Active Pursuits

Deep-Sea Fishing -- Pelican Watersports, on the Dutch side, at the Pelican Resort and Casino, Simpson Bay (tel. 599/54-42640), is part of one of the island's most comprehensive resorts. Their 12m (39-ft.) Kratuna is available for deep-sea-fishing expeditions priced at US$125 per person for a half-day (7:30-11:30am) or US$250 per person for a full-day (7:30am-3pm) excursion. In high season, reservations must be made 1 week in advance.

Golf -- The Mullet Bay Resort (tel. 599/54-53069), on the Dutch side, has the island's only golf course. It's a slightly battered, slightly dusty 18-hole Joseph Lee-designed course, whose fate has hung in the balance, based on some ongoing court battles, for years. Although the resort itself is closed, the golf course is still operational. Mullet Pond and Simpson Bay Lagoon provide both beauty and hazards. Greens fees are US$60 for 9 holes or US$88 for 18 holes, for players who opt to walk instead of ride. Renting a two-person electric cart will cost an additional US$8 to US$18 depending on how many holes you play. Club rentals cost US$21 for 9 holes or US$26 for 18 holes.

Horseback Riding -- Horseback riding is available at Bayside Riding Club, Route Galion Beach, Orientale (tel. 590/87-36-64). Beach rides are a highlight, and prices start at US$70 for 2 hours per person, US$50 for 1 hour.

Scuba Diving -- Scuba diving is excellent around St. Martin, with reef, wreck, night, cave, and drift diving; the depth of dives is 6 to 21m (20-69 ft.). Off the northeastern coast on the French side, dive sites include Ilet Pinel, for shallow diving; Green Key, a barrier reef; and Tintamarre, for sheltered coves and geologic faults. To the north, Anse Marcel and neighboring Anguilla are good choices. Most hotels will arrange scuba excursions on request.

The island's premier dive operation is Scuba Fun, whose offices are immediately adjacent to the West Indies Mall, Chemin du Port, Marigot (tel. 590/87-36-13; www.scubafun.com), it offers morning and afternoon dives in deep and shallow water, wreck dives, and reef dives, at a cost of US$45 per dive (certified divers only). A resort course for first-time divers with reasonable swimming skills costs US$75 and includes instruction in a swimming pool and a one-tank shallow dive above a coral reef. Full PADI certification costs US$350, an experience that requires 5 days and includes classroom training, sessions with a scuba tank within the safety of a swimming pool, and three open-water dives. Snorkeling trips cost US$30 for a half-day, plus US$10 for equipment rental.

St. Maarten's crystal-clear bays and countless coves make for good scuba diving as well as snorkeling. Underwater visibility runs from 23 to 38m (75-125 ft.). The biggest attraction for divers is the 1801 British man-of-war, HMS Proselyte, which came to a watery grave on a reef 2km (1 1/4 miles) off the coast. Most of the big resorts have facilities for scuba diving and can provide information about underwater tours, photography, and night diving.

Snorkeling -- The calm waters ringing the shallow reefs and tiny coves found throughout the island make it a snorkeler's heaven. The waters off the northeastern shores of French St. Martin have been classified as a regional underwater nature reserve, Réserve Sous-Marine Régionale, which protects the area around Flat Island (also known as Tintamarre), Ilet Pinel, Green Key, Proselyte, and Petite Clef. Equipment can be rented at almost any hotel, and most beaches have watersports kiosks.

One of St. Martin's best sources for snorkeling and other beach diversions is Carib Watersports (tel. 590/87-51-87), a clothing store, art gallery, and watersports kiosk on the beachfront of the Grand-Case Beach Club. Its French and U.S. staff provides information on island activities and rents kayaks for US$20 an hour, paddleboats for US$20 an hour, and snorkeling equipment for US$10 a day. The main allure, however, are the guided snorkeling trips to St. Martin's teeming offshore reefs, including Creole Rock, an offshore clump of reef-ringed boulders rich in underwater fauna. The 2-hour trips depart daily at 10am, noon, and 2pm, and cost US$30, with all equipment included. Reservations are recommended.

Tennis -- You can try the courts at most of the large resorts, but you must call first for a reservation. Preference, of course, is given to hotel guests.

On the Dutch side, there are four courts at the Maho Beach Hotel, Maho Bay (tel. 599/54-52115). The Pelican, Simpson Bay (tel. 599/54-42503) has four courts, and the Divi Little Bay Beach Resort, Little Bay Road (tel. 599/54-22333), has one court, but they are for guest play only. On the French side, the Privilège Resort & Spa, Anse Marcel (tel. 590/87-46-15), offers four lit tennis courts and two squash courts.

Water-Skiing & Parasailing -- Most of French St. Martin's large beachfront hotels maintain facilities for water-skiing and parasailing, often from kiosks that operate on the beach.

An independent operator on Orient Bay, close to the cluster of hotels near the Esmeralda Hotel, is Kon Tiki Watersports (tel. 590/87-46-89). It rents jet skis for around US$45 per half-hour, US$80 per hour; parasailing costs US$50 for 10 minutes or US$90 if two go together.

Jet-skiing and water-skiing are also especially popular in Dutch St. Maarten. The unruffled waters of Simpson Bay Lagoon, the largest lagoon in the West Indies, are ideal for these sports, and outfitters have facilities right on the sands.

Windsurfing -- Most windsurfers gravitate to the eastern part of the island, most notably Coconut Grove Beach, Orient Beach, and to a lesser extent, Dawn Beach, all in French St. Martin. The best of the several outfitters here is Tropical Wave, Coconut Grove, Le Galion Beach, Baie de l'Embouchure (tel. 590/87-37-25). Set midway between Orient Beach and Oyster Pond, it has an ideal combination of wind and calm waters. Tropical Wave is the island's leading sales agent for Mistral windsurfers. They rent for 20€ (US$26) an hour, with instruction offered at 30€ (US$39) an hour. In St. Maarten, visitors usually head to Simpson Bay Lagoon for windsurfing.