I went to SXM July 21-29. I traveled direct from JFK to SXM with no problems. I met AAA ($130/week for an Ignis) and Craig from Packlight at the airport. I picked up my beach chair/umbrella and car and was on the road within 20 minutes. I arrived at Grand Case Beach Club and was quickly checked in and on Petit Plage by 2!!!
I enjoyed another great stay at GCBC (just submitted my hotel review on trip advisor) and look forward to staying there again next year. The staff was great, the restaurant was very good, and the beach was beautiful.
The beaches I went to included: Petit Plage, ilet Pinel (twice), Orient Beach (twice), and Friars Bay. Orient was nice, but the water was extremely rough. Friars bay was stunning and not very busy. The only downside was that the wind was going the wrong way and carried the salt pond smell onto the beach. Pinel is still my favorite. It wasn't crowded at all, the water was stunning and the food at Yellow Beach was excellent!!!
I went shopping one morning to Phillipsburg and picked up some great sapphires at DK Gems. Great service and staff - I highly recommend them! I'm not a big shopper - so i didn't go shopping anywhere else.
At night I ate mostly in Grand Case. This trip I tried Spiga and it was amazing!! Great ravioli and tirimisu. I also ate at il Nettuno (great shrimp and pasta) and a few lolos. I had lunch at the Sunset Cafe twice and recommend the Mahi Mahi.
Overall, the weather was not great, which is surprising because it is usually stunning. One day was a rain out (Wendesday) and another had complete cloud cover (Thursday). Friday also started off bad, but by 11am was beautiful.
I never had any traffic problems. I only went to the Dutch side for the airport and drinks one night at BBB for the TTOL party. It is a fun bar with live music on Sunday nights. I enjoyed meeting people from TTOL and finally putting names and faces together. I also went to Mr Busby's for drinks/dinner one night with some TTOL people. The location is great, but my meal wasn't that good. I had lobster bisque that had too much butter and tomato soup in it. I was supposed to go to Los Gauchos one night, but took a nap after the beach and woke up too late to meet everyone.
I can't wait for my next trip to SXM and will probably start planning it soon.
Thanks to everyone for their great advice on this website.
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