St. Thomas or St. Maarten

[Whitesandybeaches1]

We are trying to decide which island to visit this winter..... which do you prefer or think is better and why please?

Thank you!

 

[legalfee]

I'd say St Thomas. There are more and better restaurants. Terrific shopping. You've got great diving and snorkling. One of the top 5 beaches in the world (Magens Bay). And you can ferry your car to St Johns or take a cruise around the British Virgin Islands to see the Baths at Virgin Gorda (don't forget your passport).

 

[KathyA]

St. Thomas may have many things, but more and better restaurants is NOT one! St. Martin and St. Barts are the culinary capitals of the Caribbean. Also shopping in Sint Maarten (the Dutch side of the island) is tax free and duty free. The only advantage on shopping that St. Thomas has is that, as an American Virgin Island, it has a higher duty-free limit for Americans.

Both islands are overly developed.

 

[Anne S]

We are trying to decide which island to visit this winter..... which do you prefer or think is better and why please?

Thank you!

I don't think that either one is "better." Like a good mother, I love them equally ... but seriously, it depends on what you are looking for. St. Thomas is mountainous and the driving is on the left, which can be a bit hairy on those narrow mountain roads. It does have some very lovely beaches, but so does St. Maarten. From St. Thomas you can take the ferry to St. John which is gorgeous and unspoiled. From St. Maarten you can take ferries to St. Barth's, Saba and Anguilla which have their own charms.

St. Maarten has a Dutch side (more like the U.S., though) and a French side. the French side is tres French, and Grand Case, on the French side, is the culinary capital of the Caribbean.

I like them both, but personally I have a slight preference for St. Maarten, because of the difference in cultures, and the greater variety of beaches. If you are into people watching (whether clothed or not), Orient Beach is the place to go. But if you prefer solitude, Long Beach is the go-to beach.

You really can't go wrong with either island. Just choose one, and the next time choose the other one.

 

[pianodinosaur]

I don't think that either one is "better." Like a good mother, I love them equally ... but seriously, it depends on what you are looking for. St. Thomas is mountainous and the driving is on the left, which can be a bit hairy on those narrow mountain roads. It does have some very lovely beaches, but so does St. Maarten. From St. Thomas you can take the ferry to St. John which is gorgeous and unspoiled. From St. Maarten you can take ferries to St. Barth's, Saba and Anguilla which have their own charms.

St. Maarten has a Dutch side (more like the U.S., though) and a French side. the French side is tres French, and Grand Case, on the French side, is the culinary capital of the Caribbean.

I like them both, but personally I have a slight preference for St. Maarten, because of the difference in cultures, and the greater variety of beaches. If you are into people watching (whether clothed or not), Orient Beach is the place to go. But if you prefer solitude, Long Beach is the go-to beach.

You really can't go wrong with either island. Just choose one, and the next time choose the other one.

We recently visited both islands on a 10 day Holland America cruise using HGVC points. Both islands are wonderful. We anticipate TS vacations to both islands in the future. We will be at Residences at the Crane at the end of October and early November.

 

[dchilds]

If you plan to stay on island, go to St Maarten. If you plan to island hop, go to St Thomas. Island hopping is less expensive and you have shorter hops from St Thomas. From our experience, St Maarten has more "good" restaurants, but St Thomas has a few of the best restaurants. We like several St Maarten beaches more than St Thomas' Magens Bay. St Maarten has more to do on island.

When we go to St Maarten, we spend 6 out of 7 days on island. When we go to the VI, we spend 1 or 2 days out of 9 on St Thomas, the rest in the BVI, on Trade Winds.

 

[LisaRex]

I've been to St. John and know that the snorkeling is outstanding. How is in St. Marteen?

 

[Anne S]

I've been to St. John and know that the snorkeling is outstanding. How is in St. Marteen?

Not very good. The snorkeling is certainly better on St. Thomas, although not all that spectacular either. St. John is certainly better for snorkeling than either St. Thomas or St. Maarten.

 

[caribbean]

I like both locations, good beaches, good food, good shopping. I do have a personal preference for ST Thomas. I have been there many more times and really feel at home there. One thing that makes me feel more comfortable in USVI is the US. I have more comfort being on US land with US government and knowing that my US medical insurance is in effect. My husband had a heart attack in STT in 2000 and he couldn't have been treated better. His Aetna insurance flew us home on a Med-evac all for a $30 co-pay for a $17,200 flight. Something to think about and one reason we decided to own TS there.

 

[nerodog]

both have advantages

St M- good day trips to St Barts and Anguilla which are both worth seeing and very diverse in terms of the islands themselves.. nice with the Dutch an french side... good eats of course ...

St T- day trip to St John- pretty pretty pretty !! St T is mountainous and prettier I think than ST M overall but its a personal pref. cuz its mountainous in St M too ! Both have the shopping and stuff.... depends on your interests. Found food good here also.

 

[Anne S]

Another thing worth considering is that St. Maarten has many more timeshares than St. Thomas does, and almost all of them are on the beach, which is not true of the St. Thomas timeshares. For example, Bluebeard's is in town, and Magen Bay Villas, despite its name, is quite a hike from Magens Bay.

 

[legalfee]

Another thing worth considering is that St. Maarten has many more timeshares than St. Thomas does, and almost all of them are on the beach, which is not true of the St. Thomas timeshares. For example, Bluebeard's is in town, and Magen Bay Villas, despite its name, is quite a hike from Magens Bay.

Carefull. Bluebeards Castle is downtown. Bluebeards Beach Club is on the beach. SST also has Marriott Morningstar and the Ritz-Carlton - two of the best timeshares in the Caribbean.

 

[Anne S]

Carefull. Bluebeards Castle is downtown. Bluebeards Beach Club is on the beach. SST also has Marriott Morningstar and the Ritz-Carlton - two of the best timeshares in the Caribbean.

My mistake. I should have specified Bluebeard's Castle, not just Bluebeard's. And yes, I am aware that STT has some resorts that are on the beach. However, the point I was making in my previous post was that St. Maarten not only has more resorts, but also that most of them are on the beach.

I would also like to state that I don't have a dog in this fight--I am merely trying to give the OP some (hopefully) helpful advice.

 

[tombo]

14 year old teenage girl on a carnival cruise was taking a St Thomas Island bus tour with her family when she was shot and killed in crossfire from gang warfare. Another paasenger on bus injured. In addition A St. Thomas teenager also was killed by the gunfire as he attended the funeral of another man fatally shot on June 29. That is 3 fatal shootings we know of on St Thomas in the last 3 weeks.

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/...st-thomas-killed-during-gang-shootout/99670/1

If you are on the fence, this should give the edge to St Maarten. Yes there is crime everywhere, but until someone posts an article where tourists on St Maarten were killed in gang crossfire, I will avoid St Thomas and choose St Maarten every time. Plus I love St Maarten, it's beaches, mountains, shopping, and food.

 

[Whitesandybeaches1]

Damn... had no idea about the recent gang killing/fighting in St. Thomas. That is why we decided to avoid going to Mexico. Thanks for the info.

 

[deedman]

but until someone posts an article where tourists on St Maarten were killed in gang crossfire, I will avoid St Thomas and choose St Maarten every time.

"On Thursday, April 13, 2006 US tourists Richard Jefferson and Ryan Smith and a friend were severely beaten by a group of men in St. Maarten, after being verbally harassed by the attackers in a bar. Local authorities were not very responsive at first, but now the investigation seems to be moving ahead. However, homophobic accounts of the incident in which the victims are blamed have already appeared in local media."

"Philipsburg:-- Several students were arrested while some of them injured when a gang fight broke out in a school bus on Friday.

The police spokesman said several police patrol had to respond to Bush Road, where a big gang fight between students from the Sint Maarten Academy and the Milton Peters College was taking place."

The 14 year old girl in st thomas was killed randomly and accidently, the men in the bar were deliberately targeted. Now is that a good reason not to go there either? Don't be so nieve, go to the places you love, be safe and have common sense.

http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/partners/266.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/26/earlyshow/main6142947.shtml

http://www.smn-news.com/st-maarten-st-martin-news/2890-major-gang-fight-on-board-a-school-bus.html

Get real people, the caribbean has gangs. You have a local population that are descendants of slaves of the Dutch, English, and French colonial powers that still to this day remain a largely uneducated populous due to the fact that not much has been done to help them achieve scholastically and to give them the proper tools to organize the community and clean up crime. When educational institutions do not strive within a community, gangs will prevail.

 

[tombo]

"On Thursday, April 13, 2006 US tourists Richard Jefferson and Ryan Smith and a friend were severely beaten by a group of men in St. Maarten, after being verbally harassed by the attackers in a bar. Local authorities were not very responsive at first, but now the investigation seems to be moving ahead. However, homophobic accounts of the incident in which the victims are blamed have already appeared in local media."

"Philipsburg:-- Several students were arrested while some of them injured when a gang fight broke out in a school bus on Friday.

The police spokesman said several police patrol had to respond to Bush Road, where a big gang fight between students from the Sint Maarten Academy and the Milton Peters College was taking place."

The 14 year old girl in st thomas was killed randomly and accidently, the men in the bar were deliberately targeted. Now is that a good reason not to go there either? Don't be so nieve, go to the places you love, be safe and have common sense.

http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/partners/266.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/26/earlyshow/main6142947.shtml

http://www.smn-news.com/st-maarten-st-martin-news/2890-major-gang-fight-on-board-a-school-bus.html

Get real people, the caribbean has gangs. You have a local population that are descendants of slaves of the Dutch, English, and French colonial powers that still to this day remain a largely uneducated populous due to the fact that not much has been done to help them achieve scholastically and to give them the proper tools to organize the community and clean up crime. When educational institutions do not strive within a community, gangs will prevail.

People got in a bar fight on St Maarten IN 2006! Is that the most recent crime against tourists you could find?If that is all of the crimes against tourists you can find then I feel reallly good about visiting St Maarten. Bar fights occasionally happen in my hometown. If you go to almost any bar anywhere in the world, you have a chance to have some belligerent drunk and his friends start some crap. It is why most bars have bouncers. Your wife/date might also get hit on by a drunk, it is all part of the bar scene. Every reality show like the Hills, the Kardashians, and the Jersey Shore has episodes where someone gets in a bar fight, and these are at mostly upscale bars in the US. I understand that you drink in a bar taking some risk of verbal or physical abuse. It is a risk I take or not depending on the looks of the bar and it's patrons. Some I drink at for a while, some i walk in and walk out. It is a gamble at any bar anywhere in the world. I might take a chance on getting in a bar fight while drinking in a bar on a foreign island (or in the US). I do not want to take the risk of being shot in gang crossfire while simply exploring an Island on a tour bus.

I have never had an incident of someone killed in gang crossfire in my hometown. Students at rival high schools have fought in my hometown. Students competing in different sports have fought in my hometown. If there is any town in the world where students don't get in fights, let me know where that is. So your response to 3 people being shot in 3 weeks it to present A SINGLE article where some tourists were beat up in a bar fight in 2006 and showing ONE article about LOCAL students getting into a fight in 2009. Out of all the google searches you only found one incident of tourists injured in a bar fight way back in 2006, but no murders (local or tourists). Are these comparisons really supposed to be similar to 3 shooting deaths in the last 3 weeks?


People have been robbed and murdered in my hometown (rarely), but none have ever been shot at a funeral for a man who had been shot. We have not had 3 separate gun murders in 3 weeks. We have never had a tourist shot while riding on a bus. I understand anytime i leave my house (or actually even in my house) that I have certain risks of injury. I realize that there is crime everywhere including St Maarten. I am not naive, but I am not going to an Island where gang warfare has gotten to the point where one man is shot and killed, a teenager attending that man's funeral was shot and killed, and 2 tousists were shot with one killed in gang crossfire as they rode on a bus, and it all happened in the last 3 weeks. I like to wear snorkel,mask, and fins on Island vacations, not bullet proof vests (they leave bad tan lines).

 

[deedman]

this was not a bar fight. This was a group of people targeting another group because they were gay, and brutally beat them up. This is a hate crime. You should be familiar with hate crimes. It wasn't long ago that the good ol' boys in Mississippi were lynching colored folk, and I'm sure there were times where it was more than 3 in 3 weeks. Mississippi is still considered the heart of darkness on race relations, should I not go there as well.

I live in the beautiful North Shore suburbs of Chicago, one of the cleaniest, wealthiest, safest areas around, think beverly hills. 25 minutes away in the city people are killed weekly by gang violence as Chicago is still the gangland capital of the world. Should tourists stop coming here? Should I not go downtown and go out to dinner, or go to the lake, or go to navy pier, or go to a bears game, or check out the museums, or michigan ave, because the media who only wants to grab headlines throws another shock story at me?
removed comments that are unnecessary and inflammatory

 

[tombo]

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[MuranoJo]

...not much has been done to help them achieve scholastically and to give them the proper tools to organize the community and clean up crime. When educational institutions do not strive within a community, gangs will prevail.

Just read 'Three Cups of Tea' for a book club, and it's a similar theme..when education is lacking, terrorism takes root.

 

[legalfee]

Just read 'Three Cups of Tea' for a book club, and it's a similar theme..when education is lacking, terrorism takes root.

How true. The only local kids we saw there were in school uniforms and getting out of classes. The governor needs to take action against the gangs or risk losing a lot of tourist dollars.

 

[pianodinosaur]

Unfortunately, criminals are everywhere. I still think both St. Maarten and St. Thomas are wonderful.

 

[Tia]

Friends just rented a home last 2 weeks in June in STT. They had a wonderful time with the family. I had suggested not going to Magens on Sunday since locals usually go, but they went. She did say the local boys were a bit too aggressive with her 18yo teenager making her uncomfortable. They also had a rare 6 days of rain of the 2 weeks. They did a sport fishing trip and got lots of tuna.

 

[pedro47]

We like Saint Marteen better there is so much to do. The French side is much different from the Dutch side of the island.

 

[deemac]

Interesting statement

Friends just rented a home last 2 weeks in June in STT. They had a wonderful time with the family. I had suggested not going to Magens on Sunday since locals usually go, but they went. She did say the local boys were a bit too aggressive with her 18yo teenager making her uncomfortable. They also had a rare 6 days of rain of the 2 weeks. They did a sport fishing trip and got lots of tuna.

So, are you suggesting that when visiting STT, tourist should stay away from the locals?