St. Maarten/Martin in July!

[lovetoscuba]

Hi, I will be going to St. Maarten/Martin in July with family and will be doing some diving and snorkeling. I was hoping someone here may have been there and can give me some advice on everything and anything about the island, diving or non-diving related. Thanks!:D

[aquaagua]

I am watching this thread with interest because we may go in Nov. By the way,is there a rainy season or a bad time to go there? I am hoping that the Hurricane season is over by thanksgiving.

[Jersey]

While June 1 to Nov 30 is 'hurricane season' no one tells the weather. That said, most of my trips to SXM have been peak hurricane season mid- late September and October (also Aug, Dec and Jan) and we have never had a problem. Only that some restaurants are shut down. I usually find the weather similar to many caribean islands - it gets really humid in the afternoon, wind comes up, clouds move in, it pours for 15 minutes and the sun is back out. I think the high season mid-January through April is a bad time to go, but only because I don't like the traffic on island at that time. I've enjoyed my Sept - Oct trips as the water is really warm, the crowds are fewer, traffic not as bad, deals to be had.

For more info on SXM, check out Traveltalkonline (http://www.traveltalkonline.com) - they have an entire section devoted to SXM. Go, have fun!

[Boat Chick]

lovetoscuba, scuba on St. Maarten isn't great, but it's diving. They don't have a reef so they have sunk a lot of boats. We had fun diving. We went with Dive safari, they have a shop in Phillipsburg and Simpson Bay. It was march, and the waves were pretty big, six feet or more, but it was fun :-)

Dive Safaris - St Maarten's Best Scuba Diving Experience! (http://www.divestmaarten.com/)

As for things to do, take a drive around the island, go to the French side and see the scenery. Do not go into Phillipsburg at night. Do not go off the main roads ever (they will tell you this at the hotel). Five or six cruise ships come in a day, so Phillipsburg is a mess to try to go shopping.


Between that and the diving, those were our two favorite things.

The link Jersey gave you is good. It's where i got most of my info before our trip.

If you like sailing, you HAVE to do the 12 metre. They have retired world cup racing boats and you get to crew in a regatta, it was a hoot, and a lot of fun!

12 Metre Challenge (http://www.12metre.com/)

All in all, I don't think I'd go back. If I did, I'd stay on the French side, it's more quiet than the Dutch side, and less crowded.

have fun!

[marcaumarc]

July should probably be great. Typically the water is warmest and clearest during this time. I would highly recommend a few things:

1. Stay on the french side, in Grand Case is probably ideal. It's way nicer than the dutch side: it's prettier and the food is way better.

2. It kinda goes without saying, but eat on the french side, they have terrific food (whether it is ribs, which you can get anywhere, really great french food, or even just the fresh baguettes & cheese).

3. Personally, we love Octopus Diving (Octopus Diving - Scuba Dive in Saint Martin (http://www.octopusdiving.com/)). They're located in Grand Case. The French require this special French certification to divemaster on that side of the island, so you end up with a lot more options. There are locations on the french side off Grand Case, off Tintamarre which is a small island to the north, and between St. Martin and Anguilla. Octopus also does dives on the dutch side.

4. Snorkeling (and having lunch) on Pinel Island is great. If the water is relatively calm, walk across the island and snorkel on the other side.

We've been to St. Martin about 8 times over the past four or five years. I think it is underrated as a diving area. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. I have descriptions of a bunch of SXM dive sites on my web site (St. Martin | Les Fruits De Mer (http://www.lesfruitsdemer.org/guides/locations/st-martin/)) as well as restaurants, attractions and such. There are lots of photos, too. And get lunch at Rene's Boucherie, info is on my site. It is amazing.

[lovetoscuba]

Thanks for the reply, unfortunately I will be staying at the Oyster Bay Beach resort which is on the Dutch side. I will try to make the most of my stay there between the snorkeling and scuba. And visiting the both side of the island. Thanks for the advice.

[marcaumarc]

I'm sure you will have loads of fun! We stayed on the Dutch Side the first time we went there. There are a bunch of cool dive spots there, and beaches. It also should be easy to get around the island because it isn't high season so there shouldn't be much traffic. Last time we went it was high season and there was still much less traffic than we were used to.

[slackercruster]

What is so bad about the diving on SM? I was planning a trip in June. Seems like an affordable trip and fits my budget, but still not booked so can change it.

Looking to stay at a condo near Simpson Bay. Maybe make 4 boat dives and would like to do some beach dives / snorkeling.

Is there any beach diving on SM? If not, how long of a ride are the boat dives to get on target? Are there lots of fish to see or are they sparse due to no reef?

[Jimmydiver]

If you are in Oyster Pond, definitely you need to dive with Scuba Fun : they even offer a free shuttle service if you need. Great people, very professionnal, wonderfull teachers and great dive boats..You will have a great time with them

[marcaumarc]

There's nothing bad about diving in SXM! If you dive with an operation on the French side, you can go to both sides. On the Dutch side there are some nice wrecks, but not much reef, if you get up to Tintamarre, there is better reef. There is info about a bunch of dive sites on our web site:

St. Martin | Les Fruits De Mer (http://www.lesfruitsdemer.org/guides/locations/st-martin/)

I've never been shore diving in St. Martin, but I know Chris and Sally at Octopus Diving were looking into it. Perhaps they'll find some good spots. The boat rides range from 5-30 minutes, depending on the site.

[Phil from the cold]

Hi Marcaumarc,

Sorry to say so but I don't agree with you, you can find great reefs too on the Dutch side. I like Tintamarre but the HMS Proselyte, the Maze or cable reef are great. You also have Molly Beday, Cow and Calf.... lots of choice too. You really have lots of things to see. And I agree, there are also some great wreck dives

[Michael31]

My wife and I have been going to SXM for about 10 years and I did my certification dives in St, Martin (79 degrees and 60' viz is better than needing a hood and 7mm wetsuit with 12" of viz). I have used both Dive Safari (Simspson Bay) and Ocean Explorer (Dutch side between the Royal Palm and the Atrium-on the beach). Both dive shops send a divemaster with you and the boats max out at 6 or 7 divers. There is a reef area on the Dutch side plus a collection of wrecks (and a sunken bridge). I've seen Hawksbill turtles, reef shark, eels, lobsters, shrimp and a variety of fish. It may not be overwhelming but a good variety.

You can get from one end of the island to the other in about 30 minutes, so where you stay is not critical to exploring the island. Grande Cas has at least a dozen very high quality restaurants. Since that is on the French side of the island, they charge in euros, although a few restaurants may be giving a $1 + 1 euro exchange. We like Spiga and have had very good meals at Bistro Caribe and Tastevin. There are also a variety of restauants at the marina in Marigot (French side capital). Tropicana rstaurant is high end and very good (French side tends to eat late--8:30 or 9 rather than 5:30 or 6).

On the Dutch side there are several very good restaurants at the Atlantis casino. Also, at Maho (near the airport) there is Cheri's for burgers and entertainment.

For entertainment you can race 12 meter yachts. They operate out of Bobby's Marina in Phillipsburg. You are part of the crew and the boats include Stars and Stripes and several Canadian boats that raced in the Americas Cup. there are also zip lines near Pic Paradis.

I suggest that you go to Travel Ralk onLine and find the St. Martin forum. It is an active forum that will respond to your questions.

Have a wonderful time.