Give me ideas for St. Martin??

[Suzanne74]

We will be cruising in less then 7 weeks and I am still at a loss for St. Martin. I have desire to do zoos, butterflies, farms etc... I get enough of that at home. My sisters family and ours have a 4yr old and two 6yr olds. All are good swimmers.

 

I have been debating between taking the kids on a powerboat to snorkel or go to Mullet Beach and then Maho for lunch and watch some planes come in. I don't have any real desire to do Orient. Not so much the nudity as there have been many posts saying it is like the jersey shore and very crowded and touristy. Since we do beaches often at home and during excursions, I was hoping to do something a little different here but keep coming up with nothing.

 

Ideas welcome!!

[MamaParrotHead]

I'm not sure how patient your little ones are, or how "entertained" they need to be, but the streets of St. Maarten are fabulous...full of shopping and people watching. The prices are very reasonable. And there's a nice strip of beach right along Front St. (I think that's the name, LOL). I personally wasn't real impressed with the French side, so I wouldn't bother taking the time or effort to get over there. Maho sounds like something kids would enjoy (except for mine, as they aren't keen on loud noises).

[crusinmama06]

Not so much the nudity as there have been many posts saying it is like the jersey shore and very crowded and touristy. Since we do beaches often at home and during excursions, I was hoping to do something a little different here but keep coming up with nothing.

 

Ideas welcome!!

 

Oh I agree 100%. Orient beach is very crowded and touristy. And some of the employees at the resorts are really scary rude. There was a pavillion that had shade. My youngest (who was 8 months old) at the time was getting a little warm so I pushed her through the sand and stood under the pavillion. A guy came out, starting yelling at me in French, grabbed my daughters stroller and started pushing her through the sand down the beach :eek: I screamed at him to stop, he kept going. He parked the stroller under a beach umbrella and stormed off.

 

Then came an elderly couple who actually sat DOWN on a chair in the pavillion. The man was obviously heat exhausted and needed a rest. The same worker came out screaming again. Demanding that the couple PAY him $100 for a "cleaning fee" of the chairs. :eek: The couple actually handed him some money and walked away.

 

So enough of the horror stories. I think your choice to do other things is a wise one :)

[adamsmom]

Just as you get off the ship, there is a place where you can catch a water taxi. It's only $5 for an all-day wristband, and kids under 12 are free. It will take you across the bay where you can get off and walk to the left to the public beach, or walk straight ahead to the street for shopping. On the beach, you can pay $10 to rent 2 lounge chairs and an umbrella. You can also rent floating mats and you can buy a wristband to use the water trampolines. There are lots of nice little bars along there to get lunch or whatever.

 

Now, it's been a few years since we've been there, but that's what we did and we loved it. I would suggest going to town for shopping in the morning and then go back to the ship to drop off purchases and change to swim wear, then riding back to the beach.

[smnornes]

We're doing the Pirates of St. Maarten Day Cruise with Lord Sheffield with our kids (7 and 8). http://www.stmaarten-shoretrips.com/lordsheffield/piratecruise.html