Sint Maarten (Dutch side)
Two countries, one small island, planes landing over your head, and a $7 boat that makes the whole day easy.
Photography pending
Which Disney ships call at St Maarten (Philipsburg), and when. Pick a ship to narrow it down.
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Times move. Always confirm your arrival and all-aboard in the DCL Navigator app on the morning.
Worth ten minutes before you go. You'll walk past all of this, and it lands differently when you know what happened here.
St Maarten is the Caribbean's great two-for-one: the world's smallest island split between two nations, Dutch on your side, French over an invisible border twenty minutes away. The port day writes itself in three tiers. Easy: the water taxi to Philipsburg's boardwalk, Great Bay's sand and Front Street's duty-free, all within splashing distance of the ship.
Famous: Maho Beach, where airliners scream fifty feet over the sand into Princess Juliana airport, reachable by a $2 local bus if you know the trick. Ambitious: the French side, where Marigot's market and Grand Case's kitchens turn a beach island into a food destination. The dollar works everywhere, including France.
Legend says the island was divided by a walking race in 1648: a Frenchman with wine went one way, a Dutchman with jenever the other, and where they met became the border. The truth involved treaties rather than hangovers, but the Treaty of Concordia signed that year still stands as one of the world's oldest active agreements, and the border it drew has no gate, no guard, and no formalities, just a welcome sign in two languages. The Dutch side got the great salt pond, which was the whole point: salt was the seventeenth century's refrigeration, and Philipsburg was founded in 1763 on a sandbar between pond and sea to harvest it.
The island changed flags sixteen times as European wars washed through, collected plantations and the enslaved people forced to work them (emancipation came in 1848 on the French side, 1863 on the Dutch), then dozed as a backwater until the twentieth century invented it twice: once when Princess Juliana airport (1943) made it the region's crossroads, and again when duty-free status made Front Street a shopping legend. Hurricane Irma flattened much of the island in 2017; the rebuild you're walking through is a testament to a stubborn, bilingual, self-reliant island culture that has outlasted every empire that claimed it.
The ninety seconds of admin that saves you money and awkwardness on the day.
The island motto is 'the friendly island' and it's earned, but greetings still come first: lead with good morning. The Dutch side runs on US dollars officially enough that prices are posted in them; the French side takes euros and dollars, usually at 1:1 for small amounts, which sometimes favours you. Taxis have no meters: zone rates are set by the taxi association and quoted per cab for two, plus per extra person, so agree the total first. Buses are minivans with destinations in the window and cost $2-3 in cash. Topless sunbathing is normal on French beaches and nobody blinks. Guavaberry liqueur is the local toast; try it before you buy the bottle.
Set a number per person and every list below re-orders around it. Nothing disappears unless you ask it to.
Per person, in US dollars, for the thing itself. Getting there is called out on every card.
Pick a number and every list below re-ranks around it.
Everywhere we recommend, colour-coded. The ship marker is where you step off.
The dashed ring is roughly a 15 to 20 minute walk from the berth. Tap a pin to jump to its card, or tap Show on the map from any card below.
15 of 15 places pinned
Fifteen to twenty minutes on foot. No taxi, no shuttle, no negotiating.
Water taxi $7 all-day, or a 20-25 min walk from the pier
A mile of calm, swimmable sand fronting a palm-lined boardwalk of bars and restaurants, with your ship in the background. Chairs and umbrellas rent from $10-15 or come free with a lunch order. As zero-effort beach days go, this is the Caribbean's best-organised.
Free to $15
One street back from the boardwalk
The Caribbean's most famous shopping street: jewellery, watches, electronics and liquor at duty-free prices, plus the old courthouse of 1793 presiding over it all. Know your home prices for the big-ticket stuff; the reliable wins are spirits and local guavaberry.
Varies
Front Street, in an old cedar townhouse
The island's own liqueur, made from wild guavaberries and aged rum, sold from a creaky colonial house with free tastings. The souvenir that's actually from here.
Must try. The original guavaberry, plus the colada blend for the beach
$10 to $30
20 min walk from town onto the peninsula, some hill
The Dutch Caribbean's first fort (1631), now romantic ruins with pelican colonies and a sweeping view over Great Bay and your ship. Free, quiet, and the best short walk from town.
Free
Departs Bobby's Marina by the boardwalk; about 3 hrs
Crew a genuine America's Cup yacht (including Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes) in a real race around Great Bay. No experience needed, jobs for everyone from grinder to time-keeper, and it's routinely rated the best shore excursion in the Caribbean. Booked direct it beats the ship price for the identical boats.
$99 to $125
Depart from Great Bay and Simpson Bay marinas; half-day
The classic sail-swim-rum-punch half day, out to Creole Rock or Tintamarre island's clear water. Local boats sell direct with pier pickups. Morning departures fit port days best.
$75 to $120
Along Great Bay boardwalk
Barbecue smoke, ribs, fresh snapper and two-for-one happy hours with sand underfoot. The unfussy Philipsburg lunch, steps from the water taxi.
Must try. Garlic shrimp and a Carib on the sand
$10 to $25
Back Street snackettes and market stalls
The local breakfast-lunch hybrid: fried johnnycake bread stuffed with saltfish or cheese, from the snackettes where Philipsburg actually eats, one street behind the duty-free glitter.
Must try. A saltfish johnnycake and a passionfruit juice
$3 to $8
Taxi $10 or a 25-min walk past Fort Amsterdam
The quieter cove around the headland from Great Bay: calmer water, good casual snorkelling off the point, resort facilities open to visitors. The escape hatch on four-ship days.
Free
One bus, ferry or short taxi. The exact fare and journey time is on every card.
Local bus from Back Street $2 each way (30 min), or taxi $20 per cab for two
The only beach on earth where widebody jets pass close enough overhead to read the rivets. It's ridiculous and unmissable. The Sunset Bar posts the day's arrivals on a surfboard; the big afternoon landings draw the crowds. Respect the fence signs about jet blast, because the warnings are written from experience.
Must try. Time your visit to a heavy-jet arrival, then stay for one takeoff
$2 to $20
Bus $2-3 or taxi ~$30 per cab; 20-25 min over the open border
Cross into France for the morning: a harbourfront market of spices and pareos (Wednesdays and Saturdays are biggest), proper boulangeries, and Fort Louis's short climb for the lagoon panorama. Euros and dollars both work. The croissants alone justify the border crossing.
Must try. A market accra (salt-cod fritter) and a bakery pain au chocolat
Free to $10
On the Philipsburg-Marigot road; buses pass it
An obelisk, two flags, zero guards. The photo that explains the island in one frame: one foot in the Netherlands, one in France, since 1648.
Free
Taxi $12 per cab, 15 min
The Flying Dutchman here claims the title of world's steepest zipline, dropping from Sentry Hill's summit with both coasts in view, plus a chairlift, tubing and a restored plantation museum. Direct tickets undercut the ship's package for the same wires.
$50 to $99
Up to about an hour out. These eat most of your day, so pick one and commit.
Taxi ~$35-40 per cab, 35-40 min. Long calls
A one-street fishing village that happens to be the culinary capital of the Caribbean: creole lolos (barbecue shacks) at one end, serious French kitchens at the other, all on the water. The lolos deliver the value: ribs, johnnycakes and garlic shrimp for a third of the bistro bill.
Must try. A lolo mixed grill at Talk of the Town or its neighbours
$25 to $80
Taxi $30-45 per cab, about 30 min; agree pickup time
The French side's showpiece: a long arc of white sand with beach-club culture, watersports and a clothing-optional far end (this is France). Chair-and-umbrella sets with a drink run $25-50 for two. Gorgeous, but it's a commitment: only worth it with four-plus beach hours to spend.
Free to $50
Where the picture actually is, and what time of day it works.
Great Bay Beach & the Philipsburg Boardwalk
Water taxi $7 all-day, or a 20-25 min walk from the pier
Maho Beach & the plane landings
Local bus from Back Street $2 each way (30 min), or taxi $20 per cab for two
Fort Amsterdam
20 min walk from town onto the peninsula, some hill
Marigot, the French capital
Bus $2-3 or taxi ~$30 per cab; 20-25 min over the open border
The border monument
On the Philipsburg-Marigot road; buses pass it
The big-ticket things. Our price is what you pay booking it yourself.
Departs Bobby's Marina by the boardwalk; about 3 hrs
Crew a genuine America's Cup yacht (including Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes) in a real race around Great Bay. No experience needed, jobs for everyone from grinder to time-keeper, and it's routinely rated the best shore excursion in the Caribbean. Booked direct it beats the ship price for the identical boats.
$99 to $125
Depart from Great Bay and Simpson Bay marinas; half-day
The classic sail-swim-rum-punch half day, out to Creole Rock or Tintamarre island's clear water. Local boats sell direct with pier pickups. Morning departures fit port days best.
$75 to $120
Taxi $12 per cab, 15 min
The Flying Dutchman here claims the title of world's steepest zipline, dropping from Sentry Hill's summit with both coasts in view, plus a chairlift, tubing and a restored plantation museum. Direct tickets undercut the ship's package for the same wires.
$50 to $99
Order this, not that. Local places first, tourist traps not at all.
Taxi ~$35-40 per cab, 35-40 min. Long calls
A one-street fishing village that happens to be the culinary capital of the Caribbean: creole lolos (barbecue shacks) at one end, serious French kitchens at the other, all on the water. The lolos deliver the value: ribs, johnnycakes and garlic shrimp for a third of the bistro bill.
Must try. A lolo mixed grill at Talk of the Town or its neighbours
$25 to $80
Along Great Bay boardwalk
Barbecue smoke, ribs, fresh snapper and two-for-one happy hours with sand underfoot. The unfussy Philipsburg lunch, steps from the water taxi.
Must try. Garlic shrimp and a Carib on the sand
$10 to $25
Back Street snackettes and market stalls
The local breakfast-lunch hybrid: fried johnnycake bread stuffed with saltfish or cheese, from the snackettes where Philipsburg actually eats, one street behind the duty-free glitter.
Must try. A saltfish johnnycake and a passionfruit juice
$3 to $8
What's actually made here, and roughly what it should cost.
One street back from the boardwalk
The Caribbean's most famous shopping street: jewellery, watches, electronics and liquor at duty-free prices, plus the old courthouse of 1793 presiding over it all. Know your home prices for the big-ticket stuff; the reliable wins are spirits and local guavaberry.
Varies
Front Street, in an old cedar townhouse
The island's own liqueur, made from wild guavaberries and aged rum, sold from a creaky colonial house with free tastings. The souvenir that's actually from here.
Must try. The original guavaberry, plus the colada blend for the beach
$10 to $30
We only list local businesses we’ve vetted, and we’d rather show you nothing than show you clutter. Know a great local spot? Tell them about us.
Every business here will be local to St Maarten (Philipsburg), hand-vetted by us, and offering something genuinely useful. If an offer wouldn’t make your port day better, it doesn’t get listed.
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