Reservations needed during Christmas week?

I am really enjoying reading everyone’s trip reports here!

Question regarding reservations. We are a party of 4 who will be in Maho from Dec 21 to Dec 28. So definitely a busy week. We are planning:
to go to a few restaurants for dinner, probably early
spend time on the beaches (start between 9am and 10am, beach chairs, lunch at a restaurant around 11:30),
rent kayaks and paddle to Pinel (again, beach chairs and lunch at a restaurant)
and get Hobie Cat lessons at Orient Bay.

Any suggestions on what definitely should be booked ahead of time?

Thanks!

Do you have a place to stay yet? That would be the first thing I would do if staying the Maho area. Dinner reservations at most places aren't really necessary, but could be helpful at some of the nicer restaurants such as Sale & Pepe. You might to check Trip Advisor and see the restaurant rankings for both the Maho and Simpson Bay areas. Some places will have links to Open Table which will allow you to make dinner reservations in advance at a preferable time. Given that this is Christmas week I would probably move in that direction.

As for the beaches with chairs, lunchtime dining, etc. there's no need to reserve anything in advance IMO. You'll be getting to Maho beach plenty early for that, but I would suggest taking the short walk by the golf course and spend time at Mullet Bay Beach which is typically less windy and has some nice lunch options (such as Rosie's). Simpson Bay Beach and Kim Sha are also nice beaches within walking distance in the other direction.

As for PInel, I've never paddled over there but there is a small ferry boat that will take you there and back, and it's really cheap. But, once again no need to arrange that ahead of time. If you want to rent a kayak, however and do this yourself maybe someone else on this board can chime in with some suggestions. Hope this helps.

Yes, this is a wonderful site full of resources and great trip reports. We usually do a very short one, although I'm buying a new camera and plan to include photos next time.

Anyway, to answer your question--for peace-of-mind, make reservations--especially if there is a specific restaurant or activity you simply must do.
We always go at Christmas/New Years and have never had to make reservations anywhere. HOWEVER, we spend our entire vacation glued to a lounge chair at Club O beach and happy to eat pretty much anywhere. This prolly isn't a very helpful post--suffice it to say that there is no harm in making reservations, if you're concerned.

See you on the beach! Dec 14-24.

I have heard from a restaurant owner that the week between Christmas and New Years is the single busiest week for restaurants on SXM, so other than for very casual places, you probably should make restaurant reservations for dinner, yes. We have only been fortunate to be there Christmas week once and calling once we were on island, we were only able to eat at one place at 6 PM one night, even though we gave the owner a whole week to pick from. This was one of the premier restaurants on the island, but that week was packed at all the best restaurants. For lunch, you MIGHT need a reservation at someplace like Bikini or one of the other big ones on Orient, or at Anse Marcel Beach Club, for sure, but not otherwise. Otherwise, wouldn't think you'd need reservations for anything.. Enjoy!

If you want to go to Anse Marcel beach (which I HIGHLY recommend doing), you need to make reservations in advance to get the front row of chairs.

Thanks all!

Yes, we already have accommodation and car reserved.

We will reserve the must do restaurants for after Christmas, but I would prefer not have the whole vacation mapped out entirely, so I’m glad reservations are not essential.

How do we reserve front row chairs at Anse Marcel? Call the restaurant? Before we go on vacation, or a day before?

Day or 2 before. Call or email. Helps to made lunch reserves same time to ensure front row.

For THAT week, I would do it before I left home for Anse Marcel Beach Club. You can do it online.

Below is a link to their website. Fill out the form at the bottom of the page. Front row is not assured, depending upon how many reservations they have. I have made reservations day before I wanted to go and received second row because there were many others in front of me. It's a memorable experience.


LINK

Thanks for that link.