Saint Martin
Travel Guide > Caribbean > Saint Martin
In this Article
- Introduction
- Brief History
- Geography
- Regions
- Cities
- Sights and Activities
- Events and Festivals
- Weather
- Getting There
- Getting Around
- Red Tape
- Money
- Work
- Study
- Language
- Eat
- Sleep
- Drink
- Health
- Safety
- Keep Connected
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Introduction
Saint Martin is an overseas collectivity of France on the island of the same name in the Caribbean. The island is popular among tourists, especially French, which can be explained by the availability of direct flights from France.
Brief History
Geography
The French overseas collectivity of Saint Martin occupies the northern half of the island. The southern half, Sint Maarten, is part of the Netherlands Antilles.
Regions
Sights and Activities
Ilet Pinel
Ilet Pinel is completely undeveloped and falls under the the national forest system. It is on of the most visited offshore islands of Saint Martin and mainly daytrippers come here, because there are no opportunities to spend more time here. Ilet Pinel offers perfect snorkelling and swimming at its beautiful white sand beaches as well as a choice of places for lunch.
Fort Louis
Fort Louis is sometimes also called Fort de Marigot. It was was built in 1789 to protect warehouses of Marigot from the frequent raids by British privateers based on nearby Anguilla. Unfortunately, nowadays not much remains of Fort Louis other than some partially intact stone walls and a couple of cannons. Still, the hilltop location offers a fine view of Marigot and Simpson Bay Lagoon.
Baie de Grand Case
Grand Case and the Baie de Grand Case are known mainly for its great food and that's what almost all is about if you visit this nice area. Still, apart from eating, there are also art galleries here and of course there is a beach. As it is the gourmet capital of St Martin and this village offers dozens of choices, lined up along the beach front road.
Other sights and activities
- Ferme aux Papillions - The Butterfly Farm
- Proselyte Reef - top diving spot
- Pic du Paradis - 420 above sea level, great views and hiking
- More beaches - Baie Orientale, Long Beach, Baie Rouge, Dawn Beach or the islets off the northeast coast
Events and Festivals
Weather
Saint Martin has a hot and humid tropical climate with average temperatures of between 28 °C and 30 °C during the day, and around 23 °C at night. Most rain falls between June and October with a chance of hurricanes from August onwards. The drier (and slightly cooler) December to April period is the best time to visit, weather-wise. However, prices rise sharply during this period. Nevertheless, the months of November and May still have good weather so budget-wise these months are good options as well.
Getting There
By Plane
Only a few airlines have regional flights to and from Saint Martin as all big airplanes arrive and depart in the Dutch part, Sint Maarten. The airlines that do fly to Saint Martin's L'Espérance Airport (SFG) in Grand Case are Air Antilles to and from Guadeloupe, Air Caraibes to and from Guadeloupe and Martinique and St Barth Commuter to and from Saint Barthélemy.
By Boat
Saint Martin - Anguilla vv
In season, ferries operated by the Anguilla Ferry System run between the islands of Anguilla and Saint Martin. They leave daily between 7am and 7pm roughly every 20 minutes between Blowing Point (Anguilla) and Marigot on the French part of St. Maarten/St. Martin.
Saint Martin - Saint Barthélemy vv
There are possibilities to go by ferry from Saint Martin to Saint Barthélemy. The MV Voyager travels two times daily between Marigot to Gustavia, except on Wednesdays and Sundays, when it leaves from Oyster Pond on Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island). It takes about 75 minutes from Marigot, 45 minutes from Oyster Pond.
Getting Around
By Car
Renting a car is the best way to cover a lot of Saint Martin (and Sint Maarten) and offers maximum flexibility. It also saves you a lot on taxi rides, which can add up. A national driver's licence is valid here as well and minimum age usually is 21 or 23, but sometimes 26. Driving is on the right. There are many agencies, both on the airport of Espérance and Juliana Airport on the Dutch side, and in low season you can find one for 30 USD a day.
By Bus
Bus services run from Marigot to Grand Case and Orleans and there are taxis from Espérance Airport to Marigot and other places on the islands. Private minibuses also ply the major routes and you can flag a bus down anywhere.
Red Tape
Visa requirements are the same as for France, although the Schengen Visa is not valid.
Money
See also Money Matters
As an overseas collectivity of France, Saint Martin has adopted the Euro (ISO code: EUR, symbol: €) as its official currency. One Euro is divided into 100 cents, which is sometimes referred to as eurocents, especially when distinguishing them with the US cents.
Euro banknotes come in denominations of €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200, €500. The highest three denominations are rarely used in everyday transactions. All Euro banknotes have a common design for each denomination on both sides throughout the Eurozone.
The Euro coins are 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, €1 and €2. Some countries in the Eurozone have law which requires cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents. All Euro coins have a common design on the denomination (value) side, while the opposite side may have a different image from one country to another. Although the image side may be different, all Euro coins remain legal tender throughout the Eurozone.
Work
Study
Language
Eat
Sleep
Drink
This is version 16. Last edited at 16:54 on Sep 20, 09 by Utrecht (+189). 17 articles link to this page.
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