Hi all,

My husband and I are heading to the island at the end of August for a much needed get-away. It's our first long vacation away, alone, since before we had kids in 1999. We are staying at Little Divi Bay in a Studio for the week. Anyone have any input on this place?

The only definite things we have planned right now is that my hubby is doing the 12 Metre Challenge on the yachts, and we'd like to do a day trip to Anguilla.

What would you consider things we should definitely not miss? Restaurants? Beaches? Etc? I appreciate any and all input and advice. We definitely don't want to have every minute planned as we are looking to just chill for the most part, but I would love to hit the yummiest places to eat and not waste our time & money on bad ones. Thanks so much!!

Be sure to have at least one dinner in Grand Case, and spend some time on Orient Beach. Both are unique to St. Martin. The 12-metre challenge is definitely a good choice.

there are so many good restaurants, its hard to tell you which ones to go to. maybe you can give us an idea of what your food preferences are, your budget, etc
But since you are staying at Divi, I would recommend Antoine's in Philipsburg.
its a wonderful french restaurant.
[www.antoinerestaurant.com]

I hope you are planning to rent car..that way you can go to any beach or restaurant you want whenever you want.
the 12 metre yacht and Anguilla are 2 highlights so you are off to a good start

other fun things to do: the open air market in Marigot on Wednesday morning

Loterie Farm: eat at the restaurant. do the zip line
[www.loteriefarm.net]

this is supposed to be fun too.
[www.seatrekstmaarten.com]

Enjoy!

[barcann.livejournal.com]

Another unique experience only on SXM is to visit one of the bars located on each side of the airport runway and experience a big jet landing or taking off only a hundred feet or less from you. Unfortunately there aren't many of the mega yachts in SXM when you're here, but standing at the drawbridge or at the bar next to the channel when they pass thorough is also impressive.

Anguilla is something you would really enjoy. We take the ferry over and usually hire a taxi to take us to Shoal Bay, although there are many beautiful beaches. If you are brave and want to drive on the left then rent a car. We visit SXM for 2 weeks and usually go to Anguilla at least twice. There are so many wonderful restaurants on SXM. Have a great vacation!

See a busy beach (Orient, ...)
See a quiet beach (Baie Longue, ...)
Have lunch on a beach (Chez Raymond on Rouge Beach or Karakters on Simpson Bay, ..)
Get take-out and have supper on a blanket at the resort beach
Spend time on this board, people here are friendly and helpfull ;-)

Bruce, the perfect answer to the question!

Thanks for all the great tips!! Orient Beach is definitely on our list of things to see. Have heard it's quite a site.

We are renting a car for the whole week, so getting around won't be a problem. Although I've heard parking can be quite a challenge. Keep the great ideas coming!! I think I'm going to love this board!

You won't have any problems parking in August. It's low season and there are no where near as many tourists there as, say, February.

That's great news!! Sounds like we are picking a great time to go then.

Since people are offering opinions I would try Saba as a once in a life time experience. The flight or boat over and the arrival is interesting all by itself and the unspoiled beauty of this place and these people is a total different island experience then going to a island nad just plunking down on a beach but its still worth seeing and exploirng.