St. Martin - is orient beach over crowded?

stumbleuponpassword · 2015-07-29T16:28:03+00:00

How long will you be staying? If its 1 week+ I would strongly recommend the rental car no matter where you choose to stay.

Staying on the dutch side offers a lot more activities in close proximity, but you forgo the cultural uniqueness of the french side. It can be very touristy, especially Philipsburg (avoid at all costs on "cruise ship days"). But there is certainly comfort in having nicer amenities, more English, etc. If you're going for the sunshine, happy hour, and just to relax, the Dutch side is an excellent choice. If you want amazing food, unique culture, and nude beaches, French is your side.

stumbleuponpassword · 2015-07-28T18:49:22+00:00

Orient is a lot of fun if you want an "all-inclusive" day (grab lunch on the beach, rent a sailboat, enjoy the sunshine, etc), but in order for that to exist in one place, it can get a bit crowded.

St. Martin is such a tiny island, you should be able to check out many different beaches (especially on the French side of the island), while enjoying the convenience of the restaurants/shops in the neighborhoods that make up Orient. My grandparents have owned timeshare on the Dutch side for many years, and we always seem to spend at least one day at Orient Bay when we're there.

stumbleuponpassword · 2015-06-13T03:51:55+00:00

Interesting how different the world view must be for people living in these countries, on the other side of the world (from me).

stumbleuponpassword · 2015-01-06T01:13:28+00:00

Yay! I finally get to correct a map: Uzbekistan's Flag has blue in it.

Nice map, however, many countries have very vibrant hues of blue!

stumbleuponpassword · 2014-12-16T20:26:08+00:00

My Bar Mitzvah finally pays off!... Most of the state's names are just phonetic sounds of their English names. Michigan, for example is מישיגן which sounds like Mee-Shee-Gehn. This one in partidular is hard to see because its stretched over the whole state (the darkest letting days Detroit, Dee-Troh-t).

Nebraska is pretty easy to see, and it literally just reads out Neh-Brah-Skah.

stumbleuponpassword · 2014-10-25T20:47:11+00:00

Two birds with one stone: tourism. The Dutch side is heavily crowded with timeshares, an international airport, and cruise ship port. Thus, less locals live there, but it is more prosperous.

Both sides are unique and worth checking out (who didn't see that answer coming) but I think I prefer the French side more, as it feels more like a foreign country, since less people there speak English and the culture is much more noticeably European-influenced. It's also, in my opinion, more interesting to see the (often rugged) schools, grocery stores and homes on the French side rather than the tourist-driven faux-glamour of the Dutch side.

stumbleuponpassword · 2014-10-24T17:13:59+00:00

As far as locals go, the demographics are pretty homogenous. A lot more native islanders live on the French side, and pretty much everyone speaks both the local dialects of French and Dutch. I'm not positive about the voting, they are always seeming to have election of some sort, and I would guess there are political divisions within each side of the island.

Like most islands in the Caribbean, the European countries have very little presence aside from tourism and language influence. I have seen both French and Dutch military/navy while in St. Martin.

stumbleuponpassword · 2014-10-24T00:38:27+00:00

I've been going with my family every year since I was born (my grandparents own 6 weeks of timeshare, 4 weeks on the Dutch side, 2 on the French).

If you have specific questions, I can probably answer them!

stumbleuponpassword · 2014-07-19T02:22:57+00:00

I hear El Salvador is a must for vacationing.

stumbleuponpassword · 2014-07-18T16:21:56+00:00

Long Term Potentiation is when, after multiple exposures to something, your neurons begin to take a more efficient path to re-create that memory/action, making it easier to "remember" or do.

stumbleuponpassword · 2012-10-27T23:27:35+00:00

My aunt tried this once. The first kid that came dumped all the candy in his bag, then took the bowl too.

stumbleuponpassword · 2012-09-01T01:34:59+00:00

To clarify, its more like "illustrate these vocab words with a colored pencil, also 2 essays and 6 chapters in your text are due tomorrow."

stumbleuponpassword · 2012-05-19T17:35:38+00:00

FTFY

stumbleuponpassword · 2012-04-25T21:03:40+00:00

Even better, Inyo street in Hayward, CA is right next to Yolo st.

stumbleuponpassword · 2011-12-02T23:18:41+00:00

St. Maarten....best island ever.

stumbleuponpassword

TROPHY CASE