What do you get when you combine 5 kids, 4 islands, 3 currencies, 2 adults, and 1 week? An incredibly exhausting but awesome trip! Despite having 5 kids in tow (all under the age of 12), I wasn’t about to just sit by the pool all day long. Needless to say, that made for a crazy but unforgettable adventure!
WHY SINT MAARTEN
For the second year in a row, my company gave us the Fourth of July week off “to rest and recharge” (even though we have unlimited PTO) so what else would I do with that time but take a trip! My mom really wanted to go to Sint Maarten so it was an easy decision of where to go. I knew there were a ton of islands nearby that we could hop on over to so while beaches aren’t really my thing, being able to visit multiple locations in a single trip sounded right up my alley. The wrinkle? She wanted to take all five kids (my 2 plus my sister’s 3). Would I still be able to island hop like I hoped? There was only one way to find out.
Fast forward to the Saturday morning when we left. We gave ourselves some extra time expecting an overflowing airport but thankfully it wasn’t too bad…apart from one of the kids leaving a rolling carry-on behind and us not realizing it until after we’d gone through security. After a mad dash back through and frantically retracing my steps, thankfully it was still right where we had left it AND no one had tampered with it. Crisis averted! Lesson learned that when you are travelling with five kids, someone or something is bound to get lost.
The flight to Sint Maarten was pretty short (under 4 hours) and went by much quicker than expected. On the other hand, when we landed, the immigration line was quite long as several planes had landed around the same time. Although it was her idea, my mom had actually visited the island a few years ago and had a contact for a taxi who met us outside. The seven of us squished in the backseat of his jeep (that was an adventure in and of itself!) and made it to Simpson Bay resort (which was thankfully only a few minutes away).
WHEN TO GO
Although we went in the beginning of July, the weather was perfect for the entire week we were there. As my own general rule of thumb, I tend to avoid the Caribbean and Central America from about June – October/November because of hurricane season so was pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t a single day where rain hampered our plans.
WHERE TO STAY & EAT
I had booked the three-bedroom suite which was super spacious with lots of room for the kids to run around and all of the essentials we would need. One of the pools was right outside our room so the kids would be able to use it whenever they wanted. There was also a beach steps away from our room. The cherry on top was the hotel had a complimentary shuttle that we took to many of the restaurants in the Simpson Bay area which saved us a ton since we didn’t have to take taxis every single time.
Now for the restaurants…
Juliette’s: This restaurant was located on the hotel property and just a short walk from our room. While I would never go back unless we stayed at that hotel again, the food was decent. We had pizza, pasta alfredo with chicken, fish and chips, and fried rice. We were SO hungry after the plane ride that I didn’t even get a chance to snap a pic of the food!
Driftwood Bar: This beach bar is located on Maho Beach. We were originally supposed to go to Sunset Beach Bar but it felt like too far of a walk in the hot sun from where we were set up on the beach, so we opted for what was convenient. I’m so glad we did because the food was excellent. The ribs, chicken wings, calamari, fried shrimp, and chicken tenders and fries were all delicious…so good that even the pickiest eaters demolished their portion.
Skip Jack’s: We didn’t actually eat in the restaurant since we were exhausted that day and half of the kids were already asleep. Instead, we ordered over the phone and picked it up. It was only a 15 minute walk from the hotel so very doable, even though it was still warm outside. It was hard to choose what to order because everything looked so good but we decided on the corn and crab chowder, clam chowder, French onion soup, crab dip, and ahi tuna salad. All of the soups were SO good that we were contemplating ordering again the next day! I would highly recommend and would love to go and actually eat in the restaurant.
Pineapple Pete’s: The reviews for this restaurant raved about it so we figured we would try it out. We arrived on the earlier side (around 6pm) but by 7pm, it was getting crowded so would recommend reservations if you are aiming for dinner around that time. It also has a game room with arcade games, bar, and gift shop. I had a lychee mojito which was incredibly refreshing. To eat, we had the spinach and cheese stuffed mussels as an appetizer, followed by a lobster thermidor, garlic shrimp, and rib eye steak for entrees. All of the dishes came with salad and rice and peas or mashed potato. My lobster thermidor wasn’t as good as I would’ve liked and my mom said hers teetered on the salty side. The kids’ menu was a really good deal because they received pasta alfredo or barbecue chicken wings with fries, a drink, ice cream, and a frisbee…all for $11.95. Despite the affordable prices, there was nothing there that blew my mind or made me want to return.
Captain’s Rib Shack: We had passed by this restaurant a few times and it always looked pretty packed. In addition, when I looked it up online, it received pretty good reviews. Thursdays was “all you can eat ribs” so we planned to go then but of course none of us ended up ordering that…lol. We ordered the mac and cheese, fries, peas and rice, ribs, oxtail, and garlic shrimp. I really wanted to like this place given the “small island, beach shack” type vibes it gave off, but unfortunately the food was just ok and the service from our waitress (including her attitude) was terrible. One big thing to note (that we didn’t know ahead of time) is that they don’t accept credit cards so be prepared with cash or mobile payment like CashApp.
Jax Steakhouse: We wanted to dine at a “fancy” restaurant to celebrate my mom’s birthday on our last day in Sint Maarten. I read a few reviews and settled on Jax Steakhouse. Located in the Maho area, it was relatively close to where we were staying and only a 10-minute drive away. I would definitely recommend making reservations ahead of time because it gets crowded. It had classic steakhouse vibes: impeccable cocktails, visually appetizing entrees, and a great atmosphere. I had the Jax martini which included all of my favorite flavors (passionfruit, mint, and ginger) and it was easily one of the best cocktails I’ve ever had. The yummy starfruit garnish on the rim was a nice touch as well! Avery had a virgin cocktail called “honeymoon” and said that it was amazing and refreshing. To eat, we ordered a few items, including the calamari, tuna tartare, lobster mac and cheese, meatballs, and surf and turf (one with shrimp and one with lobster). Aside from the lobster tail being microscopic, everything was delicious. Even the kids devoured their meals and said the chicken tenders and fries were some of the best they’ve ever had!
WHAT TO DO
One of the reasons why I was drawn to Sint Maarten was its proximity to neighboring islands as well as the seemingly endless number of activities to do on island.
Maho Beach: No visit to Sint Maarten is complete without going to Maho Beach. Probably the most famous beach on the island, it is adjacent to the airport on the Dutch side and is a popular site to watch planes land. I actually looked up the landing schedule before we arrived so we had an idea of when the planes would be coming and could be prepared. We got there relatively early in the morning (around 9:30am) so it was still quiet as many people hadn’t arrived yet. It is a pretty small beach; pretty rocky, a bit rough, and full of moss where we were but it was the perfect location for the planes for the kids. The kids became obsessed with taking pics in front of the planes, especially the really big one (actually the biggest one, KLM) that came in from the Netherlands.
The kids had to walk a bit further down the beach to enjoy calmer and clearer waters (we couldn’t set up shop down there because the umbrellas and chairs were for the hotel guests).
Anguilla: We wanted to make sure we made it over to Anguilla to see a cousin that lived there so I did some research on ways to get there and it was either plane, semi-private boat, or public ferry from the French side. We figured it would be cheaper (and not too complicated) to catch the ferry so we had the hotel get us a taxi to the pier in Marigot on the French side of St. Martin. It was about a 20 minute drive and cost us about $7/person. After we arrived at the pier, the process went like this:
- Give the person at the first window our passports and in return, they gave us an orange card
- Walk around the corner to another window (immigration), show them the orange card, and pay the $5 per person tax (they didn’t charge us for any kids under 12).
- Board the boat. They collect the $30/pp fee and $15 each for kids under 12 on the way. The ride was only 20 minutes, but the sea can be a bit rough.
There are set times when the ferry leaves so be sure to check the schedule:
Once we arrived, we had to go through “immigration and customs” (which was kind of a joke since there didn’t seem to be any official process). The woman asked all of us if we were here for the day and then just let us through. We found a very nice taxi guy by the name of Colin outside who took us to Rendezvous Bay Beach by Sunshine Shack (also known as Garveys). He charged us $35 one way. A lot of people were going by Shaol’s Bay which I read was also nice but a bit further away. When we arrived at Rendezvous Bay Beach, there were chairs and umbrellas right in front of the restaurant which were free to use since we were going to have lunch.
We ordered drinks (the lemonade was soooo good and tasted freshly squeezed) and lunch around 11:20am when we arrived. While we waited, we headed straight for the water which was incredibly inviting. The sand was fine and soft like powder and the water was as clear as crystal and felt refreshing in the hot sun. Frolicking in the water worked up our appetite and we couldn’t wait to dig into the food we had ordered. Unfortunately, it took TWO hours to get it and while I should be accustomed to “island time”, I was still in disbelief we had to wait so long. Although the service was extremely slow, the food was delicious. We ordered the ribs and chicken combo, lobster, and whole red snapper with rice, plantain, and coleslaw. Both the lobster and snapper tasted super fresh which made sense since they had just caught it that morning.
Before we knew it, it was almost 3pm and time to head back to the ferry to catch the 3:30pm boat. We had to pay a departure tax and go through immigration and “security” which again was a joke because they let my mom go through a door instead since the double stroller didn’t fit through the security machine.
Thankfully, the boat ride back wasn’t as rough as it was going but since my youngest son CJ was terrified of the waves, they let us sit up front by the captain. Funnily enough, while we were sitting up there, I overheard him mention a cousin’s name (whom I had never met but heard my mom mention) who they said handles the ticket window. So of course, when we arrived back at Marigot pier, we went back around to the window and introduced ourselves. Gotta love small island occurrences like that!
Saba: Saba is the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands and is in the Dutch Antilles, located in the Windward Islands archipelago. Even though it is only five square miles and has around 2,000 full-time residents, I was keen to visit the island and see it with my own eyes. Similar to Anguilla, visitors can get to Saba by boat or plane. We opted for the boat because it was more affordable and I found a “lunch and taxi tour” day trip package online that included boat tickets through Aqua Mania Adventures.
The tour started at the Simpson Bay Police Station (about 5 min drive from the hotel) at 8am where we had to check in. Similar to Anguilla, we needed our passports to check in. While the boat looked like a big catamaran, it turned out to be a lot sturdier than it looked.
It was a 90-minute ride to Saba and the waves were a bit rough. They offered drinks on the boat which was a nice touch. We had to go through immigration when we arrived and then we boarded our “bus” for the tour.
Saba is incredibly small, so we were able to drive around the entire island, including the four main villages of Windwardside, The Bottom, Hell’s Gate, and St. John’s. While driving, we passed the sole police station which only has 3 holding cells! The first “official” stop on the tour was The Bottom where we stopped at The Sacred Heart Church that was built in 1877.
The next stop was Hell’s Gate where we saw the shortest commercial runway in the world. I’m still in disbelief that a plane could even land on it!
From what we could see, Saba is very hilly and dry. The roads are super narrow but overall, the island also offers scenic mountain walks, including hikes up Mount Scenery, the island’s active volcano.
We also saw a glass blowing demonstration and had the opportunity to buy unique glass items.
The last stop was lunch at Tropics Cafe that was really good. I had the snapper with lemon beurre blanc sauce and spinach & ricotta ravioli. Thankfully, even the kids enjoyed what they ordered because with an island so small, there were limited options for alternatives!
We then boarded the bus and got back on the boat at 3:30pm. The ride back was nothing like the ride over…it was BAD! The waves were rough and I threw up a few times. Definitely the longest 90 minutes of my life. The kids were troopers but it took me a couple of days to recover.
St. Barts: Like Saba, Aqua Mania Adventures offered day trips to St. Barts where you depart Simpson Bay Resort Marina at 9am, arrive in St. Barts at 9:45am, take an island tour, walk around Gustavia harbor (town), relax on a beach (either St. Jean beach or Shell beach), then head back from Gustavia harbor at 4pm. Although this was supposed to be the plan, after the rough boat experience, I cancelled. I was just starting to feel normal again and couldn’t risk being on those rough waves for even 45 minutes.
HOW TO GET AROUND
My biggest tip for getting around is renting a car! It was $35 for 5 of us one way to Maho Beach which was only 10 minutes away (they didn’t count the two babies). In addition to the hefty price tag for taxi rides, one taxi we had the entire car smelled like weed. To avoid both, just rent a car!
MISCELLANEOUS
Don’t forget your passport when travelling to nearby islands, even if you are travelling by boat. They will NOT let you go without a valid passport!
There are a few activities I had in mind that we didn’t get around to doing:
- Saint Martin (the French side): While we drove through some of the French side, we didn’t get a chance to really explore. I would spend one day walking around downtown, going to Marigot market, relaxing on Grand Case beach, and going to Loterie Farm (a beautiful private nature reserve).
- Besides Saba, Anguilla, and St. Barts, you can also visit St.Kitts or St. Eustatius from St. Martin. There are a couple of ferry options, including Edge and Makana ferry service. However, those boat rides are 3+ hours long so be prepare accordingly.
- Tijon Perfumerie where you could create your own perfume
- Topper’s Rhum Distillery where you can do a tour and rum tastings
Toya's Travels 