Spotlight on San Juan and St Maarten – Two Eastern Caribbean Gems

San Juan and St Maarten are very different to each other, but are both two of the most-visited ports in the Eastern Caribbean.  So what makes them so different, and what should you do with a day in each?

San Juan has Spanish colonial heritage, and boasts an impressive fort, and beautiful old town, well worth exploring by foot, just a short walk from the cruise docks.  Just a short cab ride away is the hotel zone and popular waterfront area of Condado, and just a little bit further along is the beachfront at Isla Verde.  Travel a little further on, and you reach the spectacular rainforest of El Yunque, reported to be the most northerly-located rainforest in the World.

St Maarten has a combination of both French and Dutch colonial heritage, and the island is interestingly divided into 2 sides, roughly down the middle.  Cruise ships dock on the Dutch side, which is where you will find the best shopping, close by in the beach town of Philipsburg, in fact, this place offers some of the very best deals in the whole Caribbean, particularly for jewellery and electrical goods.  The best restaurants are located on the French side, a 20-minute cab ride away, where the small town of Marigot offers a small marina, plus a ferry service across to the neighbouring island of Anguilla, and is worth a stroll around.  The whole island is blessed with gorgeous beaches (one of which is ‘clothing optional’!), so if you like finding your ‘own’ beach, there are plenty of options.  Large passenger jets used to land just a few metres from one of the beaches, but they use a different airport now.

So if your next Caribbean cruise includes these two ports, you can be sure to have a thoroughly diverse experience…no two islands are ever the same!