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Sint Maarten Travel Info and Hotel Discounts Sint Maarten Travel Info and Hotel Discounts

 

Netherlands Antilles Hotel Accommodations
Sint Maarten Hotel Resorts

DIVI LITTLE BAY BEACH RESORT
LITTLE BAY ROAD - Phillipsburg, Netherlands Antilles
With Great Bay On One Side And Little Bay On The Other,
Divi Little Bay Beach Resort Offers A View Of The Caribbean
That's Unparalleled. Situated Between Two Pristine Bays,
The Divi Little Bay Beach Resort Is Minutes From
The Caribbean  Best Shopping And Dining,


DIVI LITTLE BAY BEACH RESORT
Sint Maarten Travel Info and Hotel Discounts

 
Sixt Rent a car   Sint Maarten Budget Car Rental - Budget rent a car in Sint Maarten  ●  Sint Maarten Car Rentals  Sint Maarten Avis Car Rental - Avis rent a car in Sint Maarten
Saint Martin Car Rentals / French Side

 Major City Hotel Lodging Accommodations in Sint Maarten

     Sint Maarten Featured Hotels      Saint Martin & Saint Maarten  Hotels          Sandals All-Inclusive Resorts

Pelican Resort Club
BILLY FOLLY ROAD #37 - Philipsburg, Netherlands Antilles
Pelican Resort Club, Operated By Royal Resorts, Is Set On A Caribbean Beach, And Offers Four Tennis Courts, Five Swimming Pools, A Health Spa, And Casino. Add Two Restaurants, A Mini Market, Gift Shops, And A Water Sports Center For The Perfect Vacation Spot. This Large Full-service Resort Is Situated Midway Between St. Maarten's Butch And French Duty Free Shopping Areas.

Pelican Resort Club Philipsburg, Netherlands Antilles

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  Saint Martin
Saint Martin -
Flag of Sint MaartenSaint Martin is a tropical island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately 150 miles east of Puerto Rico. The 88 km² (38 square-mile) island is divided roughly in half between France and the Netherlands; it is the smallest inhabited land mass in the world that is divided between two nations (with the possible exception of a small island in Boundary Lake, between the U.S. and Canada). The southern Dutch half is called Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles; the northern French half is called Saint-Martin and is part of the French overseas région and département of Guadeloupe. Collectively, the two territories are known as, "St.-Martin/St. Maarten", "St. Martins", or simply, "SXM" (SXM is the IATA identifier for Princess Juliana International Airport, the island's main airport). Remarkably, neither of the two halves of Saint Martin warrants a separate FIPS PUB 10-4 territory code; they are presumably coded as GP (Guadeloupe) and NT (Netherlands Antilles).

The main towns are Marigot (French side) and Philipsburg (Dutch side).

The French part of the island has a land area of 53.20 km² (20.5 sq mi). At the 2002 supplementary French census, the population in the French part of the island was 31,349 inhabitants (up from only 8,072 inhabitants at the 1982 census, a quadrupling in just 20 years), which means a population density of 589 inh. per km² in 2002.

Sint Maarten, the Dutch part of the island, has a land area of 34 km² (13.1 sq mi). At the 2001 Netherlands Antilles census, the population in Sint Maarten was 30,594 inhabitants, which means a population density of 900 inh. per km². In 2004 the population of Sint Maarten was estimated at 33,119 inhabitants.

History of Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten
In 1493, Christopher Columbus, the Genoese sea captain financed by Spanish royalty, embarked on his second voyage to the New World. According to legend, Columbus sighted and perhaps anchored at the island of Saint Martin on November 11, 1493, the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours. In his honor, Columbus named the island San Martin. It is now more commonly known as Sint Maarten (Dutch), Saint-Martin (French), and Saint Martin (English).


Flags flying in Marigot harbor, Saint-MartinWhen Columbus sailed these seas, St. Martin was populated, if populated at all, by Arawak or Carib Indians. The Arawaks were subjugated by the warlike Carib Indians from South America a short time before the arrival of the Spanish who followed in Columbus' wake. The English word cannibal is derived from an Arawak word which referred to the Caribs. The Arawaks were a relatively cultured, agricultural people who fashioned pottery and whose social organization was headed by hereditary chieftains who derived their power from personal deities called zemis. The Caribs, on the other hand, concentrated on warfare. They killed and, allegedly, ate the Arawak men, then married the Arawak women.

As the Spanish conquered each island, they rounded up its "Indians" and put them to work. By 1550, a few Arawaks remained on Cuba and Trinidad. The Caribs' territory was not completely conquered until the mid-17th century when most of them perished in the struggle between the French, English, Dutch, Danes and Spanish for control of the West Indies. The Dutch first began to ply the island's ponds for salt in the 1620s. Despite the Dutch presence on the island, the Spaniards recaptured St. Martin in 1633 and one year later built a fort at Pointe Blanche to assert their claim. The Spaniards introduced the first slaves to the area in the 16th century but the main influx of slaves took place in the 18th century with the development of sugar plantations by the French. Slavery was abolished in the first half of the 19th century, whereupon the British imported Chinese and East Indians to take the place of slaves. Thus, St. Martin and the other islands are peopled by a mixture of Amerindian, African, Asian and European peoples. West Indian cultures such as in St. Martin are, consequently, exceedingly rich and varied, scarcely matched in other parts of the world.

Characteristics and tourist information

Simpson Bay, Sint MaartenSint Maarten, the "Dutch side", is known for its festive nightlife, fun beaches, and plentiful casinos, while Saint-Martin, the "French side", is known more for its sexy daylife of world-famous nude beaches, jewelry and clothes shopping, exotic drinks made with native rum-based guavaberry liquors, and rich French Caribbean cuisine.

The island is served by many major airlines that bring in large jets, including Boeing 747s and the largest current Airbus aircraft, carrying tourists from across the world on a daily basis. This fuels the island's largest revenue source, tourism. Princess Juliana International Airport -- which will open a major new terminal in mid-2006 -- is famous for its short landing strip —only 2,130 metres/7,000 ft, which is barely enough for heavy jets. Because of this, the planes approach the island flying extremely low, right over the beach. Countless photos of large jets flying at 10–20 m/60-70 ft over relaxing tourists at the beach have been dismissed as photoshopped many times, but are nevertheless real [1].

Sint Maarten/Saint-Martin is home to several world-class accommodations, including hotels, villas, and timeshares, many of which are privately available for rent or sale. Some properties have over 200 rooms, while others have fewer than twenty. Many are located directly on beaches and in upscale shopping districts. Villas pepper the coast, boasting private beaches. Some are private residences, while others are available to affluent renters.

View of cruise ships docked in St. Martin's Dutch sideRental cars are the primary mode of transportation for visitors staying on island. The island is served by several well-known agencies. It is common and recommended to reserve a rental car over the Internet through a discount Caribbean specialist, well in advance of arrival. If any driving is expected off the major roads (such as to some of the more secluded beaches), a 4-wheel drive is recommended.

The island occasionally is menaced by hurricane activity, especially in the late summer and early fall and tourism is usually down dramatically during this time. Many shops, restaurants, and other local businesses close completely during hurricane season.

The island is widely known for its hundreds of gourmet (and more moderately priced) restaurants on both sides of the island.

Neighboring islands include Saint Barths (French, formerly Swedish), Anguilla (British), Saba (Dutch), Sint Eustatius "Statia" (Dutch), Saint Kitts and Nevis (Independent, formerly British). With the exception of Nevis, all of these islands are easily visible on a clear day from St. Maarten.
 
  The Netherlands Antilles (Dutch: Nederlandse Antillen), previously known as the Netherlands West Indies, are part of the Lesser Antilles and consist of two groups of islands in the Caribbean Sea that form an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (none of the other Antilles use this term in their name). The islands' economy is dependent mostly upon tourism and petroleum.

History
Main articles: History of the Netherlands Antilles,
Both the lewards(Alonso de Ojeda, 1499) and Windward (Christopher Columbus, 1493) island groups were discovered and initially settled by the Spanish. In the 17th century, the islands were conquered by the Dutch West India Company and were used as bases for slave trade. Only in 1863 was slavery abolished.

In 1954, the islands were promoted from colony to a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The island of Aruba was part of the Netherlands Antilles until 1986, when it was granted a "status apart", and became a separate part of the kingdom. Some of the other islands have indicated that they wish to obtain the same status, but no agreements on this have yet been reached. Other options sometimes considered are independence or together becoming a province of the Netherlands. (see: Dutch colonial empire)

Future status
Beatrix
Queen of the NetherlandsIn 2004 a commission of the governments of the Netherlands Antilles and the Netherlands reported on a future status for the Netherlands Antilles. The commission advised to revise the Statute of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in order to dissolve the Netherlands Antilles. Two new countries inside the Kingdom of the Netherlands would be formed, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius would become directly part of the Netherlands as Kingdom Islands. On November 28, 2005, an agreement was signed between the Dutch government and the governments of each island that would put into effect the commission's findings by July 2007. [1]

Islands
Main articles: Islands of the Netherlands Antilles,
The Netherland Antilles have no major administrative divisions, although each island has its own local government.

The two island groups of which the Netherlands Antilles consists are:

the "Leeward Islands" (Benedenwindse Eilanden) off the Venezuelan coast (with also Aruba nearby):
Bonaire, including an islet called Klein Bonaire ("Little Bonaire")
Curaçao, including an islet called Klein Curaçao ("Little Curaçao")
the "Windward Islands" (Bovenwindse Eilanden) east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. These are part of what are in English called the Leeward Islands, but in e.g. French, Spanish, German, Dutch and the English spoken locally these are considered part of the Windward Islands.
Saba
Sint Eustatius
Sint Maarten, the southern half of the island Saint Martin (the northern half, Saint-Martin, is French and part of the overseas department of Guadeloupe).
Background:
Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Saint Martin is shared with France; its northern portion is named Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe, and its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Sint Maarten.
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 960 sq km
note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin)
water: 0 sq km
land: 960 sq km
Area - comparative:
more than five times the size of Washington, DC
Climate:
tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds
Terrain:
generally hilly, volcanic interiors
Ethnic groups:
mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian
Religions:
Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist
Languages:
Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish
Currency:
Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG)
Currency code:
ANG
Exchange rates:
Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.790 (fixed rate since 1989)
Internet country code:
.an

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