We are taking our 6 month old child to St. Martin (Grand Case Beach Club) in April. Just wanted a few suggestions / advice on what to bring to the island for an infant:

* Stroller? Car seat? We are getting a rental car
* Infant tent for the beach? Or is beach umbrella fine?
* Are the restaurants baby friendly?
* Our hotel offers baby sitting service. Is this safe to leave your child with them?
* Any particular beaches / places to avoid with an infant?
* Any other suggestions / info that would be helpful.

Thanks

You need the stroller, carseat and the tent. The restaurants were pretty baby friendly. I can't answer about the baby sitting. Mullet Bay, under the trees is a good spot for the baby and the tent, but the water is usually too rough. If you want to take the baby into the water, le Galleon Beach is pretty calm as well as Orient Beach. The sun is pretty intense so keep the baby covered and cool. Have fun!

the dude Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We are taking our 6 month old child to St. Martin
> (Grand Case Beach Club) in April. Just wanted a
> few suggestions / advice on what to bring to the
> island for an infant:
>
> * Stroller? Car seat? We are getting a rental
> car
> * Infant tent for the beach? Or is beach umbrella
> fine?
> * Are the restaurants baby friendly?
> * Our hotel offers baby sitting service. Is this
> safe to leave your child with them?
> * Any particular beaches / places to avoid with an
> infant?
> * Any other suggestions / info that would be
> helpful.
>
> Thanks

Hey, dude,

I think you've pretty much got it covered. I think my daughter just rented an extra umbrella for the baby when he was younger and put the pack and play under it. Again, I could be mistaken, but I'm thinking car seats are mandatory just like at home, so yes, you will need to bring that, too, or make arrangements to rent one there.

Regarding the baby-sitter, wow!! I would always have a hard time with leaving an infant with a stranger, regardless of how well recommended they came but that's just me and I know the world is full of people who have no problems with this.

You can get virtually anything and everything you need for baby on the island so you don't have to drag a lot of stuff with you as long as you cover your needs for the first day or so.

And as for beaches, LeGalleon is known as "baby beach" and the beaches in Grand Case right at your hotel are pretty calm as a rule.

I commend you for making the extra effort and taking your child along. Believe it or not, this is probably the easiest of ages to do this as you'll find out over the next few years.

Have a wonderful trip.

Respectfully,

pat
:-) :-)

Not sure how many people are traveling with you, but remember you are allowed 2 pieces of checked baggage per ticketed passenger. If it's just the two of you plus the baby who's a lap child, that only means 4 pieces. The airlines count pack n plays, strollers, etc. So keep that in mind. You may want to check with the airline what the additional cost would be for extra items.

Funny you bring up baby sitting services. Our hotel (GCBC) offers it, but i am not sure how safe it is. We really just want a sitter for the evenings for 2 hours or so while we go to dinner after she goes to bed.