St. Martin or Martinique?

[Limpet]

Which sailing area would you recommend given that I'm interested in Sailing, ruins, wrecks, light houses, abandoned places, natural wonders, caves, hikes, areas that are off the beaten path, the fewer people the better. Not interested in the night life, bars, shopping, cities, etc.

St. Martin or Martinique?

[s/v Moondancer]

Martinique is a much bigger island with much more historical stuff!

[Limpet]

The flights from US to Martinique are few and are about 50% more than those to St. Martin. Though to me, the geography of the islands in the Martinique region are much more interesting than the relatively flat islands of Anguilla and St. Martin. However, Saba which is off to south east of St. Martin...looks interesting

[2big2small]

Dominica is right next to Martinique and exactly what you’re looking for. Combine both.

Check Norwegian Air for cheap flights from the DC area. It might come out affordable enough combined with some domestic flight from Texas.

[ryanh]

Coming from somebody who's favorite place in the world is St. Maarten, I would say Martinique is the better option for you.

If you choose St. Maarten, you have more options in terms of nearby islands to sail to. St. Kitts, Nevis, Saba, Anguilla and St. Bart's are beautiful and offer much of what you're looking for, but after the hurricane I don't know the state of those islands. I just returned from St. Maarten this past week and they have done an amazing job cleaning and fixing the island (even though locals say they aren't even a third of the way back to where they want to be).

As said earlier, Martinique will probably provide more options for what you're looking for. I can't say much more on the island since I have never been, but I have heard wonderful things.

I've been going to St. Maarten for 20 years now, so if you decide to head in that direction send me a message and I will let you know of any info I have on spots off the beaten path.

[MARC D]

I have sailed around and visited both. Martinique hands down for me. For the cultural experience, food and multiple things to see on that big island. If you can speak a bit of french it will decuple your pleasure...

Ste-Anne is a gem of anchorage. From there you can dinguy in Le Marin and tie-up at Leader Price Supermarket on dedicated dinguy dock. Hard to beat!

What we loved of St-Martin was the calm of the lagoon combined with well-stock chandleries perfect for a boat project.

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by Limpet

...I'm interested in Sailing, ruins, wrecks, light houses, abandoned places... Not interested in the night life, bars, shopping...

Given the foregoing, I'm sure you'll just love St. Maartan and no worries about night life. Before booking a flight or (hoping) to reserve a charter, however, you might want to take a look at http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...en-198610.html

[ryanh]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

Before booking a flight or (hoping) to reserve a charter, however, you might want to take a look at http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...en-198610.html

Yes, I just returned from SXM and chartered a sailboat for the Heineken Regatta. Most of the boats came over from the Virgin Islands specifically for the regatta and are soon returning to their primary charter locations, and even during the popular regatta finding a boat was tough. Also coming from NYC I believe only Jet Blue and Delta are flying once a day. The island looks great but still a lot of work to be done.

[Flagman101]

Originally Posted by Limpet

Which sailing area would you recommend given that I'm interested in Sailing, ruins, wrecks, light houses, abandoned places, natural wonders, caves, hikes, areas that are off the beaten path, the fewer people the better. Not interested in the night life, bars, shopping, cities, etc.

St. Martin or Martinique?

I have sailed both and my taste goes for Martinique.
Nobody mentioned St-pierre.
It was the capital of Martinique until the volcano destroyed it in 1902.
around 30000 people died in less then 2 minutes.
You can still see many ruins.
Fernand Pain runs a tour train in the morning and is very good at explaining the events and history. But it is in french.
You can hike up the volcano, dive over many wrecks from the eruption.
The north of the island as a different vibe then the south. Lots of nice anchorage. You have to get some acres from the local snack shops. Martinique is also very close to Dominica up north or St-Lucia to the south. But depending on the length of your stay you can very well not leave Martinique.
The biggest problem would be the language barrier for english speaking sailors. I speak both so not a problem for me.
They also make some nice rums


St-Martin is nice but you do end up spending lots of time at customs when changing islands.

[aye-aye-captain]

My choice would definitely goes with Martinique. The historical aspect of Martinique is great and you wouldn't miss a few nights at Le Marin, maybe the most famous marina is this island !