Michelle's Travel Adventures

April 10 – 18, 2026

Friday, April 10

5 AM flights just blow.  They’re the worst.  But sometimes you just don’t have a choice because of the connecting flight, so you just have to suck it up and set your alarm for the crack of dawn.  I never really sleep that well when I know I only have a few hours to sleep.  My brain fights it and I just end up tossing and turning.  Plus I’m paranoid I’ll sleep through the alarm clock which probably doesn’t help me get to sleep either.  But alas, here we are at the Charlottetown airport at 3:45 AM.  Bleary eyed and excited to start our vacation! Woohoo!  I’m so looking forward to some sunshine and family time!

The flight into Toronto was a bit bumpy but otherwise it was a quick and easy flight.  After landing we headed to the international lounge for some breakfast and to wait for Makena and Ethan to arrive from their flight from Halifax.

The flight from Toronto to St Martin is just over 4.5 hours.  We flew into the Dutch side (SXM) and it was definitely one of the coolest descents I’ve ever experienced – it felt like we were about to land ON THE BEACH!!!

We had transportation arranged to pick the 6 of us up at the airport and take us to our hotel in Marigot, which is on the French side of the island.  It’s typically a 20 minute drive but traffic was pretty heavy as we were commuting during rush hour on Friday.  

We stayed at Centr’ Hotel – which was a bare bones/basic place.  I think I’d stay elsewhere if I were going back again.  But for  a quick (less than 24 hour) stay it was cheap and clean(ish).  Although they failed to communicate that there were water issues on the island and that the water is routinely turned off island wide in the mornings.   So there was no running water to shower or flush toilets – that was a fun surprise!  Not their fault at all but would have been nice to be informed of at check in.

After check-in we had just enough time to have a quick outfit change and freshen up before we walked down to the waterfront for our dinner reservation at La Terrasse.  There was a market across the street from our hotel and Stephen found us some fun drinks to have while we got ready.

Dinner at La Terrace was FANTASTIC!  We timed our reservation for 6pm so we could watch the sunset over the water and the sunset did not disappoint.  It was beautiful!  Our server was excellent and the food was delicious!  We opted to skip the appetizers so we would have room for desserts.  I had the tuna for my main and the creme brule for dessert and both were incredible.

Saturday, April 11

It’s market day in Marigot and the street our hotel is on is closed off to vehicle traffic and filled with market vendors. 

We decided to walk through and check out the market on our way to breakfast at Chez Fernand, a cute little french bakery.  There were so many pastry options!  Even gourmet pastry hot dogs! 

I settled on a pain au chocolat (so predictable) with an iced vanilla latte and Stephen couldn’t decide so he went with a croissant and a croque monsieur.

After breakfast we stopped for a photo op and then continued down to the waterfront to find the Moorings base where we will be checking in at noon.  We also got confirmation from the staff that we could drop our luggage off there with Stephen at 11am while the rest of us would walk to the Super U grocery store to provision the boat for the week.  

The Super U is a 15 minute walk from the waterfront and is a great, fully stocked grocery store with a focus on french products.  We went in with a grocery list and some ideas of potential meals for the week.  Our game plan was to divide and conquer.  Macy and I were on lunches and dinners.  Makena, Ethan and Hayden were on breakfasts and snacks.  The grocery store seemed like everyone there was also frantically shopping for provisions.  It was total mayhem.  Looking back on how the week went, I would definitely recommend a more set meal plan with as exact amounts of what you need as possible.  I’m talking down to the number of bread slices and water bottles per day per person.  We discovered that when your food and water runs out, it’s not always so easy to get reprovisions…more on that later.

An hour of shopping and 2 grocery carts FILLED, we got a taxi to take us back to the marina.  It was now noon time and we were able to load everything right onto our boat “Icrispi” for the week.  

Once we got our luggage and groceries on board then we met with Pascal for our briefing.  After our 2 hour briefing we now had to decide on our itinerary for the week and submit it to the Moorings base.  

Based on the weather and wind forecasts, we decided on the following:

Day 1 – Grand Case, St Martin

Day 2 – Ile Forchue, St Barth

Day 3 – Gustavia and Anse de Colombier, St Barth

Day 4 – Road Bay, Anguilla

Day 5 – Road Bay, Anguilla

Day 6 – Tintemarre, St Martin

Day 7 – Grand Case, St Martin

It was just after 3:30 when we finally left the marina and set sail for Grand Case!  Woohoo! 

It’s actually a pretty short sail to Grand Case from Marigot and Stephen didn’t want to anchor but the sun was about to set and we’re supposed to be anchored or moored an hour before sunset.  So in we go to the harbour to drop anchor for the night.

Since Grand Case is the culinary capital of St Martin we decided to forgo our onboard dinner plans and decided to dinghy into shore and check out the “Lolo’s” for dinner instead. A “lolo” in St Martin is a casual, open air  restaurant specializing in local Creole and Caribbean foods with a big charcoal BBQ grill in the center of the restaurant.  

But before we get into the food, let’s start off with the drinks!  Makena and Hayden ordered fresh mango coladas – which were delicious, but Macy ordered the guavaberry colada and WOW!  It was delicious!!!  I ordered the Talk of The Town cocktail, because we were at Cynthia’s Talk of The Town Lolo, so how could I not? But I had total drink envy (it was way too strong) and wished I had ordered the guavaberry colada instead.

Now on to the food – I ordered the grilled ribs and chicken with coleslaw as my side.  The ribs were really good, maybe not the best ribs I’ve ever had, but still really good.  They’re dry spiced ribs, not saucey style ribs, so if you are a saucey ribs person then they may not be for you.  But the grilled chicken was delicious!  And the coleslaw was very yummy too. 

 After dinner we walked the Grand Case waterfront strip and then headed back to the dinghy dock to head back to our boat for the night.  BUT BEWARE!!! We didn’t know there were boards missing from the dinghy dock and Ethan’s foot fell through one of the holes!  Thankfully other than bruising he was ok – but just be aware if you are in Grand Case at night on the dinghy dock!

Sunday, April 12

We all woke up bright and early this morning so we decided to have a fun little swim and paddle before we set sail to St Barths.  The water was a beautiful temperature and calm enough to get a bit of paddling in too.

We pulled up the anchor by 10 am and set sail to Ile Forchue, St Barths. 

It was about a 4 and a half hour sail but we were happy to find our spot in the bay for the night.  Ile Forchue is an uninhabited and privately owned island just a few miles north west of St Barths.  Apparently its only inhabitants for many years were goats, and the goat population ate all the vegetation off the island so they needed to be “relocated”.  Now years later the island is starting to regrow vegetation but it is still pretty barren looking.  But unfortunately there wasn’t really any beach to speak of here. (we were honestly wondering why this island was so appealing for it to be recommended as our first stop)

While the boys got the anchor settled, the girls decided to have our book club from the top of the boat!  Our book pick this month was Road To Tender Hearts and our drink pairing was “just one beer” which was a reference in the book.

After book club we all decided to go for a swim off the back of the boat and some of us tried out our new snorkels.  We didn’t see any sea turtles while we were snorkeling but you could see lots of turtles popping out of the water from the top boat deck.

Side Note: It became very clear that there were a few boats that we would see again and again at every stop. Well!!! One of those boats was a boat of 8 or 10 men, who ended up on the exact same sail itinerary as us. What was note worthy about this boat of 10 men, was that they were BUTT NAKED all the time on deck! We saw a lot of full moons this week!!!

anywhoooo….

Back to our story….

We made dinner on board tonight – grilled burgers with a raw veggie platter and dips.  We were all pretty tired so everyone hit the hay early.

Monday, April 13

We woke up to a beautiful sunny morning and it’s extra special because it’s Macy’s 23rd birthday today!  

What better way to spend Macy’s 23rd birthday but on bougie St Bart’s?!

It was a short sail from Ile Forchue to Gustavia, and there were some pretty jaw dropping yachts in the harbour.  Once we dropped anchor in Gustavia, we took a few extra minutes to primp and get ready and then we headed into the St Barths Port Authority to check in.  

Once all the paper work was done, we took our time to stroll around, we popped into a few stores but mostly window shopped the designer stores. 

It was incredibly hot out and we were all starting to fade so when we happened upon Le Petit Deauville, a gelato shop, we decided to treat ourselves to a midmorning gelato!  And of course they had traditional gelato flavours but we all decided to pick tropical flavours – Stephen and I got the guava, Hayden got mango and Makena got coconut.  Totally hit the spot! After getting home and googling this shop when I was writing this post – I saw the reviews and oh my!  Worth a google and a giggle if you like some drama!  Was the owner cranky with us? Absolutely! But we didn’t take it too personally, it seemed like it was her “thing”.

After wandering around to some restaurants trying to decide where to make dinner reservations for tonight, we decided that they were all really overpriced and to eat on the boat instead.  So away we went back to our boat, leaving bougie Gustavia behind, and once we were back onboard we grilled up some hotdogs for lunch! hahaha! Talk about going from bougie to basic! Nothing wrong with a grilled hotdog on a boat though!

We all agreed we had seen enough of Gustavia so after lunch we weighed anchor and sailed to Anse Du Colombier where we anchored for the night. Anse du Colombier is a secluded bay with a perfect stretch of beautiful white sand beach.  There is no road access to this beach so the only way to get there is by boat, or by a mile long hike over the hills.  This place feels like heaven!

For dinner tonight we made a charcuterie which was delicious! And for dinner we made grilled pork tenderloins and grilled bell peppers.

Tuesday, April 14

Woke up to the MOST BEAUTIFUL SUNRISE of my entire life!!! Like seriously I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming!  The sky was a cotton candy dreamscape.  I wish I could wake up every morning to this!

After breakfast we decided to weigh anchor and set sail for today’s destination of Anguilla.  The day turned a bit overcast and remained that way for most of our sail.  Instead of sailing along the Dutch south side to reach Anguilla, we sailed along the north of the island and crossed between Anguilla and Scrub Island and then pointed down along Anguilla’s coast to Road Bay where we had to check in with the Customs office.  This is also where we can purchase a permit to allow us into the marine park areas, which cost us $225US for a day pass.

We arrived in Road Bay around 1 pm, and the bay has a beautiful white sand beach lined with beach bars.  It took a bit longer than expected (about an hour) to get all the paper work/passport info done.  So by the time we were able to sit down at one of the beach bars we were all pretty HANGRY!

Elvis’ Beach Bar seemed like the only one open at the time, so we grabbed a picnic table and quickly put in our food order.  And well….let’s just say, we were fed.  The food was very mid and the prices were pretty high considering the quality of the food.  We left about as cranky as we arrived lol  I think it’s more of a fun place to have drinks then to eat at.

We were running low on provisions on the boat so we asked the bartender if she could call us a cab to take us to a grocery store.  This ended up being probably the most stressful part of the whole trip.  We ended up selecting the wrong grocery store – it did not have a great selection of literally anything – fresh produce or staples.   And the prices were absurdly high!  Which was because we were wrongly told they were in US dollars but actually they were East Caribbean Dollars.  LMAO.  We were having heart attacks over the prices!!! We thought the Barefoot Moscato wine was $32 US! (who would pay that much for BAREFOOT WINE!????)  However the 15 minute drive there and back cost $90 US dollars.  That was GROSS!  Anyways.  We got some food.  I think the taxi might have ripped us off but who knows.  Moving on….

We get back to the boat and hop into the dinghy and Hayden took us for a little look-see around the bay to look at all of the shipwrecks.

While we were getting ready for Macy’s Birthday dinner we were treated to a beautiful sunset!

For dinner tonight we went to the SandBar Restaurant on the beach.  Which turned out to be absolutely lovely and probably everyone’s favourite restaurant of the entire trip.  I’d describe it as elevated casual with a really interesting small plates menu.  There was a musician playing really good music and the service was excellent.  

Some of the dishes we ordered:

Kung Pao Cauliflower with Peanuts and Scallions

Tuna Poke with Creamy Chili Sauce and Green Onion

Roasted Beet Salad with Citrus and Goat Cheese

Honey Siracha Glazed Brussel Sprouts and Potatoes

Crispy Calamari with Caper Aioli

Zucchini Carpaccio with Pecorino and Almonds

We loved every bite of every dish, there were no bad choices.

For dessert we had a coconut creme brule which was absolutely scrumptious! And soursop ice cream – very unique and surprising flavour!  Soursop is a tropical fruit with a flavour combination of apple, pineapple and banana.

Wednesday, April 15th

We bought a day pass for today which allows us access to Anguilla’s Marine Park System – which consists of Dog Island, Prickly Pear Cays, Seal Island, Little Bay, Shoal Bay and Island Harbour.   The park system is “open” from 6am – 7pm.  So it’s good to get an early start and see as much as we can.  

We decided to head to Prickly Pear Cays first.  You have to anchor in the lee on the east side, and then dinghy around to the beach on the north side.  This little island is like a sailor’s paradise!  Holy wow!  The stretch of white sand beach is stunning!  It did get a bit busy with day charters but there is enough space that it never felt too crowded.  They have some lounge chairs on the beach which are available to rent or free with lunch if you decide to stay for lunch

We decided to relax on the lounge chairs and stay for lunch at the Prickly Pear Bar.  Meals are served family style (which I love) with large plates of delicious local foods like veggies, sauteed potatoes, chicken, ribs and mahi mahi fish.  All the food was really good!

After lunch we decided to dinghy back to the boat and head to our next destination in the marine park – Sandy Island.  This tiny little island is so cool!  Literally a circle of sand with a few palm trees.  It’s surrounded by coral reefs which makes it a bit tricky to get to.  We really had to make sure we were watching our depth as you can easily run aground with the dinghy trying to make it into the island.  And the shallow reefs can also make for some really large breaking waves.

But once we made it safely ashore, it was absolutely incredible.  We had the entire little island to ourselves with one other family….so basically we had it all to ourselves!  

And of course we had to try a selection of tropical drinks!  We started off with guavaberry rum colada and then on to the pina coladas.  Both were delicious but pretty we all agreed the guavaberry coladas were the best of the two.

We could have stayed all night but we had the best afternoon relaxing on Sandy Island.  By 5:30 we agreed we should probably head back to Road Bay and anchor for the night.  We had dinner onboard tonight.  Makena and Ethan are our grill masters and they made pork chops with grilled asparagus and bell peppers.

Thursday, April 16th

We woke up to an overcast and cool morning.  We did our morning breakfast routine – coffee, fruit salad, eggs and toast.  Then Stephen went into the customs office to sign us out and then we weighed anchor and headed back to St Martin.

We took the same route to sail back to St Martin as the way we had come – up the coast of Anguilla and through the passage between Anguilla and Scrub Island.  From there we pointed south to Tintamarre for the night.  We pre-booked a mooring ball so upon our arrival we chose a ball in the lee of the cliffs for better protection in case the wind picked up over night.

Once we were securely attached to the mooring ball, we all decided to go for a swim.  Some of us snorkeled but there really wasn’t much marine life to see.  We had a really relaxing evening and cooked dinner on the grill.  And funny enough, there seemed to be more marine life swimming by the back of the boat at night than there is in the day.  It’s kind of fun watching the schools of fish swim by while we’re cooking dinner.  Tonight Ethan and makena grilled steak, and Makena’s grilled potato dish with carrots.

Friday, April 17th

Another glorious, peaceful, and serene morning waking up to the sounds of the waves lapping at the hull of the boat.  And not another soul on the beach.  This is a true vacation dream!  After coffee and breakfast we dinghy into the beach for a morning stroll.  

We pretty much had to tear ourselves off Tintamarre Island.  In hindsight we should have just stayed put.  The conditions at Tintamarre were very deceiving, it was a calm and lovely day when we left our mooring and we wanted to try and get to Ile Pinel for lunch at The Karibuni restaurant.  But OMG!!!  The conditions along Orient Bay were NOT optimal.  The waves were rollers and they were huge. We had to abandon our plans (PIVOT!!!) and turn around, but not before Hayden had to rescue our dinghy with the help of Ethan from on deck.  Thankfully everyone was OK and no damage was done to the dinghy or more importantly our dinghy-rescuer Hayden!! Phew!

So after that fiasco we decided to head to Grand Case where we’ll stay for our last night onboard our catamaran.  We found a great spot to anchor for the night and then we showered and dolled up for our last night in the town of Grand Case for dinner.

We were all craving one last guavaberry colada at Cynthia’s Talk of The Town Lolo. Yummm!

And I had made reservations at the Rainbow Cafe for dinner.  In my defence, the reviews…. and everything I saw on their socials (I didn’t scroll too far) seemed nice.  Well omg!!!    You guys, it’s a dance club at night.  Complete with a DJ and strobe lights.  And Friday night is Jungle Party.  Ya.  I’m serious.  They have dancers dressed up in sexy jungle costumes and dance on top of your table.  For real!  Poor Ethan and Hayden!  Imagine going out to dinner with your girlfriend’sparents at a sexy (it’s giving strip club) dance show.  Lmao OMG!!!!!  We all could not eat fast enough and get the HELL OUT OF THERE!!!  Hahahahahahaha!!!!

Saturday, April 18th

It’s our last day!  We do our coffee, fruit salad and eggs breakfast one last time.  Then we weigh anchor and head in to Marigot to return our boat to the base.  When we reach Marigot we radio in to the Moorings base and we just circle around until one of the staff arrives to take over and dock the boat for us.  Once we’re docked our taxi is already there waiting for us so we have a speedy debrief and get into the taxi which drives us directly to the airport.  We arrived on the early side so we had to wait a bit before checking in our bags.  But once that business was done we went to the food court for some lunch then up through security.  Did a bit of last minute shopping.  And before we knew it we were on our flight back to Toronto.  We landed late in Toronto and we had each booked different airport hotels so we got in separate ubers and headed to our hotels for the night.  Makena and Ethan flew home on a 7 am flight.  And Stephen, Macy, Hayden and I flew home to PEI together on the afternoon flight.