for all you st martin experts!

Hi everybody!

Going to st martin for the 3rd time. We havent seen much if any of the french side. We have been around st phillipsburg, sunset beach, rode the horses, and hung out at the shops at the port. We also did the regatta which was awesome.

With that being said, we'd really like to get to see the rest of the island! Havent seen the french side, dont know if there are towns or beaches of interest or places you would recomended.

Our ship is in port from 8am to 6pm. This is a carnival cruise.

Thanks!

I would suggest our friend Bernard for one of his tours. Check out his website for the options.

gary

Seems you have been where your ship docks, St. Maarten, on the Dutch side.

If you have been to Orient Beach, that's actually on the French side, St. Martin.

You might consider some sort of excursion that goes to Marigot (French Side) ... upscale shopping and great food! :)

Marigot has a fairly large flea market if that is your kind of thing. Also, they sell some wonderful spice mixes there and there is a grocery store that has fair prices. The food at the cafe near the courtyard at Marigot was delish. From there, it's a minute's walk to the West Indies Mall, a small shopping center. You can also make your way up to Fort St. Louis. The remains of Fort St.Louis overlook Marigot and its bay.

Paradise Peak, or as the locals call it, Pic Paradis, is the highest point of the island and has some stunning views. You can get hiking tours which will lead you through some beautiful nature.

As for beaches and resorts, that's someone else's to answer, since I have no interest in these things, so I know nothing about it.

We've been 3 times to St. Martin. First time we did a complete around the island tour in a van. It was nice to see the whole island, but didn't like spending so much of the day driving. The 2nd time we went to Grand Case for lunch - hands down a fantastic place to go eat, especially if you want fine french food. There are wonderful restaurants on the beach as well as Lo-Lo's (fresh food stalls by the beach) from there we took a van over to Orient beach to relax for the afternoon.

We loved that itinerary so much that we did it a 3rd time with friends. Highly recommend Restaurant Le Soleil. Fantastic food, beautiful beach side setting and something for everyone - including the kids.

We found a van driver in Philipsburg willing to drive us to all the spots and come pick us up when we were done. The whole circuit was $15 a person - Philipsburg - Grand Case - Orient Beach - back to the pier. Some drivers didn't want to take us on this itinerary, but I found someone by approaching the LAST taxi in a long line of taxis waiting to pick up passengers on the main street in Philipsburg.

We've been 3 times to St. Martin. First time we did a complete around the island tour in a van. It was nice to see the whole island, but didn't like spending so much of the day driving. The 2nd time we went to Grand Case for lunch - hands down a fantastic place to go eat, especially if you want fine french food. There are wonderful restaurants on the beach as well as Lo-Lo's (fresh food stalls by the beach) from there we took a van over to Orient beach to relax for the afternoon.

 

We loved that itinerary so much that we did it a 3rd time with friends. Highly recommend Restaurant Le Soleil. Fantastic food, beautiful beach side setting and something for everyone - including the kids.

 

We found a van driver in Philipsburg willing to drive us to all the spots and come pick us up when we were done. The whole circuit was $15 a person - Philipsburg - Grand Case - Orient Beach - back to the pier. Some drivers didn't want to take us on this itinerary, but I found someone by approaching the LAST taxi in a long line of taxis waiting to pick up passengers on the main street in Philipsburg.

Le Soleil is my favourite restaurant for lunch on the island. Not only is the food great the view is second to none in my opinion. We went twice while on vacation last week. I miss it already. :)

Thanks for all he replies!