When we visited Sint Maarten for a quick weekend getaway in early April 2017 we pretty much did so on a whim. We both had the weekend off, and since we can fly for free on open seats, we checked flights to see which planes had the most open seats and Sint Maarten ended up being the best option! So we packed for a quick weekend getaway and hopped on the 5 hour flight for literally, a 27-hour vacation. Since we only had such a short time we knew this trip would mostly consist of beaching and eating, so we tried to find a fairly cheap place to stay for the night that would be close to the beach and we ended up discovering the hidden gem that is the Azure Hotel. (To see what we did in Sint Maarten click here)
The Azure Hotel is a quaint, charming little hotel in Simpson Bay, which we found for 
about $75/night, check it out here. Since Simpson Bay itself isn’t really a tourist hotspot like Maho Beach or Orient Beach, the price here was much cheaper than if we had tried to stay at one of the popular beaches. In all honesty though, an island beach is an island beach, and we certainly aren’t picky, especially when we’re going for only one day and trying to spend little to no money 🙂
The Azure is run by a very friendly man named Mike, from NY, and his wife. It has a much more of a “homey” feel as opposed to corporate run hotels, as this is more of a “Mom-and-Pop” type option that you would find on Airbnb (Pro Tip: the rate is even cheaper on Airbnb than it is on Trip Advisor or Expedia). I believe they live in the front half of the hotel, which is separated by this beautiful little courtyard. It does seem pretty small, as it is a one-story hotel, so I would think that rooms probably fill up fast. However, the fact that it’s small is actually really nice because you aren’t fighting for beach space or chairs, and the beach isn’t crowded. While you couldn’t see the ocean from our room, it was only a short walk (literally, like 20 steps) to reach the sand, although I believe they are renovating soon to make all 
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!
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. 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!
*Disclaimer: all images and opinions are my own, for which I did not receive compensation
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!
 
 
just about every street corner, and they are SO CHEAP! We got these in Naxos Town for lunch for $2 each. Of course, these come a variety of ways, but these ones were traditional and included lettuce, onion, tomato, cheese, Greek tzatziki sauce, french fries, and of course, meat, all rolled up into a pita flatbread. Meat options typically include chicken, pork, or lamb, which are roasted vertically rotisserie-style. Upon ordering, your meat is shaved fresh off the turning spit and placed in the pita in thin strips. Literally, one of the best things we ate the entire trip!
Essentially a creamy frothy ice coffee topped with Greek foam. Servers will often ask if you like it “sweet”, “medium”, or “plain”….neither of us use much creamer and often drink coffee black, but being that we were unfamiliar with how bitter a Greek black coffee would be we went with “medium”. And it was HEAVENLY! We discovered this liquid gold halfway through our trip and you can bet that we made it a daily occurrence from there on out! Seriously, try it!
 “Wine bushes” as my husband calls them, can be found often dotting the countryside of Naxos, and Santorini has several wineries, so you can get local wines on both islands. To be fair, neither my husband nor I are wine connoisseurs and to be honest, neither of us know much about wine, but all the wine we had tasted fabulous! Because Naxos was so inexpensive, we got wine with dinner but Santorini is much pricier. In Santorini we got a bottle or two of wine from a store in Fira for under $10 and sat out on our balcony overlooking the caldera both nights and watched the view with our Greek wine and Greek chocolate…perfect endings to perfect days.
Pilot Life for Me 