Thursday, December 4, 2014

You Will Love Experiencing St Maarten

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By Claudine Hodges


Everyone enjoys going somewhere interesting on holiday. St Maarten is a beautiful island in the northeast Caribbean which lies about three hundred kilometers east of Puerto Rico. The main airport, known as Princess Juliana Airport is often used to refer to the island. In 2007 this airport handled over one hundred and three thousand aircrafts and over one and a half million people.

Depending on where one is coming from this place can be reached by airplane as well as by boat. The transportation around the island can be done by hiring a motorcycle or a car as well as by taxi and bus services. The side of the road that is driven on is the right and all drivers need to hold an international drivers license or a French license. The main road circles the coastline with smaller roads that lead inland. The driving around is stress free with minimal traffic jams and the common way to greet others is by using the car horn.

One activity that needs to be done is the Snorkeling shore excursion. The duration is about two and a half hours where one can head a two person inflatable water boat to view the amazing scenery of the beaches or snorkel at Happy Bay or Baie Rouge to see the exotic marine life. The main boat will be close at hand to offer something cool to drink and where the snorkeling equipment will be kept until desired.

All boats entering do so by going through two moving bridges, one from the French side and the other from the Dutch. Once these bridges are moving all traffic will come to a stand still for about ten minutes. From Mondays to Saturdays they are raised three times a day at set intervals and on Sundays only twice a day.

The second part is the erection of a new control tower and radar facilities. The terminals will be modernized and the runway will have an end safety area added. This was completed in 2006. Phase three will happen if the traffic increases and the terminal buildings will be made larger and a full taxiway system will be put into play. They do have certain stops where one will need to wait and lift a hand to flag shuttles down while there.

If one is more into the sitting on the beach and soaking up the sun while people watching there are some fantastic beaches to visit. The Orient Beach has lots of different restaurants and vendors and if one wishes hiring umbrellas and chairs for the day is common. As it is one of the main beaches it can become a bit crowded at times.

In order to visit all passengers must have a completed an immigration form which is handed to each person while still in the air. They need to be filled out truthfully with an exact address where one will be staying. Each visitor will need to have a valid passport as well as a return ticket.

Happy Bay beach on the French side of the island is fairly empty. There are no restaurants but plenty of palm trees, sea and sand. This beach is for those that prefer to be where nature takes over but it is advisable to leave before dark as there is no help if an accident happens once the sun sets.




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