Back to St. Maarten

[mrs767er]

I love Orient Bay. We like the little beach bar called 5 Continents; nice chairs w/good service. Roy is always there (but it is really close to the wave runner rental section) We usually enter by the salt ponds--whewww are they ever stinky! but interesting)
OB has clothing optional beach so you'll see it all--even if you don't look! It is great swimmng tho and the French do have some yummy beach food!! They surcharge CC but they take US and EU $ too.

[spotty4]

Thanks for the tips, guys!

We're staying at Sonetsa Maho Beach Resort. We liked its proximity to Maho Beach and the approach pattern in to the airport. Is Maho Beach a nudie beach, too?

We were just reading up on Paradise Peak. It sounds like something we'd love to do, and while everyone said the views are gorgeous, none of the reviews recommended the trip. There's too much crime (theft/robbery). We'll just stay down low and look up at it instead.

[roz]

The Dutch side does not have nude beaches (although we passed a few while sailing where that was ignored and there were mermaids in the water while we were snorkeling).

I hadn't heard about any crime while climbing the mountain and certainly didn't experience it. I had heard about crime near the parking areas--but we didn't drive up the mountain--we hiked. One word of advice, however, is don't leave anything in your car anywhere. Don't even leave a bag of trash because someone will think it's valuable and break into the car.

The Sonesta resort has its own beach, which is good because the real Maho beach is tiny and dirty. There's a lot of nightlife there. The performers come out to the street and put on a number to draw you into the casino. It's a hoot. There was a really nice restaurant that we liked, but it closed.

Customs is a pain--even if they have every booth open. The timing of the arrivals and departures is clustered. So, a zillion people arrive all at once and a zillion depart all at once a hour later! It's especially fun when KLM brings in a 747 or Air France brings in a 340 or when they both do it one after the other!

[spotty4]

Does the Sonesta private beach connect to Maho beach?

As of now we don't have plans to rent a car. But if we do, we'll keep those tips in mind.

I think that our equipment is a 757. So it'll be a lot of folks, but nothing like a whale or 340. We'll be sure to give ourselves plenty of time.

[roz]

I don't know. I've been to Maho twice--each just to have a drink. The first time it was a few drinks because we ran into friends. But, it's just ok. I prefer looking at the water and airport from the Flamingo at Simpson Bay--but that's just me.

[spotty4]

We're getting ready for our trip coming up pretty soon.
Another question that occurred to me ... what are the electrical outlets like there? Can we use our standard plugs or will we need a converter?

[roz]

I guess it depends upon where you stay. We've never used a converter.