© St. Martin Tourist Board
Legend holds that a race decided the island’s division, each competitor drinking a national beverage. Less slowed by his red wine, the Frenchman reputedly triumphed over his gin-swigging counterpart. This founding “spirit” endures, reflected in the personality split between feistier Sint Maarten and more sedate Saint Martin.
The Dutch experience begins with heart-pounding arrivals into Princess Juliana Airport just 100 feet above the revelers on Maho Beach. While KLM discontinued 747 service in October 2016, it remains a thrilling aviation spectacle.
Conference-capable properties include the landmark Holland House Beach Hotel, with a prime location on Great Bay beach in Philipsburg, the island's capital. For glitzy nightlife, multi-venue Maho Village is the “mini-Vegas of the Caribbean.”
Saint Martin, the “Friendly Island” and quieter of the two siblings, is for prodigious water-based activities and relaxing on some of the island’s 37 beaches, including clothing optional Orient Bay, the "Saint Tropez of the Caribbean."