St. Martin Travel Guide: Stay, Eat, Drink & Play on Both Sides
St Martin is a small Caribbean island with two cultures, beautiful beaches, and some of the best food in the region. It is a great trip for travelers who want beach time, French dining, Dutch nightlife, and easy day trips in one place.
Best Areas in St Martin
St. Martin’s two-country layout shapes every decision about where to stay and what to do each day. Here is how the main areas break down, ordered from where we would most recommend basing yourself to the spots worth a visit but not a hotel booking.
Grand Case (French Side)
Grand Case is a single beachfront boulevard lined with some of the best French-Caribbean restaurants in the region, a row of open-air barbecue lolos at the harbor end, and a calm bay you can swim in from the center of town. No casinos, no cruise ships, no speakers blasting at 2 AM. For families or food-focused travelers, it is the strongest base on the island. Parking is easy, beaches are walkable, and the village is small enough to know in an afternoon. We stayed here and loved it.
Orient Bay (French Side)
Orient Bay is St. Martin’s most famous beach and its beach-club hub. A two-mile arc of white sand backs up to a string of pastel clubs. KKO, Coco Beach, Kontiki, La Playa each run their own DJ, lounger color scheme, and lunch menu. The north end runs quieter and more culinary. The central section is the social scene. A full-service beach day here is one of the best ways to spend a day on the island. Sargassum can affect the Atlantic-facing stretch seasonally, so check conditions before you drive over.
Maho and Simpson Bay (Dutch Side)
Maho sits directly under the Princess Juliana runway, which makes it the island’s most famous beach for obvious reasons. The Sunset Beach Bar and The Morgan Resort anchor the stretch. Simpson Bay, about five minutes east, adds marina bars, casinos, and the Dutch side’s main nightlife corridor. Best for travelers who want Dutch-side energy or who are flying in and out and want airport proximity.
Terres Basses (French Side)
Terres Basses is a private villa enclave on the far western tip of the island, home to Baie Longue, the longest beach on the French side, and to La Samanna resort. A car is essential. There are almost no walkable amenities. For travelers who want total seclusion and a quiet beach rather than the village energy of Grand Case or the beach-club scene at Orient Bay, it earns its place.
Oyster Pond and Dawn Beach (Dutch Side / Border)
Oyster Pond sits at the Dutch-French border and is home to the JW Marriott and calm Dawn Beach. It runs isolated from both the Grand Case food scene and the Dutch nightlife strip. A car is necessary for everything. Include it for readers who want a resort-over-location trade.
Philipsburg (Dutch Side)
Philipsburg is the Dutch capital and cruise-port hub. Front Street runs duty-free jewelry, liquor, and electronics. The Great Bay Boardwalk runs a kilometer along the beach. On heavy cruise days the street fills with thousands of passengers off multiple ships. On no-ship days it is quieter and easier to explore. We visited and it was fine, but of the areas on the island it was our least favorite for atmosphere. It earns a visit for shopping or a quick boardwalk lunch, less so as a home base.
Marigot (French Side)
Marigot is the French capital and the ferry departure point for Anguilla and St. Barths. The Wednesday and Saturday morning market on the waterfront is the main reason to come. You can climb to Fort Louis from the market square and get a panoramic view of the bay and Anguilla in about 10 minutes. Better to sleep in Grand Case or Orient Bay and drive into Marigot for a morning visit than to base here.
Best Places to Stay in St Martin
St Martin has several great areas, but the best choice depends on your travel style. Grand Case is best for dining, Orient Bay is best for beach days, Simpson Bay is best for nightlife, and Terres Basses is best for quiet luxury.
Grand Case Beach Club is a 74-room property that sits on Petite Plage, a small calm cove within a 10-minute walk of the Grand Case restaurant strip. The location was the main argument for booking here and it delivered. Rooms are comfortable without being flashy, which was the right tradeoff for the location and price. Book an ocean-view unit. Garden studios sit at the back of the property.
If Orient Bay is your preferred home base, Esmeralda is the pick. The colonial-style villa property sits near Orient Bay with 14 villas spread through a tropical garden and four villas sharing each private pool. It bills itself as the only four-star on Orient Beach and earned strong guest reviews into early 2026. Request a sea-view room toward Pinel Island.
The Morgan is a 122-room modern boutique two minutes from Maho Beach on the Dutch side. The rooftop infinity pool is the headline feature. It lines up with the jet approach over Maho, and going up before the afternoon wave of landings is a genuinely good photo moment. The SALT restaurant runs a solid seafood program. Parking and the airport shuttle are free.
Holland House puts you directly on the Great Bay Boardwalk in Philipsburg, with Front Street shopping at the back door and the beach at the front. The 54-room hotel runs a well-regarded restaurant and beach bar. On heavy cruise days the boardwalk gets busy. After the ships leave in the late afternoon, it quiets down fast. Best for travelers who want the Dutch capital close or who are extending a cruise itinerary.
Bleu Émeraude sits right on the sand of Grand Case Boulevard, steps from the lolos and the village’s fine-dining tables. Apartment-style units come with kitchens and sea views. Guest scores here are among the highest in Grand Case for a reason. The property is small and fills fast in high season. Book early.
La Samanna sits on the quiet end of Baie Longue, the longest beach on the French side, about 15 minutes from Marigot. The Belmond property runs an open-air restaurant just above the sand and a wine cave on site. It is very nice, and the beach is beautiful. The tradeoff is isolation from dining and attractions. Recent 2026 reviews note some rooms are due for a refresh. Request a renovated beachfront unit and confirm the resort fee before booking. The property closes in September and October.
The JW Marriott reopened in March 2024 as a full conversion of the former Westin on Dawn Beach near Oyster Pond. It added the Hibiscus Spa, a culinary school, and pickleball courts. The right pick if you want a full resort experience and have a car for dining runs. Location is isolated from both the French food scene and the Dutch nightlife strip.
Best Things to Do in St Martin
St Martin is a great island for travelers who want a mix of beach time, food, boating, and scenic views. The best activities are spread across both the French and Dutch sides, so plan to explore beyond your hotel area.
Balaou Floating Bar
Balaou is one of the best afternoon calls on the island. The bar is anchored 300 yards off Grand Case Beach. A dinghy picks you up from the Quai58 dock in five minutes. Spend an afternoon here on the water loungers tethered to the barge and order some bokits and rum punch. Check their Instagram before going during storm season because they close in named-storm threats.
Spend the Day at Orient Bay Beach
Orient Bay is St. Martin’s most famous beach and its beach-club hub. A two-mile arc of white sand backs up to a string of pastel clubs. KKO, Coco Beach, Kontiki, La Playa each run their own DJ, lounger color scheme, and lunch menu. The north end runs quieter and more culinary. The central section is the social scene. A full-service beach day here is one of the best ways to spend a day on the island. Sargassum can affect the Atlantic-facing stretch seasonally, so check conditions before you drive over.
Relax at Mullet Bay Beach and visit Kalatua Beach Restaurant
Mullet Bay is one of the prettiest beaches on the Dutch side, with bright blue water and a wide stretch of sand. This is one of the prettiest beaches on the Dutch side, and you do not have to book a beach club to enjoy it. Visitors can bring a towel or rent chairs from local vendors.
Or choose Kalatua Beach Club, where a golf cart shuttles you through sea-grape vegetation to the club at the far end of the beach. Kalatua adds a more stylish beach-day option with lounge chairs, cocktails, lunch, and sunset drinks right on the sand.
Go to Maho Beach and Spot Planes
Maho Beach sits at the end of Princess Juliana Airport’s runway. The afternoon arrivals from KLM, Delta, and American bank low over the sand before touching down, close enough that you feel the engine pressure change before you hear the full roar. Get a round of drinks from the Sunset Beach Bar with and watch the planes land. The jet-blast from departures is genuinely dangerous. The warning signs on the fence are not theater. Stay behind the fence for arrivals. Clear the area for departures. A chalkboard inside the bar posts the day’s arrival times. The Jet Blast shot is the house order.
Grand Case Restaurant Row
Walking Grand Case Boulevard at night, even on a night when you eat somewhere else, is one of the free things to do on this island that earns its own entry. The boulevard runs about a kilometer along the beach. Restaurants sit on both sides. The lolos at the harbor end are the barbecue shacks where locals and visitors eat side by side at picnic tables over the water. See the Eat section for where we actually sat down.
Pinel Island
A five-minute ferry from Cul-de-Sac on the French side takes you to Pinel Island, an uninhabited islet with two ribbon beaches and a snorkel reef on the east side. The ferry runs about $12 round-trip. Two beach restaurants handle food and drink on the island. We ran out of time in low season but would have made this a priority on a longer trip. Bring small bills and water shoes for the east-side reef.
Tintamarre is an uninhabited nature reserve accessible by group catamaran from Grand Case, usually combined with a snorkel at Creole Rock. The trip runs $80 to $130 per person depending on the operator. The clay-mud stop at Tintamarre is the signature moment. Reef-safe sunscreen required. No facilities or shade on the island.
St. Barths Day Trip
Take the Voyager ferry from Marigot to St. Barths for a day. It was amazing, with one notable condition: the seas in June were extremely rough. The Voyager general-admission ticket is an outside deck seat, which means you are in the waves the whole ride over. We were soaking wet by the time we arrived in Gustavia. If seas are running heavy, consider upgrading to an inside seat or wait for a calmer window. Gustavia is worth every rough wave. Nikki Beach is stunning in the way that very few places actually are. Bring your passport and budget the $35 Anguilla-side departure tax when you board to return from Marigot.
Philipsburg Front Street and Boardwalk
We spent a morning in Philipsburg on a light cruise day. Front Street runs duty-free shopping end to end, backed by the Great Bay Boardwalk on the beach side. The boardwalk is a pleasant walk with a cold drink. It is compact and easy to cover in a couple of hours. Check the cruise schedule at CruiseTimetables.com before you go. On heavy ship days, the street fills fast and the pace changes entirely.
Loterie Farm is a peaceful nature escape on the French side with hiking, zip lines, a pool lounge, and tropical scenery. It is a good break from the beach and works well for travelers who want a more active day.
You've Got the Logistics. Want the Plan?
Everything above tells you what to book. The interactive St. Martin planner tells you when — five days sequenced, every stop a tap from its booking page, and a vetted backup ready for anything that sells out.
Best Beach Clubs in St Martin
St Martin has everything from beach bars to cocktail lounges, so the best bar depends on your mood. Choose Grand Case for sunset style, Simpson Bay for nightlife, and Maho for plane-spotting drinks.
Coco Beach
Coco sits at Orient Beach’s quiet northern tip, the elegant end that skips the cruise-ship churn. You book your table over WhatsApp with Marine; lunch runs two seatings at 12:30 and 2:30. The kitchen plates wagyu and red-tuna tacos, and the Coco Mango blends mezcal, mango puree and ginger beer.
Kalatua Beach Restaurant
A golf cart shuttles you through sea-grape vegetation to Kalatua, the boho-chic Mediterranean club on Mullet Bay that reviewers keep comparing to St Barth. Order the grilled octopus, the salmon burger or seafood tartare under the white drapes. The turquoise water sits a few steps from the loungers.
Rainbow Café
Rainbow Cafe was one of those spots where we figured out what we were missing too late. We went on a weekday evening during low season and were able to sit at the bar. It was a quiet night. The staff told us the Sunday party runs 3 to 10 PM with a DJ, beach chairs, and a full crowd. Beautiful setting, rooftop deck over Grand Case Beach, boho styling that plays well both in person and in photos. We wish we had gone on a Sunday. Reserve a table if you go on a weekend.
KKO Beach (formerly Kakao)
Two decades on Orient under the old Kakao name, now rebranded KKO, this is the barefoot Santorini-style club with whitewashed lines and wide-spaced beds. It is the beach’s top Sunday spot, with a live DJ on the sand. The fusion kitchen leans veg-forward with roasted plantain and hummus plates.
Karibuni (Le Karibuni)
Karibuni sits alone on Pinel Island inside the Cul-de-Sac reserve, reached by a five-minute blue ferry from the mainland dock. Pick your lobster from the tank, watch it hit the barbecue, and eat it facing turquoise shallows. Running since 1988, it holds a Green Key for its no-plastic, all-biodegradable setup.
K Beach Club (formerly Karakter)
K, the club everyone still calls Karakter, sits on mile-long Simpson Bay Beach with an old bus worked into its layout and a new French chef cooking fresh local catch. Mornings are mellow lounge music; a DJ ramps the afternoon Friday to Sunday. You watch boats and planes line up over the water from your chair.
Best Places to Eat in St Martin
St Martin is one of the best food islands in the Caribbean, especially on the French side. Make dinner reservations in Grand Case when possible because the most popular restaurants fill up during busy travel months.
Le Pressoir
Le Pressoir was the best meal of the trip by a fair margin. Chef Jerome Droingt holds the Caribbean Fifty Best number one slot and the 2026 Caribbean Chef of the Year award. The room is a restored Creole cottage: white tablecloths, a kitchen built around caviar, truffle, and local catch, and a rum bar called La Part des Anges in the back. We had the lobster bisque and the fresh fish, de-boned tableside with a sauce that made the room quiet for a moment.
Ocean 82
Ocean 82 offers waterfront dining in Grand Case with seafood, French flavors, and beautiful sunset views. It is a strong option when you want dinner by the water without giving up a polished dining experience.
Coco Beach
Coco Beach sits at the top of lunch experiences at Orient Bay and is worth a separate entry from the beach-club section below. The kitchen is led by two-Michelin-star chef Laurent Saudeau. Grab some sunbeds for the day and eat at the restaurant at midday. The fish special of the day with vegetables was outstanding in the way that makes you talk about it again at dinner.
L'Auberge Gourmande
L’Auberge Gourmande is set in a Creole house on Grand Case Boulevard with one of the larger wine and spirit lists on the island. The restaurant’s signature dish is best known for the frog legs in garlic cream sauce.
Bistrot Caraibes
Bistrot Caraibes was a standout dinner on the Grand Case strip. The lobster thermidor is excellent. The room has the polished feel you expect from the top end of the boulevard without the white-tablecloth formality of Le Pressoir a few doors down.
Spiga Ristorante Italiano
Spiga sits at the north end of Grand Case Boulevard and is a good non-French option in a dining strip that leans heavily French.. The shrimp tagliatelle, which is a homemade pasta that earns the menu description of “amazing”.
Grand Case Lolos
The lolos are at the harbor end of Grand Case Boulevard, where the road bends into a semi-circle of open-air barbecue grills over the water. Sky’s the Limit and Talk of the Town are the long-running names.
Best Bars & Cocktails in St Martin
St Martin has everything from beach bars to cocktail lounges, so the best bar depends on your mood. Choose Grand Case for sunset style, Simpson Bay for nightlife, and Maho for plane-spotting drinks.
Java
JAVA is a stylish Grand Case cocktail bar and restaurant with ocean views, lounge seating, and a polished sunset atmosphere. Travelers seeking music, craft cocktails, and a more sophisticated French night out will find it to be a fantastic option.
Rainbow Cafe and Beach Bar
Rainbow Café is a stylish Grand Case spot that works for lunch, sunset drinks, or dinner by the beach. It is best for travelers who want good food, a fun atmosphere, and a photogenic setting.
Mimosa Skylounge
Skylounge is a rooftop cocktail bar in Maho with craft cocktails, small plates, and a polished nightlife feel. It is a great choice for travelers who want a stylish Dutch-side drink spot with views, music, and a more elevated lounge atmosphere
Loterie Farm Treetop Lounge
The Loterie Farm’s treetop-style bar is a unique place for cocktails in a lush jungle setting near Pic Paradis. It is best for a daytime or early evening drink after the pool, hike, or zip line rather than a late-night bar stop.
Calmos Cafe
Calmos Cafe is a feet-in-the-sand beach bar at the quiet end of Grand Case, loved for Ti’Punch and rum-cocktail tapas over the bay. It is walk-in only so no reservation is needed, and a good pick for casual drinks, toes-in-the-sand energy, and a slower evening near the water.
La Part des Anges
La Part des Anges is the rum bar inside Le Pressoir, though it works as a standalone stop on the Grand Case strip even if you are not eating next door. Small room, focused French wine list, charcuterie boards, aimed at the crowd that wants to extend a Grand Case evening without going loud. We stopped in after a dinner up the boulevard. The name is a reference to the angels’ share and the list backs it up.
Lagoonies Bistro and Bar
Lagoonies sits at Lagoon Marina in Cole Bay with a waterfront terrace that draws a sailor and yachter crowd. The French owner runs a short bistro menu and a house-infused rum pour. Sunset happy hour is the draw. Live music runs several nights a week.
Buccaneer Beach Bar
Buccaneer Beach Bar is on Kim Sha Beach in Simpson Bay. A tiki-style sunset bar with fireball bonfires on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Live music, free beach chairs with a food order. The BBC (Bailey’s, banana, coconut rum) is the house pour. Walk-in, no reservation.
Tips and Things to Know Before You Go to St Martin
- Rent a car. Fixed-rate taxis cover the island, but a car ($50 a day) gives you the most flexibility to move between sides freely and on your own schedule. There is no Uber or Lyft anywhere on the island. Welcome Pickups for a pre-booked airport transfer.
- Carry small bills in both currencies. Dutch-side ATMs dispense US dollars. French-side ATMs dispense euros. Market vendors and lolos prefer cash. Change for large notes can be scarce.
- Cross the border freely. There is no passport check between the Dutch and French sides. Drive straight through. Bring your passport for St. Barths or Anguilla day trips. Those crossings require it and both charge a departure tax on the return.
- Check the Voyager ticket tier before you book. General-admission tickets on the St. Barths ferry are outside seats on the open deck. When seas are rough, you will arrive wet. Consider an inside seat if the weather forecast shows swells.
- Pack a French-side power adapter. Dutch side uses US-style 110V outlets. French side uses European 220V outlets. Check device voltage ratings before plugging anything in.
- Get an eSIM. A Dutch carrier treats the French side as international roaming. Airalo covers both sides without the charges.
- Watch the cruise calendar. Multiple ships can dock in Philipsburg on the same morning. Check CruiseTimetables.com and plan beach days or Marigot visits on heavy ship days when Front Street is crowded.
- June is early hurricane season. Our trip had good weather, but storm risk is real from August onward. Travel insurance is worth carrying for any Caribbean summer trip.
- Book Grand Case dinners before you land. Le Pressoir books two to four weeks out. Bistrot Caraibes and Ocean 82 fill a day or two ahead. Walk the boulevard first to pick your room, then call or OpenTable from the sidewalk.
Balaou is WhatsApp-only.Message Captain Jo to arrange the dinghy pickup. No third-party booking. Check their Instagram before going if there is any storm activity. - Tipping norms differ by side. Dutch side follows US norms, roughly 15 to 18 percent. Many French-side restaurants include service compris on the bill. Check before adding a tip.
Try Day One, Free.
Grab the free 1-day St. Martin sampler and see exactly how it works — no charge, just the first day of the real thing.