The first thing we needed to decide after buying the tickets to St Martin was where on the island we wanted to stay. The northern (French) side of the island is better known for dining and snorkeling, so we settled on a lovely (and brand new) studio residence in Grand Case. Bleu Emeraude has only been open for a little over a month and had no reviews online, but we knew we picked the right place as soon as we arrived and saw the view from our patio.

We were right on the beach, which made the decision to pick up some wine, bread and cheese and relax on the patio both nights a no-brainer.

We spent a lot of time walking along the beach as it was much safer than navigating the narrow (or non-existent) sidewalks into town for dinner.

St Martin is small enough to drive around explore and Grand Case made a great jumping off point.