I ordered Lox and a bagel for breakfast. Koko looked at me sort of dumbfounded, walked into the kitchen. I guess she tried to place the order but kitchen staff didn’t know what it was. Koko returned to table to ask me out what is Lox and a bagel ? We had a good laugh after I told her that was the smoked salmon that was on the menu]
David and Mike had signed up for the airport Observation Tour. They said it was phenomenal experience. They learned about air traffic control, and aviation in general. It was about 90 educational experience with a tour of the Observational facility. One of the highlights was being on the observation deck watching KLM land. The Airport advertised on Princess Juliana Facebook page about these limited chores that you had to pre-register.
Dinner at Tortuga Café, which wasn’t our first choice—we actually had reservations for the following evening. However, Jax Steakhouse, Roma Restaurant, Mr Chow, and Moulin Fou were all fully booked, so without reservations we didn’t have many options.
On the positive side, the coconut shrimp with sweet chili sauce were good as was cocktails. And the view is beautiful sitting by the water.
Unfortunately, it was downhill from there both service wise and food wise. It took about 1 hour and 20 minutes for our meals to arrive, even though there were only two other tables occupied.
As for the food, the grilled grouper special (served with a small amount of chewy broccoli, sliced pieces of carrots, and jasmine rice) was bland. Both the fish and the rice lacked flavor, though the cream sauce helped somewhat. Our friend ordered a steak medium rare, but it came out medium well. Another had the lasagna, which he said was decent but overly cheesy.
Given the long wait, my friend didn’t risk sending the steak back since it already was after 9:30 PM when our food was served having arrived at 8 PM. He did say, that the steak had a nice flavor to it.
Overall, the slow service and disappointing food mean we wouldn’t return. We’ve eaten here several times—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—and while the service has always been painfully slow, the food and view used to make up for it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case this time.
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