Sint Maarten
April 2025
2 Days
To see the previous stop on this trip, go here to Anguilla
With direct flights from Anguilla to the US mainland limited, St. Martin is a common connection point. From there you can take a plane or ferry to Anguilla. I don't know why I didn't think of taking the ferry and by the time I did, I had already booked a flight from Anguilla to St. Martin. Although the flight is only 10 minutes, it's one a small puddle jumper plane - not Gwen's favorite thing in the world.
St. Martin definitely had more going on than Anguilla and was much more crowded - I couldn't believe the amount of traffic we got stuck in! The island is also split between the Dutch part and the French part which surprisingly are very different given how small the island is. Once we drove to the French side, all of a sudden everyone was speaking French!
Daily Itinerary
10 Minute flight from Anguilla to St. Martin
Sunset at Grand Case
French dinner at La Villa
Lunch at the lolos of Marigot
View of Marigot Bay from Fort St. Louis
Walk the colorful streets of Phillipsburg
Dinner in at Liguria
Flights
Anguilla Air Service AXA-SXM: cash one-way
American Airlines Economy SXM-MIA-ORD: 10,000 American Miles + $92 taxes & fees
Hotels
JW Marriott St. Maarten Beach Resort & Spa: 162,500 Marriott points for 2 nights + $100 resort fee
▸ Large resort on the East side of the island on Dawn Beach. You definitely want to have a car if you plan to leave the resort. Fine option for a points hotel, but nothing special in my opinion.
Food (With Beli Ranking)
La Villa (8.4) - French restaurant in the village of Grand Case on the French side. Staff was very friendly and the food was delicious.
Liguria - The main restaurant in the JW Marriott. Not very good but there are limited options if you don't want to leave the hotel to eat.
Full Itinerary
Day 1
Anguilla Air Service
Anguilla and St. Martin are separated by only about 20km which takes about 10 minutes by plane including takeoff and landing. Without thinking, I booked a flight before realizing the ferry is also an option. If you are a nervous flyer or afraid of heights I definitely recommend to take the ferry since our plane was so tiny it only fit 3 passengers plus the pilot.
Anguilla Air Service - Anguilla 2025
The views were amazing though!
Anguilla - Anguilla 2025
The JW Marriott is about a 30 minute drive from the airport but we hit some serious traffic causing the drive to take much longer. Some parts of the drive were a bit challenging with narrow roads and the hotel is at the bottom of a very steep hill.
After checking in we had some time to enjoy the pool and the beach although Dawn Beach was nothing compared to Anguilla. I'm not sure if this was usual, but the wind was so strong it was not pleasant to even sit on the beach.
JW Marriott St. Maarten Beach Resort & Spa - St. Martin 2025
Grand Case
The island of St. Martin is split in half with the south end being Dutch and the north end French. Although there is no border control, it was quite interesting that while I didn't hear anyone speaking Dutch on the Dutch side it seemed everyone was speaking French on the French side.
Grand Case is the most populous town on the French side and known as the gourmet capital of the Caribbean. The town sits on a long beach lined with restaurants and beach bars. It was about a 25 minute drive from the hotel and we arrived in time for a beautiful sunset.
Grand Case - St. Martin 2025
We booked dinner at a restaurant called La Villa known for its French-Creole cuisine. The staff was incredibly friendly and the food was very good. We enjoyed a slow dining meal with the open-air sides providing a nice ocean breeze.
La Villa - St. Martin 2025
Day 2
Marigot
Marigot is the capital of French St. Martin where French and Caribbean cultures meet. Along the waterfront, there are a handful of stalls and lolos serving food and drinks with the Marigot Market just on the other side of the main roundabout.
We stopped at Chez Fernand for some delicious French pastries before going up to the top of Fort St. Louis for great views of the bay.
Marigot from Fort St. Louis - St. Martin 2025
Phillipsburg
Phillipsburg is the capital of Dutch Sint. Maarten, comprised of four streets and the beach easily recognized by the many colorful houses, shops, and restaurants.
The town is a popular cruise ship port although fortunately when we visited there didn't seem to be any ships so it wasn't too crowded. But generally there just seemed to be a lot of bars and gift shops typical of cruise ship ports - not really my scene (unless I'm on the cruise ship).
Phillipsburg - Sint Maarten 2025
Liguria
Liguria is the upscale dinner restaurant at the JW St. Maarten. It's probably on me for ordering carbonara, but I did not like it so it's not a restaurant I'm dying to return to anytime soon.
But, if you're not leaving the hotel for dinner, it was enjoyable to sit outside overlooking the pool.
JW Marriott St. Maarten Beach Resort & Spa - St. Martin 2025
Overall
I found St. Martin interesting in that the two sides of the island felt very different despite it not being a large island. In my opinion, the Dutch side seemed to be less Dutch and more Caribbean versus the French side seemed to have a much stronger French influence (Air France even flies direct to St. Martin from Paris). The Dutch side of the island seemed to be overbuilt and had a surprising amount of traffic.
Overall I don't know that there was anything in St. Martin that had me dying to return. For a beach vacation, Anguilla was much more preferrable as the beaches were much nicer but if I was returning, I would probably stay in Grand Case as it seemed like a relaxing town with good restaurants.
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