Shared between the French and the
Dutch since the mid-seventeenth
century, the tiny island of
St
Martin/St Maarten is one of the
most touristed islands in this part
of the Caribbean and a huge
duty-free shopping area. Opinions
about the island are as divided as
the island itself. Ask the streams
of repeat visitors, and they'll tell
you that this tiny island is
paradise on earth, with fabulous
beaches and every type of tourist
facility imaginable. Ask others, and
you may hear how rapid and barely
controlled development has turned a
once-beautiful place into "a
graceless monument to vulgarian
greed", as one disgruntled
writer put it.
The truth lies somewhere in
between. The island does boast some
of the finest beaches in the Eastern
Caribbean, particularly at Orient
Beach on the French side, as
well as some stunning scenery, most
notably in the interior around Pic
Paradis , and many excellent
restaurants and hotels on both sides
of the border. On the other hand,
the hunt for the tourist dollar can
feel unrelenting and, at times, it
is hard to discern the real country
under the veneer of concrete
development, souvenir shops and the
waves of tourists (all particularly
acute on the Dutch side in the
capital Philipsburg).
If all you want to do is lie on
the beach and play in the sea, both
St Martin and St Maarten are not bad
options. Travelling between the
French and Dutch sides (as many
visitors do) is hassle-free, since
the border is marked only in one
spot (by a small obelisk) and there
are no border crossing
formalities . Ultimately, if the
crowds get too much for you, bear in
mind that it's a very short flight
or ferry ride to some of the
quietest and most undeveloped
islands in the entire Caribbean -
particularly delightful are Saba and
St Eustatius.
As in much of the Caribbean, the
island is a year-round destination;
however, the best time to visit is
between mid-December and mid-April
when rainfall is low and the heat is
tempered by cooling trade winds.
