Checking in your luggage
by eenelfje
If your plane is leaving St. Maarten in the late afternoon.
Check with your airline at the Juliana Airport at what time that day they´re opening their check in desk.
For example: The check in desk of Air France and KLM opens at noon. But the plains leave in the late afternoon.
So I checked in my luggage at noon just as they opened. (no lines, the first one !!)
Then I still had a couple of hours to enjoy St. Maarten !!!!
Then before the plane leaves I went back with my handluggage to the airport and only had to pay the departure tax.
While the others.......stood already for a long time in a long long line waiting to check in !!
So its a tip for a few hours more on St. Maarten and avoiding the long check in lines at the airport !!
Charming Marigot
by jenn_d
Marigot is a small town on the French side of the island. There is no beach access here. However this is the harbour where daily ferryies to neighboring Anguilla and St. Barts can be found. There is also a considerable amount of dining and boutique choices. It does have somewhat of a European flair to it. It is definitely the most charming of all the beach towns. One thing to note is that with the exception of restaurants, almost all of the shops close down between 1-3 each day and are closed on Sundays.
Cruise Allowances
by cjg1
If you come to the island on a cruise and the ship docks at another island that's a U.S. protectorate, like St. Thomas, you can bring back up to $1,600 worth of goods and not have to pay duty. The rules say only $800 worth of those goods can be from the island; the other $800 worth has to come from the U.S.-controlled locale but we have never had a problem bringing in strictly local items.
2 liters of alcohol are allowed from St. Maarten, as long as one of the liters was produced locally. You are allowed to bring home up to 200 cigarettes and 100 non-Cuban cigars.
Fort Amsterdam Groot Baai St Maartin Lighthouse
by grandmaR
For some reason, I did not check on lighthouses that I could see in the various ports we visited, or I would have known that Sint Maarten had a lighthouse. The light station was established 1876. It is not active now, but it consisted of a post light mounted on a short square tower atop the ruins of Fort Amsterdam. Findlay's 1879 light list describes a "small light on old Fort Amsterdam."
Fort Amsterdam was the site of the first Dutch fort in the Caribbean. It was built in 1631 on the peninsula between Great Bay and Little Bay. My photo from the ship shows the fort located atop a narrow promontory on the west side of the entrance to Philipsburg harbor. By the 1950's, it was no longer used as anything except a signaling and communications station and it isn't even used for that now. All that remains are a few walls of the original bastion and some cannon. I didn't get to visit it on this visit, but I understand that there are a few informational signs at the fort.
You can drive there (or take a taxi) from Philipsburg, but there is limited parking. It is open 24 hours, and is free.
Swim with the dolphins
by adinda
One of the highlights of our holiday was the trip to Anguilla, where we had a swim with the dolphins. Beautiful creatures, and really smart. It was a lot of fun. Even though we're usually not the kind of people to go with a group, we enjoyed it a lot and had a great time with some of our "fellow swimmers".
With most hotels and resorts it's possible to book this or other tours.
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Lady C dining area
Liz's Escargot and garlic bread
Liz & her Pirate Flag
Me, Mr. Singh and Liz
