St. Maarten vs Aruba
Feb 26th 2003, 4:55 pm
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
St. Maarten vs Aruba
St. Maarten and Aruba look like vastly different islands. If the web sites are
correct, St. Maarten appears to be lush and hilly, while Aruba appears to be
flat and rather arid, with a desert in the central region. First of all, is
that a correct summary? Can someone give me a comparison of the two islands and
which they think is a better place to visit? The criteria I'm looking for are
good beaches, not overly developed, and very good dining. In addition, some
people on our trip will simply want to relax and take it easy while some others
will want to do some exploring, sight-seeing, and diving.
correct, St. Maarten appears to be lush and hilly, while Aruba appears to be
flat and rather arid, with a desert in the central region. First of all, is
that a correct summary? Can someone give me a comparison of the two islands and
which they think is a better place to visit? The criteria I'm looking for are
good beaches, not overly developed, and very good dining. In addition, some
people on our trip will simply want to relax and take it easy while some others
will want to do some exploring, sight-seeing, and diving.
Feb 26th 2003, 7:11 pm
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: St. Maarten vs Aruba
"Ksu93dlv" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> St. Maarten and Aruba look like vastly different islands. If the web sites
are
> correct, St. Maarten appears to be lush and hilly, while Aruba appears to
be
> flat and rather arid, with a desert in the central region. First of all,
is
> that a correct summary?
St Maarten/Martin is hilly, but not particularly lush except at the top of
Pic Paradis [Paradise Peak]. But lush also means rain, so it may be at odds
with your other goals.
Neither island has a lot of rain, but Aruba is doubtless drier. Except fo
the BIG storms, tropical rain is a 20-minute thing, and then back to sun.
> Can someone give me a comparison of the two islands and
> which they think is a better place to visit? The criteria I'm looking for
are
> good beaches, not overly developed, and very good dining.
I'd say that the French side of St Martin fills this bill better that either
Aruba or Dutch St Maarten. Grand Case, St Martin, is said to have the
largest consentration of excellent restaurants in the Caribbean. St
Maarten/Martin is so small that driving back and forth between sides is a
non-event, there are absolutely no formalities - maybe a slight change in
road surface.
> In addition, some
> people on our trip will simply want to relax and take it easy while some
others
> will want to do some exploring, sight-seeing, and diving.
There's not a LOT of sightseeing on either island, though St M. has a number
of beaches you can drive to. The big sightseeing at St M would be day-trips
to St Barths, Saba, and Anguilla. There are no similar trip available at
Aruba.
Most of Aruba is much more "high rise" than French St Martin.
Here is a low-rise place you might investigate:
http://www.la-plantation.com/ (I've stayed here a number of times)
news:[email protected]...
> St. Maarten and Aruba look like vastly different islands. If the web sites
are
> correct, St. Maarten appears to be lush and hilly, while Aruba appears to
be
> flat and rather arid, with a desert in the central region. First of all,
is
> that a correct summary?
St Maarten/Martin is hilly, but not particularly lush except at the top of
Pic Paradis [Paradise Peak]. But lush also means rain, so it may be at odds
with your other goals.
Neither island has a lot of rain, but Aruba is doubtless drier. Except fo
the BIG storms, tropical rain is a 20-minute thing, and then back to sun.
> Can someone give me a comparison of the two islands and
> which they think is a better place to visit? The criteria I'm looking for
are
> good beaches, not overly developed, and very good dining.
I'd say that the French side of St Martin fills this bill better that either
Aruba or Dutch St Maarten. Grand Case, St Martin, is said to have the
largest consentration of excellent restaurants in the Caribbean. St
Maarten/Martin is so small that driving back and forth between sides is a
non-event, there are absolutely no formalities - maybe a slight change in
road surface.
> In addition, some
> people on our trip will simply want to relax and take it easy while some
others
> will want to do some exploring, sight-seeing, and diving.
There's not a LOT of sightseeing on either island, though St M. has a number
of beaches you can drive to. The big sightseeing at St M would be day-trips
to St Barths, Saba, and Anguilla. There are no similar trip available at
Aruba.
Most of Aruba is much more "high rise" than French St Martin.
Here is a low-rise place you might investigate:
http://www.la-plantation.com/ (I've stayed here a number of times)
Feb 27th 2003, 12:14 am
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: St. Maarten vs Aruba
On Wed, 26 Feb 2003, R J Carpenter wrote:
>Ksu93dlv wrote in message
>> which they think is a better place to visit? The criteria I'm looking for are
>> good beaches, not overly developed, and very good dining.
>I'd say that the French side of St Martin fills this bill better that either
>Aruba or Dutch St Maarten. Grand Case, St Martin, is said to have the
>largest consentration of excellent restaurants in the Caribbean.
Definitely a French island. So, if you are limiting yourself to these two
islands then I agree.
>> In addition, some
>> people on our trip will simply want to relax and take it easy while some others
>> will want to do some exploring, sight-seeing, and diving.
>There's not a LOT of sightseeing on either island, though St M. has a number
>of beaches you can drive to. The big sightseeing at St M would be day-trips
>to St Barths, Saba, and Anguilla. There are no similar trip available at
>Aruba.
Martinique and Guadeloupe would provide more sightseeing. Guadeloupe has
three out islands for day trips. Both have diving, with more to see off
Martinique. Guadeloupe is easier to get to from the US.
Don .
>Ksu93dlv wrote in message
>> which they think is a better place to visit? The criteria I'm looking for are
>> good beaches, not overly developed, and very good dining.
>I'd say that the French side of St Martin fills this bill better that either
>Aruba or Dutch St Maarten. Grand Case, St Martin, is said to have the
>largest consentration of excellent restaurants in the Caribbean.
Definitely a French island. So, if you are limiting yourself to these two
islands then I agree.
>> In addition, some
>> people on our trip will simply want to relax and take it easy while some others
>> will want to do some exploring, sight-seeing, and diving.
>There's not a LOT of sightseeing on either island, though St M. has a number
>of beaches you can drive to. The big sightseeing at St M would be day-trips
>to St Barths, Saba, and Anguilla. There are no similar trip available at
>Aruba.
Martinique and Guadeloupe would provide more sightseeing. Guadeloupe has
three out islands for day trips. Both have diving, with more to see off
Martinique. Guadeloupe is easier to get to from the US.
Don .
Feb 27th 2003, 2:51 pm
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: St. Maarten vs Aruba
Here's my short comparison.
CUISINE - St Maarten offers some of the best food in the Caribbean, though
it does no come cheaply. On the other hand, I've had some excellent and
reasonably priced seafood in Aruba. Still I would have to go with St Maarten
on this one.
DIVING - Aruba has a lot of "wreck" dives and there's supposed to be some
very good deep dives off Saba, near St Maarten. Since I never dove in Saba,
I would say Aruba takes this one, though I may change my mind someday when
I dive Saba.
EXPLORING & SIGHTSEEING - Aruba is a desert island and you will see a lot of
cacti when you drive around, but real beauty is underwater. Locals claim
their weather is boring because it is terribly consistent, hardly any rain
and outside of the hurricane belt. St Maarten has a better landscape and
it's like visiting 2 countries at the same time, the French and Dutch side,
totally different experiences. I would have to go with St Maarten.
PEOPLE - Aruba's mantra is "one happy family" and you will find the
friendlies people in the Caribbean here, I think. Maybe, in fact, "too
friendly", if there's such a thing. They've honed their skills so well in
terms of pleasing tourists, that at times, it almost seems fake and
affected. I have met some very friendly people in St Maarten, but all seemed
to be a bit too commercialized and had some hidden agenda. Besides, that
whole thing about "French snobbery" still seems to persist. I would have to
go with a Aruba on this one.
You really can't go wrong with either one, especially if it's your first
time in either. I would roll the dice and pick one.
"Ksu93dlv" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> St. Maarten and Aruba look like vastly different islands. If the web sites
are
> correct, St. Maarten appears to be lush and hilly, while Aruba appears to
be
> flat and rather arid, with a desert in the central region. First of all,
is
> that a correct summary? Can someone give me a comparison of the two
islands and
> which they think is a better place to visit? The criteria I'm looking for
are
> good beaches, not overly developed, and very good dining. In addition,
some
> people on our trip will simply want to relax and take it easy while some
others
> will want to do some exploring, sight-seeing, and diving.
CUISINE - St Maarten offers some of the best food in the Caribbean, though
it does no come cheaply. On the other hand, I've had some excellent and
reasonably priced seafood in Aruba. Still I would have to go with St Maarten
on this one.
DIVING - Aruba has a lot of "wreck" dives and there's supposed to be some
very good deep dives off Saba, near St Maarten. Since I never dove in Saba,
I would say Aruba takes this one, though I may change my mind someday when
I dive Saba.
EXPLORING & SIGHTSEEING - Aruba is a desert island and you will see a lot of
cacti when you drive around, but real beauty is underwater. Locals claim
their weather is boring because it is terribly consistent, hardly any rain
and outside of the hurricane belt. St Maarten has a better landscape and
it's like visiting 2 countries at the same time, the French and Dutch side,
totally different experiences. I would have to go with St Maarten.
PEOPLE - Aruba's mantra is "one happy family" and you will find the
friendlies people in the Caribbean here, I think. Maybe, in fact, "too
friendly", if there's such a thing. They've honed their skills so well in
terms of pleasing tourists, that at times, it almost seems fake and
affected. I have met some very friendly people in St Maarten, but all seemed
to be a bit too commercialized and had some hidden agenda. Besides, that
whole thing about "French snobbery" still seems to persist. I would have to
go with a Aruba on this one.
You really can't go wrong with either one, especially if it's your first
time in either. I would roll the dice and pick one.
"Ksu93dlv" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> St. Maarten and Aruba look like vastly different islands. If the web sites
are
> correct, St. Maarten appears to be lush and hilly, while Aruba appears to
be
> flat and rather arid, with a desert in the central region. First of all,
is
> that a correct summary? Can someone give me a comparison of the two
islands and
> which they think is a better place to visit? The criteria I'm looking for
are
> good beaches, not overly developed, and very good dining. In addition,
some
> people on our trip will simply want to relax and take it easy while some
others
> will want to do some exploring, sight-seeing, and diving.
Feb 28th 2003, 3:17 am
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: St. Maarten vs Aruba
> DIVING - Aruba has a lot of "wreck" dives and there's supposed to be some
> very good deep dives off Saba, near St Maarten. Since I never dove in
Saba,
> I would say Aruba takes this one, though I may change my mind someday
when
> I dive Saba.
I have done scuba dives on St. Martin and Saba is listed in my dive guides
as the #5 top dive site in the world. I can not speak for the wrecks of
Aruba, but I dove on 3 wrecks in one day on St. Martin.
D
> very good deep dives off Saba, near St Maarten. Since I never dove in
Saba,
> I would say Aruba takes this one, though I may change my mind someday
when
> I dive Saba.
I have done scuba dives on St. Martin and Saba is listed in my dive guides
as the #5 top dive site in the world. I can not speak for the wrecks of
Aruba, but I dove on 3 wrecks in one day on St. Martin.
D
Feb 28th 2003, 2:14 pm
#6
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: St. Maarten vs Aruba
CB wrote:
>DIVING - Aruba has a lot of "wreck" dives and there's supposed to be some
>very good deep dives off Saba, near St Maarten. Since I never dove in Saba,
>I would say Aruba takes this one, though I may change my mind someday when
>I dive Saba.
Didn't dive in Saba, but did in Statia. It was very nice, lots
of large versions of normally smaller fish, lots of gorgonians,
and apparently the archeological wrecks are interesting (don't
take home any of the beads or pipes you might find).
--
Ken Tough
>DIVING - Aruba has a lot of "wreck" dives and there's supposed to be some
>very good deep dives off Saba, near St Maarten. Since I never dove in Saba,
>I would say Aruba takes this one, though I may change my mind someday when
>I dive Saba.
Didn't dive in Saba, but did in Statia. It was very nice, lots
of large versions of normally smaller fish, lots of gorgonians,
and apparently the archeological wrecks are interesting (don't
take home any of the beads or pipes you might find).
--
Ken Tough
