St. Martin/St. Maarten has been shared by the French and the Dutch in a spirit of neighbourly cooperation and mutual friendship for almost 350 years.

The border is almost imperceptible. and people cross back and forth without ever realizing they are entering a new country. There are four boundries, Belle Vue / Cole Bay, French Quarter / Dutch Quarter, Low Lands / Copecoy and Oyster Pond, testifying to centuries of peaceful cohabitation and the treaty that made the arrangement possible.

All the same, each side has managed to retain much of the distinctiveness of its own national culture. The French tend to emphasize comfort and elegance. The beaches are secluded, the luxury resorts provide lavish accommodations, and the restaurants offer the finest dining experiences anywhere in the Caribbean.

All the same, each side has managed to retain much of the distinctiveness of its own national culture. The French tend to emphasize comfort and elegance. The beaches are secluded, the luxury resorts provide lavish accommodations, and the restaurants offer the finest dining experiences anywhere in the Caribbean.

On the other hand, St. Maarten with its busy cruise port and bustling commercial district, has long been an active center for trade and tourism. More developed and at the same time more informal, it is very Dutch in flavor and still has strong ties with fellow compatriots in the other Netherlands Antilles.

Located midway through the chain of islands in the Caribbean, just as the Antilles begin to curve to the south, St. Martin is sunny and warm year-round, averaging 82 degrees Fahrenheit in summer and just 2 degrees cooler in winter. The island is buffeted by cooling trade winds that keep things temperate all year long. Average annual rainfall comes to about 45 inches, most of which occurs around late summer and early fall.

The diving is generally fairly shallow, typically 60 feet or less, and the sites are a mixture of artificial reefs made by wrecks, old coral reefs, and encrusted rocks.

There are numerous wreck sites, but probably the most famous, because of the story behind it, is the Proselyte Reef with the remains of the frigate HMS Proselyte which sank in 1801.  As it was a wooden ship the only remains you will see are coral encrusted canons and anchors.

Not all of St. Maarten/Martin's reef sites are actually coral reefs. Many of the sites are rock formations encrusted with sponges, hydroids and coral. In the north, in particular, there are some interesting layered rock formations. In the south, Proselyte Reef was formed by lava flows. In other areas, old coral reefs can be seen below new growth of coral and sponges.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

If you are diving on the French side and according to French regulations, all diving centers must adhere to Arrete 2008, which states that 'all diving professionals must have a minimum diving qualification of BEES 1 in order to legally take divers out. Further, there can be no more than 4 open water students in a diving group per BEES 1 instructor.'

Please check with the dive center you choose that they meet these standards.  If not, then they are operating illegally.

These regulations are very strict and so, dive instructors who are certified to BEES 1, are super-trained.  This might be something you'd like to take into consideration when deciding whether to dive on the French or Dutch side of the island.