St Martin Vacation Guide

Introduction

It's not quite as cosmopolitan as Martinique, nor is it the royalty and rock star magnet that is chic St Barts - nevertheless, with its fine French restaurants, the best duty-free shops in the Eastern Caribbean and glorious beaches, St Martin easily slips into the 'Tropez of the tropics' category.

More than a major gateway to the rest of the Eastern Caribbean, St Martin also offers visitors two countries for the price of one: St Martin takes up half the land on its island home, and the Netherlands' Sint Maarten takes up the other half, with no border controls in between.

Full country name: St Martin
Area: 54 sq km
Population: 27,000
Capital City: Marigot
People: Mixed African and European descent, Spanish immigrants
Language: French, English
Religion: Catholic
Government: sub-prefecture of Guadeloupe (an overseas départment of France)
Time Zone: GMT/UTC -4
Dialling Code: 590
Electricity: 220V ,50Hz
Currency: Euro

We constantly update vacation deals and flights + hotel packages for St Martin and the Caribbean. You can also check out some of the best hotels and resorts in St Martin with exciting attractions like golf, casino, scuba diving and other water sports. Popular hotels & resorts in St Martin are Cuisinart Resort & Spa and Grand Case Beach Club.

If arriving at Juliana Airport (where most flights to the island land) in Sint Maartin: US & Canadian citizens can stay up to three months. Others need a valid passport. If entering on the French side: EU citizens need an official identity card, valid passport or French carte de séjour (visitor card); US & Canadian nationals can stay up to two weeks (maximum three months, on request) without a passport if they have the same documentation required for the Dutch side. Citizens of most other countries need both a valid passport and a visa for France.

If you're already in the Caribbean, you can fly via prop-plane into French St Martin's tiny Esperance Airport from St Barts, Guadeloupe and Martinique. All other local and international flights arrive at Juliana Airport, a 15-minute drive away in Dutch Sint Maarten. You can fly here from Puerto Rico, Antigua, Guadeloupe and most of St Martin's other neighbouring islands. Air France and KLM offer flights from Paris and Amsterdam respectively, and you can also fly from Miami and New York in the USA.

Naturally, being in the Caribbean, there are plenty of sea options as well. Getting to and from other Eastern Caribbean islands is a cinch, with numerous daily ferries to and from Anguilla, daily catamarans to and from St Barts, and a ferry several times a week to and from Saba. Yachts can clear immigration at Marigot and moor at marinas in Marigot, Simpson Bay Lagoon, Oyster Pond and Anse Marcel.

Once in town, taxis are available from a stand at the public market. Buses are a cheap way to get around between major towns. They run between Marigot and the Dutch capital Philipsburg from 6am-12am. Services also run to Grand Case and Orleans, and the Dutch Mullet and Simpson Bays. Beyond this, services are sketchy, so don't rely on buses to get you around the island. Hiring a car or motorcycle is a good option for reaching destinations off the major bus routes. Driving is on the right-hand side of the road on both the French and Dutch parts of the island.

St Martin, along with the rest of the Eastern Caribbean, is the land of perpetual summer, and there is really no time when you can't comfortably laze around on the beach. There are a bunch of factors that might sway you towards one season or another, however. 'Snow birds' escaping cold European and North American winters make mid-December to mid-April the busiest season. If you don't mind a few crowds and paying a premium for just about everything, this is a great time to visit St Martin.

The French pre-Lenten Carnival, although not as large as Dutch Sint Maarten's, is held with gusto and ceremony. Taking place in the five days before Ash Wednesday in Feb/March, the festivities feature the crowning of a Carnival Queen, costume parades, dancing and music. Naturally, July's Bastille Day is celebrated with typical Gallic fervour, and features a parade, sporting events and fireworks.

Although lying motionless in worship to the sun - regularly fortified by rum cocktails - is one very attractive holidaying option, St Martin offers a surfeit of more energetic activities. There's swimming at a myriad of gorgeous beaches, from busy clothing-optional Orient Beach and secluded Long Beach to swimming-snorkelling beaches such as Baie Rouge and the islets off the northeast coast.

If you don't want to get wet, try hiking around the island; the most popular route winds up to Pic Paradis, St Martin's highest point. Golf is also on offer for landlubbers, but you'll need to travel across to Mullet Beach in Sint Maarten - well worth the trip if you like the idea of teeing off among palm trees and the deep-blue water of the Caribbean. If you really want to live out the beach fantasy, saddle up for some horseriding along Orient Beach, Baie Lucas or Anse Marcel.

More attractions in the Caribbean