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Travel Tips from the Hip - 20 Years of Caribbean Travel Experience

March 12, 2008

Traveling the Caribbean has changed in the past 20 years: mostly for the better sometimes for the worse!

Unorthodox…maybe. But here you have it. After some twenty odd years of traveling the Caribbean and commuting between St.Maarten and Florida, I have put some tips together that don’t deal with whether to use 15 or 45 block on your body, or avoiding the heat of the day in the sun. Those tips you can find anywhere. Even biased tips on where the shopping is better or where to go for nightlife, you won’t find here. Plain and simple, these are tips that will enhance your Saint Martin and St.Maarten experience.

  • Tip 1: If you plan to travel by rental car, find out when the Drawbridge in Simpson opens and stay away from the area. Traffic resembles a parking lot full of trigger happy Californians. Should you get caught in one of those bumper-to-bumper daily rituals, get off the road as soon as you can and watch the madness from a cool sidewalk café, sipping on your preferred poison. People watching is one of the favorite things to do on the island anyway.
  • Tip 2: If your driving abilities on wide open highways leave a lot of cursing people in your wake, don’t rent a car. Grab a cab, use public transportation or go to the beach. Traffic on the island has become increasingly nerve wrecking over the past 10 years or so.
  • Tip 3: Depending on what the reason was for you to book a St.Maarten vacation, timing is everything.
    • Shopping is best on off cruise ship days, usually Mondays and Saturdays.
    • Obviously those are also the best days to do some sightseeing. The chance that you don’t get caught behind a crowd moving touring bus that stops every two hundred yards or so to give “photo opportunities”.
    • If you’re a roving photographer or videographer, understand that light works differently in the tropics. Just because you flash your little Minolta into the sun, to capture that beautiful vista or your loved-ones-on vacation, doesn’t mean you’re going to get an award winning shot. Remember, keep the sun mostly on your backside, and if you absolutely have to take a picture in the sun’s direction, find an elevated position and shoot down. Of course, standard equipment such as Polaroid filters could work as well.
  • Tip 4: Don’t move into dark areas at night (where you shouldn’t be in the first place) and get sollicited by individuals with illegal substances. If you absolutely have to have some ask your favorite bartender and get pointed in the right direction. Much safer that way.
  • Tip 5: Move around light. Debit and Credit cards are accepted everywhere, there are plenty of ATM machines that don’t charge an arm and a leg…so no need to carry heavy pocket books, wallets or anything of that nature. You can find any type of magnificent jewelry in the island’s plentiful jewelry shops. No need to show yours off, unless you go to a splendid dinner restaurant or a special occasion.
  • Tip 6: Power on the Dutch side of the island is same as US (110V), but the French side offers 220V, just in case you need to bring some accessories you absolutely need to make your vacation pleasurable.
  • Tip 7: If you stay on the French side, make sure you bring some Euros, because you never know what rate exchange is going to raise your blood pressure when you get back home and get that credit card bill. The whole island accepts dollars, but the Dutch side has a fixed excange of Naf 1.80 to the dollar. So if you are shopping for groceries and you see something priced at 5.40, don’t get a heart attack. It’s “only” 3 dollars.
    Sure, the island is a bit more expensive than what you’re used to, but that’s normal if we want to give you what you’re used to and have to fly it in. After all we don’t want you to be without. The silver lining however is that Alcohol and tobacco is much much cheaper. So grab a good bottle of rum and a Cuban stoogie and enjoy the sunset. This kind of happy hour can only be experienced on the friendly island.
  • Tip 8: Montezuma’s revenge is something of the long forgotten past. Today you can safely drink the water. I’ve been doing it for many many years.

Here are some Trips worthwhile:
A trip to Isle Pinel/Watch the Naturists on Orient Beach/Dinner at The Village in Orient Beach, nothing gets closer to being in Southern France/enjoy the Tropical Forest at Loterie Farms/Shop the West Indies Mall/go to Sunset Beach watching the airplanes/The Boardwalk in Philipsburg on a Friday night/The Market in Marigot on Saturday morning/A daysail on any of the magnificent catamarans or racing on one of the America’s Cup yachts/ A Tuesday night with Blues Inc at Pineapple Pete’s/ Turning your radio dial to 91.9FM and hear Bogart’s Fresh Air in the Morning/Spend a Sunday afternoon with the amazing mix of locals on Le Galion or Mullet Bay beach/Climb Paradise Peak, the island’s 1,400 ft highest point/Stroll leisurely through the fishing village turned Gourmet Capital of Grand Case, especially in season on a Tuesday night (Harmony Nights starting early February).

Okay that should be enough for a well rounded, funfilled trip.

Written by admin · Filed Under Travel Tips 

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