Don't rent a Kia!
Written: Feb 13 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Food, Variety of Beaches, Sun
Cons: Expensive, Poor Roads, Poor Beach Snorkeling Options, Rains Frequently, Hurricane Damage. Long trip
The Bottom Line: Unless you travel for the french food and shopping, go elsewhere.
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| MITGeek's Full Review: St. Martin Island |
We just returned from a week long February vacation in St. Maarten. "We" includes my husband and I (who were in it for relaxation), my parents (who were in it for the snorkeling and the food), and a two-year old. The following is a summary of the highlights and lowlights.
GETTING THERE IS DIFFICULT
There are no direct flights to St. Maarten from Boston or St. Louis - as a result we all had one connection and a total flight time of about 6 hours. Our connecting flight out of San Juan was delayed (as they all were for security reasons) and we arrived in St. Maarten about 45 minutes late at 11:30pm. Imagine our chagrin to find 1) the airport employees complaining to us that the flight should have been cancelled to avoid such a late arrival and 2) that the Thrifty car rental agency with whom we had a reservation had shut up shop resulting in a $25 cab fare to our hotel 3 miles away ("because it is so late"). The vacation did not get off to an auspicious start.
RENTAL CARS ARE SMALL
Fortunately we were able to get a Hertz rental car at the hotel - and it turned out to be a cheaper rate than Thrifty had guaranteed us. This we were happy about. We did however have some reservations about the KIA that they selected for us. The Kia is quite small as are most of the cars for rent on the island. However, despite the fact that it barely fit four people and a car seat we decided that we could live with it - but only because getting a standard size car was significantly more expensive. Over the course of the vacation we had a few other complaints about the Kia: 1) it doesn't have a trunk latch in the car which proved to be a real problem when my dad locked the keys in the trunk and 2) it bottomed out on the majority of the many speed bumps and potholes that are strewn throughout the island. By the time we were done with it we were sure that we were going to have racked up quite a large bill for damage - we're still waiting to see if any charges make their way to our credit card.
ROYAL PALM BEACH HOTEL
We stayed in a time share we had traded for called the Royal Palm Beach which was located next to the Dutch Bridge on the Dutch side about three miles from the airport. The accommodations were nice enough (though not quite what they looked like in the picture) and the view was spectacular. We had planned to spend to spend most of our time exploring the island so we weren't too hung up on it. We didn't really get a look at many other accommodations though there were quite a few high rises on the other side of the airport (much closer to the flight path) which looked nice, but might have too much plane noise - check it out if you are near the airport.
THE FOOD
St. Maarten is known for its food - primarily its French food. We explored a little bit, but because we had a two year old, we avoided many of the higher end restuarants. Wherever you eat you can expect lunch to be in excess of $8 and dinner to be inexcess of $15 for just the main course (much more expensive than in the states). The following is what we really liked:
1) Cheri's Cafe in Maho Bay (Dutch Side near airport): This is an outdoor, casual place that has a few things going for it: great food, hand clappers to entertain the young ones (and the older ones), and a great show (good music and good laughs) in the evening. It also has a Haagen Daz next door for dessert. Parking will probably cost about $5.
2) Lee's at Simpson Bay (near the Dutch Bridge): This is a joint with fish and bbq. The cheeseburger is scrumptious. Nothing special, but good.
3) Grand Case Beach BBQ (near the large parking lot): there are a lot of joints along the beach. The BBQ (ribs especially) is fantastic.
4) Any restaurant in the Marigot Marina. It is a small area where the yachts come in to eat at one of about 15 restaurants. It's a very pleasant area - must go just for the atmosphere. We ate at Le Galion. It took forever, but it was pretty good.
Avoid Goodfellas in Simpson Bay - it has mediocre Italian food and bad service. Also, avoid Seafood Galley in Simpson Bay - we should have known to pass by it given that it was empty, but the sign was stunning...
THE BEACHES
We explored almost every beach identified on the maps of the island. Overall the beaches were pleasantly empty (not sure if this is ust due to the current season's lack of travel) and diverse with very little development around them. Additionally, at every beach you can rent chairs and umbrellas for $5 each. We were generally disappointed by the lack of interest for snorkelers at the beach (with Grand Cayman - a very high standard - being our benchmark). Here is a quick blow-by-blow:
1) Orient Beach: This is the most famous beach on the French side. It is fairly large and has a large variety of activities includign some cool floating trampolines. It is also notorius as a nude beach (though Cupecoy which is described below is the real nude beach). This is the most developed of the beachfront areas though there is not yet that much there. There is quite a bit of new construction taking place of what looks like will be very cute gingerbready new condos. There is quite an undertow here making it important to hold onto a 2 year old.
2)Grand Case: We almost left this beach after a nice BBQ lunch because ut was too narrow and there was what we thought was sewage coming out of the large number of restaurants and shops lining it. However, we ventured to the far north and were pleasantly surprised by the beach with a beautiful view and mangrove trees for shade. Significant undertow.
3) Long Bay: This beach required a long trip on a very crummy road. This and perhaps the significant undertow and rocky shoreline kept it very empty. It was quite a large beach, but is not for the faint of heart. It also had a distant view of airplanes landing whihc provided som interest. We had to leave because it was difficult for us to stand the waves.
4) Baie Rouge: This beach was very hard to find - the road is not marked and there are a lot of private houses with razor wire along the way. When we finally found it, we were annoyed that the parking lot had its own "security" who both required a tip and fought with you to get you to go down their staircase and thus rent umbrellas and chairs from them. This beach was the most crowded (partly because it was small), but was very picturesque. The water had a significant undertow and a lot of rocks to get tossed on.
5) Dawn Beach: This beach on the French side was very nice. It appears to have been hurricane ravaged with several buildings still awaiting repair. There was a noce hut on the beach with good food and chairs available. The surf was strong, but there were no rocks to hurt you if you fell. Of the beaches mentioned this was the second best for snorkeling.
6) Cupecoy Beach: This is the REAL nude beach. Full male and female nudity is the norm rather than the exception as on the other beaches. Perhaps it is because gawkers are less likely to make there way down here. The beach has a rotten parking lot and there is a steep rocky shoreline that must be navigated.
7) Le Galion Beach: This is a great beach for kids - there are almost no waves and it is shallow for quite a distance. It was pretty crowded, but there is some shade.
8) Ilet Pinel: The beach at Islet Pinel is a must. Getting to it requires a 5 minute boat ride which costs $5 per person roundtrip (my two-year old was free). The beach was beautiful. Of the places mentioned it was the best for snorkeling. It is also great for kids as the waves are minimal and there is a significant sand bar. It is the only beach on which we noticed people serving drinks to those on chairs. It also has some of the most interesting dining on the island. Skip the first snack bar (unless you crave hot dogs and hamburgers) and go through the "Boutique" (which by the way is one of the best shopping options I found) to the restaurant "Karibuna". It is a french restuarant with an idyllic setting. Try to get the first table you encounter which is under a twisted mangrove tree.
SHOPPING
We made the mistake of selecting Front Street in Phillipsburg for our one day of shopping. This is the street that the Cruise ships go to. It generally lacks interest. It has a lot of jewelry, liquor, and crap. The only upside is that the liquor is cheap (we're not so sure about the jewelry_ and there is a special island Guavaberry liquor which you can get here. The real shopper's paradise is in Marigot near the Marina. The shops are expensive, but this is wheere you will find the unique European treats.
Overall, we enjoyed our vacation, though we would not be likely to go back. We have now visited Grand Cayman, Dominican Republic, St. Maarten, and Jamaica and would probably rank them in this order according to a desire to go back. Grand Cayman takes the cake.
Recommended:
No
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Dec - Feb
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Epinions.com ID:
MITGeek
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Member: Rebecca & Sam
Location: Medford, MA
Reviews written: 18
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me:
Two MIT geeks and their kid.
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