st. maarten question

[donnad]

we will be going to Saba for a few days and then on to st. maarten to mainly relax on the pretty beaches, but will be looking for a little bit of adventure thrown in. i've read about the zipline thing through the rainforest. has anyone done it and it is good and worth it? or is it better to do some hiking in the rainforest. by the way, is the rain forest there a pretty serious rainforest and worth hiking? let me know your thoughts and your thoughts on other fun stuff to do there. thanks,donna

 

[RTRski]

donnad -

Sorry you never got a reply to this before (I assume) you went.

Did you try the zipline thing? Was it any good? (For future searches...)

Went to St. Maarten myself a couple times but frankly never got off the coast or water, myself, aside from driving between towns on our sightseeing days....

 

[nwflyboy]

RTRski - what can you tell me about the quality of diving in/around St. Maarten? I'm shopping for a dive trip next spring and this is one of the places that is on my list....but I don't know much about diving there.

Thanks.

 

[candudave]

I have dove St Maarten/Martin and enjoyed it but my experience is limited. I am going back in August and plan on getting a couple more dives and hopefully a night dive in. On the St. Maarten - St. Martin forum of http://www.traveltalkonline.com there are a number of recent post by a poster jamesg which go into detail on diving St Maarten/Martin shore dives, charter diving, and a trip to Saba. In reading his posts it appears I was correct in thinking that St Maarten/Martin was a nice place to dive.

 

[Scott101]

Greetings,

I have done about 30 or so dives on SXM (did my open water there also) and have found the diving to be pretty good. There are some interesting wrecks, reefs and my one of my favorites, a meteor crater( Hens and Chicks). Most of the dives are in the 60-70 ft range and vis is generally about 60-70 ft.

One thing that is different there is except on rare ocassions, the seas are kind rough. That translates into learning very quickly how to time the swells in order to get back in the boat.

The only dive op I have had any experience with was Aquamaina Dive Adventures in Simpson Bay (beneath the Pelican Resort) and give them huge kudos.

If you need any other info, let me know.

 

[DiverDonn]

It really depends on your skill and confidence levels. For the most part I have not found diving on St. Martin to be that interesting, especially since it is right next to Saba and Statia. If you are relatively new to diving, then SXM is a great place to get experience and confidence in your skills. For incredible marine life ( and we're not talking pelagics) both Saba & Statia have as much to offer as anypace in the Carib.
Good Diving-DD

 

[nwflyboy]

Well, the truth is, I'm looking for a good dive trip that I can get to next spring using frequent flyer miles. St. Maarten is one such destination.

We're intermediate divers (I'm more intermediate, the wife is more borderline advanced beginner). Our priorities are:
* Someplace we can fly to (or close) via FF miles. Right now, that appears to include St. Maarten, Puerto Rico and St. Thomas
* Above average diving. For us, that means a healthy marine environment, good viz, no cattle boats.
* We have no interest whatsoever in mass-tourism, night clubs, the Planet Hollywood experience, and crowds. Large numbers of cruise ships are a big turn-off (no offense intended towards those who like them).
* A nice beach is a plus, but it doesn't have to be a broad, perfect swatch of sand (which I know tends to draw the crowds we prefer to avoid).
* Reasonable prices are nice, but we know that's tough with the amenities.
* Good food and accommodations. We don't need 5-star luxury or the prices that come with it. But we do like some comfort, and don't mind paying for it.

From what I've read lately, it sounds like St. Maarten has been overrun with mass tourism, although they have the beaches. Saba sounds nearly perfect (shhhhh) although no beaches to speak of - I assume it's not terribly expensive to get there from St. Maarten. Maybe we could spend a couple days on St. Maarten to enjoy the beaches before slipping off to Saba.

How well would Stacia meet our criteria -- is it expensive to get there from St. Maarten?

For that matter, we could fly to San Juan or St. Thomas and catch a puddle-jumper (or ferry?) to another nearby island that would meet most of our criteria above...any suggestions?

Tanks!

 

[Scott101]

SXM sounds like it fits the bill for you. The beaches can't be beat, from the sights at Orient to the calm laid back one at Friars Bay. We always stay at the Flamingo on the Dutch side so I can't give much feedback there. As for food...oh my! There are lots of great places to eat, too many in fact to do in a week but I would feel bad if I didn't reccomend Peg Leg Pub for the filet, melts in your mouth!

To get to Saba or Statia, Winair has flights every hour or so to all the near islands for about $100? round trip and if you are diving, they are more than happy to fly low as not to violate any pressure issues, just tell them in advance. There is also a cat. ferry "The Edge I & II " that heads out to Saba and ST. Barts I think a few times a week but its about a 1.5 hr trip and is commonly refered to as the "vomit comet".

We are skipping St. Maarten this year for Cozumel (it was my turn to pick ) but will probably be heading back there next spring because its my wifes favorite place (she doesn't dive).

Here are some pics I took in '05 that might give you a bit of an idea of what to expect:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frasu...//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frasure711/my_photos

 

[nwflyboy]

Thanks for the additional info.

I'm wondering if maybe we might not want to split the trip up in 3 parts: a bit of St. Maarten (a few days there for the beaches and the food; although I'm wary of the crowds and the cruise ships, we would have to fly in there anyay, and it does sound like it still has its charms); then a few days on Stacia (this is the part I know least about - it sounds nice and quiet, not very developed or crowded, decent diving? OK beaches?), and then a few more days on Saba (mostly for the diving and for getting away from it all). It appears to be easy and reasonably cheap to hop between these islands once you've reached St. Maarten (frequent, reasonably-priced flights).

Can anyone offer opinions on Stacia, specifically the quality of the diving, are there any decent beaches, and how much development is there? Given the other islands that are easily reached from St. Maarten, does it make any sense to go to Stacia for a few days on a trip like this? Are there *other* nearby islands that would be a better choice?

We will have about 10 days in the area to split between the islands we choose (St. Maarten + Saba + maybe one more...Stacia or ???).

Thanks again.

 

[DiverDonn]

Wow! That is almost perfect timing for what you are trying. IMO I would spend at most2 days on SXM, to experience the cuisine and the cultureS, and the island itself can be quite pretty if you stay out of P'Burg.
Many Winair flights to Statia stop on Saba first, then continue on. On the return, generally they go Statia-SXM directly. There are flights very frequently ( but not quite every hour) and the R/T cost IS about $100. Each leg is probably about 15-20 minutes in length, and Winair does NOT change its altitude at the request of the divers. That is the height at which they fly regardless, and in the case of Winair between the islands, flying/diving is not an issue. I have even flown over from SXM to Saba for the day, did 3 dives, including a 120 and flew back the same afternoon.
Have only been to Statia twice, and I think ( but not sure) that there are some decent beaches. The diving is surprisingly good- great marine life and corals. In fact some of the better medium dive sites in the Carib can be found on Statia, including some historic sites (Blue Bead hole). If I were not going to COZ this fall, I would have booked a 1 week Saba/Statia trip. The people at SeaSaba or Golden Rock Divers can set up all the details for you with ease. The hotels are simple, clean and by any standards not expensive. 3-4 days on each is a PERFECT dive trip. Envy you.
If you need other info, PM me. DD