Eastern Caribbean · Cruise port guide
Philipsburg, Sint Maarten
An island split between Dutch and French rule, with a large modern pier, a beachfront capital and the aircraft-watching beach at Maho.
Port basics
Getting ashore
Ships dock
Berth to town
Philipsburg is about 1.5 km around the bay — a 20-minute walk on a paved path, a short water taxi, or a quick taxi ride.
Time in port
Typically 8–10 hours
Cruise season
Calls year-round
Currency
Netherlands Antillean guilder on the Dutch side, euro on the French side; US dollars accepted across the island
Language
Dutch and English on the Dutch side, French on the French side; English is universal in tourist areas
Time zone
Atlantic Standard Time (UTC−4), no daylight saving
Nearest airport
Princess Juliana International (SXM) — About 12 km northwest, on the Dutch side
These are the patterns St. Maarten normally operates on. Berth assignments, tender arrangements and time in port vary by ship, line and day, and we confirm the specifics for your sailing once we know the dates.
About St. Maarten
St. Martin has been divided between the Netherlands and France since 1648, and it remains the smallest landmass in the world shared by two sovereign states. There is no border control — you cross between Sint Maarten and Saint-Martin on an ordinary road — but the currency, language, food and licensing genuinely change, which makes a half-day on each side a real experience rather than a novelty.
Philipsburg, on the Dutch side, is where ships dock. The town is two long parallel streets between a hill and a beach, and Great Bay Beach runs the whole length of it. Being able to shop, eat and swim within a few hundred metres of each other makes this an easy day for a group that wants to split up and regroup.
Maho Beach sits at the threshold of Princess Juliana Airport’s runway, and aircraft pass overhead at very low altitude on approach. It has become the island’s most photographed spot. It is about 25 minutes from the pier, and the arrivals board at the beach bar tells you when the larger aircraft are due.
Marigot, the French capital, is a 30-minute drive and a different island in character — a waterfront market, French bakeries, and euro pricing. Groups that have done Philipsburg before should go there instead.
Going ashore in St. Maarten
Within reach on foot
- Front Street and Back Street in Philipsburg, wall-to-wall duty-free
- Great Bay Beach, running the length of the town
- The Philipsburg boardwalk and its beach bars
- Courthouse Square, the 1793 colonial courthouse
What the port is known for
- Maho Beach, at the end of the airport runway
- Marigot, the French capital, and its hillside market
- Orient Bay on the French Atlantic coast
- Catamaran sailing and snorkel trips around the island
How ships berth here
The Dr. A. C. Wathey Cruise Facility at Point Blanche takes several large ships at once and is one of the best-equipped piers in the region. A water taxi and a paved walkway both connect it to Philipsburg.
Access and mobility
The pier, walkway and Philipsburg boardwalk are all flat and step-free — one of the easier Caribbean ports for wheelchairs and slower walkers. Great Bay Beach is directly off the boardwalk.
Weather and when ships call
Warm and dry by Caribbean standards, 27–31°C. Driest February to April. Hurricane season is June to November — the island was badly hit by Irma in 2017 and has since been substantially rebuilt.
Cruise season
Calls year-round
Typical itinerary length
St. Maarten usually appears on 7 nights Eastern Caribbean itineraries. Sails year-round.
Ports often paired with St. Maarten
Itineraries that call here usually call at these too, so it is worth reading them together when you are comparing weeks.
St. Kitts
A green volcanic island with a walk-off pier at the capital, a UNESCO hilltop fortress and a scenic railway built for the sugar trade.
Antigua
An island that claims a beach for every day of the year, with a docked capital and Nelson’s Dockyard, a working Georgian naval yard, on the south coast.
St. Thomas
The busiest Eastern Caribbean call — a US territory with duty-free shopping, a harbour town of Danish colonial streets and no passport friction for Americans.
Tortola
The British Virgin Islands’ sailing capital, with a pier in the centre of Road Town and the boulder-strewn Baths on Virgin Gorda nearby.
Explore further
Eastern Caribbean cruises
The Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten and the northern Leewards — walkable towns and short tender-free port days.
Cruise ports in Sint Maarten
Every Sint Maarten port we cover, with seasons, berthing and shore access.
All cruise ports
Browse every port guide by region, country or name.
Bringing a group to St. Maarten?
We hold five cabins or more together as a single block, quote it once, and let each household book and pay separately. Tell us roughly when and how many.