St. Maarten

EASY non-stop, but expensive, JetBlue flights from BOS-SXM. Modern, quiet airport in SXM with priority pass lounge.

Spent 5 days at Divi in Phillipsburg through a timeshare trade. Some highlights:

• Beautiful weather every day, white-sand beach. Warm water, crystal clear, could swim and snorkel right off of hotel beach. Downed helicopter and ship made for fun areas to snorkel.

• A lot more relaxed than Punta Cana or Cancun beaches which has beach chairs that are rows deep. Only saw one or two vendors whole trip offering to braid hair. Enjoyed walking up to Fort Amsterdam for view, nature and bit of history.

• Walked into Phillipsburg on a Monday night. Was quiet (maybe because cruise ships were gone or maybe because things are closed on Monday.) Worth doing once for a meal or excursion.

• Rented a car for $40 per day from resort and toured whole Island. Maho beach was a thrill with the landing planes and the hike at Loterie Farm was worth it for the view. Interesting trip with the north being France (everything in euros) and the south being Dutch where guilders and dollars are used.  Saw quite a bit of the island in about 4-5 hours. Went back to Divi for swim in the afternoon and then out again in evening to Orient Bay.

Meals:

Enjoyed memorable and delicious dinners:

Chesterfields in Phillipsburg- Relaxing restaurant serving fresh fish and rice in Marina right before cruise ship dockings. Took cab from Divi ($5 per person each way).

Ocean Lounge- On Boardwalk in Phillipsberg - Hip and high end outside beach bar. Felt like Miami beach. Delicious fish and rice again.

L’Atelier in Orient Bay- Fantastic French restaurant in Orient Bay. Sat outside around pool next to French cottage. 3 memorable French waiters and delicious scallops on braised fennel with greens and then profiteroles. Honestly one of the most memorable and delicious meals I’ve ever had.

Mix at Divi- Bar& Bites on 5th floor at oceans at Divi. Enjoyed watching 3 cruise ships depart and a sunset. Drinks were great, food was ok but was nice to be able to talk there and back.

Hot Tips:

• Bring bug spray

• Bring US Cash- cab drivers don’t take cards

• Debated going to St Barths or Anguila for day and ultimately decided against it. Boat ride to St Barths is known to be rough and flying is expensive. Without a real destination on either island, didn’t think it was worth it just to go. Happy to go another time and stay in a nice hotel or something. Snorkel trips to both islands were $125 per person plus $35 customs fees.