Thursday, December 4, 2014

St Maarten Makes For A Nice Place To Go Vacationing

By Claudine Hodges


There are many place is this world one would love seeing, but some are more than others. St Maarten has two different spellings, the first comes from Dutch and Saint Martin is from the French but it is generally referred to as The Friendly Island. This little island is divided between the French which is about fifty three square meters wide and the Kingdom of Netherlands which is about thirty four square kilometers wide. The population from both sides are very much the same.

The Simpson Bag Lagoon is home to many different yachts that are anchored in sheltered waters or luxury marinas. It is known as the world's most outrageous home for mega yachts. If one is into sailing, a yacht can be chartered for a few days or even if one prefers catamarans, fishing boats or Boston Whalers these are available either with or without a crew and captain.

The airport started in 1942 as an armed forces strip and in 1943 was changed into a national one. In 1964 it was relocated and remodeled with a new control tower and terminal building. The last time it was upgraded was in 2001. Due to the high traffic and expected growth the Princess Julian Airport has been modernized with a three phased master plan.

Another attraction is taking a pirate day cruise. One will get to sail a tall ship on the clear waters while being told about swashbuckling tales just like a real pirate. A lunch with unlimited drinks will be provided and there will be time to go swimming to enjoy the cool waters. Just like a real pirate ship there will be a plank where one can walk, jump or even flip off. There are only twenty five people at a time allowed so the group is small and many friendships can be made.

The taxi services normally run between Philipsburg, Marigot and the other areas around the island as well as to and from the airports. Their fees are set as they do not have meters in the vehicles and for those that are residing on the Dutch side, only America Dollars are accepted. All minibuses travel all around with no fixed time table.

This island is of a tropical monsoon climate that tends to have a dry season from January through to April. The rainy seasons are from August to December. The temperature does remain fairly consistent during the year ranging from 20 degrees Celsius to 34 degrees Celsius. They do have the occasional thunder storms but these rarely exceed eighteen days throughout the year.

In 1648 both the Dutch Republic and the French decided to divide the island between them and they both signed the Treaty of Concordia. This took place at the top of Mount Concordia and the terms where that the people would co-exist in an accommodating manner. It wasn't until 1817 that the borders where finally agreed upon and set in place.

The island has a wide choice of places to stay. These range from authentic guest houses to four star resorts. The hotels are mostly on the beaches and coastal hills and their standard of service and generosity is very high.




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