Cultural Tour of St. Maarten / St. Martin

Princess Juliana International Airport is on the Dutch side, 5km from Philipsburg. The legendary approach over Maho Beach — where planes pass at 30-40 meters above the sand, close enough to count the windows — is the most dramatic airport approach in the world. If arriving on a large international flight, standing on Maho Beach for 15 minutes is one of the great Caribbean spectacles. Philipsburg, the Dutch capital, has a pleasant boardwalk on the Great Bay with duty-free shopping, restaurants, and the characteristic Dutch-Caribbean colonial architecture. The Dutch-side beach of Dawn Beach on the Atlantic coast is excellent for its wild surf. Great Bay Beach in Philipsburg has excellent beach clubs. A first dinner at one of the Dutch-side casino hotels or Philipsburg's excellent seafood restaurants facing the Great Bay.

• ✦ Maho Beach plane approach — jets at 30 meters over the sand
• ✦ Philipsburg boardwalk and Dutch colonial waterfront
• ✦ Great Bay Beach and beach club introduction
• ✦ Dutch-side casino and nightlife for the opening evening

Cross into the French side of the island and drive to Grand Case — a village of 3,000 people that has more excellent restaurants per meter than anywhere in the Caribbean. The single main street (the Boulevard de Grand Case) is lined on both sides with 20+ restaurants, each with their own personality: La Villa for creative French Caribbean fusion, L'Octopus for the freshest fish, Le Pressoir in a beautiful old Creole house for formal French cooking. Lolos — the Creole roadside barbecue stalls that are the authentic Grand Case food experience — operate on the beach end of the boulevard and serve ribs, chicken, fish, and plantains from oil-drum grills at a fraction of the restaurant prices. Grand Case Beach, a calm crescent at the end of the boulevard, has excellent snorkeling on the north end reef. Spend the entire day and evening in Grand Case.

• ✦ Grand Case — 20+ excellent restaurants on a single village boulevard
• ✦ Lolos Creole barbecue — the authentic Grand Case food experience
• ✦ Grand Case Beach snorkeling on the north reef
• ✦ Most romantic sunset dinner destination in the Caribbean

Take the 20-minute fast ferry from Marigot (French side) to Blowing Point, Anguilla — a British Overseas Territory with no cruise ship tourism and some of the most extraordinary beaches in the Caribbean. Shoal Bay East is consistently rated one of the world's best beaches: powder-white sand, turquoise water in multiple shades, and the extraordinary clarity of water over a sandy bottom in a gently curving bay. Rendezvous Bay is longer, wider, and has St. Martin visible across the channel. The Viceroy Anguilla and Four Seasons Anguilla are on adjacent Meads Bay, available for day passes and beach club access. Lunch at Smokey's on the South Hill beach or Blanchard's on Meads Bay — Blanchard's has been the finest restaurant in Anguilla for 30 years and serves exceptional Caribbean-influenced cuisine. Return by evening ferry.

• ✦ Anguilla ferry from Marigot — 20-minute crossing
• ✦ Shoal Bay East — one of the world's most beautiful beaches
• ✦ Blanchard's restaurant — 30 years as Anguilla's finest
• ✦ Rendezvous Bay and the St. Martin panorama

Orient Beach on the French side's Atlantic coast is the island's most beautiful and most cosmopolitan beach — a 2km curve of calm turquoise water with beach clubs, restaurants, and watersports. The northern end of Orient Beach is clothing-optional and has its own club (Club Orient's naturist resort). The beach's best section is in front of the Kontiki beach club — sunbeds, cocktails, and a genuinely festive atmosphere. The interior French side has the picturesque town of Marigot — the French capital, with a morning market under the Fort Louis hill, excellent cafés, and a Provencal character that is entirely different from the Dutch side. The town of Colombier on the hillside above Marigot has beautiful views. Spend the afternoon at Orient Beach and the evening in Marigot.

• ✦ Orient Beach — 2km of Caribbean cosmopolitan beach culture
• ✦ Kontiki beach club on Orient Beach
• ✦ Marigot morning market — French Caribbean produce
• ✦ Fort Louis views over Marigot and the lagoon

Pinel Island (Ilet Pinel), accessible by water taxi from French Cul de Sac (5 minutes, all day), is an uninhabited island with two small beach clubs and extraordinary turquoise water in the lagoon between the island and the mainland. The snorkeling off Pinel's eastern shore is the finest on St. Martin — a healthy coral reef with healthy fish populations and occasional sea turtles. The two beach clubs (Karibuni and Yellow Beach) are excellent for a long, lazy, Caribbean lunch: grilled lobster and cold white wine on a wooden deck over the lagoon. The drive along the French Lagoon — the large tidal lagoon in the island's center, shared between the two countries and lined with boat yards and marinas — is interesting for the maritime culture of the island. Sunset from La Samanna's terrace is the island's most elegant evening experience.

• ✦ Pinel Island water taxi — 5 minutes from French Cul de Sac
• ✦ Pinel snorkeling — the finest reef on St. Martin
• ✦ Karibuni beach club — lobster and cold wine over the lagoon
• ✦ La Samanna terrace sunset over the Caribbean

Return to Maho Beach for the full spectacle — the SXM Airport Arrivals board is available on apps (FlightAware, Maho Beach Sunset Bar) and tells you when the next large aircraft is due. The KLM Dreamliner from Amsterdam and the American 737s from New York and Miami are the most dramatic arrivals, the latter in the morning hours. The backwash from departing 747s has been strong enough to knock people over on the fence —kat which people hold tight on purpose. Cupecoy Beach, just west of Maho, is a dramatic beach of red sandstone cliffs, sea caves, and clothing-optional sections that is entirely different from the rest of the island. The Dutch side's Mullet Bay Beach — calm, wide, and less crowded than Great Bay — is the best family beach. Final evening: a sunset cruise on the lagoon and dinner at one of Grand Case's finest restaurants for a farewell Caribbean meal.

• ✦ Maho Beach aircraft landing spectacle with departure blast backwash
• ✦ Cupecoy — sandstone cliffs, sea caves, and dramatic Atlantic scenery
• ✦ Mullet Bay Beach — the quietest great beach on the Dutch side
• ✦ Final Grand Case dinner — a farewell to the Caribbean's best restaurant town

Princess Juliana International Airport connects to New York, Miami, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Charlotte directly, plus many European destinations via Amsterdam (KLM) and Paris (Air France from Juliana). A final morning at whichever beach became your favorite — St. Maarten has 37 to choose from and the correct answer is different for every couple. Buy the distinctive Dutch Guavaberry liqueur (made from wild mountain guavaberries, produced only on St. Maarten and available exclusively at the Guavaberry Emporium in Philipsburg since 1710), Marie Galante rum from the French side, and a T-shirt from the Sunset Beach Bar at Maho Beach. St. Maarten delivers more variety per square kilometer than any other Caribbean island.

• ✦ Final beach morning at your favorite of the 37 options
• ✦ Guavaberry liqueur — made only on St. Maarten since 1710
• ✦ Maho Beach Sunset Bar T-shirt — the obligatory souvenir
• ✦ Princess Juliana Airport international departures