St. Martin attractions and other activities.

Please, be a compassionate traveler! Do NOT use the service of Shark or Dolphin Swims Programs that hold these wild animals in captivity. The capture and transportation process causes the death of thousands of these animals before they reach the destination. Also the average life span of a dolphin in the wild is 45 years; yet half of all captured dolphins die within their first two years of captivity. The survivors last an average of only 5 years in captivity Truth Behind The "Swim-With-Dolphins" Industry

Loterie Farm is one of the best St. Martin attractions. A former sugar plantation, now is a big nature park (135 acres) with the island's last remaining virgin rainforest. The clearly marked hiking trails takes you to the island's highest point, where a viewing platform offers amazing 360-degree panoramas. You will also get to know local flora and fauna. Wild curious monkeys, parrots, hummingbirds and mongoose are commonly seen on the trails. The hills are covered by lush vegetation, running streams and beautiful sounds of the forest. Come early in the morning to have it all to yourself before the cruise ship crowds and zip liners take over.

There are two great restaurants on the property. One is more formal and the other is a tapas bar. The restaurants are a bit pricy but having in mind the quality and quantity of the food it is a great value.

This can be an easy half a day trip or a whole day trip - it's up to you. Drive to the turnoff at Pic du Paradis, halfway between Marigot and Grand Case. Admission $7.25 for un-guided hike, $36 US per person for a guided hiking tour (6 people minimum). Fly Zone is $50 to $80 US. Open Tuesday to Sunday 9am-6pm.

The Butterfly farm is a small tropical garden with little waterfalls and ponds filled with some rare butterflies. As you walk around the path you would see such rare species as the Central American postman, Malaysian malachite, and Brazilian blue morpho. There are many areas to just sit and enjoy the scenery and watch the butterflies. If you arrive early in the morning, you might witness butterflies emerging from their chrysalides. An optional 25 minutes tour is included in your admission fee.

The guide walks you through the garden and sometimes holds out a butterfly so that you can take pictures. The guide may let you hold cocoons and show off just-hatched butterflies. The tours follow the typical life cycle from egg to caterpillar and on to adulthood. The shop sells everything related to butterflies: butterfly earrings, wind chimes, fridge magnets, framed mounted sets etc.

The Butterfly Farm, located on the French side of the island at Quartier d'Orléans. Admission is $14 which is a bit pricy for such a small facility but it includes the tours and unlimited excess during your entire vacation. Open daily 9am-3:30pm. You would normally spend an hour at the facility.

Plantation Mont Vernon is a restored 2-acre estate originally built in 1786. The main house has some nice antique furnishings creating a little museum itself but the main attractions here are the coffee, indigo and rum mini museums and a small botanical gardens. Take a self-guided 1-hour audio tour of the property. Along the route, you can visit decantation pools used to process indigo into dye. The coffee museum re-creates the gathering, drying, roasting, and grinding processes. The rum museum features old equipment from sugar press to still as well as bottles and labels from the last 3 centuries. The sampling of grown-on-site coffee and rum is included in your admission fee.

The botanical and herb gardens have a nice display of traditional carrebian agricultural plants such as manioc, tobacco, and spices that perfume the air. Along the route, several buildings act as mini museums on different cash crops. The plantation is located at Cul de Sac not far from Orient Beach. Open daily 9am-5pm. Admission $12 US.

The Seaside Nature Park is known for its horseback riding tours

that includes swimming with the horses. One of the highlights of the horseback riding tours is the stop on the most southern part of the island of St. Maarten, the islands of Saba and St. Barths can be seen, and on clear days even Nevis and St. Kitts.

Besides horseback riding, the park offers a variety of trails at Cay Bay. You can trek on your own or join the guided hiking tours discovering Captain Henk's Cove and the rocky coastline. While hiking you can meet young foals with their mothers, or older retired horses, that run free in the park. The Cay Bay trails lead next to the coves, which rumour has it, were used by the Caribbean Pirates to hide their treasures. The snorkelling in the bay is quite nice.

The capital of the French side, Marigot is one of the top St. Martin attractions. Marigot is probably the most charming town in Caribbean with its gas lamps, sidewalk cafes with the smell of freshly baked pastries, French-inspired boutiques, French cuisine restaurants, brightly coloured “gingerbread style” wood houses and beautiful Marina Royale. It is a French market town in a tropical environment.

The waterfront Le West Indies Mall is a mecca for brand name shoppers. At Marigot's harbor side, there's a colourful morning market on Wednesdays and Saturdays with vendors selling spices, herbs, fruit, shells, and handicrafts. It is a good spot to shop for some spices and cheap souvenirs. Another good shopping place is Marina Royale is staffed with boutiques and galleries selling everything from lingerie to liqueurs and little restaurants.

Overlooking Marigot Bay, on the leeward side of the island sits, the remains of Fort St. Louis, the largest historical monument in St.Martin. The fort was built in 1767 to protect the settlement at Marigot from foreign invaders. The plans were sent over directly from Versailles at the order of French king, Louis XVI. Following the events of 1789, the fort was temporarily occupied by the Dutch. The beautiful remains of the fort include original cannons, and the views from the fort are fantastic in all directions. There are no entrance fees and it is open 24/7. There are also signs explaining historical events.

The zoo is situated on a little more than 3 acres and has a good variety of animals including Caribbean's largest display of exotic parrots, capybaras, ocelots, peccaries, coatis, baboons, and such highly endangered species as the golden lion tamarin. Squirrel Monkeys Island, Walk-through Aviaries and the Bat Cave are quite nicely done. They also have a good variety of native plant and tree species that create a wild ambiance. The zoo won't blow you away but it is a nice way to spend an afternoon especially for those with kids. Kids would love to feed some of the animals as well as other activities such as face-painting competitions, puppet shows, clown acts, and treasure hunts.

On top of already mentioned hiking opportunities at Cay Bay (Seaside Nature Park) and Loterie Farm there are many more trails to hike in St. Martin. Despite its small size, the island offers terrain ranging from limestone plateaus to a central volcanic ridge topped by 445m (1,482-ft.) Pic du Paradis, and ecosystems from semi-desert to tropical rainforest. The most accesible free hiking is at Paradise Peak.

Drive or take a taxi to Paradise Peak (Pic du Paradis) and hike up. It's a steep trek up but you will be rewarded with amazing pamonamas. The breathtaking views take in tropical rainforest, St. Martin's coastline, the surrounding islands and the ocean.

Calm waters, shallow reefs and tiny coves make St. Marten a snorkelling paradise. Réserve Sous-Marine Régionale which is an underwater nature reserve on the French side has the best snorkelling on the island.

The reserve includes Flat Island, Pinel Island, Green Key and Petite Clef . Snorkelling around those islands is absolutely fantastic. To get to Pinel Island drive or take a taxi to Cul de sac and then take the 5 min ferry across. For the other islets and islands you will have to book a snorkelling tour.

The island's top snorkelling beaches are Mullet Bay, Cay Bay, Little Bay, Dawn Beach, Plum Bay, and Baie Rouge. In most of these places the snorkelling is free and just steps away from the beach.

Scuba divers can enjoy reef, wreck, night, cave, and drift diving in St. Maarten. The dive sites are 6 to 21m (20-69 ft.) deep. Underwater visibility runs from 23 to 38m (75-125 ft.). The biggest attraction for divers is the 1770 British man-of-war, HMS Proselyte, which came to a watery grave on a reef 2km (1 1/4 miles) off Philipsburg in 1801. Other excellent sites include Tugboat Annie, Frenchman's Reef, Lucy's Barge, Pelican Rock, the double pinnacles of One Step Beyond, Moonhole which is a large crater with caves and walls of sponges and the intact fishing vessel. Most of the big resorts have facilities for scuba diving. Day dives wreck dives, and reef dives cost $45 per dive (certified divers only). A resort course for first-time divers with reasonable swimming skills costs $75 US.

One of St. Martin attractions is the opportunity to see more of the Caribbean in one shot. Both Dutch and French sides of the islands have a frequent and inexpensive ferry service to the nearby islands such as Anguilla, Saba, and St. Barths. Any tourist can take a small day trips to neighbouring islands to enjoy the beaches and the scenery and get back to St. Marten the same day. If you want to explore as much of the Caribbean as possible during your stay don’t miss this opportunity. A round trip to Anguilla with its beautiful beaches is only $20 USD. A round trip to St. Barth would cost you $57 USD. Grand Cul-de-Sac beach at St. Barth has a kitesurfing school and windsurfing rentals. The mountain scenery at Saba island will take your breath away. Saba still has an untouched rainforest where wild orchids bloom along with giant elephant ears, palms, ferns, and mangoes. If you are adventures climb to the lip of the volcanic crater and you will be rewarded with a spectacular panorama. A round trip to Saba is $65 US.