ST MAARTEN · CARIBBEAN
Planes on the beach, boats off it.
Two countries on one island, with a runway behind the Dutch side and a market on the French side. Catamaran day sails, the Maho jet wall, Orient Bay sand, and the ferries to Anguilla and St Barts.
Only on this island
Three things only St Maarten does.
Snorkel days and rum punch exist everywhere in the Caribbean. These three are specific to a thirty-four-square-mile island that happens to be two countries, with a runway behind one of its beaches and Anguilla twenty minutes off the north coast.
Right above the sand
The Maho Beach Jet Wall
Princess Juliana’s runway ends fifty metres from the water. KLM 747s, Air France 777s and Delta A330s come over the chain-link fence at landing height, close enough that the photo doesn’t need a zoom. The fence behind the beach is the only place on earth a regular airliner approach happens this low over a public swim spot.
- 1 St Maarten Shore Excursion: Orient and Maho Beach Half-Day Tour
- 2 Sky Explorer and Flying Dutchman at Rainforest Adventures St. Maarten
- 3 St Martin Best Sightseeing, Beach, Shopping & Planes Tour
Both sides by water
Catamaran to the French Cays
St Maarten’s signature day out: a full-day sail up the French coast to Pinel Island and Tintamarre. Anchor over a coral wall, snorkel the reef, lunch on a deserted cay, then home along the airport approach with rum punch at sunset. The combination of cays only exists here.
- 1 The Best Catamaran Day Sail in St Maarten
- 2 5 Hour Luxury Catamaran Day Sail in Sint Maarten on The Phoenix
- 3 Private Full-Day Luxury Sailing Catamaran Charter in Sint Maarten
Twenty minutes north
The Day Trip To Anguilla
Anguilla is closer to St Maarten than the airport is to Philipsburg. A 20-minute ferry from Marigot drops you on Shoal Bay or Meads Bay, the kind of beaches that win the lists. Sleep in St Maarten, lunch on Anguilla, home for the catamaran sunset. Few Caribbean bases give you a day-trip this strong.
- 1 Anguilla Getaway Cruise
- 2 Ultimate Prickly Pear and Anguilla Experience
- 3 Prickly Pear Catamaran Trip from St Maarten Including Lunch
Two countries, one island
Pick a side. Or both.
The border runs through the middle of the island and no one stops you crossing it. The accent changes, the bread changes, the licence plates change. Pick where to base your week.
DUTCH SIDE
Sint Maarten
The bigger cruise port, the casinos, the Boardwalk in Philipsburg and the airport approach above Maho Beach. Dutch on the signs, English in the bars. ANG and USD.
FRENCH SIDE
Saint-Martin
A quieter pace, the open-air market at Marigot, the long beach at Orient, the trail up Pic Paradis, and the empty cays just offshore. French on the signs. EUR and USD.
The day everyone books
Start with the day on the water.
If you’ve only got one day in St Maarten, start here. Snorkel, beach, lunch on board, and home along the airport approach. The boat day this island is built around.
The classics
St Maarten’s Most Popular Tours
Maho Beach, Pinel Island, Orient Bay, Anguilla. The days most travellers come to St Maarten for.
By place
Pick a beach, a town, a side.
Maho for the planes. Philipsburg for the Dutch boardwalk. Marigot for the French market. Orient Beach for the long stretch of sand. Pinel for the empty-cay shortcut. Loterie Farm for a day off the water.
By tour type
Or pick how you want to spend the day.
Catamaran if you want a full day under sail. Jet ski if you want speed across the bay. ATV if you want to cross the border twice before lunch. Plane-spot at Maho, snorkel off Tintamarre, ferry to Anguilla. The rest is your call.
The classic St Maarten day
All day on the catamaran.
Pinel Island for the morning anchor. Creole Rock for the snorkel stop. Lunch under the sails, and home along the Maho approach with a rum punch. Three full-day sails worth picking.
The neighbour islands
Day trips to the cays around the corner.
Anguilla north for beaches that win every Caribbean list. Saba south for the volcano rainforest. St Barts east for the harbour and the lunch. Pinel for the empty-cay shortcut when twenty minutes is all you have.
When the sun drops
St Maarten after dark.
Champagne under the catamaran sails as the airport runway lights up. A sunset crossing past Marigot harbour. Late dinner on Grand Case beach. Pick the one that matches the rest of your day.
Off the water
The land days.
ATV across both sides of the island in one morning. Zipline down Pic Paradis. Rum tasting at Topper’s in Cole Bay. The picks for when your shoulders have had enough of the boats.
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