Your Caribbean Dream Vacation: St. Martin

If you are heading for St. Martin for the first time, let me assure you - you will have a great time. If you are going back, I trust you already know that and are heading back for more enjoyment.

If you aren't really sure, St. Martin is the French side of the island of St. Maarten (the Dutch side), located in the Dutch West Indies in the Caribbean and about a 4 hour plane ride from Boston. Each side is distinct in terms of culture, language (everyone speaks English but you will find lots of French spoken on the French side), hotels, restaurants, currency (dollars are accepted on either side but you can use Euros on the French side (not sure about St. Maarten since I have not spent any real time there). You will fly into the airport in Philipsburg, St. Maarten, but getting to the French side is a snap - tour bus, rented car, etc.

I assume you have made your hotel reservations already, but just a quick word there. Orient Bay (Beach) is probably the most popular area to stay in and there are many hotels to choose from in a broad range of prices and types of accommodations (Esmeralda, L'Hoste, Palm Court, Cap Caraibes, to name only few). Nearby Grand Case (more on that later) also offers a range of hotels on or near the beach. You can rent villas up in the hills (none are directly on the beach to my knowledge) above Orient Bay as well. This area is growing and each year there are new restaurants and hotels to consider.