This is a Caribbean island that is divided between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The northern part of the island is owned by France, and it is called Saint Martin, while the southern part is owned by the Netherlands and it is called Sint Maarten. Though the island is a territory of two European Union members, only the French side of the island is part of EU.
Both territories Saint Martin and Sint Maarten together are referred to as SXM. The two main cities on the island are Marigot (which is the capital of Saint Martin), and Philipsburg (which is the capital of Sint Maarten). The island is generally hilly with mountain peaks, and the houses are in the middle lower part like a valley. This gives you great views of the island from a lot of places. The island is located close to Anguilla and Saint Barthelemy.
This island blends the cultures of the French and Dutch beautifully, creating a unique experience for each visitor. The island has something for everyone; whether you are visiting to explore their rich cultural heritage, the vibrant nightlife of the Dutch side, savor the gourmet cuisine of the French side or just to enjoy their beautiful beaches (they have 37 beaches), it is worth visiting. The island blends European elegance with Caribbean warmth thanks to its French and Dutch sides.
Even though the island is two countries, the border crossing between both countries is the smoothest with no border control. You just go in and out between both countries.
SINT MAARTEN VS SAINT MARTIN
When I tell you SXM is one island, two countries, it’s no joke. Both countries operate as separate bodies from politics, cost of living, to rules of what is legal and illegal in which country. It is important to know these things, so you don’t get into trouble.
When it comes to accommodation, the Dutch side is more budget friendly and has more options than the French side.
Know Before You Go
Visa/Entry Requirement: US and Canada citizens do not require a visa if staying for less than 90 days. Check the visa requirement from your country to SXM. I hear the visa process is easy. Before your trip, make sure your passport is still valid for at least 3 months. Arriving SXM, the immigration process is mostly automated and seamless. You walk up to a machine, scan your passport, take a picture and enter your information. Once you get the okay sign or green light on your machine, you walk to the exit where you take another photo for the gate to open and you are in the country, ready to explore. If you are not tech savvy, don’t worry there are friendly staff ready to guide you through the process.
Airport: The main airport of the island is called Princess Juliana International Airport, and the airport code is SXM. This airport is located on the Dutch side. The French side has a small airport in Grand Case which service flights mostly from the neighboring islands. If you are coming from the US or internationally, you will be flying into SXM. There are direct flights from the US and Canada from different cities. We flew directly from Charlotte to SXM with a flight time of 3hrs 16mins.
Language: The main language is French in Saint Martin and English and Dutch in Sint Maarten. Other local languages spoken on the island include Creole, Spanish and Papiamento. But English is widely spoken on the island as well.
Currency: The island has different currencies for each side. The main currency in Saint Martin is Euro and in Sint Maarten is the Antillean Guilder (ANG) and USD. Cards are also widely accepted even in taxis, but cash is king. If you plan on using cash for most transactions, I’ll advise you have a mix of Euro and USD to be safe.
Weather: The island has a tropical weather. Rainy season from August to December and Dry season from January to April. Because of the island’s location, it gets hurricane threats during hurricane season (late summer, early fall) – plan accordingly. Make the weather channel your friend and be cautious when traveling during this period.
Plugs: The Dutch side has US plugs while the French side has EU plugs. Carry a universal adapter to be on a safe side, in case you find yourself on either side of the island, you can charge your devices.
Transportation: A cheaper option is renting a car for your trip. They drive on the normal side of the road like we do in the US. But our main concern was finding parking, paying for parking and all the worries that come with driving. So, we opted for a not so cheap but convenient option – taxi. There are many taxis available right outside the airport. Our taxi driver was nice and I will recommend him. We also used another taxi service from our hotel, and I will also recommend her as well. Now you have options.
Joel Taxi services – +1 721-580-6804/ +590-590-07-12-49
Bianchi’s Taxi & Tours – +1 721-559-1156/ +1 721-520-5014
Where to Stay
When it comes to accommodation, SXM has a wide range of hotels, resorts, and Airbnb. Your budget will help you decide. Sint Maarten has a more vibrant nightlife while Saint Martin is quieter and more laid back.
When it comes to deciding on where to stay, we have a few things that help with decision making. Firstly, we love luxury, and we love earning points on each stay. As a Marriott Bonvoy member, that was easy. We stayed at the JW Marriott St. Marteen Beach Resort & Spa. This hotel is located on the Dutch side of the island and about 30mins from the Airport.
It is a beautiful property located on the beach. Upon arrival, you get a welcome drink – which is your choice of a rum punch or juice. The check-in process was smooth, but sadly our room wasn’t ready.
The neutral tone decoration did it for me. Lately, I have been drawn to hotel brands with neutral tone decoration like the Six Senses. Those hotels just make me happy (I digress).
We booked an oceanfront room (we only do oceanfront when we visit the Caribbean) and it was quite a walk to our room. But once we stepped into our room? We were in love. Worth every $$$ spent. The bathtub, the clean minimal neutral room decor and a beautiful view. If you are here from Instagram, you know I’m a sucker for a great view.
Quick story, when we checked in, our room wasn’t ready. We decided to go out and eat. By the time we returned, it was already dark, but our room was ready. The hotel staff admired us so much. Oh, you all are so beautiful, oh I love your accent (we be pidgin box). That was our first interaction – lovely and cute. You know how you see a cute baby and you can’t stop saying how adorable she looks until she opens her mouth to speak or cry? And you are like, take her away, that was exactly the scene. When we got to our room, we realized we were on the first floor, and once you open the door to the balcony, you see cabanas and not the ocean. The cabanas were blocking the ocean view (more like cabana view). We were pissed, and the birthday girl stumped out to the front desk. Thankfully, they switched our room to a higher floor, and it fixed that problem. I’m sure they didn’t recognize the birthday girl when she returned to the front desk, her real accent came out. We had an amazing stay and if you are a lover of luxury and the fine things of life, then you just found your next hotel in St. Maarten.
The hotel has a gym, Spa, three restaurants, two pools, beach, shops and bars.
Best Things To Do In St. Maarten
Take day trips to Anguilla and St. Barthelemy
Have a beach day
Visit Maho beach and watch planes land and take off (this is such a popular activity, but I just wasn’t interested in doing it).
Book a rhum tour to learn about the island’s local rhum Topper’s.
Have a tour of the Island – the island is not big, it takes about 2hrs.
Flying Dutchman: This is the steepest zipline in the world.We did this and loved it. We booked it on Viator for $109/per person. You can buy your ticket there as well. You can decide not to do the flying Dutchman and just opt for the chair lift ride up sentry hill and back to enjoy the breathtaking views. The chair lift goes very slow and the views keep you in awe. If you are doing the flying Dutchman, plan to do it on a day you have nothing to do because it will take a huge amount of your day. The wait to get on the zipline is about 1hr 30mins on a good day (I am not even exaggerating). There is a bar at the top where you can get a drink while you wait (there is also a line here). But the views from here are gorgeous. It distracts you from focusing on the wait or thinking about how scary flying down the zipline feels. Once you are done with this activity, they direct you to the gift shop to get copies of pictures and videos. A picture is $10 and a video is $20 all made available to you digitally.
Where to eat
Captain’s Rib Shack is the spot if you want to have good island food
Jax Steak house for a fancy dinner.
SXM is a beautiful destination with friendly locals, beautiful landscapes, good food, vibrant nightlife and the perfect location for island hopping. I will share a detailed guide on how to island hop on your trip to SXM. If you read this till the end, make sure you add SXM to your travel bucket list.