St Maarten & St. Martin - A tale of two capitals
One small island divided into two and peacefully co-existing for hundreds of years, means that visitors can get a feel for the Dutch and French Caribbean on one holiday, simply by crossing the road.
Rumour has it that the island borders were determined by a walking race around the island by a Dutchman and a Frenchman. Whatever the truth, the two sides are quite different in terms of characteristics, customs and laws. Lively St Maarten is a riot of colour with plenty of duty-free shops, restaurants, casinos and nightclubs, especially in the capital Philipsburg. The Dutch Caribbean mix is a fascinating blend of cultures and is reflected in the food, music and dance. St Martin is very French and very chic. Although it has plenty of duty-free shops, evenings tend to be more sedate with long, relaxed dinners at one of the huge choice of gourmet restaurants, either in the capital Marigot or charming Grand Case.
St Maarten
St Maarten is the smaller, Dutch part of a beautiful and lively Caribbean. It’s the world’s smallest island on which two separate nations, with two very different characters and sets of laws and customs, co-exist on either side of a border marked only by welcome signs.
The Dutch section of the island – only 17 square miles (44 sq km), of which five lay under the waters of lagoons and salt ponds – has become one of the Caribbean’s most popular vacation and shopping destinations.
Not only can visitors hop across the invisible border to get a taste of French Caribbean life – although the excellent cuisine in St Maarten is cosmopolitan – they can also enjoy the advantages of shopping in one of the world’s few completely tax-free ports.
In Philipsburg, the capital, there are more than 500 stores in pastel-coloured, clapboard Dutch-style buildings selling luxury goods at 25 to 50 per cent below normal prices. Goods to the value of US$600 can be taken home duty-free from St Maarten by American citizens, many of whom arrive in Caribbean cruise ships putting in for one-day shopping trips. For truly local shopping with a Caribbean flavour, do not miss Philipsburg’s Saturday market.
Children will enjoy St Maarten’s zoo, where they’ll see ocelot wildcats, bat caves, marmosets, owls and capybara -– which look like giant hamsters. Grown-ups in search of a turn at the tables can try their luck at the 12 casinos in Dutch St Maarten – there are none on the French side – or sample the island’s lively nightclubs.
The island’s fascinating history – although owned by the Netherlands and France since 1648 it has also been occupied by Spain and Britain – can be glimpsed in Philipsburg’s museum and at the ruins of colonial forts, one of which, at Great Bay Harbour, was the first military base built by the Dutch in the Caribbean.
For rest and relaxation after shopping expeditions, sightseeing trips and nights on the town, there are superb beaches offering safe swimming, the full range of watersports from surfing and scuba diving to parasailing and jet-skiing and fine ocean-side restaurants.
The sporting highlight of St Maarten’s year is the Heineken Regatta – in March – which draws yacht crews from across the world and which provides an excuse for parties and steel bands shows on both the Dutch and French sides of the island. Why not accept the year-round 12-Metre Challenge, which lets sailors, even those without any sailing experience, join the crew of the Americas Cup yacht Stars and Stripes?
The annual carnival, after Easter, is an extravaganza of calypso competitions, costume and dance, as is the official holiday celebration marking Queen Juliana’s birthday on April 30. If that isn’t enough partying, islanders and visitors can pop across the border to the French side to enjoy the festivities on Bastille Day – June 14. Another advantage of the one-island, two-nation tropical resort.
St. Martin
St Martin is 21 square miles (54 sq km) of French territory with a strikingly French way of life. The currency, the language, the goods in the shops, the escargot and frog legs in the restaurants and the pastries and breads in the bakeries, the cars, the fashions and the sheer style – it’s all unashamedly French, with the added Caribbean attraction of superb beaches on which to spend the hot, sunny days.
And because it is French you will not be surprised to find a strong emphasis on dining. St Martin has more than 350 restaurants. At the centre of a spectacular bay is the small capital town of Marigot, where there are 50 restaurants and as many shops where visitors can take advantage of the town's tax-free port status. You can save 25-50 per cent on American prices when you buy perfume, china, crystal, jewellery and European clothes. Every Wednesday and Saturday there are festive open markets with stalls selling tropical products, fruits, vegetables, fish, spices and local art and crafts.
There are other settlements to explore and enjoy. Grand Case, known as the dining capital of the Caribbean, has the greatest concentration of restaurants, including French, Italian, Vietnamese and Caribbean. Away from the busy towns, visitors will find a wide choice of breathtakingly beautiful beaches and bays, some of them popular and lively, others quiet and secluded. Some can be reached only by boat.
Entertainment comes in the form of organised parties at some of the larger resorts and discos at some of the restaurants, but mostly you’ll find music – in the shape of reggae bands and piano players – in the bars and bistros;
Scuba divers, sea anglers, sailors, surfers and hikers are all catered for, although gamblers are not. There are no casinos in French St Martin but that’s not a problem – if you want a turn at the tables, take the short trip, in courtesy cars provided by the hotels, to the Dutch part of the island, which has 12 of them. Vive la différence!
