Sint Maarten Travel Guide

Sun-lovers, water babies, sailors and divers alike will find St Maarten an alluring Caribbean getaway.

This popular destination in the Netherlands Antilles is lined with delicious coastline, on which to frolic, bake, or get active. The most prominent physical feature in St Maarten is Mount Flagstaff, an extinct volcano, but the most important for visitors is the excellent beach that follows the south and west coasts; beach activities and shopping at duty-free centers firmly satisfy most tourists. St Maarten is also popular with sailing enthusiasts and divers.

The excellent diving conditions feature striking coral reefs located close to the shore. One of the most popular dive sites is the wreck of HMS Proselyte, a British man-of-war which sank in 1801. Body boarding is increasingly popular way of enjoying the gleaming waters and getting refreshed in the pouring sunshine.

Geography

Politically, St Maarten is one of three Windward Islands in the Netherlands Antilles, although geographically it is part of the Leeward Group of the Lesser Antilles, and not strictly an island – it occupies just one-third of an island otherwise under French control (the French sector is called St Martin), lying 8km (5 miles) south of Anguilla, 232km (144 miles) east of Puerto Rico and 56km (35 miles) due north of St Eustatius. St Maarten is the southern sector, an area of wooded mountains rising from white sandy beaches. To the west, the mountains give way to lagoons and salt flats.

The Netherlands Antilles consist of Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St Eustatius and St Maarten. The capital of the island group is Willemstad, Curaçao.

For information on the French sector (St Martin), see the Guadeloupe section.