Leeward Islands / Saint Martin
Baie Rouge
Anse Marcel
Simpson Bay
Oyster Pond
Grand Case Bay
Zipline through Loterie Farm on Pic Paradis
Dine along Grand Case’s beachfront lolos
Visit The Butterfly Farm
Kayak or paddleboard Simpson Bay Lagoon
Browse Marigot’s waterfront market
Grand Case
Marigot
Pinel Island
Cupecoy
Tintamarre
December through April brings the driest, most settled weather and the busiest charter season, with the Heineken Regatta each March adding four days of racing and parties around Simpson Bay. Hurricane season runs June to November, peaking in September, so many owners and charter guests avoid the island in the late-summer months. Water temperatures stay warm and swimmable all year.
Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) on the Dutch side takes large jets directly from the US and Europe and is the main gateway for charter guests, its final approach famously low over Maho Beach. The French side has its own smaller Grand Case-Esperance Airport for regional and inter-island flights, useful if connecting from a nearby French island such as Guadeloupe.
Simpson Bay Lagoon offers the calmest, most sheltered water and easy access to provisioning and the marina, though it’s reached only through a bridge that opens on a set schedule. Baie Rouge and Anse Marcel are better for a quiet night with good swimming straight off the boat, and Grand Case Bay puts the dinghy ride to dinner about as short as it gets.
Three to four days covers the island itself comfortably, including a night in Grand Case and time on both the French and Dutch beaches. Most charters use Saint Martin as a jumping-off point for the wider Leeward Islands, adding on Saint Barts, Anguilla or Saint Kitts to build out a week or two-week itinerary.
The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta has run every March since 1980, when it started with just twelve boats, and has grown into the biggest keelboat regatta in the Caribbean, drawing several hundred entries over four days of racing out of Simpson Bay. Marina space and moorings book up well in advance for regatta week, so charter guests wanting to watch or take part should plan around the first weekend of March.
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