# Going to ST Martin ...



## krmlaw (May 14, 2009)

Need any and all advice for restaurants, beaches and activities. 

We are staying at the RI La Plage and cant wait!

Got our car rental from Leslie Bruce at Kennys Car Rental.

Airfare is on US Air, landing at 130 pm June 27, taking off for home at 250pm July 4

Places to eat dinner (what I have so far, taken off this board - for reasonable $)
1. Marks
2. LoLos
3. Cheris
4. One of the buffets (mini club or the other one (name is lost on me right now)
5. Want to trying something on the Frenchside ... Grand Case or Marigot?

Lunches will probably be on whatever beach we are on or at the condo. 
1. Peg Leg Pub?
2. Mr. Busbys on Dawn
3. Somewhere on Orient
4. Rosies on Mullet

Breakfasts will probably be in the condo. 

Beaches we should hit (taken off this board):
Mullet
Orient
Dawn
Baie Rouge (sic)

Things we might want to do besides "beach":
Zip line (for DH and DS - NOT me and baby!)
Lambada or other day cruise

Looking for other suggestions to this ... as Im trying to plan the BEST pre-delivery (god willing) vacation ever for us! 

AND look to you guys for GREAT ADVICE!

Thanks


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## Conan (May 14, 2009)

Everything you could want to know is at the TTOL SXM board:
http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=stmartin


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## Greg G (May 14, 2009)

It's been a while since we were there (2001) but here a few more things

- Watch the jets/planes come in at Sunset Beach Bar (right next to Royal Islander)

- Turtle Pier restaurant for dinner (lobster, coconut shrimp) on Simpson bay Lagoon just north of the airport

- Plum/Prune Bay Beach - This beach was beautifull and very uncrowded (it has no facilities and no concessions so bring your own munchies).
You should also bring an umbrella for shade since there is very little.
Its probably a good idea to bring some cheap lounge chaises if you are use to using them instead of sitting on a beach towel on the sand.
http://www.sint-maarten.net/St-Maart...s/PlumBay.html

- Royal Islander has a very small food store. We generally got fresh pastries from it each morning for breakfast (brought in from a local bakery assuming they still do this). You generally need to get down there before 9:00 am to get pastries before they run out. 
Also on the French side in Baie Nettle is Le Peche Mignon bakery/pastry shop which has some really good pastries and baguettes.

Greg


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## krmlaw (May 15, 2009)

oh the pastries sound great, is the bakery right in the hotel complex?


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## gorevs9 (May 15, 2009)

krmlaw said:


> oh the pastries sound great, is the bakery right in the hotel complex?


Also check out Pineapple Pete's in Simpson Bay.

If you are planning a day at Orient Beach, try Andy & Cheryl's.  I believe Andy comes from NYC and Cheryl if from NJ (or vice versa).  They are located towards the southern end of the beach shortly before the clothing-optional section (FYI.  All the beaches on the French side, allow “European Style”, i.e. topless, sunbathing).

If I could figure out how to insert a picture from a file I'd attach one or two, but in any case, I have some pictures from our last trip, send me a PM with your email and I'll pass them along (sorry... no 'nekid' pictures).

Have Fun

Mike


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## Denise (May 15, 2009)

Plum/Prune Bay & Friars were our two favorites. Had a good snorkel experience (for St. Martin) at Friars. A day trip to Anguilla by ferry from Marigot is nice.


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## timesharejunkie4 (May 15, 2009)

I would go to Peg Leg for dinner, it's one of our favorites.
Another beach I would recommend is Pinel Island. We always take the ferry over and spend the day. The snorkeling there is pretty good.
We liked the Butterfly Farm as a non beach activity.
Have a great trip!


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## TomR (May 15, 2009)

Let me start out by congratulating you on the baby, and wishing you and your family a wonderful vacation at the Royal Islander.  When you check in at the resort, be sure to purchase the weekly parking pass.  The underground garage is across the street, entrance adjacent to Food Express.  I think once you get settled in and spend some time on a Royal Islander lounge chair overlooking the water, you may find that there is no need to continually hope in a car and visit so many different beaches.  Traffic can sometimes be a pain.  

Having said that,  Orient Beach is definitely worth a trip.  I second Mike's recommendation of *Andy and Cheryl's Baywatch Beach Restaurant*.  Really good beach food and fun atmosphere.  You can rent chairs and an umbrella and spend a day just relaxing in the sun.  About as good and much closer to the Royal Islander is *Karakter*, which is located on the beach on the other side of the runway.  It took us a little time to find (drive past the airport terminal, past the end of the runway and make a right and look for signs to Mary's Boon) but well worth the effort.   Chairs and umbrellas are free if you eat or drink there.

For a reasonable dinner, if you like Italian food go to *Pizza Pasta *which is across the street from the Royal Islander and up the alley way between Cheri's and the Casino Royale.  Since you plan on going to *Rosie's* for lunch, I wouldn't recommend having dinner at another lolo.  Food is just about the same.  The other buffet you mentioned is *Captain Oliver's*.  I have never eaten there as I don't like the drive at night from the Royal Islander, but it does have very good reviews.  I haven't had dinner at *Cheri's* in years, but the show is probably worth seeing one time anyway.  Just alert your husband and son, that audience participation is sometimes just a tap on the shoulder away.   We also like *Jimbo's* in Simpson Bay for a reasonable Tex-Mex dinner.   Free Wi-Fi and good Margaritas (not that you can have one).   

*Peg Leg Pub* is not on the beach so it may not be what you want for lunch, but is a good spot for dinner.  We ate there on a Friday a few weeks ago .  Good food and there was entertainment.  I hear the entertainment is even better on a Wednesday night.  If you enjoy burgers, try the *Buccaneer Beach Bar *for lunch.  You can get beach chairs there also but I am not sure if they are free.   Your husband and son might like some of the t-shirts there too. 

Enjoy your vacation.
Tom


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## Greg G (May 15, 2009)

I think the small food store is right there as you go out of the Royal Islander in the direction of the Maho hotel

Greg


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## pgnewarkboy (May 17, 2009)

I highly recommend La Sammana restaurant.  It is part of an exclusive resort (celebrity types stay there) on the French side but is open to the public. It is fairly secluded.  My wife and I had our anniversary dinner there.  We were seated on an outdoor veranda overlooking the beach and the ocean.  The service and food was exceptional.  It was a fairly expensive meal but we enjoyed it and are planning to go there on next our next trip in March.


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## Greg G (May 17, 2009)

Another thing you can do is call the restaurants to see what specials they are having that day or what reduced price dinners they have.  Grand Case has many great restaurants all basically in a very small area.   They're also close to many shops that you can browse either before or after dinner.

Greg


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## Greg G (May 17, 2009)

A few scanned in pictures from our 2001 trip

http://picasaweb.google.com/ghgemmer/StMaarten#

Greg


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## krmlaw (May 17, 2009)

those pics are great! we'll have to check out that restaurant too... sounds wicked nice.


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## kathyj0205 (May 18, 2009)

There is a rib place right next to the Royal islander (I think it's called Guy's) that is a great place for cheap food.  It is a small trailer for cooking, and a boat gussied up for a bar.  We always stop there  and get a plate of really good ribs with beans and rice and a beer for $10 US.  Since food is relatively high in St. Martin,  this is always worth a stop. And it is right next to the end of the runway, so you can watch the planes land with an unobstructed view.


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## ScoopKona (May 18, 2009)

KathyJed said:


> Since food is relatively high in St. Martin,



I thought food prices were reasonable -- even a bargain for some items. Restaurants, on the other hand, were for the most part low quality and very high priced.

St. Maarten is one of those destinations where you are going to want to use the kitchen occasionally -- bring a cheap non-stick pan because the one in the resort has been beat to hell by 10 years worth of guests. (And leave the pan with a few bucks in it as a tip for the maid. One less thing to pack for the return trip.)

Le Grande Marche is the big grocery, with three locations. But the one in the middle of the island is the best. Without a doubt, buy Castellane champagne while you're here. It's one of those things you can only get in France and St. Maarten. Kronenburg 1664 beer is also available, which I've always had a taste for.

In fact, you will find excellent prices on all manner of French comfort foods -- pates, really good butter, etc. 

http://www.legrandmarche.net/

The fish markets can be hit or miss, and I ended up going back to Le Grande Marche for basically everything.

If I were going back:

First stop -- The open-air spice market in Marigot. Pick up five or six of their spice blends -- jerk rub, "magic spice," poultry spice, etc.

Second stop -- Le Grande Marche -- pick up a week's supply of beer and wine, a dozen eggs, dutch bacon, french butter, dutch coffee (douwe eggberts), french cream, a baguette, pate, caviar, mayo, veggies, two whole chickens and some charcoal. (Plan on going back once or twice more -- it's not a big deal getting there, after all.)

Third stop -- The BBQ grill at the resort.

Now you've got grilled chicken and veg, and the makings of great chicken salad sandwiches for tomorrow.


EDIT -- I completely FORGOT to send you in the direction of Ras Bushman's Freedom Fighters Ital Shack! Best meal you're likely to have in St. Maarten. (It's vegan, but go there anyway. Bring bottled water, they seem to always be out.) Right outside of Phillipsburg on Bush Road. Everyone on the island can provide directions. http://sxmfreedomfighters.com/restaurant/


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## jasenj1 (May 18, 2009)

We did SXM for our honeymoon eight years ago.

I'll second the advice to check out TTOL. I hung out there before we went. You'll definitely get information overload.  They also do TTOL member meet-ups, so if you're feeling social you may be able to find some folks to hang out with.

The Butterfly Farm is a nice quiet thing to do other than the beach. Very pretty and fascinating. It's right next to Orient Beach so you could go there in the afternoon to get off the beach a while. If you're a photographer, it's a fun place to take macro photos of the butterflies.

Our typical schedule was to get up early, stop by a bakery to pick up fresh baked yummies and then head out to a beach for the morning. We'd leave the beach by 11ish, find somewhere to eat lunch and nap or shop in the afternoon. Then maybe back to a beach for a couple hours before sunset. Clean up, then out for dinner. We're not gamblers, but you could certainly hit the casinos and shows for late night entertainment - but that makes getting up early to hit the beach before the heat and the crowds less likely.

Club Orient - the nudist resort, has people who will shuttle you over to Pinel Island on a little 14' catamaran. That was a lot of fun.

If you like, bring dive mask, snorkel and flippers. There's lots of good snorkeling places and we found it convenient to have our own gear to haul around to the various beaches.

Be sure to stop by the Sunset Beach Bar - at least to watch the crazy people stand by the fence when the planes land/take off.

Enjoy.

- Jasen.


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## NTHC (May 26, 2009)

Just returned from our first trip to St. Martin in April.

You MUST eat at Uncle Harrys....on the road to the airport it is stuck between the rental car companys. The parking lot is filled with rusted out cranes, boats and shipping containers. If you aren't looking you will drive right past it.

A retiree from our resort suggested we try it and we had one of the best steaks we have ever had.  The filet is incredible, the service was awesome and the views just perfect!

Hubby is from the Midwest and we are steak lovers but we were hard pressed to think of another location we have had such an incredible steak.

I would consider this a "not to be missed meal" on the island.

I only want to add that the entire meal for two with lobster appetizer and drinks was around $100

Thanks,
Cindy


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## rsnash (May 27, 2009)

ScoopLV said:


> EDIT -- I completely FORGOT to send you in the direction of Ras Bushman's Freedom Fighters Ital Shack! Best meal you're likely to have in St. Maarten. (It's vegan, but go there anyway. Bring bottled water, they seem to always be out.) Right outside of Phillipsburg on Bush Road. Everyone on the island can provide directions. http://sxmfreedomfighters.com/restaurant/



Second that recommendation. How did you like his special tea? 

Also recommend, Poulet D'Orleans. Family run restaurant on the eastern side, right around the border. Specializes in fresh killed chicken. Last time we were there (around 7 years ago), we got to help our young waiter with his math homework. Priceless.


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## Susie (May 29, 2009)

*Toppers*

If you are a meat and potatoes guy, don't miss Topper's restaurant on Airport Road...the food is reasonable, the hosts really friendly, and the food delicious!


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