LANGUAGES
The official language of the French part of Saint-Martin is French. In both the French and Dutch parts of Saint-Martin, the majority of islanders speak a variety of Caribbean English as their mother tongue, ahead of Haitian or Guadeloupean Creole, Spanish and Dutch. In short, it's an English language characterized by numerous deviations from standard English, in terms of phonetics, phonology, morphology, vocabulary and grammar.
This is not Anglo-American or Black English, but West Indian English. In Saint-Martin itself, this English is sometimes referred to as patois or English Patois, country English or even broken English.
In reality, it's a variety of what linguists call "Virgin Islands Creole", or "Virgin Islands Creole English". It's an English-based Creole made up of several varieties spoken in the Virgin Islands and in the neighboring islands of Saba and St. Eustatius, where it's known as Saba English and Eustachian English, respectively. These varieties are all easily understood by one another.
JETLAG
Compared with Paris (France) :
- 5 hours in winter (late October to late March)
- 6 hours in summer (late March to late October)
Compared to New York :
+1 hour in winter (late October to late March)
Compared to Universal Time (GMT): -4:00 hours
In the tropics, the sun rises early (5:00-6:00) and sets early (5:30-6:30).
WEATHER
The island has the oceanic climate of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, with a "dry" season (December to May) and a "wet" season (June to November), with the possibility of heavy rainfall and strong winds during the passage of tropical cyclones or the formation of more isolated thunderstorms.
Absolute air temperature can vary from 17°C to 35°C, with an annual average of 27°C.
Sea surface temperatures are fairly constant at between 25°C and 28°C.
CURRENCIES
French part : Euro - US Dollar
Dutch part : Florin - US Dollar - Euro
Off-site checks are generally refused.
Numerous exchange offices and banks are available on the island.
All major credit cards are accepted everywhere.
The Euro is also accepted in some shops on the Dutch side.
The US dollar is accepted on both sides of the island.
The guilder (NAF) is the official currency on the Dutch side, while the Euro is the official currency on the French side.