We just returned from a great two week stay at Orient Bay. This is only our second time on the Island. Our previous trip was in 2011 and we stayed in Orient Bay that time as well.

Since we are relative newbies our observations may differ from the many people who have been going to the Island for years.

Transportation:
We are not late night people, and our plan was to spend most of our time in Orient Bay, and the times we planned to venture further we expected we would be drinking. As a result, we did not rent a car. We arranged transportation to and from the airport prior to departure through Island Reps. They were great. They greeted us at the airport as soon as we came through customs (even though our flight was 2 hours late), and the driver was right where he should be for our trip back to the airport two weeks later. The couple of times we went over to the Dutch side we took a cab (except the one time we caught a ride with Jeannie from Shop n Drop). That seemed to work well enough for us and we would do the same on future trips.

Accommodation:
We stayed Residence de la Plage in an apartment we rented from Marion Dufaur (you can find her units on FlipKey). The apartment was exactly as advertised and we were very happy with it. Marion is a great host and lives only about 5 minutes away, so if we had any issues she would have been able to be there right away.

We feel the location of the apartment was perfect. We spent most of the day on the beach at Club Orient and enjoyed the walk back and forth. We were right above the shops in the Village, so for things we forgot to get from Jeannie or ran out of, we could just go down the stairs and pick up. It will be even more convenient when the new Tap 5 opens.

Shop n Drop:
As always, Jeannie was fantastic. Our order was delivered and the beer was in the fridge when we arrived. She did have to drop off a couple of items the next day, which turned out to be perfect as we got chance to meet and visit with Jeannie. She really is a delight and was kind enough to offer us a ride over to the Dutch side on her way back.

Excursions:
We had planned three excursion during our trip.

First was the Pub Crawl on Celine. We had booked this on our first trip in 2011 and it was cancelled due to weather. Unfortunately, the same thing happened this year. We contacted Neil during the day to see if it was a go and he advised it was not. We did mention that we were on Island for two weeks so if there was a second chance we would be interested. We never heard back.

The second excursion was the half day Tiko Tiko. When we showed up at the appointed time at Pappagayos there was a note on the clip board that there were only four people booked and they needed eight, so it was cancelled.

Third time lucky, though. Our plans for the Lord Sheffield Sunset Soiree went as scheduled and it was a great sail out to the sunset with great hosts, beautiful scenery and great snacks and drinks. It was not a loud booze cruise, it was a pleasant sail with an open bar.

Other activities:
I participate in triathlons and like to train even when on vacation. One of the side benefits of doing so is that I get to see a lot of things I think others may not see.

St. Martin is a beautiful island and so much of it is easily missed if you go everywhere in a car. I went by foot, running, and really enjoyed it!

If you want to walk or run (at least on the French side) my advise is go for it, but be prudent. If you are an aggressive pedestrian who thinks that the cars need to avoid you, you will have problems. If you accept that the cars have the right of way on the narrow roads and use some common sense, however, you will be fine.

I ran from Orient Bay to and from the following locations: Cul de Sac, Ans Marcel, Oyster Pond, and Grand Case. I never had a problem, but I was cautious. The scenery was fantastic and I think I got a better perception of the island (or at least the French side) seeing the open areas and the residential areas I would not have seen.

A couple of things that might help if you go for a run or a walk: the area I had the most concern about was the hill on the main road (N7?) between the entrance to Orient Bay and the road to Palm Beach (Rancho del Sol is at the top). The shoulder is almost non-existent on the curves. I would suggest one of two ways to avoid that area. You can walk/run down the beach to Palm Beach and then go up the road and follow it to the main road. There is a decent hill on that route. If you want to avoid it, keep walking down the beach to Mount Vernon and walk up the side to Rue de Mt Vernon and follow it until you get to Rue de Cul de Sac you can take it either out to the main road or the other way in to Cul de Sac. Rue de Cul de Sac has a nice sidewalk from there into Cul de Sac. If you are interested in map of where I ran to plan your own runs, let me know and I can send you a link.

If you want to swim laps when you are in the Orient Bay area, take the short walk over to Gallion Bay. There is an eight lane, 50 meter built into the sea. I consider this to be the most pleasant surprise find during the trip. It was great to walk over there and swim laps in the ocean in a protected area.

I did not bring a bike. I don't think I would have been comfortable riding the roads there. I did notice a few other triathletes visiting with bikes -- but they are braver than I am.

Food:
We are not foodies. We ate most of our meals in the apartment. Table d' Antoine was nice, but way over priced in our opinion. We enjoyed snacks and a few lunches at Pappagayos as well as at La Playa. On the Dutch side, we ate at the Greenhouse and at Skip Jack. Both were good.

Service:
The people at the shops in the Village were very pleasant and helpful -- and accepting of my very poor attempt at French. I always find it interesting in St Martin as well as other places we have travelled that some of the most pleasant and friendliest people we have met are the security people. The guys at Club O are an example of that.

Travel:
We are from the west coast of Canada. Travelling anywhere from Canada in the winter is a crap shoot. We were very lucky. We flew WestJet and the agents and flight crews were great. We got everywhere we were supposed to be on the days we were supposed to be there. Sometimes we were a little late, but we got there. A bit of unsolicited advise for some of my fellow travellers: Don't ruin your holiday by getting frustrated at the delays due to weather. No one is picking on you, it is just part of travelling in winter. Chill.

Thanks to everyone on this site for all of the knowledge we gained prior to our tip.

We had a great time and are looking forward to our next visit to the Island.

Matt & Cindy.