The Tropical ‘Approach’
St. Martin / Sint Maarten is a fashionable destination in the Caribbean Sea. Whether you decide to arrive by plane, boat, cruise ship, the islands infrastructure is ready to welcome voyageurs in whatever means they have chosen. Airports, Ports, Marinas, it is easy accessible and makes it a one of a kind tropical island destination. All major airlines from the United States, Europe, and South America fly regularly to SXM. It has the biggest cruise ship port, not to mention that it features as well the largest Mega Yacht port of all the Caribbean islands.
The international airport of Juliana is located on the Dutch side, it handles more then 1.500.000 visitors and more than 100.000 aircraft movements per year. Private Jets are stationed here, while their owners are vacationing on their Mega yachts. Most international airlines will arrive here: from Europe Air France, KLM, Corsair, Air Caraibe, from the United States: American Airlines, United, Continental, just to name a few. The regional airport ‘Esperance’ is based in Grand Case on the French side, and is only used for smaller airplanes serving the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Barth’s.
Arriving by cruise ship, your port of call might probably be Philipsburg on Sint Maarten. It is a busy terminal, and cruise ships make port here all year round. From November until April you may find up to 5 cruise ships in the harbor, and their guests strolling cheerfully through the typical little Caribbean town of Philipsburg.
Sailors, Mega Yacht Guests and owners have the choice where to drop anchor! Not less than 18 Marinas on this little gem of 37 square miles, and the biggest Mega Yacht Charter Boat Show take place almost every year in the ‘Port de Plaisance’ Marina. Entry is easy for those valued visitors, in the Dutch Marinas a visa waiver program was established in 2008, stipulating that yachts (48 ‘ and more, 6 cabins) with paid crews and paying passengers or owners on board are eligible for stays up to 30 days.