Saint Martin is gorgeous

The eastern Caribbean is not a cheap destination, but with a few tricks you can keep the budget down. Do-it-yourself is definitely the way to go: for example, we booked the Air France flight from Genoa for 1000 euros return (it was high season; at other times you can find good deals!), we rented an apartment 100 metres from the sea over the internet for 790 euros for 2 weeks, and we rented a car with "Ace Rent a Car", again over the internet, for 265 euros (comparing prices it is certainly one of the best, they do not even ask for a deposit!! On top of that, transfers to and from the airport are included).

FOOD: you will find everything and more. In the Dutch part, fast food places and pizzerias proliferate; in the French part there are French, Italian and Creole restaurants and the characteristic lolo (food stalls). In restaurants the prices are more or less like back home, lower in the Creole ones, and at the lolos you get by with 10/12 euros a head while still eating well.

SUPERMARKETS: there are dozens of supermarkets scattered around the island, more or less large. In Marigot there are also two big hypermarkets (Marche and Import) where you can find everything, Italian brands included. At the Marigot marina you will find a characteristic local souvenir market (open 9 to 15 every day except Sunday), and a few metres further on there are stalls selling fresh fruit and vegetables (though these can also be found here and there along the roadsides).

CHILDREN: we set off with our 20-month-old little girl, bringing everything and more from home for fear of not finding nappies, baby food etc. locally... well, here too you will find both the essentials and the superfluous, and there is even a big shop dedicated to children, again in Marigot (Bebe and Kids), so do not weigh down your suitcases for nothing!!!

BEACHES: an embarrassment of choice!! The most beautiful, in our opinion, is Baie Rouge, west of Sandy Ground, a long reddish beach with a high rocky outcrop on the right and an arch in the middle (ideal for snorkelling). Happy Bay, reachable only on foot, about ten minutes along a path from the neighbouring Friar's Bay beach (the rasta beach, very beautiful too and absolutely worth seeing). To watch the sunset you have to reach Baie aux Prunes: there are no bars, hotels or restaurants, and that has preserved it quite a bit from the crowds of holidaymakers who instead incredibly throng Orient Beach, probably the most famous beach in Saint Martin, with its 5.5 km of white sand and an endless string of restaurants, bars, resorts and clubs......

Absolutely not to be missed is Ilet Pinel! It is only 1 km from Cul de Sac, where you find a small jetty and catch one of the boats that between about 9 and 17 carry tourists (price 7 euros a head return) in less than 5 minutes to this incredible and spectacular little island!! Here there are restaurants and lolos that also rent out parasols and sun loungers. Maho Beach is certainly not a beautiful beach, squeezed as it is against the road, but its uniqueness lies in being right next to the runway of the international airport, where, if you are lucky enough to see a Boeing 747 land, you will feel you could almost touch it with your fingers, so close does it pass over your head!!! Galion Beach is ideal for those with children, calm shallow water and little wind. Here there is a single bar restaurant that rents parasols and sun loungers for 15 euros, as on all the other beaches.

DUTY FREE: the island is one big duty free, so you will find the most prestigious brands, even a chocolate boutique!!! A pack of Marlboro costs about 13 euros, a bottle of rum from 12 euros up. If you want a tip, bring more dollars than euros, because in most shops they exchange one euro for one dollar, so on many things you save a fair bit by paying in dollars!! (In the 2 big supermarkets, however, the bill is calculated differently depending on the currency you pay in.)

LANGUAGE: English and French are spoken by any inhabitant of the island, so you can use either one.

TRIPS: Fort Louis in Marigot, where there is a beautiful view of the city; the Butterfly Farm on the road to Galion Beach; Anguilla, 25 minutes by ferry from Marigot port (40 dollars a head return); the island of Saint Barthelemy, about 1 hour by ferry, again from the same pier.

Well, have a good trip then, I hope I have been useful!!!!!