On the French side you will find more of the flavor of France, and this side of the island has few traditional tourists sites.
Nude beaches are the norm on the French side, and this side of the island is known for its small French styled boutiques, cafes and small expensive hotels.
St Martin - St Maarten Island Vacations, Island Tours, Resorts
This is the smallest island in the world that is divided into two sovereign nations - half is Dutch, and the other half is French.
Island Hopping!
Vacationers also get the advantage of island hopping to Anguilla,
St Barts, Saba and
St Eustatius for day trips.
St Martin is a dependency of Guadeloupe, and an overseas department of France.
No identification is needed to pass through the French or Dutch borders of the island - in fact the only thing you may notice is a sign if your vehicle is not going too fast to see it.
All flights from the U.S. arrive on St Maarten - the Dutch side of the island.
The Dutch side is more Amercanized than the French side, and you will find lots of condos, time shares, big resorts, casinos and hotels.
This is a shopping addicts dream, and is second only to St Thomas as a premier Caribbean shopping destination.
St Maarten is part of the Netherland Antilles, which is part of the kingdom of the Netherlands.
