Tell me about St. Martin/Maarten with kids.

[OnTheBrink]

I've searched the boards, but it's a bit overwhelming. The St Martin forum doesn't have much about kids. Mine will be 4.5 and nearly 8. What are some good fun things to do? I'd rather not spend a ton on excursions, but I'm open to it if they are good. I'd love to hear your suggestions!

[mrspjotter]

We're on EOS taking our 1st trip to st maarten in Feb 09, DS is 8 and twin DD's are 5, we are hiring a car as we wanted to take the kids on the seaworld explorer which leaves from Grand Case on the other side of the island and then LeGalion beach has been recommended to us as a great beach for kids to visit on the way back.:cool:

[lovetheislands]

After ziplining w/ my mom, my DH took 2 DDs (5 and 8) to the zoo and then to Divi Little Bay. The zoo is VERY small but we loved Divi Little Bay resort. Beautiful water, plenty of chairs and they were very friendly. Girls held the resident macaw and took pictures and played on the beach. It is a short 10 minute taxi ride from port and was a lovely day.:)

[FionaMG]

We very much enjoyed the butterfly farm. It's not very big but that also means it doesn't outstretch the kids' attention span and you'll still have time left over for the beach and/or some shopping. Our kids were 5 and 12 when we visited and both liked it. You don't have to go on an excursion, it'll be cheaper by taxi. One thing, it may be worth your while arranging a specific time with your taxi driver to pick you back up again afterwards. We were there 6 years ago, so things may have changed now, but taxis were very hard to come by to pick up from the farm (maybe because it's on the French side of the island). Although we didn't fix a time with our driver, we did have his phone number and phoned when we were ready to leave, which was just as well, because others had a long wait despite the efforts of the staff to call for taxis.

[travelingirl70]

We've been to St Maarten 3x by ship, and 3x for week long land based vacations. We've done catamaran sails, snorkeling trips, shopping, beach days near port, and toured the island. We love the island but my recommendation would be to head to Pinel Island. You can rent a car to drive there, or there might be an excursion. It is on the French side and you have to take a "ferry" to get to the island. It is about a 5 - 10 minute ride (maybe 500 yards off shore?) The "ferry" is more like a dingy, I was laughing so hard the entire ride. When you get on the island, you can rent a beach chair and relax. I think you can rent snorkel gear there but we brought our own. The water is very shallow so you can walk out quite a distance. The beach is gorgeous and is is very relaxing. We brought our own lunch, but there was a place to buy food there as well. A great stop if you are looking for a relaxing day without huge crowds. It does draw a good number of people, so I wouldn't say it is isolated, but you aren't packed in like sardines either.

 

Edited to add: I forgot to mention, this is a nice day that won't break the bank!

[siryn]

We have been to St Maarten 3x on cruises and our boys love the island. The chocolate shop is a favorite along with the Yoda Guy gallery, they are both star wars lovers.

 

On our last trip we went to Orient Beach, we had heard there was a family friendly area at the far end of the beach. Well, I can tell you it was an experience my boys will never forget (ages 9 & 12). Now everytime we go to a beach the first question my boys ask is will there be "naturalists" there. So although it is a beautiful beach I recommend you avoid Orient Beach.

[crusinmama06]

On our last trip we went to Orient Beach, we had heard there was a family friendly area at the far end of the beach. Well, I can tell you it was an experience my boys will never forget (ages 9 & 12). Now everytime we go to a beach the first question my boys ask is will there be "naturalists" there. So although it is a beautiful beach I recommend you avoid Orient Beach.

 

I think you got it a little backwards before you left. There is a totally nude area at the far end of Orient Beach called "Club Orient"

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

The rest of Orient Beach is under the European influence so it is "tops optional" sun bathing.

 

But I always tell people to think of it as Discovery Channel not Playboy channel. :p Those people on Orient Beach are not playboy playmates...lol.

 

But there is no "family friendly" side of Orient. With that being said, my kids have been there and didn't notice a thing out of place. :eek:

 

The Family Friendly beach option is called Divi Little bay or something to that effect.

[Paumavista]

This is a beautiful beach and there are plenty of taxis/shuttles at the pier that take groups over and back....there is some nudity.....however, in agreeing with Michele....my 7&8 year old boys...who are both water bugs and played in the water probably 3.5 of the four hours we were there NEVER even mentioned the fact that anyone was topless or nude...go figure!

 

My 17 year old daughter was the one who said she felt a little uncomfortable a couple times but she absolutely loved how beautiful the beach was and wouldn't have skipped it!!

 

Judy

[siryn]

I think you got it a little backwards before you left. There is a totally nude area at the far end of Orient Beach called "Club Orient"

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

The rest of Orient Beach is under the European influence so it is "tops optional" sun bathing.

 

But I always tell people to think of it as Discovery Channel not Playboy channel. :p Those people on Orient Beach are not playboy playmates...lol.

 

But there is no "family friendly" side of Orient. With that being said, my kids have been there and didn't notice a thing out of place. :eek:

 

The Family Friendly beach option is called Divi Little bay or something to that effect.

 

My oldest son agrees with your comment regarding Discovery Channel. He discovered the effect of gravity and in his terms it wasn't pretty. My youngest son (age 8 at the time) wanted to join in and yes I am in the running for a bad mom award because I told him he couldn't go natural because he was not French, since we were on the French side of the Island. So he just ran around yelling "naked guy" when one would walk by.

 

The food on Orient Beach was fantastic. We went to Divi on our first trip to St Maarten and honestly Orient Beach was a nicer beach, next trip the boys want to go to the beach at the end of the runway and get blown away by airplanes landing or taking off.

[beachchick]

I think you got it a little backwards before you left. There is a totally nude area at the far end of Orient Beach called "Club Orient"

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

The rest of Orient Beach is under the European influence so it is "tops optional" sun bathing.

 

But I always tell people to think of it as Discovery Channel not Playboy channel. :p Those people on Orient Beach are not playboy playmates...lol.

 

But there is no "family friendly" side of Orient. With that being said, my kids have been there and didn't notice a thing out of place. :eek:

 

The Family Friendly beach option is called Divi Little bay or something to that effect.

 

Of course there is. The entire beach is family friendly. There are many, many families who find Orient very friendly for their families. The custom of (optional) topless sunbathing is practiced in many countries (and not just in Europe); in those countries, entire families go to and enjoy the beaches. The only question is whether it is friendly for your family.

 

Also, although most of the people at Club Orient will be completely nude, it is actually a clothing-optional resort. Full nudity is not required. All beaches on the French side of the island follow the French custom of tops-optional beach going for women. The beaches on the Dutch side have much less toplessness and full nudity, but not none. Little Divi is known for having very, very little toplessness (and no full nudity that I know of--but that doesn't mean it's never happened).

 

beachchick

[crusinmama06]

Of course there is. The entire beach is family friendly. There are many, many families who find Orient very friendly for their families.

 

I was just using the previous poster's quote. ;)

 

Since my kids have been to Orient Beach and will be back again later this year, I think it's friendly enough for my family. :p

[beachchick]

I was just using the previous poster's quote. ;)

 

Since my kids have been to Orient Beach and will be back again later this year, I think it's friendly enough for my family. :p

 

Ah, now your post makes more sense to me. Orient is definitely friendly for our family as well.:D

 

beachchick

[Lowie]

After ziplining w/ my mom, my DH took 2 DDs (5 and 8) to the zoo and then to Divi Little Bay. The zoo is VERY small but we loved Divi Little Bay resort. Beautiful water, plenty of chairs and they were very friendly. Girls held the resident macaw and took pictures and played on the beach. It is a short 10 minute taxi ride from port and was a lovely day.:)

can you tell me more about the ziplining? i won't do it, but others in my group want to.