Cold winter weather is enough to make anybody wish they were a bird that could just fly south. These days, of course, you can do just that. If you want to shed the coat and the thermal underwear for a bit, a great option is to hop on a plane and fly to St Maarten for a Caribbean getaway.
The country has the very Dutch name of Sint Maarten. This is not surprising, since it's a Dutch constituent country. It shares the island of Saint Martin with France and lies east of Puerto Rico and the US and British Virgin Islands.
Sint Maarten's capital is Philipsburg, which is also the largest settlement on the island in its entirety. Philipsburg is renowned as a shopper's paradise and is a popular port for cruise ships. It lies along Great Bay and is backed by the Great Salt Pond, so the town itself has a long, narrow lay-out. Apart from the shops, restaurants and beaches here, you'll also find museums and historic sights such as Fort Willem.
It's very easy to get to the French side of the island as well. The capital of Saint-Martin is Marigot on the west coast. In the north, at Grand Case, you'll find the best places to eat, with a huge array of gourmet restaurants.
The point of a Caribbean vacation is to spend time at the beach. Saint Martin Island has plenty of great beaches to choose from and you'll also find a great array of water sports, including snorkeling and diving, surfing and sailing. For the thrill of a lifetime, make the twenty-minute drive west to Maho Beach. Here, airplanes coming in to land at Princess Juliana International Airport fly over the beach at such low altitudes that your friends will think you've used photo-editing software to create the amazing photos of you with a Boeing just above your head.
While many of the activities on offer on Saint Martin Island are centered in or on the water, you'll find plenty to do on those days when you want to stay dry as well. Go for a hike or a ride on horseback, try a canopy tour, play golf or tennis or, for something different, wage a paintball war. On the French side there is a popular butterfly farm while on the northern shores of the Great Salt Pond you'll find Sint Maarten Zoo.
The northern winter means that in Sint Maarten, nights are a little cooler. However, this is the perfect time to visit since it's dry season and days are sunny and warm. Low season, which generally lasts from around May to December, is a good time too because even though this is the rainy season, the rain comes mainly in the form of quick, refreshing showers that are over in minutes.
You can visit during a shore excursion while on a Caribbean cruise. However, to really enjoy Sint Maarten, you'll need to spend some more time here. Fly in from Amsterdam, Paris or several destinations in the USA, Canada, the Caribbean or Panama and be ready to swap your winter clothes for swimwear and that cup of hot cocoa for tropical punch.
The country has the very Dutch name of Sint Maarten. This is not surprising, since it's a Dutch constituent country. It shares the island of Saint Martin with France and lies east of Puerto Rico and the US and British Virgin Islands.
Sint Maarten's capital is Philipsburg, which is also the largest settlement on the island in its entirety. Philipsburg is renowned as a shopper's paradise and is a popular port for cruise ships. It lies along Great Bay and is backed by the Great Salt Pond, so the town itself has a long, narrow lay-out. Apart from the shops, restaurants and beaches here, you'll also find museums and historic sights such as Fort Willem.
It's very easy to get to the French side of the island as well. The capital of Saint-Martin is Marigot on the west coast. In the north, at Grand Case, you'll find the best places to eat, with a huge array of gourmet restaurants.
The point of a Caribbean vacation is to spend time at the beach. Saint Martin Island has plenty of great beaches to choose from and you'll also find a great array of water sports, including snorkeling and diving, surfing and sailing. For the thrill of a lifetime, make the twenty-minute drive west to Maho Beach. Here, airplanes coming in to land at Princess Juliana International Airport fly over the beach at such low altitudes that your friends will think you've used photo-editing software to create the amazing photos of you with a Boeing just above your head.
While many of the activities on offer on Saint Martin Island are centered in or on the water, you'll find plenty to do on those days when you want to stay dry as well. Go for a hike or a ride on horseback, try a canopy tour, play golf or tennis or, for something different, wage a paintball war. On the French side there is a popular butterfly farm while on the northern shores of the Great Salt Pond you'll find Sint Maarten Zoo.
The northern winter means that in Sint Maarten, nights are a little cooler. However, this is the perfect time to visit since it's dry season and days are sunny and warm. Low season, which generally lasts from around May to December, is a good time too because even though this is the rainy season, the rain comes mainly in the form of quick, refreshing showers that are over in minutes.
You can visit during a shore excursion while on a Caribbean cruise. However, to really enjoy Sint Maarten, you'll need to spend some more time here. Fly in from Amsterdam, Paris or several destinations in the USA, Canada, the Caribbean or Panama and be ready to swap your winter clothes for swimwear and that cup of hot cocoa for tropical punch.
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