St. Maarten St Martin is the tiniest dual-nation island in the world with half being French and half being Dutch governed. However, due to folklore, legend has it that when the French and Dutch were fighting over the island in the 16th century during the days of pirates and tall-ships.
The legend is that after many wars and lost men on both sides, the French captain and the Dutch captain sat together to settle the argument about where to draw the border so they could all live in harmony on the same island.
Well, after many bottles of rum and a few fights later, they were still not agreed so they made a bet. The challenge was to race around the island in opposite directions and wherever they met, that would be where they drew a line and divided up the island in half.
So they drew a line in the sand, set off in the heat with their troops to walk around the island hoping to divide it up evenly between them when they reached the other side. The nostalgic version of the legend says that the Dutch, as prone to a few drinks then as they are now, had to take a nap half way round because they were too drunk, so the French had the better of the Dutch in the end - they netted 20 sq miles and the Dutch only 17 sq miles!
Despite the odd skirmish in the past, it is now a peaceful, neighborly affair which has benefitted both sides tremendously and grown St. Maarten - St. Martin into the cosmopolitan, exciting, tranquil, picturesque, beautiful and inspiring island paradise it is today.
Having resided in the Caribbean for over 13 years and visited a lot of the other islands in the Caribbean, I can personally tell you that St. Maarten St. Martin is one of the best islands - to visit and to live on, for many reasons.
With 37 beaches for each of its square miles and a rugged hilly landscape interspersed with sweeping valleys and large navigable lagoons, St. Maarten St. Martin has a lot to offer in terms of natural beauty and exploration.
The recently built $90M Princess Juliana International Airport in St Maarten St Martin is a hub for the region and one of the largest.if you've ever wondered what it would be like to get within 50 ft of a landing jumbo jet then this is the place! It's not by accident that St. Maartens' airport was recently featured on the History Channels' dubiously named Worlds Most Dangerous Airports' (ironic considering there's never been an accident here - touch wood).
One of the best things about St. Maarten St. Martin is its nearness to other fascinating islands - you have the rock-like Saba with its tropical forests and cliff-side walking trails, there's the flat and hill-less Anguilla with its cultured hotels and world-class beaches, and then there's St. Barths - best known as the cool French playground of the 'other half'. And these islands are all visible from St Maarten St Martin and only 10 - 20 mins by plane (which is an experience on it's own! - St Barths was also on the top ten list of worlds most dangerous airports!).
If you like food then this is the place - St. Maarten and especially the French-influenced St Martin, is regarded as the culinary and cooking capital of the Caribbean and some of the restaurants here are world beaters! From Argentinian to Thai to Mexican and Creole, to the traditional French or Italian, or the cost-effective outdoor local eateries, you'll find it all here.
Lodgings on St Maarten St. Martin are manyfold - you can stay in a cheap guest house, an all-inclusive resort, hotel or a 5-star villa complete with it's own chefs, maids and footmen and an ocean-view pool!
In the classic words of Jimmy Buffet - 'cheeseburgers in paradise' have never tasted so great!
The legend is that after many wars and lost men on both sides, the French captain and the Dutch captain sat together to settle the argument about where to draw the border so they could all live in harmony on the same island.
Well, after many bottles of rum and a few fights later, they were still not agreed so they made a bet. The challenge was to race around the island in opposite directions and wherever they met, that would be where they drew a line and divided up the island in half.
So they drew a line in the sand, set off in the heat with their troops to walk around the island hoping to divide it up evenly between them when they reached the other side. The nostalgic version of the legend says that the Dutch, as prone to a few drinks then as they are now, had to take a nap half way round because they were too drunk, so the French had the better of the Dutch in the end - they netted 20 sq miles and the Dutch only 17 sq miles!
Despite the odd skirmish in the past, it is now a peaceful, neighborly affair which has benefitted both sides tremendously and grown St. Maarten - St. Martin into the cosmopolitan, exciting, tranquil, picturesque, beautiful and inspiring island paradise it is today.
Having resided in the Caribbean for over 13 years and visited a lot of the other islands in the Caribbean, I can personally tell you that St. Maarten St. Martin is one of the best islands - to visit and to live on, for many reasons.
With 37 beaches for each of its square miles and a rugged hilly landscape interspersed with sweeping valleys and large navigable lagoons, St. Maarten St. Martin has a lot to offer in terms of natural beauty and exploration.
The recently built $90M Princess Juliana International Airport in St Maarten St Martin is a hub for the region and one of the largest.if you've ever wondered what it would be like to get within 50 ft of a landing jumbo jet then this is the place! It's not by accident that St. Maartens' airport was recently featured on the History Channels' dubiously named Worlds Most Dangerous Airports' (ironic considering there's never been an accident here - touch wood).
One of the best things about St. Maarten St. Martin is its nearness to other fascinating islands - you have the rock-like Saba with its tropical forests and cliff-side walking trails, there's the flat and hill-less Anguilla with its cultured hotels and world-class beaches, and then there's St. Barths - best known as the cool French playground of the 'other half'. And these islands are all visible from St Maarten St Martin and only 10 - 20 mins by plane (which is an experience on it's own! - St Barths was also on the top ten list of worlds most dangerous airports!).
If you like food then this is the place - St. Maarten and especially the French-influenced St Martin, is regarded as the culinary and cooking capital of the Caribbean and some of the restaurants here are world beaters! From Argentinian to Thai to Mexican and Creole, to the traditional French or Italian, or the cost-effective outdoor local eateries, you'll find it all here.
Lodgings on St Maarten St. Martin are manyfold - you can stay in a cheap guest house, an all-inclusive resort, hotel or a 5-star villa complete with it's own chefs, maids and footmen and an ocean-view pool!
In the classic words of Jimmy Buffet - 'cheeseburgers in paradise' have never tasted so great!
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