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Split personality
Two countries, one island
By T. Foster Jones
DO YOU REMEMBER that I Love Lucy episode where Lucy and Ricky, angry at each
other, split their apartment down the middle
with tape? In no time, the challenges of coexisting in such a small space without tripping over
each other were comically apparent.
Before I had a chance to visit it, the concept of St. Maarten/St. Martin, the smallest
island in the world ever to have been divided
between two different nations, initially struck
me as the same kind of impossible situation.
Shared by the French and the Dutch for
almost 350 years, and situated 150 miles southeast of Puerto Rico, the tiny Caribbean island is
just 37 square miles, with Dutch St. Maarten on
the south and French St. Martin on the north.
What I discovered was, because this is a
companionable partnership rather than a hostile one, the cohabitation of these two countries on one island actually works, and to the
benefit of those visiting, as each side has managed to retain much of the distinctiveness of its
own national culture.
You’re literally getting two countries, two
cultures and two very different experiences for
the price of one.
Spa, where I stayed, left no detail to chance,
from the largest freshwater infinity-edge pool
on the island, five oceanfront restaurants and
full-service spa to Westin’s signature (and
very appropriately named) Heavenly Bed® in
every room.
St. Maarten is the yachting center of the
Caribbean. Simpson Bay Lagoon, the largest
lagoon in the Caribbean, is home to a giant
fleet of yachts and mega-yachts, often docked
in one of the various luxury marinas. St.
Maarten also plays host each year to one of the
world’s biggest sailing events, the Heineken
Regatta, which I was lucky enough to attend,
and which draws hundreds of participants and
revelers from Europe, the United States and the
Caribbean.
PHOTOS: ST. MAARTEN/ST. MARTIN TOURISM BUREAUS
The island’s dual natures let you enjoy
the isolated calm of St. Maarten’s
Cupecoy Beach and the inexpensive but
fabulous food at the lively local lolos
along St. Martin’s Grand Case.
free paradise, chock-full of chic perfume, jewelry and fashion shops, but has fewer of the
cruise ship day-trippers.
Snorkeling and scuba diving are phenomenal in St. Martin, which offers plenty of reef,
wreck, night, cave and drift diving, with depth
ranging from 20 to 70 feet.
The Dutch side
With its busy cruise port and commercial district, St. Maarten is more developed
and at the same time more informal than the
French side.
The capital of Dutch St. Maarten, Philipsburg is a bustling center of international trade,
with lively shopping streets, cafés and hotels.
Front Street, the main thoroughfare, is lined
with duty-free shops offering everything from
Italian leather goods and Japanese cameras to
native crafts (be sure to try the locally made
Guavaberry liqueur). Narrow alleyways guide
visitors to shops and courtyards rich with
flowers. Visitors will also find examples of traditional West Indian architecture, including
characteristic pastel houses with second-story
verandas looking out over the street.
Accommodations have become more
luxurious. For example, the newly constructed
Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort and
The French side
With its fine restaurants, European-inspired duty-free shops and glorious beaches,
St. Martin is more refined than its Dutch
island-mate, with a French emphasis on comfort and elegance. The beaches are secluded,
the luxury resorts provide lavish accommodations and the restaurants offer the finest dining
experiences anywhere in the Caribbean. (Take
your appetite and head down to the main street
of Grand Case, which is only 1 mile long, and
choose from more than 30 restaurants that
serve Italian, French, Vietnamese and
Indonesian cuisine.) The latest French fashions
can be found in many of the shops, and the
scent of fresh croissants and pastries mixes
everywhere with the spicy aromas of West
Indian cooking. Small cafés and charming bistros add a decidedly Gaelic and cosmopolitan
flair to the place.
St. Martin is less developed than Dutch St.
Maarten, and this is reflected in its capital,
Marigot. Like its Dutch counterpart, it’s a duty-
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The best of both worlds
With 39 beautiful white-sand beaches
around the island, you are never far from the
water. Popular beaches include Cupecoy Bay
Beach, located on the west side of the island
along with palm-tree-shaded Mullet Bay
Beach; Great Bay Beach, which draws tourists
along Front Street in Philipsburg; and Dawn
Beach, on the east side of the island, noted for
its underwater life and beautiful reefs. On the
French side, Orient Bay’s Waikiki Beach and
Orient Beach offer plenty of bars, cafés and
water-sports rentals.
Sunny and warm year-round, St. Maarten
averages 82 degrees Fahrenheit in summer and
just two degrees cooler in winter.
English is spoken island-wide, but visitors
will also hear Papiamento, a blend of French,
Creole, African, Portuguese, Spanish and
Dutch. It is estimated that the population consists of 77 different nationalities.
Between the two cultures in St. Martin and
St. Maarten, vacationers will be able to find just
about every kind of activity they might want for
a perfect holiday in the sun. C
