At Creole Culinary Classroom, you don’t just eat your way around St. Maarten, you cook it. Tucked inside Paradise Mall on Welfare Road, this hands-on cooking class lets you roll up your sleeves, learn the flavors behind island cuisine and take home a skill that outlasts the vacation tan. The class is built around a cooking experience for two, which makes it a natural fit for couples, friends or anyone looking for something more memorable than another dinner out. You cook, you

On Fridays, Paper Moon at Port de Plaisance Resort is where dinner and dancing meet. Every Friday, the Bar & Grill turns into a Latin Night, with live music by the Latin Sugar Band. Come hungry and start early. Paper Moon is all about perfectly grilled dishes with bold flavors, and on Latin Night the chef adds specials to match the mood: the Paper Moon Taco with beef, chicken and shrimp, and the Signature Grilled Burrito with beef and chicken. Prefer something from the regula

Big Bastard's Beach Bar sits on the Philipsburg Boardwalk at 49 Front Street, a one-minute walk from the passenger ferry dock, and it takes all the work out of a beach day. On Great Bay Beach you get a chair and umbrella, drinks and lunch brought straight to your spot, and WiFi all the way to the water. For the full experience, there's the VIP unlimited drinks package, so the only thing left to decide is which side of the chair gets the sun. Behind it all are two Canadians, w