Two nations, one bright island.
Catamaran days off Simpson Bay, jets skimming Maho Beach, turtles at Grand Case and the buggy loop across the French border — what each tour is really like, what it costs, and where to book it.
Six bookings that make the trip.
Cruise in for a day or stay a week, these carry the itinerary — the speedboat that finds the quiet snorkel spots, the full-day catamaran with a rum punch on the trampoline, the buggy convoy that crosses into France without a passport.
For cruise passengers: Guided ATV Tour of Dutch & French St. Maarten
Ride an ATV across Dutch and French St. Maarten for Jesus Walk views, iguanas, photo stops, and an easy beach finish with rum punch.
From $120 per person
Read the review →
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The best day here floats.
Sails up off Simpson Bay, a run out to Tintamarre or Creole Rock, snorkel gear over the side and a rum punch waiting on the trampoline. A catamaran day is the one thing every first-timer books twice — and the water really is that colour.
How do you want to see it?
The same island reads three ways — from the deck of a catamaran, from the seat of a buggy, or face-down over a reef. Pick the one that sounds like your kind of day, and every tour behind it is already reviewed and priced.
By sea
The catamaran day
from $139 · 1,552 reviews
Cast off from Simpson Bay or Great Bay, reach for Tintamarre and Creole Rock, drop anchor where the water turns glass and swim straight off the back. Half-day if you have a cruise to catch, full-day if the beach can wait. Snorkel gear and the rum are usually thrown in.
Compare the sailing days →
By land
Both sides by buggy
from $120 · 1,766 reviews
One island, two countries, no border post — just a stone marker you roll straight past. A buggy or ATV convoy climbs to the Dutch-side lookouts, drops into Marigot on the French side, and stitches together beaches you would never find alone. Bring a licence and a bandana.
See the buggy tours →
Under it
Reef, turtles & speedboat
from $139 · 4,336 reviews
The calm end of the island is a nursery for green turtles, and a small speedboat gets you to them before the crowds. Grand Case, Creole Rock, Pinel Island — short hops, warm shallows, and a guide who knows which cove is holding fish that morning.
See the snorkel trips →
Best seats face west.
The island saves its finest show for last. Slip the mooring as the light goes gold, watch Saba and Statia float on the horizon, and let the crew keep the glasses full while a steel pan plays. Some sails end with dinner; all of them end better than the beach bar.
The water is the whole point.
Warm, clear and calm on the lee side — St Maarten is built for it. Snorkel a turtle cove off a small speedboat, or open the throttle on a jet ski around Terres Basses. Three ways to spend a morning in the blue.
Take the whole island.
Where a catamaran shows you the coast, a buggy shows you the rest — the ridge roads, the sleepy French villages, the lookout above Marigot most visitors never reach. Dusty, loud and the best value half-day on the island.
The best beach is on another island.
Twenty minutes by fast boat and you are somewhere quieter — Anguilla’s blinding-white Shoal Bay, the uninhabited sands of Tintamarre and Pinel, the celebrity harbour at St Barts, the green cliffs of Saba rising out of the sea. Bring a passport for the far ones; the day trip does the rest.
Every corner has its day.
The island splits neatly by place. Maho for the jets and the party beach. Grand Case for the turtles and the food. Philipsburg for the boardwalk and the duty-free. Marigot for the French-market mornings.
Know what you’re after?
Twelve doors into the same island — pick the one that sounds like your kind of day and every tour behind it is already reviewed and priced.
Ashore by ten, back before all-aboard.
A ship day is shorter than it looks. These are the tours that get you off the pier fast, show you the island or the water, and have you back at the Philipsburg dock with time to spare — pick-ups timed to the ship, not the tide.
Three days, done right.
You can’t see all of St Maarten in one trip; you can absolutely nail the right three days. This is the sequence we’d hand a friend checking into their Simpson Bay hotel tomorrow.
Day 1
Get your bearings
A half-day island loop to see both countries at once, the Philipsburg boardwalk for lunch and duty-free, then out to Maho for the late-afternoon jets. Easy start, whole island in view.
Plan day one →
Day 2
Give the day to the sea
A full-day catamaran to Tintamarre and a turtle cove, lunch aboard, rum on the way back. Nothing else earns its price like a boat day here — clear the calendar for it.
Plan day two →
Day 3
Cross into France
A buggy convoy over the border to the French side, the Marigot market at midday, Grand Case for a beach afternoon, and a sunset sail to close the trip. No passport, no wasted hour.
Plan day three →
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