I went to SXM for the 2nd time the week of April vacation with my 8 month old, my husband, his sister, her husband and my mother and father in law. Not my choice to go that week but brother and mother in law are teachers. It was surprisingly not too crowded that week.
Although its great to have a family and do things with them, this trip was not relaxing for me. My husband and I travel often but with the exception of my sister in law, none of the rest of the family travels more than once every 10 years, if at all and as a result, were clueless and asked me ridiculous questions continually. In addition, my brother in law managed to drop his wallet down an elevator shaft in San Juan, misplace his birth certificate which he only realized at the airport in St. Martin while we were in line to fly back to San Juan and leave his bag on the baggage carrousel in San Juan and only realize that once we got to the hotel in San Juan. He was very lucky though- got the wallet back, was allowed to fly to SJU from SXM (but did get an earful from immigration for not filing a police report in SXM) found his birth certificate later in SJU and got his bag the next day.
We live 20 minutes from Hartford but because the group could not make up its mind, we missed any reasonable airfare from there so we had to fly from Newark instead and overnight in SJU in both directions, causing us to lose 2 nights in SXM which we'd paid for and it was non refundable. We only paid $219 though on Continental. Over nighted on the way down at a private condo 3 min. from the airport which belongs to someone my father in law knows.
We were going to fly on Caribbean Sun for the SJU SXM portion. I was looking forward to trying them out however we had to cancel those reservations and go with American Eagle instead because CS changed our flight times to inconvenient times. Luckily, they don't charge your credit card until you buy your tickets so there was no penalty for cancelling. The Eagle tickets were $263 from SJU to SXM.
We stayed at the Flamingo ( which is next to the Pelican). We were in building A and had 2 adjoining units. The nice thing about them was that they had washers and dryers. Also had full kitchens. We had a nice ocean view. Aside from the pool, we didn't really use the facilities much but the are adequate.
Breakfasts- The days that we had breakfast I went out and got it and brought it back to the condo. My favorite place, no contest, is the French Bakery across from Hot Tomatos. It doesn't get mentioned much here but it should. The baked goods, especially the croissants are very good. They have sweets as well. The crepes, both the breakfast ones and the sweet ones, are excellent. They also have good coffee. You can eat there or get take away. They also have baguettes, bread and sandwiches. The mini quiches are outstanding.Yum. Another morning I went to Zee Best ( the 2nd location in Simpson Bay). It was OK but I prefer the French Bakery.
Dinners- We ate at Los Gauchos, Wajang Doll, California, Peg Leg Pub, and Le Gaiac ( in that order Sun-Thurs).
I was uncharacteristically not hungry at Los Gauchos so I only had a salad and split some cheese ravioli with my sister in law. It was tasty but I can't presonally comment on the steak. Everyone else got steak and loved it. ( And they are big carnivores).
Wajang Doll- I had to look to find it since its moved from Front St. Its in Simpsons Bay and in the back of a complex which also has a Chinese restaurant. Its near Peg Leg. Look for the sign and you can find it. I think its a prettier setting than on Front St. We got the rijstafel which was a good as the last time we had it. A rijstafel is like an Indonesian smorgasboard. You get small portions of about 20 different dishes and they are set out on warming pads on your table. We had the restaurant to ourselves that night. I'm surprised that this is not a more popular place. Maybe people on vacation are not adventuresome? The chef's name is Edward. He's from Indonesia and if you are interested, he's happy to tell you all about the spices and discuss different cooking styles from around the world. He's a delight.
California- I did not enjoy this restaurant as much as I thought I would. I think it had to do with the fact that it was crowded and a tight fit. I think if I were with just my husband and without the baby I would have enjoyed it more. We chose to eat in Grand Case that night because it was Harmony Night. What a great atmosphere. Parking was fine ( in a big field, free and you can't miss it). I do wish we'd just eaten at one of the lolos. They looked really good and are a great price. We did have some snacks and crepes for dessert from some of the street vendors and they were excellent. I found that if you paid cash, most of the restaurants there were giving you 1:1 Dollar to Euro. Everyone was happy with their meals. No complaints but I can see why there have been mixed reviews lately in this forum about California. Harmony nights are a great idea.
Peg Leg- This was OK. We all had various fish dishes. It wasn't my choice to eat here since to me, its pub grub which you can get at home although I have to admit, I don't usually get fish at pubs at home. We sat outside with a view of the water. That was nice.
Le Gaiac- Very upscale. I had to laugh since my in laws asked me what foie gras is so I told them and they decided they didn't want any of that. But, this restaurant serves amuse bouch ( spelled that wrong I'm sure, but the small palate cleaner items between courses which just come, you don't order them). One of them was a creme brulee foie gras. Very different but quite good. They didn't realize that's what they were eating and they loved it. My husband and I chose not to tell them. This restaurant is not for everyone. If you don't want very European style service ( slow by American standards, you have to ask for the check, etc, but standard in Europe) then its not for you. The entree portions were small but in the end you got alot of food when you add up all of the smaller items you were served in between. Also, its not the type of place where a salad comes with your meal. The menus also only had the prices on the ones that the men had. The food was excellent put pricey. Excellent wine list. Nice view of the harbor.
Beaches/side trips- We went to Orient and Dawn beaches as a group. Both were good and not crowded. I still did not get the chance to eat at Baywatch, I was there on the wrong day. Next time. Also finally did parasailing. So glad I did, it was great. We got a deal. It was going to just be me and my sister in law as going to just come on the boat to watch and take pictures but they claimed they needed more weight so for an extra $5, she came too. My point is, try to negotiate because you can get a better deal. We didn't even try and we got a deal.
I went over to Anguilla for the day with a friend who happened to be vacationing on SXM the same week as I was. I am fairly sure that you do need a passport for this since I saw some people who had birth certificates trying to get tickets for the ferry but they weren't on the ferry over. It was a very confusing situation at the ferry terminal in Marigot. No one seems to know what's going on there. You need to pay the departure tax and then buy your ticket and get on the manifest.
Anguilla was great. The people are very friendly. I hope to spend more time there in the future. We had made previous arrangments to stop at 3 of the hotels over there. I wanted to check them out in case I do decide to spend a few days over there. The first was Rendezvous Bay Hotel. Simple but very accomodating staff. Second stop was Cuisinart. Beautiful place and my choice since the GM took the time to give us a tour. Beautiful rooms. The last stop was Cap Jaluca. Very nice but very aloof staff ( and I don't think it was because we weren't guests). After that we headed over to Gwen's Reggae Bar on Shoal Bay. Gwen is a lovely lady and her food was excellent, especially the sides.
Riding on the beach- My sister in law and I went for a ride with Bayside Stables. I ride at home and she owns horses so we can tell you its a reputable place that appears to treat its horses well. Quite professional although I could not get over riding in a bathing suit with sandals on. They have hunt caps which we chose to wear. We took the horses along the beach and then into the water. There were 4 of us plus the guide. After that we rode back down the beach and stopped at Le Galion Beach for a soda which was included in the price of our ride.
We used Original Rental Cars which was fine. They are located near Mary Boons. Had the typical white Toyota Corollas and a good child seat.
On the way back home, we overnighted in SJU again at the Intercontinental. Nice place but I prefer the Wyndham El San Juan.
Hope this is helpful.
-Brenna