My Top Five Things to Do in Sint Maarten
5. Spend a few hours in Phillipsburg. Whether you arrive on the island via cruise ship for the day or fly in and stay for a few days, take some time to explore Phillipsburg. As the capital of the Dutch side of the island, it is a densely populated, busy city with many sites to see. From the historical buildings to the souvenir shops to the amazingly beautiful murals painted on the sides of the buildings to the gorgeous beach and turquoise waters, there is an abundance of activities to keep you occupied for several hours. Grab some gelato and stroll down the Boardwalk. Shop on Front Street. Lounge on the beach or swim and snorkel in the water at Great Bay Beach. Visit the Yoda Guy Movie Exhibit. The options are endless. One thing is for certain: whatever you choose to do in Phillipsburg will create a memory that will last forever in your heart.
3. Book an island tour. We booked our tour through TripAdvisor with Sunita Tours. We were promptly picked up the morning of our tour at our resort by Sunita. Her Mercedes van was new and extremely clean. We were shocked to find out that we were the only ones on the tour. Sunita went above and beyond to make sure we saw the island from a local’s perspective. She took us off the beaten path to various beaches and sites. We stopped in Marigot, the capital of the French side, for a short period of time. Sunita answered all of our questions and explained the differences in the governments and economies on both sides of the island. We also stopped at a French supermarket, a French chocolate factory, an Iguana sanctuary, Fort Louie, Phillipsburg, Toppers Rum Distillery, and Rotary Point. We held an iguana at the iguana sanctuary, and Sunita found a sea urchin for us to hold at Baie Lucas. The beaches we visited included Cupecoy, Baie Rouge, Sandy Ground, Friar’s Bay, Grand Case, Anse Marcel, Orient Bay, Baie Lucas, and Great Bay. I highly recommend booking your tour with Sunita.
2023 The Highlights of St Maarten Island Tour (tripadvisor.com)
2. Book a snorkeling excursion. Not to sound redundant, but we once again booked this tour through TripAdvisor with Captain Bob’s Speedboat, Snorkeling, and Beach Tour. For this tour, we hired a taxi to take us to Phillipsburg to depart from Dock Martin. Captain Bob’s son Brett was our captain, and his deckhand was Joaquin. The vibe on the boat was chill and laidback, and we enjoyed the company of the other boaters. After leaving the dock, we cruised past Saba, Statia, and St. Barts before crossing under the bridge into Simpson Bay Lagoon, the biggest lagoon in the Caribbean. Brett pointed out the megayachts and estimated the expenses of owning and operating one of them. We then crossed onto the French side and passed Marigot, Happy Bay, Friar’s Bay, and Grand Case before reaching our first snorkeling location at Tintamarre Island. We anchored out in the ocean, a few hundred feet from the beach. Here we saw several sting rays and a sea turtle feeding on the ocean floor. This was our first experience snorkeling at sea, and it’s easy to say that we love it! After snorkeling for 20–30 minutes, we moved on to Pinel Island. We anchored here and were able to snorkel and swim. It was very shallow, and it was a designated swimming area for the island. We waded up to the island and shopped and looked for iguanas and shells. The water was absolutely beautiful and crystal clear. One can also kayak or paddleboard to Pinel Island from St. Martin. At this point of our tour, lunch was served, which was a fresh sandwich, chips, and beverages with an open bar. The next stop was Creole Rock, aka Old Man. This was my favorite snorkeling location. We snorkeled right off a reef. We saw hundreds of colorful tropical fish, including rainbow fish, zebra fish, blue-striped grunts, and honeycomb cowfish. We were surrounded by thousands of baby jellyfish that were so tiny that they didn’t have tentacles. The water here can be swift, so be mindful of your distance from the rock, reef, and boat. This is normally the last snorkel stop of the excursion, but Brett made an extra stop at the upper end of Baie Rouge. Here, we swam through a natural arch to a secluded beach. It was absolutely breathtaking in more ways than one. I didn’t realize we swam inches from rocks covered in spikey sea urchins until after the fact. After we left here, we made our way past Baie Rouge, Plum Bay, and Terres Basses, the most expensive zip code on the island and the location where a former US President owns a home. As we made our way back to the dock, we stopped off of Maho, where Brett timed an airplane landing and an airplane taking off perfectly. Once back at the dock, we said our goodbyes, changed into dry clothes and headed to Amsterdam Wine & Cheese to collect our free ice cream on Brett. This excursion was everything and more!
2023 Captain Bob Speed Boat/Snorkeling/Beach Tour + Lunch St Maarten (tripadvisor.com)
1. Visit Maho Beach to watch the planes. Our resort was on Maho Beach, so this was a daily activity for us. Before heading to Maho, check the itinerary on the Princess Juliana Airport website to see when the larger planes will be landing and departing. We found that Delta, American Airlines, Air Canada, Air France, and KLM were the largest aircraft, and they were most active from noon to 4 p.m., with an array of private jets and puddle jumpers in between the larger flights. Heed the warnings and use caution, but this is an amazing and FREE experience. If you watch the horizon around the edge of the gazebo at Sonesta Ocean Point Resort, you can see the planes when they first come into view. Sunset Bar and Grill is at the end of Maho Beach. This is also a prime location to sit and watch the planes or the sunset. A surfboard is updated daily with the times of arrivals and departures. The ocean at Maho Beach can be a little rough if you stand on the beach, but if you ease out into the ocean a few feet, the waves are much easier to navigate. Visiting Maho Beach was a "bucket list" destination for us, and it did not disappoint.
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