St. Martin - Caribbean Island

St. Martin

St Martin is all things to all people. In many ways, this is the perfect vacation spot. You can be quiet or crazy, you can dance or sleep and all the while you will love this glorious island. Somehow, its dual Dutch and French government has ensured that there is a perfect mixture of everything that you need for the perfect villa vacation. There are many beautiful beaches on both sides of the island. Most Americans will choose the Dutch side because English is more prevalent. After that, it is you who must decide whether you want to be right on Simpson’s Bay beach or in the amazing quiet of the Dawn Beach estates where the pelicans fly overhead to the swish of the waves.

St Martin Weather

St Martin stays in pretty much the same temperature range of around 75 to 90 throughout the year, averaging approximately 80. There can be fairly high humidity levels in the summer months but this can usually be comfortably offset by the sea breezes and air conditioning in bedrooms. The hurricane season is from June to November with the highest probability in September and October when ocean water temperatures are warmest.

St Martin Best Villa Service

We want to help you with anything at all that will make sure that you have the best possible villa vacation. Please ask us for anything that you need. We promise to deal with any request and every question. We know and love St Martin and will help you in every way.

Travel to St Martin

St Martin Air Travel

You can book your travel to St Martin through our site
http://www.cvoa.com/book_flights.php

You may use the link above as a research tool and after having found the best price and itinerary, then book directly on that airline.

St Martin Time Zone

St Martin is on Atlantic Standard time, which is GMT less 4 hours. During the winter St Martin is an hour ahead of US EST and during the summer St Martin time is the same as US EST.

St Martin Entry Requirements

American, Canadian and European citizens require a valid passport and a return or outbound air ticket.

St Martin Airports

There are two airports, one on the Dutch side (SXM) Queen Juliana International, where most international visitors will arrive. There is another on the French side (SFG), L’Esperance, which only accommodates small aircraft


St Martin Ferries

There are ferries, all departing and arriving from Marigot, on the French side serving Anguilla (frequently daily $20), St Barths (daily $57), and Saba (weekly Thursday $57).

St Martin Car Rental

For almost all of our St Martin villas and condos, it will be necessary to rent a car. You will have more fun when you are able to explore the island on your own.

We will be happy to help you arrange your car rental and airport transfers by taxi if you would prefer.

St Martin Arrival, Meet and Greet

Your CVOA villa rental includes a free meet and greet. We will meet you either at the airport or the car rental office when you arrive and our rep will accompany you in a different vehicle to check you into your villa. CVOA clients will need to rent a car or take a taxi to go to their villa.

St Martin Villa Food Provisioning

Food provisioning service for all villas is available. Please make sure that your requirements are spelled out when sending us your CVOA Travel Details Request form. You will receive this about two months before your vacation.

St Martin Beaches

There are amazing beaches on both the French and Dutch sides of St Martin
French beaches are topless and on some parts of Orient Beach, even completely nude. Other great beaches on the French side are Baie Rouge, Plum Bay, Baie Longue and Grand Case.

Some super Dutch beaches are Dawn Beach, Cupecoy, Maho and Simpsons Bay Beach.

St Martin Restaurants

There are many restaurants in St Martin. One of the best reasons for choosing St Martin for your Caribbean villa vacation is the great food in restaurants or that you can purchase in the really good supermarkets and specialty food stores.

Here is a small selection of restaurants but feel free to make your own choices as you would at home. Choose the busy places and the atmosphere that you like.

Dutch side
Dawn Beach – Busby’s Beach Bar (local and casual on the sand)
Maho – La Rose Too (Italian) dinner only
Maho Beach very close to the airport – Sunset Beach Bar (simple and fun)
Le Grand Marche - Mark’s Place (Creole)
Simpsons Bay Yacht Club – Saratoga (creative)
Simpsons Bay Beach – Lee’s (local fish)
Simpsons Bay – Le Piccolo (new French)
Simpson Bay – Wajang Doll (Indonesian)
Phillipsburg – Shiv Sagar (Indian)

French side
Marigot marina – La Petite Auberge des Isles (French casual)
Grand Case – Le Cottage (French)
Grand Case – Bistrot Caraibes (French)
Grand Case – L’Alabama (French)
Grand Case – Il Nettuno (Italian)

St Martin Food and Wine Shopping

There is really amazing supermarket shopping in St Martin with the best food and wines from the USA, Europe and the Caribbean. A notable suggestion in Marigot, French side and Phillipsburg, Dutch side is Le Grand Marche. There is also Sangs in Phillipsburg. Once again, you should try what you fancy yourselves. One small French food store that we love is among the few stores at Orient Beach where you can get French salami and croissants au chocolat as well as good and reasonable French wine.

St Martin Shopping

Phillipsburg on the Dutch side has many mostly small duty free stores with tax free prices.

St Martin Casinos

There are several casinos on the Dutch side of St Martin offering most casino games for happy gamblers both serious and not.

St Martin Attractions

Apart from the food, the beaches and the shopping, the Butterfly Farm is probably the best liked thing to do on St Martin.

St Martin Water Sports

There are water sports of every kind you can imagine, including boating both large and small, fishing of all kinds, diving both scuba and snorkeling and even Para-sailing.

St Martin Money, Credit Cards and Banks

Most visitors will not need to go to the bank, but there are several if you should need them with convenient ATMs. There are also some ATMs in grocery stores and shopping areas.

Visa and MasterCard are accepted almost everywhere. American Express in some places. Do not forget to let your credit card company know in advance that you will be traveling overseas as otherwise you will find that your card will be blocked for security reasons. Some businesses charge a small service fee for accepting credit card charges.

Cash – US Dollars are accepted everywhere. Local currency on the French side is the Euro and the rate varies from day to day as of June 14 2009, the rate is approx. US $1.40 to the Euro. On the Dutch side it is the Dutch Guilder and currently it is at US $1.57 to the Guilder.

St Martin Airport Departure Tax

Some airlines do not include the St Martin departure tax in the price of the ticket. Check to see if your ticket includes this. If not, on departure you will be required to pay $30 for an international flight or $10 to Saba, St Eustatius, Bonaire or Curacao.

St Martin Dress Code

The dress code is casual and is typically shorts, tee shirts and summer dresses. There is no requirement for jackets or ties anywhere. Bathing suits are only for the beach.

St Martin Water

You can drink the tap water, which is either rain water or desalinated sea water.

St Martin Electricity

On the Dutch side, Electricity Voltage is the same as the US 110 volts. On the French side, it is a mixture of European 220 volts or US 110 volts. Check in advance to see that your villa accommodates your laptop computer or anything else that you need to bring with you. You can purchase transformers in several places on St Martin.

St Martin Languages

English is spoken almost everywhere. You will also hear French, Dutch, Creole and other languages on St Martin.

St Martin Religion

There are houses of worship available for almost every religion on St Martin

St Martin Restaurant Tipping

Tipping on the French side is not necessary as it is included in your bill. You may add a little extra for excellent service. On the Dutch side tipping is optional.

Emergency Phone Numbers

Dutch side Ambulance 599 542 2111
Dutch side Police Emergency 599 542 2222
French side Ambulance 590 87 86 25
French side Police Emergency 590 87 88 33