Scott Miscall

The first frost of winter often brings about dreams of Caribbean vacations, and the desire to get away to a sun drenched desert isle can start to play on the mind. There are a large number of Caribbean island's, many of which have a strong British, Dutch or French flavor, left over from their colonial past.

Many people have their own personal favorite Caribbean getaway retreat, many choose there island because of the slick Madison Ave advertising campaigns, that promote them as the ultimate Caribbean getaway destinations.

On 11th Nov 1493, famed explorer Christopher Columbus landed on a small Caribbean island and laid claim to it in the name of Spain. In 1624, French settlers began to start the cultivation of a new cash crop, tobacco.

A few years later in 1631, Dutch colonialists arrived they were interested in another highly prized commodity, salt. From 1684, the island was split in half to form Sint Maarten the Dutch zone in the south of the island.

The French and the Dutch colonialists Partitioned this little piece of paradise to divide de of the island St. Martin and the other portion, St. Maarten. However, that was several generations ago and the modern island is now can be considered to be the epitome of a true mixing of diverse and intermingling cultures.

The borderline between these two nations that straddles the island is hard for tourists notice these days.

Tourists visiting the sun drenched island of St Martin and St Maarten in the Caribbean. Are now swinging away from the many luxurious and high quality hotel and resort accommodations, available on the island. Choosing instead, to opt for up market villa accommodations that are available through reputable agents.

There are several compelling reasons why tourists now consider that villa accommodations on St Martin and St Maarten are a more viable option than traditional hotel amenities.

There are many stunning locations on the Caribbean Desert Island of St Martin. There are wonderful coves and bays, as well as long unbroken stretches of stunning snow white sand. Dramatic cliffs and tropical jungle hideaways, there is so much to see and do it can easily fill up a whole vacation.

Below is a brief guide to some of the highlights that this tropical retreat has to offer the first time visitors or the multitude who would not consider anywhere else as a yachting vacation heaven.

The oddly named St Barts or St Barths is actually short for St Barthelemy and is a stunning French West Indian island located in the Caribbean. St Barts can be slightly difficult to reach; most visitors arrive via a 20 seater aircraft from neighboring St Maarten.

This has proved to be a drawback and a huge benefit to the island; its a drawback because of the inconvenience of not having direct international flights.

The Caribbean island of St. Barts offers near perfect year-round weather many visitors will spend much of their days on the stunning beaches, either just sunbathing or for the more energetic enjoying the multitude of water sports.

The island boasts more than twenty incredible beaches and stunning coves. Most of the islands towns and villages were established near a beach or at least offer a marina.

St Barts in English or Saint Barth in French is located in the French West Indies is considered by many to be Monte Carlo in the Caribbean islands. This little Caribbean gem measures just 21sq km or only 8 sq miles, and is a magnet for the European jet set as well as the American well heeled.

An international flavor combines with French chic, West Indian cool and stunning scenery to produce one of the most idyllic vacation destinations to be found not only in the Caribbean but and anywhere in the world.

Anyone considering taking a vacation to the exotic Caribbean, there are plenty of diverse islands to choose from. Ask any visitor and they will all point you to a different island, depending on their own particular taste. In addition, in the Caribbean there is not any such thing as a bad vacation location, its just a matter of one perhaps, being slightly different and standing out from the crowd.

Despite many peoples perception of two separate islands, St. Maarten and St. Martin are in fact not two islands but one island that was originally split between the French and Dutch colonies for several hundred years.

The island is no longer divided in the sense that there is no separation that is noticeable to the tourist. Apart from the obvious and interesting cultural disparities between the two halves of this exiting tropical island.