When I turned The Big 5-0 this year, I knew I wanted to celebrate with the gift of travel. And what an adventure it’s been! Between some solo travel across Switzerland, including the Swiss Riviera, Paris with my daughter and a family ski trip at the Fairmont Tremblant, closing out this milestone year with one last splurge-worthy destination — for just the hubs and me — was absolutely the right move. When we started looking up things to do in St Maarten to prepare for our Caribbean escape, I had four key things on my wish list:

• Stay somewhere beautiful with ocean views
• See the planes land in front of Maho Beach
• Enjoy romantic meals for some device-free tête-à-tête time
• Watch the sun set from a boat

And, boy, did Sint Maarten deliver.

So, whether you’re planning the ultimate romantic retreat, a milestone birthday or anniversary trip or you’re celebrating a promotion, do I have the itinerary for you.

The 9 best things to do in St Maarten

(especially for couples!)

St Maarten (a.k.a. SXM, Saint-Martin) is part-Dutch, part-French and the smallest landmass in the world to be shared by two sovereign nations.

Discovered in 1493 while Columbus sailed the ocean blue, St Maarten wasn’t claimed for good until the 1600s. And with enslaved Africans arriving aboard settler ships, who eventually out-populated the European plantation owners and revolted, it marked the island’s beginnings as a story of resilience. After the devastating Hurricane Irma in 2017, even the airport has only just properly re-opened this year with a fresh face, and you don’t need to drive far to see remnants of the storm that wiped out entire beachfronts, communities and damaged 90 per cent of the island’s infrastructure. Yet, they keep rebuilding and persevering. 

And tourism is alive and well; here, the locals are excited for and kind to tourists. In fact, we felt the local love more strongly here than in any other Caribbean island we’ve visited to date.

Whether you’re searching for things to do in St Maarten simply to escape snow and ice and want to plant yourself on a beach with a steady stream of all-inclusive food and drinks for a whole week, prefer to stay in a traditional hotel and rent a car to explore the island’s hidden gems and foodie favourites, or you’d rather book a private, fully staffed villa, there’s a spot for that.

Plus, good news: when it comes to food and activities, there’s a little bit of everything in St Maarten no matter what kind of traveller (or tourist) you are.

Things to do in St Maarten:

In five days, you can get to all nine things to do in St Maarten listed below, but I suggest at least seven or eight nights. At just 96-square-km (37 sq. mi.) big, you could drive the entire island in just a couple of hours.

But don’t.

Slow down. Relax. Let some of that “Caribbean time” wash over you and soak in those chill vibes that make vacation a truly relaxing, resetting experience. Remember — you can always come back.

1. Visit more than one beach.

When you’re looking for things to do in St Maarten, you’ve got to add beach time to your agenda, because so many of St Maarten’s beaches are nothing short of spectacular. And though you can choose to just hunker down on a single beach for your whole holiday, I strongly encourage you to visit at least at least two. You can’t make a wrong choice here, either; every beach we tried had soft, white sand and gorgeous turquoise water with excellent visibility.

Keep in mind that every beach in both Sint Maarten and Saint-Martin is free and public. Theft is uncommon but you should still be mindful of your valuables. I popped my iPhone, ID and cash into this waterproof pouch and wore it while swimming, leaving only things like our SPF, clothes and towels unattended.

After fighting sargassum on most of our tropical vacations in recent years, I was ecstatic to see exactly zero of it on all three of the beaches we enjoyed in St Maarten. I did read that it exists here, but rarely on the Caribbean side — and that was certainly our experience.

Great Bay Beach

Located in Philipsburg along the boardwalk, just steps from the cruise ship and super-yacht dock, Great Bay Beach is the liveliest, busiest beach we visited. There are jet skis zooming around, water taxis and tenders going to and fro, thousands of beach chairs and umbrellas and dozens of bars and restaurants behind them. And, at 3.2 km (2 mi.) long, Great Bay Beach is fantastic for those quintessential long walks along the beach, hand-in-hand.

The ocean here was also the calmest we experienced and there were no sand “shelves,” meaning you get zero-depth beach entry into the water and a predictable, gradual increase in depth the farther out you walk — without any sudden drops. For those with mobility concerns, bad knees, back issues or less-confident swimmers, it’s ideal.

Mullet Bay Beach

With a more striking and isolated landscape, Mullet Bay Beach is tiny but mighty. Sometimes called “the quarter-mile stretch of sand,” this 0.4 km beach is an easy eight-minute walk from Maho Village. On weekends, it’s bustling with big groups playing beach volleyball and having family BBQs; midweek is an entirely different story. If you want tranquility, Mullet Bay Beach from Monday to Thursday is the place to be.

The surf was fun and not at all dangerous the day we swam here, but we heard that it can get pretty rough, which wasn’t much of a surprise given the immediate and unpredictable differences in depth as soon as you walk a few feet into the ocean. If you aren’t on a “JUNK” vacay like we were (Just Us, No Kids), you’ll want to bring life vests along for your littles. Also be aware that there are a few rocky areas, but we’re talking large rocks you can’t miss — not little pebbles that will destroy your feet. (On that note, I didn’t need my water shoes once in St Maarten.)

Maho Beach

If you’re not staying on or near Maho Beach, please make sure you add this to your St Maarten itinerary — even if you only have an hour or two. Even if you’re just here for the day on a cruise stop. It’s iconic with good reason. We swam here a lot; it’s another beautiful beach, with beautiful sand and beautiful water. There are no rocks, some nice waves, and it’s relatively easy to get in and out of the ocean. It’s damn near perfect.

But here’s why you really need to find your way to Maho Beach…

2. Watch the planes land at SXM.

I have to be honest…I really thought that all of the photos and videos I’ve seen of planes landing at SXM over the years were so dramatic because the perspective was skewed. A trick of the lens, if you will. But, no. Nope. It’s all real. Every low-flying, jet-blasting moment is just as accurate in real life. Nay…better in real life.

People told me I’d eventually get bored watching planes after plane land. Also nope. I watched all day and it was so cool — Every.Single.Time. Some come in so, so low while others come in wobbly, with only one propeller running; there are huge commercial jets followed by small private planes. We even saw Paris Hilton’s adorable pink Gulfstream G450.

During peak season, there can be as many as 70 planes a day landing, with the biggest ones arriving mostly between 12 noon and 3 p.m., though there are also some big KLM and Air France jets around 7 to 8 p.m. as well.

You can take the best photos on the beach from about 100 feet or so on either side of the landing strip, but the neatest experience is directly in front of it. Just be sure you stay on the beach; the road is narrow and very busy and the jet blasts can be quite dangerous as planes take off if you’re too close.

3. Try at least one private beach club.

Before our St Maarten trip, we thought we were an all-inclusive kind of couple. But after trying two beach clubs on for size, I can confidently say that we’ve been changed. Now, with our teens in tow, we will still be all about the all-inclusives; after all, these kids eat and drink a lot and there’s something to be said for the contained independence they can have within an all-inclusive setting.

On an island like this one, though, it’s so nice to get out and about and try different things each day. Especially a bougie beach club.

Some hotels may have their own built-in beach clubs, and certainly most (if not all) of the island’s all-inclusive resorts will be beachfront and have easy access to food and drinks, but if you want an elevated experience, get yourself to Kalatua.

I think this was our favourite day in St Maarten. The sun was shining, the palm trees blowing in the gentle breeze, tunes were pumping, our beach boys were awesome and the menu was outstanding. Sitting smack in the middle of Mullet Bay Beach, Kalatua is an all-day, pay-to-play paradise. You can reserve beach chairs or cabanas as of 10:30 a.m. — with a pair of beach chairs starting at USD$55 or cabanas from $280 for up to four people — and reservations are recommended, especially during peak season and definitely on weekends. There’s a DJ on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons and it was giving Ibiza day-party vibes.

There’s French-inspired Mediterranean cuisine thanks to executive chef Gil Dumoulin who cooks up some gorgeous dishes, and the cocktails — oh my word, the cocktails! — were, bar none, some of the most creative, balanced, artisan-created beverages we’ve had in a long time. This place is a 10-out-of-10, no-notes kind of spot and makes me wonder what other private beach clubs await in St Maarten. My advice? Book it right after you book your accomodations.

4. Do some activities — because there are so many things to do in St Maarten!

OK, this is obviously more than just one thing, but allow me to cheat a little:

Bell’s Lookout Point in Cole Bay

You’ll need a taxi or, better still, a rental car (which are affordable and easy to get all over the island) to make your way to Bell’s Lookout Point, but if you want a fantastic panoramic view of Simpson Bay, Maho Beach, Cole Bay and nearby islands like Anguilla and Saba — all from one scenic viewpoint — this is it.

Rainforest Adventures

This is a choose-your-own-adventure type of place, with packages that allow as many as six different activities all at one site. Mix and match if you don’t have enough time or would rather not do all six.

It all starts with a visit to the Emilio Wilson Museum. Located in a restored former plantation house, you’ll learn more about Emilio Wilson — the grandchild of this plantation’s slaves — who lived here from the mid-1950s until a hurricane damaged it in 1995. In 2001, Mr. Wilson signed an agreement to develop part of his vast property into the park it is today. A year later when it opened to the public, Mr. Wilson was able to attend the official opening but sadly passed just a week later; he was 90.

We chose the Sky Explorer, Flying Dutchman zipline and Schooner Ride, but if you have more time, there’s also the Sentry Hill zipline (which is something like four descending ziplines in a row). Keep in mind that you must wear closed-toed shoes to ANY activity onsite and there is no flexibility on weight and height restrictions for the attractions, which ultimately meant that Big B was able to ride the Sky Explorer with me but was turned away from the Flying Dutchman and Schooner Ride, so please be sure to review the restrictions carefully before you book anything. Guests who don’t zipline down can easily return to the bottom via chairlift.

The Sky Explorer is a super-slow scenic chairlift that climbs 2,997 feet and offers panoramic views of St Maarten and even some of its neighbouring islands on a clear day. If you’re wearing a hat (which is a good idea most of the time in SXM), hold onto it well when you reach the upper section as it gets very windy! If you’re not doing any of the activities up here, you can simply get out and enjoy the scenery and bar.

If you’re doing the Flying Dutchman, you’ll hop on another shorter but steeper chairlift that’ll take you up even higher. With a vertical drop of 1,050 feet, descending a total of 2,800 feet at speeds of up to 90 km/hr (56 mph), this is the steepest zipline in the world. And yet, it’s perfect for first-timers thanks to the seated harness position in which you ride. Instead of flying headfirst Superman-style or sitting in a climbing-like harness, you are sitting in an actual sling seat. And its really comfortable! I think this is my new favourite way to zipline. The launch is fast but the drop doesn’t feel scary at all and you’re just sitting the whole time taking in the view. It’s so good.

The Schooner Ride is essentially a mountain coaster-ish tube ride down a speedy track. Even though I’m sure it’s not, it feels faster than the zipline, honestly, and it’s really fun if you like speed. (And I do!) One word of caution, though, for those with long legs — for context, I have disproportionally long legs for my 5’7″ frame — be careful as you come around the bends. My foot caught the side of the track on the last curve and it turned me around sharply enough that I’m lucky I didn’t twist my ankle. I finished the track backwards!

A catamaran tour

We did a half-day “Splash into Sunset” catamaran tour with Aquamania, which included both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and some basic snacks like small bags of potato chips and sliced baguette with cheese. On this tour, you’ll step aboard the 40-foot Mambo V, which takes up to 25 guests along the St Maarten shoreline from mid-afternoon through sunset.

At USD$75 per adult, it offers good value with some nice opportunities to see mega-yachts in the distance, jump off the catamaran into the ocean and watch the sun set on the horizon from the water or onboard. We even passed by Ricky Martin’s house:

Our cruise only made two of the three swimming stops due to high winds, and I wish I’d brought some extra snacks since we didn’t return until long after dark, but it ticked off one of our wish-list musts — and the sunset was glorious.

Make your own perfume (or cologne)

Love, love, LOVED making our own perfume and cologne on the French side of St Martin at TIJON Parfumerie. Hands-down, one of the best workshops I’ve done anywhere. You’ll spend 60 to 90 minutes in a perfume lab learning how to craft your bespoke scent, making three different ones and leaving with your favourite in a bottle that’s perfectly sized for your carry-on bag.

With a lab coat to kick things off and a glass of bubbly at the end to celebrate your newfound knowledge, your olfactory system will be put to the test as you mix and match dozens of different scents to determine which combinations pass the perfect-for-you sniff test. At just USD$109 per person, this DIY activity is seriously excellent value because you walk away with more than just an experience and your bottled scent. But I’m not about to spill the beans and ruin the extra surprises, so you’ll have to go in blind on this one to find out for yourself.

Nightlife

St Maarten’s Dutch side is more notorious for its nightlife, and I can’t say we really put it to the test, but we did walk around Maho Village one night and Philipsburg another. There are lots of places to whet your whistle, play a few slots at a casino if that’s your thing or even hit up a club (apparently), but our top stop was a cigar bar called La Casa Del Habano in Philipsburg; it’s two floors, with a bar and humidor room on the first floor and a lounge on the second. We met a fun group of locals and Big B found some really good deals on some of his favourite cigar brands.

5. Cuddle with kittens.

Squeeeee — KITTENS! So many kittens. The Island Cat Rescue Adoption Centre in Maho Village is open every day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and you can pop in to hang out with the sweetest little kitties for a few minutes or a few hours, with no obligation to adopt (though that happens a lot).

PRO TIP: Bring along some cat treats and you’ll be the most popular guest!

6. Drive to France.

Yes, you can technically drive between The Netherlands and France along the Causeway Bridge in just minutes. Is it one of the most exciting things to do in St Maarten? Maybe not, but there aren’t too many places in the world where you can say you drove to another country so quickly and easily — with no border control.

7. Shop in Philipsburg.

There are two long strips to walk and shop in Philipsburg parallel to the boardwalk: Front Street and Back Street. Plus, there’s a little bonus shopping on Old Street, just a few blocks west of the cruise/ferry terminal.

Whether you’re looking for trinkets like magnets and ornaments, jewelry, swimwear and coverups, evening-wear, art, treasures from The Netherlands and especially high-end designer brands from Chanel to Rolex — plus everything else in between — you can find it here. Be prepared to shop with a credit card, USD or the Caribbean Guilder, and know that bargaining is perfectly acceptable with many of the vendors.

This is a tax-free country, but you should know your prices for things like luxury goods, jewelry and cigars before you go to ensure you’re getting a deal.

8. Eat All The Things.

With that in mind, I decided it wouldn’t be it fair to call this section “the best restaurants in St Maarten” or anything of the sort because we didn’t eat on the French side and we did a mere sampler of local eateries and all-inclusive restaurants on the Dutch side, limiting our ability to properly dig into the food scene. That said, from what we did experience, St Maarten is a foodie dream and the next time we visit, we’re renting a car just so we can make it to more restaurants! 

PRO TIP: Most of our restaurant bills had a 10 per cent service charge automatically added, but extra gratuities for exceptional service will certainly be appreciated.

Here are all of the places we liked during our four-night visit:

Ocean Lounge

You’ll need reservations during the high season for this beachfront Philipsburg restaurant — and it’ll be worth the effort. This was our favourite dinner in St Maarten, not least of which because it’s a covered patio with romantic lighting that allows the ocean breeze to pass through, a memorable menu and top-notch service. Bonus: if you drive there, the restaurant offers a free valet service.

It’s casual enough that a sundress and sandals will fit right in, but if you show up in cocktail attire, that’ll work just as well. Steak and seafood lovers will go crazy for the menu, which includes daily features with freshly caught fish and crustaceans. Standouts include the foie gras atop short rib, grilled lobster linguine and a spicy mango chocolate mousse dessert (big enough to share).

Kalatua Beach Club

This meal is a very, very close second to Ocean Lounge. Actually, let’s call it tied. As I noted earlier, we loved everything about Kalatua Beach Club — including its restaurant. Considering you can stay ALL DAY and order food and drinks to your beach chairs or cabana, it’s hard to judge it as just a “meal.” The cocktails poured here are the best we had on the island and I look forward to a return visit to try and find a contender to take on their bartenders.

We loved the mezze platter and, though it wasn’t on the menu, the wagyu burger should probably be its own standalone item in this things to do in St Maarten list! Holy WOW, it’s everything a burger should be and then some. You just need to remember to ask for the “upgraded” burger since the menu only lists a regular burger. Big B is a bona fide burger snob and he was so overcome with emotion after his first bites that I filmed a whole Instagram Story around his reaction that I’ll be posting soon. Yeah, it’s that good.

Roma Cucina Italiana

On a tiny side street in Maho Village, Roma is a lovely little gem. With hand-rolled pasta and its own line of olive oil served at your table with fresh bread, the European vibe is alive and well here.

Grilled octopus can be hit or miss but it’s a total HIT at Roma! Perfectly tender with just the right bit of crisp at the ends of each tentacle, we wish we’d ordered two so we didn’t have to share. Thankfully, we still had the lobster bisque to inhale and it didn’t disappoint. Not one bit. Great flavour, balance and salted just right. Chef’s kiss!

The chicken parm was enormous; I’m talking the size of a premature infant. Like, huge. At 6’6″ and nearly 300 lbs., Big B is a man who can E-A-T and even he couldn’t finish everything on his plate. Impressive. Plus, he said it was delicious.

Between our two desserts, the tiramisu — with its perfectly soaked ladyfingers and not-too-sweet mascarpone — was the clear winner but the key lime crème brulée tried hard to take it down.

Azul and Portofino restaurants at Sonesta Ocean Point

These are both fine dining restaurants located within the adult-only Sonesta Ocean Point Resort, which I’ll get to shortly; guests have free daily access to them, without limitation or reservations required. But, interestingly, guests at the neighbouring Sonesta Maho Beach Resort can pay to upgrade their dinner and eat at Azul — which, in a stunning feat of architecture, hangs partly over the edge of a cliff. I’m including them here primarily for those who are staying at either Sonesta property, though I did read that non-guests can pay an even higher per-person fee to dine at Azul as well. (Best to contact the resort directly for details.)

Between the two, we preferred Azul for its location and ambiance but Portofino for its food and drinks. I mean, just look at Azul at night:

I also need to add a couple of shout-outs to: (1) Juliette’s Bistro, which is simple, reasonably priced food that’s very conveniently located near the Aquamania office where you’ll check in to your catamaran cruise. And (2) Gelateria Milano, which is the first gelato shop you’ll come across if you’re getting off a ferry, yacht or cruise ship in Philipsburg; it serves really good gelato at excellent prices (USD$3 for a single and $5 for a double scoop).

9. In your essential list of things to do in St Maarten, stay somewhere fabulous.

This was our first time here — the first of many, I hope. We were blown away by the sheer breadth of things to do in St Maarten, its friendliness and safety. And while it’s easy to splurge in this little Caribbean gem, it was also surprisingly easy to find budget-friendly options for lodging, too. In fact, it was far more accessible than I expected, so don’t write it off because you think it’ll be too expensive.

And while none of it comes at, say, Cuba vacation prices, I found hotel options with a king bed for two adults as low as the CAD$200/night bracket (yes, even in high season). But, don’t worry — if you want to spend upwards of $1,000, $8k or even $30k a night, SXM will certainly allow it!

All-inclusive resort: Sonesta Ocean Point

If you’re after a guaranteed kid-free environment, then the Sonesta Ocean Point Resort is worth a look. It’s an adult-only “resort within a resort,” which means you have exclusive access to the restaurants, pools and other amenities at Ocean Point but you can also wander over to the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort to eat there, use its facilities, see shows or head to its lovely Cloud 9 Lounge, which boasts this killer view:

Ocean Point has its own check-in area with golf carts to take you and your luggage there if you’d rather skip the three-minute walk from the main resort’s lobby. It’s bright and airy, beautifully designed inside and out and every room has an ocean view and bathroom filled with luxe Molten Brown products. There are only 130 or so rooms, and even the standard rooms are spacious and have large balconies where you can watch the planes come in over Maho Beach from a different vantage point.

That also means that Maho Beach is right there. Go down a few steps and you can spend the day on one of the coolest beaches we’ve ever been to and return to your resort for your fill of food and bevvies.

Hotel: Holland House 

Holland House Beach Hotel is a stunner. With one entrance that opens onto the capital city’s boardwalk and your own section of reserved beach chairs and umbrellas sitting on Great Bay Beach, and another that opens onto Front Street for more shopping than you’ll be able to fit into a single afternoon, plus beach service and an outdoor lounge adjacent to a fabulous restaurant (Ocean Lounge, listed above), there’s nothing we didn’t love about Holland House.

It’s got chic Miami-esque energy and everything you need from morning ’til night is within easy walking distance of the hotel. To top it all off, there’s a generous à la carte breakfast included with most guest packages. (Seriously, it’s so big that you won’t need lunch.)

Since you’re splurging, book a beach-facing room so you can watch spectacular sunsets from your balcony:

Although this isn’t an adult-only property, we didn’t see a single child during our stay. Our teens would fit in well here, but I’m not mad about it feeling like we were still in a kid-free resort.

Oh, and even if you aren’t staying at Holland House, you can still get the beach club experience; you just have to pay for it. We met one couple — cruise ship passengers — who purchased a day pass for USD$120, which came with two beach chairs, towels, an umbrella and a full-sized bottle of Moët & Chandon champagne (the real stuff!) in ice. Now that’s splurge-worthy!

If we had an extra day on our side, I would have added one more thing to this inaugural things to do in St Maarten post: a day trip to an adjacent island where we likely couldn’t afford to stay overnight. SXM is a major hub for the French West Indies and Dutch Caribbean — a collective of islands that includes well-knowns like Aruba, Curaçao and Guadeloupe to lesser-knowns like Saba, alongside exclusive, celebrity-laden islands like St Bart’s and Anguilla. A St Bart’s (a.k.a. St Barth’s, Saint-Barthélemy) ferry trip? Next time, it’s happening.

We did, however, use the island as a sort of travel sandwich — a jumping-off point to discover a nearby country called St Eustatius, which we reached by puddle-jumper, returning by ferry four days later. I’ll be writing about that adventure in the new year, so be sure you’ve subscribed to my blog at the top of this page if you want to be notified when it’s published.

At the end of the day, St Maarten breeds travel loyalists and after our stay, it’s easy to understand why. We’re already dreaming about next time.

 

DISCLAIMER: St Maarten Tourism compensated me for this content, but did not provide direction or review/approve anything in advance. Aa always, all opinions and suggestions are my own.