trying to compare St. Thomas vs. St. Maartin

[Missa]

I'm trying to plan a "land" vacation with family. We are torn between St. Thomas and St. Maartin and can't find a tie breaker or any differences between the two. Is there any way i can compare the two to see which i would rather like to visit. I already know airfare to St. Maartin is higher, but family members still wanna go, but have no basis for choosing other than, :that's where my finger landed in the resort book!"

 

Any help/advice greatly appreciated!

[SeaBands]

On STM I have stayed at a hotel and at Green Cay Village (3 br house w/small pool) and a large villa on north side. On STT stayed at hotels and condos. STMhas more better restaurants and interesting beached and shops as there isthe French and Dutch influence. Both have lovely beaches although STM offers topless and clothing optional. Both have excellent snorkling and shopping at duty free prices. Both get crowded where the ships dock but Marigot in STM seems easier to get around than Charlotte A on STT. Shopping outside of town at the malls is easy on STT including Havensite.

More fast food places on STT but more interesting roadside dining on STM.

Both are fine for families.

I think STT is less expensive for fine dining and there is no shortage of choices on either island.

My tendancy if cost not a factor is STM for the diversity. STM is really a foreign country, STT is an American island.

Enjoy your trip.:)

[Schplinky]

We thought the beaches in STM were much better. It also feels more exotic because it is not justa part of the US.

[TupeloHoney]

I MUCH prefer St. Thomas to St. Martin. St. Thomas is one of my favorite places in the Caribbean and St. Martin is one of my least favorite.

 

For starters I think St. Thomas is prettier. I also think there is more to do. But the great thing about St. Thomas is its location to other islands. You can easily hop on a ferry and go to St. John or Tortola or Virgin Gorda. I don't know that that is the case with St. Martin.

 

For some reason I think St Martin is rather boring. I don't know what it is about the place. In fact I just came into this board to see if I could find something for us to do there on our March cruise.

[Brubo]

St Thomas is nothing more than an extension of the U.S. I prefer experience another world like St Martin when I leave the U.S. on vacation.. Live a little or a LOT!!!!!!!:cool:

[jdmaillet]

We loved St. Martin and that would be our choice. When there, we went to the Butterfly farm and toured, to Bayside stables (next door) to horseback ride and then to Orient (Bikini Beach) for a glorious afternoon on the most beautiful beache I've ever been on. When in St. Thomas we went to Magen's Bay and to the downtown area to do a little shopping. There is so much we didn't see in both places, but Orient won hands down over Magen's. They were both beautiful, but Orient had the crashing waves and was just more fun. I agree that St. Martin just has a more cultural feel. I can't wait to go back and I would definitely consider a land trip there. It seems like there is more to see and do on SM.

 

Jenn

[m steve]

Well, Tupalohoney there are lots of islands you can visit from STM. There's Anguilla, Saba and Luxury St. Barts. I found visiting St. Johns very boring and Tortola is a typical cruise stop.

There are lots of small beaches all around STM that you can visit w/o crowds from ships. Magens Bay is a beautiful site from Drakes Seat but really a boring beach as there iare no fish to snorkle with.

As far as restaurants, STM runs rings around STT and you can usually park downtown with plenty of free parking and no fear of falling into a drainage ditch.

I like visiting both islands as shopping, and other reasons make both better than most of the other islands that we stop at. For long term visits, get a car, get out of town and enjoy discovering either. Bring money or credit cards as shopping is terrific on both.

[Lady Anna & Sir Troy]

My family went to both St.Martin and St.Thomas. We loved St.Thomas and did not like St.Martin. I did not feel like St. Thomas was an extension of the U.S., probably because I am from Minnesota. I did like that you could go to St. John's or Tortola or VirginGorda, which seem more exotic than St.Bart's.

 

In St.Martin my eleven year-old felt uncomfortable in Philipsburg - a little too adult oriented and was bored in Marigot. Dawn and Orient Beach are okay but no luck snorkeling as the waves are too heavy. We also tried the beach with the planes taking off - "eh". The only thing we really enjoyed was the Butterfly farm.

 

In St. Thomas we saw several spectacular views of the inslands from the top, went to coral world feed and petted stingrays, visited Coki Beach which had excellent snorkeling. We drove past Magens Bay which was pretty but not much for us to do.

 

I would think St.Thomas would have more to offer to do, but I guess it depends on the ages of the family members, nightlife for over 21 looks more interesting is St. Martin.

 

Hope this helps.

 

LAST

[CatskillsMom]

I loved St. Thomas..we rented a villa on Flag Hill and it had an infinity pool hanging over a cliff overlooking the port so we could watch the cruise ships come and go every day while we were floating around on our rafts. Awesome!

 

I thought there was lots of great stuff to do with kids and St. John is only a ferry ride away, very pretty and worth the visit. We also hired a captain and his boat and he took us to this very little island that was entirely covered with hermit crabs. Very cool. My son loved this trip.

 

(In all fairness, I have not been to St. Martin)

 

Good luck in your decision!

[xujuice]

We just returned from St. Thomas and St. Maartin. We liked St. Thomas we have been there once before, but we loved St. Maartin. Orient beach is the most amazing beach I have ever seen. Beautiful!!!!!!