CVOA has the widest selection of St Martin villas

St Martin Villas by CVOA offer the best of both worlds - French and Dutch - luxurious and inexpensive - happening and peaceful - fantastic food both European and West Indian. St Martin villa rental properties are a wonderful choice for the villa vacation of a lifetime.

St. Martin is one of the most popular Caribbean destinations with something for everyone. Come rest or play on one of the 36 beaches St. Martin boasts and you will discover why. Each has its own unique atmosphere appealing to families, naturalists, those looking for a romantic outing or water sports enthusiasts (diving, snorkeling, surfing, etc.). Land activities are plentiful including hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking or zip-lining through the forest. Adults and children both will enjoy a visit to the Butterfly Farm, the zoo and the botanical gardens. St. Martin offers a plethora of duty-free shopping opportunities on both sides of the island. The nightlife on St. Martin is lively with casinos, clubs and discos on the Dutch side and fine French cuisine and live entertainment on the French side.

Let yourself experience all St. Martin has to offer. Choose CVOA for the greatest selection of villas in St Martin, most have private pools and daily maid service for a completely relaxing visit.

St. Martin has everything that you could hope for to enjoy a Caribbean dream vacation. Wonderful weather, friendly people, incredible views and fantastic beaches. It has an incredible advantage with its European flair as it is separately part of the Dutch and the French Antilles. There is no physical boundary, but one can enjoy this amazing mix of West Indian, French and Dutch flavors in the entire fabric of life. It is almost the perfect place for everyone. There are quiet places and busy places. Places where you can sleep all day and places where you can dance all night. There are many beaches and many restaurants. The blue seas of the Caribbean and Atlantic Oceans are never out of sight. There is shopping and even a casino if you like that kind of thing. Try St Martin. For myself, I always go back.

St. Martin (French: Saint-Martin; Dutch: Sint Maarten) is a tropical island in the northeast Caribbean, located about 150 miles (240 km) east of Puerto Rico. St. Martin is the smallest inhabited sea island divided between two nations; its 37 square miles is divided roughly in half between France and the Netherlands.

• The northern French half is a dependency of France and comprises the de Saint-Martin or Collectivity of Saint Martin.
• The southern Dutch half is part of the Netherlands Antilles and makes up the Eilandgebied Sint Maarten or Island area of Saint Martin.

The two territories are known as "St.-Martin/St. Maarten" collectively. SXM, the IATA identifier for Princess Juliana International Airport (the island's main airport), is sometimes used to refer to the island.

Neither of the two halves of Saint Martin have separate territory codes; they are coded as GP (Guadeloupe) and NA (Netherlands Antilles). It is possible that both halves of Saint Martin will have a territory code of their own in the near future since the status of the French side changed to a overseas collectivity in 2007 and in 2008 the status of the Dutch side will change to a country within the kingdom of the Netherlands.

According to legend, during his second voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus sighted and possibly anchored at the island of Saint Martin on November 11, 1493, the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours. Columbus named the island San Martin in his honor. This name was translated into French and English as Saint Martin and into Dutch as Sint Maarten.

St. Martin was populated by Carib Amerindians when Columbus sailed these seas. The Arawaks, the first to settle the island, had been supplanted by the warlike Caribs. These came from the North coast of South America shortly before the Spaniards arrival who followed in Columbus' trail. The English word cannibal originates from an Arawak word which referred to the Caribs. The Arawaks social organization was headed by hereditary chieftains who derived their power from zemis or personal deities. They were a comparatively cultured, agricultural tribe who shaped pottery. The Caribs though, were a more aggressive society who concentrated on warfare. These killed and allegedly ate the Arawak men, then "married" the captive Arawak women.

It wasn’t until the mid-17th century that the Caribs' territory was completely conquered when most of them died in the struggle for dominance of the West Indies between the Danes, Dutch, English, French and Spanish. In the 1620s the Dutch first began to work St. Martin’s ponds for salt. The Spaniards recaptured St. Martin in 1633 despite the Dutch presence on the island. One year later, to assert their claim and control access to Great bay salt pond, they built another artillery battery at Pointe Blanche and a fort, now Ft. Amsterdam. The first African slaves were introduced to the area by the Spaniards in the 16th century. However, the majority of African slaves arrived in the 18th century with the development of sugarcane plantations by the French protestants and some Dutch Jews. Although slavery was abolished in 1848, the British imported Chinese and East Indians to take the place of slaves. Hence, the population of St. Martin and the other islands is a mixture of African, Amerindian, Asian, European and Indian peoples. Consequently, West Indian cultures like St. Martin are remarkably varied and rich.

Tourism and Culture

The Dutch side, Sint Maarten, is popular for its beaches, festive nightlife and plentiful casinos. Saint-Martin, the French side, is known more for its clothes, jewelry, nude beaches, rich French and Indian Caribbean cuisine, shopping and exotic drinks made with native rum-based guava berry liquors.

Supporting St. Martin’s primary source of revenue, tourism, are many major airlines carrying tourists to the island from across the world on a daily basis by way of large jets, including Airbus A340s and Boeing 747s. Grand Case Airport serves the French side of the island at Grand Case. In November 2006, Princess Juliana International Airport opened a major new terminal. It serves as the island’s major airport and is famous for its short landing strip barely enough for heavy jets to land on using only 7,000 ft/2,130 meters of runway. Planes approach the island flying 30-60 ft/10­20 meters over the beach as a result of this. Photos of jets flying over tourists relaxing at the beach are often rejected as phony, but are truly showing real landings.

The island boasts many world-class hotel accommodations with some properties offering over 200 rooms and others with less than twenty. Privately owned villas and timeshares are available for rent or sale. Many are located directly on beaches, some boasting private beaches and other located in upscale shopping districts.

The major form of transportation for travelers visiting St. Martin are rental cars, with several well-known agencies serving the island. A 4-wheel drive vehicle is recommended if any off-road driving is expected, such as to some of the more secluded beaches. Long traffic jams have become a major problem on the island, being especially common between Marigot, Philipsburg and the airport.

In the late summer and early fall, St. Martin is sometimes bothered by tropical storm activity due to the island’s location along the intertropical convergence zone. During this time visitors should track the local weather.

St. Martin is well known for its hundreds of restaurants offering diners gourmet and more moderately priced meals on both sides of the island.

Anguilla (British), Saint-Barthélemy (French), Saba (Dutch), Saint Kitts and Nevis (Independent, formerly British) and Sint Eustatius "Statia" (Dutch) are included among St. Maarten‘s neighboring islands. On a clear day, all of these are plainly visible from St. Maarten, with the exception of Nevis.

Shopping

Sint Maarten and Saint Martin have a well-earned reputation as a "shopper's paradise", offering high quality duty-free goods in many boutiques. Favorite items include exotic foods, jewelry, leather goods, local arts & crafts, liquor, tobacco and most designer goods. The island has become more of a relaxing and shopping destination because goods are free of all taxes and customs. Designer goods are usually offered at bargain prices, often up to 40% less than retail prices in the United States.