autigers34
SBH Member
I appreciated everyone's suggestions before our trip, so I thought I'd give a recap of our activities:
Both our kids were away at summer camp, so it was just my wife and me. It was our 4th time on the island, starting with our honeymoon in 2012.
Sat - Direct flight from Charlotte to SXM, then Winair to the island. Smooth as can be. The hotel picked my wife and I up at the airport. Checked into a Signature Suite at Le Toiny. Amazing room, gorgeous view...just perfect. Mini Copper rental was delivered to the hotel. We unpack and run by the Mono Shop for a few drinks and snacks to have around the room. Dinner at Tamarin. Very good, nice table outside. A much larger restaurant than I expected. Retire back to the room early for the big week ahead.
Sun - Breakfast at the hotel (did this each morning), then we head out for our first adventure...Mount de Vitet. I found a little indention off Route de Deve and parked there, near the trailhead. We work our way up, following the red dots and ignoring the Private Property signs. View was amazing. 360 degree vantage point of the island. Going back down we missed a turn or something and it was pretty difficult. Made it down in one piece though. After cleaning up, my wife wanted to shop at the boutiques by Nikki Beach, so I went to Le Piment for a beer and to watch the start of the World Cup Final. Then, the second seating at Nikki Beach. Some of the best people watching on the planet. After that we just relaxed by/in the pool at the room.
Mon - Morning hike to Columbier. Packed a cooler with beer and wine and grabbed a few beach towels. We had done the hike once before around the lower route. This time our GPS took us to the higher point. That was intense. Going down was tougher than coming back up, especially with a full backpack cooler. Found a shady spot against the rocks for our towels and hung out for a few hours. Stopped for lunch at Jojos. Then a lazy afternoon by our pool then dinner at Eddy's Ghetto. Cool spot, and good food. Wild that a place like that didn't rank towards our tops dinners because a few others were so good.
Tues - Went into Gustavia before lunch. Wife wanted to do some shopping. She also wanted to go into St Jean...she loves a few of the skin products at that pharmacy. Since we were there, we ate lunch at La Piment. Then another lazy pool afternoon, then dinner at Le Papillon Ivre. That was fabulous. Food, wine, service. We loved it.
Wed - Morning hike from the hotel down to Grand Fond. We stopped at the end of the beach. The trail was just a little too close to the cliffs for my comfort. Then we had lunch at Ti Corrail followed by swimming with the sea turtles in Grand Cul de Sac. I could do that for hours. When we got back to Le Toiny, we went down to the beach there for the first time, but a rain shower cut that short. Dinner that night was at Beefbar. Great steaks. Only regret was not going a little earlier for the view.
Thurs - Wife had a massage at Hotel Christopher. She said it was amazing. I just hung out at their pool during it. One of the best views on the island. Then we had lunch at Pearl Beach. Loved the vibe and just watching the planes take off. Really cool staff. Random celebrity sighting....Johnny Knoxville. That night we did the Beach Extravaganza Le Toiny. That was probably our only disappointment of the trip. I guess Le Ti has spoiled us and we were expecting a show like that.
Fri - Did the hike from our room, around Point Toiny. Not an easy hike. Being our 7th day of the trip, I was just tired. Luckily it ended down at the Beach Club and they gave us a ride back up to our room, but I was spent. Went out to another easy lunch at Jojo's, then I took a nap like my wife went back down to the Le Toiny beach. That night we went back into Gustavia for a little more shopping and drinks. Then dinner at Nyama. So good. I had the duck and it was the best I've ever had.
Sat - Departure. The hotel look us back to the airport and it was smooth travels back to Charlotte. We were so sad to leave and head back to the real world.
Just a perfect trip for just the two us us. Really hoping we can to it again next year!
Both our kids were away at summer camp, so it was just my wife and me. It was our 4th time on the island, starting with our honeymoon in 2012.
Sat - Direct flight from Charlotte to SXM, then Winair to the island. Smooth as can be. The hotel picked my wife and I up at the airport. Checked into a Signature Suite at Le Toiny. Amazing room, gorgeous view...just perfect. Mini Copper rental was delivered to the hotel. We unpack and run by the Mono Shop for a few drinks and snacks to have around the room. Dinner at Tamarin. Very good, nice table outside. A much larger restaurant than I expected. Retire back to the room early for the big week ahead.
Sun - Breakfast at the hotel (did this each morning), then we head out for our first adventure...Mount de Vitet. I found a little indention off Route de Deve and parked there, near the trailhead. We work our way up, following the red dots and ignoring the Private Property signs. View was amazing. 360 degree vantage point of the island. Going back down we missed a turn or something and it was pretty difficult. Made it down in one piece though. After cleaning up, my wife wanted to shop at the boutiques by Nikki Beach, so I went to Le Piment for a beer and to watch the start of the World Cup Final. Then, the second seating at Nikki Beach. Some of the best people watching on the planet. After that we just relaxed by/in the pool at the room.
Mon - Morning hike to Columbier. Packed a cooler with beer and wine and grabbed a few beach towels. We had done the hike once before around the lower route. This time our GPS took us to the higher point. That was intense. Going down was tougher than coming back up, especially with a full backpack cooler. Found a shady spot against the rocks for our towels and hung out for a few hours. Stopped for lunch at Jojos. Then a lazy afternoon by our pool then dinner at Eddy's Ghetto. Cool spot, and good food. Wild that a place like that didn't rank towards our tops dinners because a few others were so good.
Tues - Went into Gustavia before lunch. Wife wanted to do some shopping. She also wanted to go into St Jean...she loves a few of the skin products at that pharmacy. Since we were there, we ate lunch at La Piment. Then another lazy pool afternoon, then dinner at Le Papillon Ivre. That was fabulous. Food, wine, service. We loved it.
Wed - Morning hike from the hotel down to Grand Fond. We stopped at the end of the beach. The trail was just a little too close to the cliffs for my comfort. Then we had lunch at Ti Corrail followed by swimming with the sea turtles in Grand Cul de Sac. I could do that for hours. When we got back to Le Toiny, we went down to the beach there for the first time, but a rain shower cut that short. Dinner that night was at Beefbar. Great steaks. Only regret was not going a little earlier for the view.
Thurs - Wife had a massage at Hotel Christopher. She said it was amazing. I just hung out at their pool during it. One of the best views on the island. Then we had lunch at Pearl Beach. Loved the vibe and just watching the planes take off. Really cool staff. Random celebrity sighting....Johnny Knoxville. That night we did the Beach Extravaganza Le Toiny. That was probably our only disappointment of the trip. I guess Le Ti has spoiled us and we were expecting a show like that.
Fri - Did the hike from our room, around Point Toiny. Not an easy hike. Being our 7th day of the trip, I was just tired. Luckily it ended down at the Beach Club and they gave us a ride back up to our room, but I was spent. Went out to another easy lunch at Jojo's, then I took a nap like my wife went back down to the Le Toiny beach. That night we went back into Gustavia for a little more shopping and drinks. Then dinner at Nyama. So good. I had the duck and it was the best I've ever had.
Sat - Departure. The hotel look us back to the airport and it was smooth travels back to Charlotte. We were so sad to leave and head back to the real world.
Just a perfect trip for just the two us us. Really hoping we can to it again next year!
