Questions about St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles.?

I have to disagree with the first person who answered. Renting a car in St. Martin/Maarten might prove frustrating because of the small size of the island and the number of cars on that island. You can spend so much time in backed up traffic that it could frustrate you. I don't find that the taxis are expensive at all and as for getting to the beach - you can eliminate that head ache by staying at a hotel that is on the beach. Plus once you get to the heart of the duty free shoping plaza's you wont need a car all of the stores line the two main streets. It's a nice little place but truly hot, so being on the beach will help. Anguilla is like a 25 minute ferry ride away, if you want to take a day trip. It's a lot less congested but doesn't have that much to do - but it's nice nonetheless.