G and I were wanderlusting and in want of taking our first trip abroad as a couple. With G's work schedule, a week was the most he could take away which somewhat limited our ability to go to Europe. Knowing we wanted to be able to use our passports, go to the beach, and be in a place where they spoke a language outside of English - we opted for St. Martin, an island in the Caribbean that is half French and half Dutch - aka a beautiful beach getaway where we could somewhat pretend we were in Europe thanks to the languages.
Our entire trip in St. Martin would be a total of 5 days. We opted to fly to and from Atlanta to break up the trip (G's very generous parents also donated some miles from Atlanta to St. Martin to make the trip a bit more feasible on short planning - thank you Letizia and Murray!)
G and I - ready for takeoff!
The view as we were landing!
Upon landing in St. Martin, we immediately met "Kenny" the rental car guy who hooked us up with a questionable vehicle that we were very grateful for. My seatbelt didn't work, so Kenny creatively adapted it (sure I had to slither in and out of it and if I had a big meal, there was concern I wouldn't be able to get into it, but it did the trick and beggars can't be choosers). After slipping into my no-give seatbelt, off we went to the French side of the island where G had booked us an Airbnb on the beach.
Our AirBnB was located right on the beach at Orient Bay, which is easily one of the nicest beaches on the French side of St. Martin. It looked to be an adorable place, all white interiors, little balcony where we could sit in lawn chairs, and right on the beach for only $80 a night! As we drove up to the "Good Day Cafe" where our host told us to meet her and found it dark and closed, I immediately believed we'd been bamboozled. G convinced me to get out of the car and enjoy the beautiful beach and just as I was taking it all in we heard a voice from above the cafe yelling, "Bonjour! Bonjour Giuliano!!" (our Airbnb was located above the Good Day Cafe :))
Our host (Christelle) gave us a quick tour, including on the balcony where she shared, "There is complete privacy up here and no one can see you so do what you like, if you know what I mean." (with a wink). Gotta love the French!
Thanks Christelle - enjoying that private balcony!
We could not have asked for a better spot. Located above the Cafe (which though closed, was open every morning with fresh baked croissants and bread), also located above a grocery store (where we could get fresh cheese, meats, bread, good wine...), and right on the beach with a variety of fine dining and casual French restaurants and amazing drinks! I don't throw out the word paradise a lot, but this place was seriously amazing (G did good!)
BBC on the left (we consumed a lot of these) and strawberry daquiri on the right
Night 1 we explored the restaurants nearby, had a lot of BBC's (Banana, Baileys, Coconut), sat on the beach, and sat on the balcony enjoying our bounty of cheeses, breads, and wine.
The next day included a day trip to Anguilla (shout out again to G's parents who sponsored our boat ride!) - this was an AMAZING experience.
G and I on the boat riding over from St. Martin to Anguilla
Enjoying our boat bevies
After about an hour to an hour and a half boat ride over to Anguilla (which included free drinks!), we landed on the seriously GORGEOUS island of Anguilla. I can understand why the beaches in Anguilla are regularly featured on the "top 10 beaches of the world" list because they are jaw-droppingly beautiful.
Us, ridiculously happy on the beaches of Anguilla (check out that water behind us)
This serene photo of the white sand and turquoise water doesn't even do it justice
After having a BBQ lunch on the beach, the boat took us back to St. Martin. We spent the latter part of the evening having fine French dining and amazing flavored rum at a restaurant a few steps from our AirBnB.
The next day we went for an adventure around the island! We took a jet ski out on the water, hit up some LoLo's (Carribean/St. Martin bbq spots), rum spots, and had a hilarious excursion to the famous Maho beach where the airplanes come in right over the beach.
The jet ski experience during a windy day was....well...exhilarating for G and terrifying for me. The rest of the day was full of laughs though! We also explored a bit more of the Dutch side which was by far the busier side of the island and full of cruise ships (I am glad we stayed on the French side, the food was better on our side too).
Us, a random beach, and a bottle of banana rum
Maho beach - the way you're supposed to experience it
G and I trying to get a video of the plane above us on Maho beach. We couldn't understand, until after this video, why everyone left the beach when the planes are leaving the other way
That night we decided to treat ourselves to the really nice restaurant where we had lobster and escargot. Out of respect for G's vegetarian family, we did not take any photos with or of our food that night.
On our last day, we explored some more, took out our Flamingo blow-up that I had envisioned would be a grand experience in the ocean.
Adventuring
Former lookout and military base
Enjoying our balcony with a fresh spread of delicious goods
Attempting to use the flamingo
The reality of what I had envisioned with taking the Flamingo into the ocean
St. Martin proved to be just what the doctor ordered. Affordable, gorgeous, peaceful, and full of good food, good drinks, and amazing beach experiences. While not every travel place is a place you'd return, I'd 10/10 recommend St. Martin and could easily see us coming back the next time we're in need of a beach vacation.
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