Philipsberg, St. Maarten

January 2, 2024 – Philipsburg, St. Maarten

St. Maarten is an island with two different countries occupying it – France and Netherlands. The Dutch side spells it St. Maarten, and the French side spells it St. Martin.

Here is a short narrative from their tourism web site:

One Island, Two Nations: St Maarten (Netherlands) & St Martin (France)
As per our binational character, we build on a rare 350 year history of open borders. Except for its border Concordia monument you will not notice crossing our borders at all, but just experience the great complementarity of this unique combination as our two sides have their own special features!

French side “St Martin” is part of France whereas Dutch side “St Maarten” is an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Whereas Euros and Dutch Antillean Guilders are respective official currencies, the dollar is by far the most common currency

For our visitors, the main difference will be felt by the more widely available bustling nightlife, casinos, shopping and activities available on Dutch side St Maarten, whereas slightly larger French side St Martin offers a larger array of nature areas to explore.

Most tourists come in via the Dutch side , either on Princess Juliana International Airport or Cruise in Dutch side St Maarten’s capital Philipsburg. You can visit any location on St Maarten / St Martin well within an hour – so any location to dine, shop, do an activity or visit an event is well within reach wherever you stay on island!

Our tour today was supposed to be a fun adventure on the “Flying Dutchman” zip-line which is advertised as the “steepest in the world” but it was cancelled by the tour operator – and wasn’t running the day we were there. We chose an alternate tour called “Two Nation Vacation” that was to show us the two sides of the island.

Good morning St. Maarten – already some cruise ships in port!
Approaching our dock
The ship’s newsletter for the day
Port sign (guess the electronic one wasn’t working again)
Adam grabbed this photo because there is a Sharky’s restaurant near us that is a family favorite.
On board our tour bus for the day
It was election time and there were a lot of these signs all over the area.
It was a beautiful day!
  • Our first stop was this area where there were a lot of booths to look at for clothing and crafts to buy.
  • More of the shopping area
  • Cindy and the “I love San Maarten” sign
The border between the French side of the Island and the Dutch side of the Island
A beautiful harbor along our drive
The parking area for the beach and shopping area

This beach area is known for being at the end of a runway – and incoming jets often skirt just above the beach. We guess since it’s been posted online is why it’s so popular here.

  • David and Cindy
  • Adam and Susan
Adam and David and a fun distance sign
Photo from a lookout spot – very pretty
The gang at the St. Maarten sign
The platform for the “Flying Dutchman” that we didn’t get to ride this time – maybe some day!
Heading away from port
Sail away time
Adam with his new shirt!

Next stop is San Juan, Puerto Rico!