St Maarten Vacation - highlights and lowlights

St Maarten

We have just returned from a beautiful, blissful and peaceful 10 days on the island of St Maarten in the Caribbean!   I could not have asked for a better vacation with my boyfriend and my son!   We were hoping to take my boyfriends two children as well, but unfortunately they were not allowed to come with us so it ended up being just the three of us.  We had a blast!   From zip lining to hitting the beaches, exploring the island to shopping for treasure, it was a fantastic vacation, start to finish.  Here is a very high level recap of our vacation with my tips for navigating the island, finding the hot spots and a few places to avoid.  If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below and I will gladly respond.  So let's start with the highlights!

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The must see, must do, must try section:

We stayed on Guana Bay on the Dutch side of St. Maarten.  If you don't know, the island is split with the north-side being owned by the French and the south-side being owned by the Dutch.  The French side seemed to be a little more posh with the beautiful cities of Grand Case and Marigot and the Dutch side is a little more dated with the tourist-friendly cities of Philipsburg and Simpson Bay.  Guana Bay is on the eastern coast with a great little beach of its own.  Our villa is privately owned and we used Vacation Rental By Owner to book the villa.  I would highly recommend Guana Bay if you are looking to be off the beaten path and out of a resort.  You will definitely need a rental car if staying here because there aren't any shops, restaurants or bars within a few miles (and over a large, steep hill).  

The biggest highlight of the trip for me was our hike to the secret tide pools of Devil's Cupper.  We had read about this one-hour hike from Guana Bay that would lead to secret tide pools before we left for our vacation.  Once we were out exploring our little bay, we found the access to what appeared to be the path for the hike.  After seeing a few other intrigued hikers start off down this hour hike, we decided it was a must-do and we came back two days later to tackle the hike.  

With a cooler full of cold drinks in our backpack and sunscreen liberally applied (a necessary evil in the hot St Maarten sun), we set off on our hike.  This is the abandoned house that leads to the path:

Abandoned house at the beginning of the trail

We were familiar with the first 5 minutes of the hike and knew to expect a wild goat trail with scat droppings so we were prepared with our sneakers laced up and ready to hike!   The trail is navigable for the first 40 minutes of the hike and then it becomes steep and a little rocky where you have to carefully watch your step as you ascend and descend the one mountain.  We stopped at the two bays on the path to check them out.  The first bay is Geneve Bay and it is very rocky and covered with debris that has washed ashore (as you would expect on an abandoned beach).  The second is called Back Bay and also had a small, rocky beach with debris.  You certainly would not hike in to use the beaches.  After a quick stop to have a drink and catch our breath we continued our hike down to Devil's Cupper.  As it comes into view you see this beautiful flat, unobstructed plot of land out on the peak.  Just over the other side you'll find the tide pools.

We scaled down the rocks and quickly shed our gear and extra clothing so we could swim in the tide pools.  The tide was coming in so the water was quite high but I imagine when it goes out the rocks are easier to stand on and maybe even wade through.  For our swim the water was about 6-8ft deep and so clear we could see everything including bright yellow little fish swimming with us.  Just watch out for the sea urchins that are prevalent!   We splished and splashed for about thirty minutes before drying off to hike back out.  I took a few more photos as we climbed up the rocks.

This is an amazing experience as you are completely alone on this part of the island for the better part of two-three hours!  If you able, I strongly suggest adding this to your "Must Do" list when visiting St Maarten.  It was absolutely majestic!  

Beaches, Beaches, Beaches!   We had to try a few different beaches while we were on the island after learning there are 37 beaches to explore.  Of course we knew Guana beach inside and out by the time we left but we also became familiar with a few others.  Orient Bay was fantastic for pulling up a lounge chair, laying back and enjoying a nice, frosty cocktail.  Just beware that the south side of the beach is clothing optional and lots of the older women choose to share their glory with the entire beach!  haha!  We used Waikiki beach for our rentals ($20 for two chairs and a table) and enjoyed the drinks and food.  Service was terrible the first trip but improved on our second visit.  We had tried to go to Coco Beach but "cooler's are absolutely forbidden" and the waiter was very rude so we moved over to Waikiki again!

During our visit we also tried Friar's Bay beach.  The beach chair rental was only $6 at Friar's Bay Cafe if you were eating there so we opted for that restaurant.  BIG mistake but I will get into that more below.  This bay/beach is great for snorkeling and we found an amazing reef off the north side of the beach.  It is also nice and shallow so it's a great family beach, although we did see a few topless women bearing all so just be warned.  We spent our last beach day here and other than the terrible service it was a great beach to visit!


Zip Lining at Loterie Farms

We decided to try zip lining at Loterie Farms and it was the BEST idea!   Loterie Farms is located almost dead center on the island right by Pic Paradis, the highest point on the island.  We did the medium course so that Cooper could join us.  The smaller course is for children under 7 and the extreme course is a huge zip line from Pic Paradis all the way down to Loterie Farms grounds.

After getting strapped into our harnesses, we were off on our adventure.  There were multiple zip lines with varying types of treacherous bridges and tight ropes to maneuver in order to get to the next.  By the end of the hour long workout excursion we are all very tired and very sweaty.  Thank goodness they had a pool.  We had planned to spend the day either here at the pool or at another beach but this pool was just too inviting.  You can rent the cabanas for somewhere around $200/day but we wanted to be in the sun so we just got lounge chairs.  The pool was amazing!  I want a pool just like it in my backyard some day!  We ate and drank poolside, swam and people watched the interesting French people who came to enjoy Loterie Farms for the day.  This place is definitely a MUST DO on the island!  Even if you just go for lunch to their Hidden Forest Cafe for lunch.  It is beautiful!

Where to Eat
Num num num!   We ate and ate and ate on this vacation.  It is vacation after all!  When we first arrived we weren't quite sure where to go or what to do so we just went to Philipsburg and ate at the Green House.  It was good food, great service and reasonably priced.   You can park in Bobby's Marina and the Green House will comp your parking when you check out.  We actually ended up here twice since we couldn't find anywhere else open on the Philipsburg boardwalk after 5pm on a Saturday. It turns out that they only open the stores and restaurants on Fronts Street or the Boardwalk if there is a cruise.  Little did we know!

While we were out and about one day we stopped in Marigot for an ice cream or snack.  We went to Sarafina's on the Boulevard de France since they advertised outside they served fresh crepes and ice cream.  Unfortunately they did not have any ice cream but their pastry selection was amazing.  I ordered the crepes, Cooper had a few different pastries and a bowl of fruit and Will also had a few pastries.  It was delicious and refreshing after our hot hike up to Fort Louis (more below).  Sarafina's is a great place to sit on the Boulevard and have breakfast or watch the beach crowd go by.  We really enjoyed the atmosphere.

We went out to the Sint Maarten Yacht Club Bar & Restaurant in Simpson Bay to watch the USA play in the World Cup games and had a great time with the mix of locals and tourists in the bar.  I ordered the fish and chips and it was fantastic!   I hardly ever eat fried food but this was well worth the calories.  The spicy calamari appetizer was VERY spicy and we ate a lot of bread to cool off our lips!   Everything was very reasonably priced and with good food, good atmosphere and being right on the lagoon, how could you go wrong?

Sint Maarten Yacht Club bar

We ate at a few other places that were also good.  Skip Jacks had the absolute best service we have found on the island but the food was just so-so.  We had breakfast on the boardwalk in Philipsburg a few times at Holland House restaurant.  It's right on the boardwalk and one of the only places we could find for breakfast.  They do a buffet with one item from the kitchen and it was worth the money.

The best part of our vacation was being able to go out and get good, French croissants and pain au chocolate croissants for breakfast!  So yummy!  We also cooked steaks on the grill at the Villa one night but it was just as pricey to buy food at the grocery store as it was to go out so we decided to go out other nights.

I saved the best for last.....

While I was shopping on Front Street I went into Blanc du Nil and began speaking with the owner. She was very polite and friendly and gave me the recommendation to check out her husband's restaurant in Grand Case.  She also advised me that the shopping in Grand Case would be open later which was good news to hear!   His restaurant is called L'Auberge Gourmande and it was by far my absolute favorite meal that we had on the island!  We started with a champagne cocktail thanks to my friend at Blanc du Nil recommending us.  Our appetizer was a seafood medley over lobster bisque and served in a light pastry.  Very rich and creamy!   We all were fighting over each bite.  My main course:

Sautéed Chilean sea bass filet and shrimp, served with coconut sauce on a bed of sweet potatoes

It was beautifully arranged and impossible to finish all of it, although I really wanted to!  I wish I would have taken a photo!   For dessert we chose the chocolate delight, profiteroles and Cooper had the ice cream trio.  It was all amazingly fantastic.  I would highly, strongly, whole-heartedly recommend you visiting L'Auberge during your visit!  Mmm Mmm Good!

A Day in Anguilla

One of the excursions or adventures that I really wanted to do while we were in the Caribbean was to swim with the dolphins.  I have always wanted to so when we planned this vacation I made sure to save up to be able to include this activity.  Anyone who has been knows it is not a cheap adventure!   When we arrived at our villa there was a pamphlet from CoCo discount that advertised an all day visit to the island of Anguilla that included the ferry boat to and from, the dolphin encounter and an afternoon (or morning in our case) on Shoal Bay with snorkel gear and lunch.  Shoal Bay is one of the top five beaches in the world so I was just as excited to visit this prestigious beach as I was to swim with the dolphins.

When we arrived on Anguilla I was amazed at how flat the island is in comparison to the steep mountains of St Maarten.  The island is only 16 miles long and 3 miles wide - with six stop lights as we learned on our short bus tour.  Since there was already a full schedule for the morning swim we were taken straight to Shoal Bay to snorkel and swim, have lunch and then our driver Harry would be back to pick us up at 1pm.  The beach was absolutely beautiful!   Cooper made friends with a girl who was also on our day trip and they snorkeled together for quite awhile.  The water was perfectly clear so you could see all kinds of fish and a lot of the reef.  The lunch at Tropical Sunset was very basic (burgers, ribs or chicken) but it was good nonetheless.  The rum punch definitely packed a punch so I had to hand mine off to Will to finish.

After lunch we met Harry and headed back to the dolphin area.  I was disappointed that while we waited for our 2:30 swim time there weren't any refreshments offered near the waiting area.  I can understand not serving alcohol before people go off to swim with wild animals but a nice cold lemonade would have been good!   It was finally our time to go in!  

The swim we purchased was the basic encounter so it did not include swimming on their fins or letting them push you through the water on the tip of their nose.  But it turned out to be the perfect amount of time (just over an hour) and interaction with the dolphins!   We all loved it and agreed it was well worth the money.  The pictures explain it all!

Fort Louis and Fort Armstrong

Fort Louis, Marigot

We visited two different forts on the island and had fun exploring both.  Fort Louis is a must though for the scenery.  You stand on top of this peak of a mountain looking out over Marigot Bay and toward Anguilla island.  The marina sets the perfect backdrop to the cannons that are so perfectly placed in position as if they were still loaded and ready to fire.  The view is spectacular and well worth the (hot) hike up the old stairs that lead up to the Fort.

Fort Armstrong, Philipsburg

Maho Beach - where the planes land

We went to Maho Beach on our way home from Marigot, just to say that we did it.  If you've done any Internet research on St Maarten  you have surely seen the pictures of the giant 747s landing over the crowd of people on the beach.  It seemed like something we had to do and so, we did!   There were tourists hanging on to the fence trying not to be blown away by the jet stream and other standing in the sand who ended up in the beach after the plane took off.  We watched just long enough to finish our frozen cocktails and that was enough.  I wouldn't say this was a highlight of our vacation by any means but it is one of those things you just have to do (once!) while in St Maarten.  

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The don't bother and avoid at all costs section:

There really weren't too many negatives I can list about our trip to St Maarten.  From start to finish it was absolutely fantastic.  A few minor tips for anyone visiting for the first time:  Groceries are expensive so plan accordingly.  You can find cheaper meals out than you can buy and make in your villa.  The island has a lot of low-income areas so you need to be street smart.  Don't leave anything valuable in your car and lock all your valuables in your room safe at all times!   There are a lot of solicitors out for the resorts asking you to scratch a ticket to win a prize or take this coupon for a free trip.  Be careful as these are most likely scams.  Driving on the island is a necessity but it is also very stressful.  People pull out in front of you with no warning.  Traffic seemed to back-up around 5pm in the day when everyone was headed home for the night.

One place had horrible service and for that alone I will say avoid Friar's Bay Beach Cafe.  You can read my review of the place here but I would avoid this place at all costs.  Go to Friar's Bay though, it was a lot of fun!

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Thank you for reading my review of St Maarten.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment below and I will be sure to answer any questions you may have.  I strongly recommend you visit St Maarten!  It's a beautiful island with a lot to offer.  Cheers!