Activities in St.Martin and St.Maarten

Water sports: Windsurfing, water-skiing, parasailing, and jet-skiing are activities that are regularly offered at the more popular beaches and in the inland lagoons. Rental and instruction tend to be fairly inexpensive.

Deep sea fishing: The offshore waters offer a wide and challenging variety of gamefish including marlin, tuna, dolphinfish, barracuda, and kingfish. The Angers Big Fishing Tournament occurs at the end of March and the Blue Marlin Fishing Tournament takes place here every year in the month of June. Boats can be chartered at reasonable rates all year long, although some of the fish are only in season in these waters from December through March. Charters typically include bait, tackle, and some form of refreshment.

Golf: the one 18-hole golf course on the island is located on the Dutch side of St. Maarten nearby at Mullet Bay. The course is open to all visitors.

Tennis: Tennis remains one of the favorite pastimes in St. Martin, and there are more than 70 courts over the whole island. Many of these are to be found in the hotels, and squash is available at a number of sports clubs and fitness centers. Tennis pros are on hand in several of these places to give instruction for a modest fee.

Duty free shopping: One of the great attractions of the island has been the duty-free shopping available on both sides of the island. Luxury items from all over the world, French and Italian clothing fashions, Dutch and Japanese electronics, Indonesian batiks and Chinese embroidery, jewelry, leather, crystal, liquors, and fine porcelain, free of all taxes and customs, are regularly offered at bargain prices. The French side also provides a more leisurely shopping experience since the crowds from the cruise ships tend to be attracted more to the Dutch side.

Restaurants: the island provides a wide variety of restaurants, bistros, brassieres, and barbecue shacks called lolos that delight even the most sophisticated of gourmets. To see a selection of restaurants, click here.