Sint Maarten, otherwise known as Saint-Martin, SXM, or “The Friendly Island” is a small, 34 square mile island in the Caribbean near Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 
The most unique thing about this little island is the fact that is is owned by two nations. The top half, known as Saint-Martin, is owned by France, while the bottom half (Sint Maarten) is a part of the Netherlands. The two nations share the island with a border that runs horizontally across the island dividing it almost in half. We didn’t have a chance to try, but from what I hear you can cross the border easily and without a passport, although you DO need your passport to get on and off the island itself, regardless of which side you fly into. Being two countries, there are, of course, two capitals: Philipsburg (Dutch capital), and Marigot (French capital). From what we experienced and heard, both sides speak English and accept US dollars without any issues. Unfortunately, we literally flew in for only 27 hours, so we didn’t get a chance do much more than beach and eat, but we would definitely return and do more exploring! Keep reading to find out our favorite things to do on the island that we DID have time for!
*Disclaimer: all images and opinions are my own, for which I did not receive compensation
1.) Simpson Bay – this was a natural home beach base for us since our hotel was right on
the bay! To read more about where we stayed check it out here. Since we were only on the island for 27 hours, we didn’t want to waste time traveling to multiple beaches, or paying for taxis to and from beaches. Besides, a Caribbean beach is a Caribbean beach, does it REALLY matter which one you’re on?! The water in Simpson Bay was clear and warm and overall wonderful! We were there April 1st and it was almost like bathwater, but still refreshing! It is definitely more of a family friendly beach that is also used by 
some locals, but is not crowded like the beaches of Maho or Orient. As a head’s up for those with kids – we did see a few topless sunbathers, but that was not the norm as most beachgoers were fully clothed, which is not the norm for some of the other beaches on the island 🙂 Our first day there the water was calm and warm, our second day there were some great waves to play in, so I think the water itself gives you a little variety as well. As a bay, Simpson Bay is home to a variety of yachts, catamarans, sailboats, and other vessels that dot the water. Our one day there we could see as many as 40+ boats!
2.) Maho Beach – if you’ve seen or read anything about Sint Maarten this is probably the 
part that you’ve heard about. Maho beach feeds right into the Princess Juliana International Airport runway, making it perhaps the most unique airports in the world. Jets on their final approach fly over the beach at altitudes less than 100 feet above the ground, and the beach is directly under the flight path. Any of the photos that you’ve seen of people at the beach with a huge jet right overtop of them was taken here, which is what makes this beach so famous. Unfortunately, there were no arrivals or departures while we were at that beach so we didn’t get a photo, but we’ll make sure to plan it better on our next visit, which, hopefully we won’t be in as much of a time crunch for! However, I CAN testify as to the beauty of the arrival from the airplane seat view 🙂
3.) Karakters – this is a super fun little spot in Simpson Bay that is often frequented by locals, so you know it’s good! It is literally right on the beach, only 10 steps away from the ocean! The bar is an old school bus that’s been converted, and the restuarant itself is a tented open-air deck with tables, chairs, and couches….awesome atmosphere! We came for dinner the first night, and it was a little pricey for entrees, so we ended up getting drinks and an appetizer to split. We split the seafood fruit platter (sampling of scallops, lobster, crab), which was AMAZING! Also – try their Guavaberry Colada, it’s a specialty! You can’t beat the view that Karakters provides of the bay. We came back the next morning for breakfast (starts at 9:00), and stayed for the whole day. They have lounge chairs and umbrellas right on the beach that you can use for the day if you are buying food/drinks from the restaurant, and even have servers that come to you on the beach and get your order and deliver so you don’t have to leave the sand! We didn’t find any Happy Hour specials, but their daily specials start at $6 (changes daily) and most other drinks are $7-$10 each. Something to note – it is situated adjacent to the runway of Princess Juliana Airport, so it does get loud when planes take off and land, but that is part of the attraction of this area since you get to see them up close too. Great food, drinks, location, and atmosphere! Would definitely return! If you’re interested, you can check it out here.
4.) Guy’s Driftwood Boat Bar – Located right in Maho Beach, this restaurant/bar is 
situated outside with picnic tables right underneath umbrellas. We went for dinner at night and really enjoyed our food and drinks! They make a great pina colada and lamb schwarma pita sandwich! The sandwich was huge and only cost $6, so if you’re looking for a budget-friendly place to eat this is it! It is often visited by locals and looks/feels/tastes like something you would see on “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives”. Planes fly right overhead, so be advised that it can be loud, but again, that’s kind of the attraction of Maho Beach 🙂 Check it out here for more info.
about $75/night, check it out 
rooms ocean front. The room included a full kitchen, so if you are trying to save money and cook your own meals that is definitely an option! The rooms themselves were very clean and included a King size bed in the bedroom, a foyer area, kitchen with table and chairs, living room area with TV and futon, shower room, bathroom, and an outside porch area. To be honest, it is really more of a small condo than a hotel room! Another plus is that it is only a few miles from the airport on the Dutch side ($10 for a taxi), which was big plus for us since we had very limited time on the island. Being right next to the airport and Maho Beach, you do hear planes a good bit, but they don’t generally start until 8am and they don’t usually fly past 7:00ish, so they don’t fly throughout the night, although if you’re in your room, the sound is pretty blocked out anyway. The room includes a wireless phone as well with the taxi number programmed into it so you can call your own cab if you need one (also a plus if you’re like us and don’t have an international phone plan). Azure also has free wifi that is great in your room and on the beach right outside the hotel, which is super convenient! Check in is generally at 3 and check out is at 11am, however, we were able to get into our room upon arrival at 1:30, and we asked for a late check out since our flight didn’t leave until 4:00 the next day, so Mike graciously allowed us to stay until 2:00 at no additional charge! HUGE plus for us since we literally only had 27 hours on the island and we were trying to make the most of it and fit as much as we could in!
family friendly beach that is also used by some locals, but is not crowded like the beaches of Maho or Orient. As a head’s up for those with kids – we did see a few topless sunbathers, but that was not the norm as most beachgoers were fully clothed, which is not the norm for some of the other beaches on the island 🙂 Our first day there the water was calm and warm, our second day there were some great waves to play in, so I think the water itself gives you a little variety as well. Azure provides beach towels, lounge chairs, and umbrellas right on the beach for their guests as well, so you really don’t need to leave the hotel. If you’re looking for bars and food there are several along the beach that only require a short walk of a quarter mile or so (we loved Karakters, although it is a little pricey for entrees), or you can go into the town of Simpson Bay and find restaurants, bars, and supermarkets there. Mike and his wife are very friendly and will recommend places to you if you ask! The views are spectacular, as the hotel itself is flourishing with beautiful greens, flowers, and palm trees. They even have coconuts growing on the trees and an outdoor passion fruit canopy. As a bay, Simpson Bay is home to a variety of yachts, catamarans, sailboats, and other vessels that dot the water. Our one day there we could see as many as 40+ boats! We would absolutely recommend Azure Hotel and would definitely return! Plus, it is probably the absolute best bang for your buck if you’re working with a budget!
breathtaking! Clean white buildings, royal blue domes and doors, and beautiful flowers overlooking a perfect view of the caldera and Aegean Sea. Side note – being that everything is white, you better have good sunglasses otherwise you won’t see anything since the sun reflects off them all pretty harshly. Most people go to Oia for sunset, however, in our opinion (which we adopted from the locals), the sunset is just as gorgeous from Fira, and I’m sure many other places in Santorini. Oia DOES get extremely crowded however. It’s often the first stop that tourists coming off the cruises make a beeline for….sometimes there can be 3-5 cruise liners anchored a day, which means up to 80,000 visitors a day, making the Santorini port one of the busiest in the world. We aren’t much for crowds, and Oia turned out to be super expensive, so we opted to do a morning trip and spent a few hours walking around, taking in the sights, and snapping photos before we moved on to Amoudi Bay. Be sure to check out the Castle of Oia,
which was a Byzantine castle back in the day. Today it’s ruins offer a magnificent view. If you’re looking to spend money, Oia has LOTS of shopping, and I’m sure it has great food too, we just didn’t partake in either of those activities at Oia. To be honest with you, Oia was amazing to see, but now that we’ve done it we probably wouldn’t return…nothing wrong with it, crowds, cities, and shopping just isn’t our thing. But if you’re in Santorini, Oia is definitely something you have to do once!
beaches are made up of dark volcanic sand, rocks, and pebbles. We visited two of these famous black beaches during our stay….Kamari and Perissa. Both were very similar, beautiful clear blue water that met the hot sand just like any other beach, the sand was just black. (Note – you absolutely will need flip flops or some kind of shoes to avoid scalding your feet!). Both beaches offered plenty of lounge chairs, palm tree umbrellas, and restaurant options. Typically if you buy drinks at one of the beachside restaurants you can use a lounge chair and umbrella for free all day – a GREAT deal at any time but especially at Happy Hour! You definitely need to check out at least one black beach during your stay in order to get the full Santorini experience!
Santorini has several unique features. One of which, are the red beaches! We ATV’d to the one titled “Red Beach”, but I believe there are several others on the island as well. While we didn’t have time to stay, it was definitely a sight to see – and one you can’t miss! This was probably the most unique beach I’ve ever seen in my life!
Pilot Life for Me 