I got so much invaluable help from the participants of this message board this trip, I thought I’d write a report of our trip, in case it might help anyone else. I am usually just a reader, not much of a poster… but here goes. Our trip was Jan 26-Feb 9.

Fiasco getting approved, but with information provided here it worked out with the help of an amazingly nice lady we luckily got on the phone in SXM. After that, the trip was a breeze. We flew from Knoxville, TN, on American connecting in Charlotte. We paid a little extra for First Class to get the extra room. It didn’t actually work out that way – first class was full, the back of the plane was pretty empty – everyone had their own row if they wanted it. On our flights, everyone wore their masks as required, even replacing the bandanas or “gators” with disposable masks – they aren’t acceptable since the federal mandate took effect. Our flight arrived 30 minutes early - Clearing customs and immigration was a breeze. Waited 30 seconds for our bags (as opposed to 2 hours last year!) Got rental car easily, stopped by Market Garden for groceries (had to mask and wash hands before entry there every time).

Checked into our first Airbnb studio in Beacon Hill. They had a lovely pool area that we could use, but our entrance was in a beautiful garden with lots of birds. Also a few mosquitos. I loved it out there, my husband not so much. This week we mostly went to various beaches around the island to spend the day and explore a little - Orient, Grand Case, Cupecoy. The second week we moved to an apartment on the beach at Simpson Bay near Mary’s Boon. We were on 2nd story with a lovely balcony – almost no mosquitos here, so we spent a lot of time out there. Beach was pretty empty, but was so very lovely.

We ate all breakfasts and most lunches at the condo or as a picnic on the beach. Dinner mostly out except for a few nights charcuterie and wine to relax at the condos. I did cook one night, but it was not worth the effort. I didn’t know how to use or understand the European pictures on the oven (no instructions provided), so I had to do the whole thing on the stove top. Big mess – wished we had ordered pizza or something…. Thus my request for more budget friendly meals!

Lunches out: Chez Leandra, Orient (very good!); Rainbow Café, Grand Case (good, but too pricey for us!); Dany’s Beach Bar at Cupecoy, followed Pat’s (I think) advice and arranged lobster lunch – it was FANTASTIC! Not at all dry like I typically find grilled lobster. We split one and it was plenty! Can’t recommend it enough (pic below).

Dinners: Palapa Grill (2x steak was fabulous both times!), Sunset Beach Bar, Chesterfield’s, Sale & Pepe, Moulin Fou, Sint Maarten Yacht Club, Greenhouse, Private Chef’s dinner. Highlights were: Palapa Grill, Mussels at Sale & Pepe, and the entire Private Chef’s dinner arranged by our first Airbnb hosts. We discussed with them several times our likes and dislikes – they arranged a surprise meal with at least 5 courses (some of the courses had multiple dishes though), champagne & a bottle of wine. It was truly one of the best meals of our lifetime and the highlight of our trip (pic collage attached), and not as much as we have paid for some of our more upscale SXM dining, with twice the amount of food. Their Instagram is fig.paradis, if you enjoy this type thing, have a special occasion, or just like good food, Again, I can’t recommend it enough.

Testing was available on the island – the only people who seemed to have issues were those who waited until the last minute to arrange. There seemed to be long lines at some places we saw, so we opted to make an appointment with a doctor in Philipsburg the day after we arrived for the day before we were leaving for a rapid test. Whole process took a couple of hours from the time we left the condo until we returned – probably 20 minutes total in his office, $75 each with hard copy of our test results. Ironically, he was one of the few people we encountered that didn’t wear a mask, but we were in and out so quickly – and we wore ours except during the swab – we felt ok with it.

We uploaded the information in the app suggested by American, Verifly, but the only person who actually looked at our printout was the guy allowing us to get into the check in line at the airport in SXM. Flight delayed a little on the way home due to rerouting and more fuel needed – and one guy wanting to exit the plane. We had tight connections, but ended up arriving only 5 minutes late. Global Entry made it a fairly easy process and we made our 1.5 hour connection easily, with over 45 minutes to spare. If we had taken off on time, we would have been more than 30 minutes early, so I don’t think the connections are actual as tight as they look with the current flight volumes.

We felt very safe throughout the entire process and were glad we made the effort to go. The mask wearing and safety precautions were as good or better than we have here in TN, with many less infections and the opportunity to be outside most all the time – especially for dining. There were the occasional spots where we didn’t feel comfortable, so we didn’t go… i.e. Mullet Bay most of the time… and it took 4 tries to find a restaurant we felt comfortable with on Superbowl Sunday…they were just packed with people, so we ended up outside at SMYC.

Thank you all again for all your input and help which really made our trip so very much better!

PS.. Pictures attaches are: Pool view of Simpson bay from Airbnb #1; Simpson Bay Beach from chair at Condo #2; Lobster Lunch at Dany's; Menu & Chef's Dinner