Shared between the French and the Dutch since the mid-seventeenth century, the tiny island of
St Martin/St Maarten
is one of the most touristed islands in this part of the Caribbean and a huge duty-free shopping area. Opinions about the island are as divided as the island itself. Ask the streams of repeat visitors, and they'll tell you that this tiny island is paradise on earth, with fabulous beaches and every type of tourist facility imaginable. Ask others, and you may hear how rapid and barely controlled development has turned a once-beautiful place into "a graceless monument to vulgarian greed", as one disgruntled writer put it.
The truth lies somewhere in between. The island does boast some of the finest beaches in the Eastern Caribbean, particularly at
Orient Beach
on the French side, as well as some stunning scenery, most notably in the interior around
Pic Paradis
, and many excellent restaurants and hotels on both sides of the border. On the other hand, the hunt for the tourist dollar can feel unrelenting and, at times, it is hard to discern the real country under the veneer of concrete development, souvenir shops and the waves of tourists (all particularly acute on the Dutch side in the capital Philipsburg).
If all you want to do is lie on the beach and play in the sea, both St Martin and St Maarten are not bad options. Travelling between the French and Dutch sides (as many visitors do) is hassle-free, since the border is marked only in one spot (by a small obelisk) and there are
no border crossing formalities
. Ultimately, if the crowds get too much for you, bear in mind that it's a very short flight or ferry ride to some of the quietest and most undeveloped islands in the entire Caribbean - particularly delightful are Saba and St Eustatius.
As in much of the Caribbean, the island is a year-round destination; however, the best time to visit is between mid-December and mid-April when rainfall is low and the heat is tempered by cooling trade winds
