The beach is certainly grand in Sint Maarten, and within steps from the port (unlike Cayman). Since 1648, Philipsburg has been a site of ‘settlement’ or port of call for travellers as well as slave ships past (see Lizzy Wade for Science 9 Mar 2015). It is generally not as interesting as the nightlife around Maho and Mullet Bay, a characteristic feature of the Dutch side, long after the U.S. military built the Princess Juliana airstrip by 1947 and development ensued in the 1960-70s. Marigot in French SXM was vibrant, by then, with Palm Sunday parades that gave way to the Carnival in 1970. The French side shows more signs of wear (being hit hard by the 2017 hurricane) compared to Philipsburg. You’ll still see some damage even along the boardwalk of Great Bay Beach in Philipsburg. A playground is still delightful for toddlers across from shops beside Holland House Hotel, where cruise passengers can purchase the Beach Special ($25 toilets, beach chair and shower with wifi). It’s not easy elsewhere to find washrooms for public use, except at restaurants by the beach. At the far end #27 is Dutch Blond’s pancakes and escape rooms; just look for the windmill. Beforehand, you’ll see two small duty free stores on both sides of historically central St Martin of Tours church on the boardwalk. That’s where Europeans “set up shop” and schooling for local children over a century ago. Now, it’s a silent part of the busy beach leading to the cruise ship terminal, where tour operators await with open-air trucks to carry passengers to activities (USD cash accepted). Directly a few blocks inland from the duty free store, past the courthouse, the yellow and blue RBC bank building with automated teller machine is always open to tourists in need of cash for excursions / tipping. The beach strip has enough to offer during the day, though, and stores galore towards Achter Straat…an enduring shopping destination!

We walked from the port to the beach area around 20 mins and walked along the beach front stopping in and out of shops on route...we must have been offered sunbeds by at least 10 different people..most were polite enough when you said no but most were quite persistent and it was pretty irritating one after the other continuously. We ended up at the far end with our beach towels on the sand as we were not spending a whole day...that was perfect. Beach nice enough, sea was lovely but quite a drop as the current changed..safe enough though. Some jet skis nearby filling up with fuel every 10 minutes which smelt terrible...not very safety conscious either as they were floating about in the water while filling up. Probably go to little Bay next time!

We were family of 5 with late teens, beautiful day off a cruise ship. We rented chairs with wonderful service from Jimmy from the love boat restaurant and beach service , chair rental and service right on the beach with food and reasonably priced drinks were exceptional.. could not have asked for a more pleasant day til… HOWEVER.. water taxi :: st marten .. getting there smoothness.. but coming back we were promised every 10-15 minutes.. being minutes away we though 45 minutes would be plenty of time .. but well over 30 minutes wait before next water taxi came , many afraid of being late for ships .. feeling the frustration the staff became verbally abusive to adults and kids !! One « staff « jon- Jonathan » not only swearing at the frustrated group also began threatening physically the group including teenagers .. so please do not rely on water taxi to bring you back to ships!!!!!!

One of the best beaches that was withing walking distance to the cruise port. Turquoise waters, white sand, plenty of coconut trees. Simply amazing and the type of beach one thinks of when you travel from Europe. We loved walking up and down the beach and was quite pleasant. Sat down and had some coconut water and then continued on. Blissful. There are lots of people offering beach chairs. We hired a couple and relaxed under the shade of the umbrella with a few beers and was bliss. Sun, Sea, Sand, and Beers - Couldn't ask for anything more. Pure heaven!

We took a water taxi to this beach. water warm and lovely, beach clean. Normally I would have gone to a beach without a lot of stores and restaurants, and without a view of the cruise ship, but the weather was threatening. We spent a very pleasant 2 1/2 hours on the beach--2 chairs and an umbrella $20, before it began to rain and we hustled back to ship on the water taxi

Great beach. Quite packed though…Close by the cruise port, just a quick $7 water taxi over to here. Water taxi runs every 15 mins. Locals will come by and continuously try to sell you items or massages. Most restaurants on the beach provided 2 chairs and an umbrella for $30. $15 buckets of beer. Water was beautiful!

Great beach, look for Miguel's orange parasols outside the Blue Bittch Bar, a live band plays there too in the afternoon. Great rum punch, beer and food brought to your sun lounger, been here several times and always spend the day on Miguel's section of beach! You can either walk there from the cruise pier (about 15 minutes) or take the water taxi - sometimes walking is quicker than queueing for the taxi!

This is a great beach to go to when there are no cruise ships in at the port. It can get really busy depending on how many ships are in. Check out the port website before you plan your beach day. It's worth it..

Took a water taxi from cruise port area $7 per person round trip. It’s like a 3 min ride. I think you can also walk around to the beach instead of the water taxi. Once we got the the beach there are people there trying to rent you lounge chairs. We paid $50 for 2 I believe. Didn’t feel too crowded and it was a great beach for kids to play and swim. The water is calm, no waves. Shops and food along the boardwalk. The only problem was the ladies that would walk up and down the beach selling stuffed animals, massages , and hair braiding. They prob stop and ask about every 5 mins so it does get annoying. Some of the ladies started harassing a guy because he said no to a massage for his wife. They called him cheap and and wouldn’t leave him alone. We did end up getting some of our kids hair braided by two different people. The Second Lady kept saying how awful my daughters hair looked and that it wasn’t professional. I finally had to ask her to stop because my daughter was about to cry. They don’t tell you how much the braids cost till the end and this lady wanted $65 for some braids she put in my sons hair but my daughters cost $25. The residents rely heavily on tourists so I feel like the majority are super friendly and accommodating.

Central town beaches usually aren't great, but that's not the case here. Set all along the capital's downtown length this is really a great beach with white powder sand and crystal clear sea. You can rent a pair of sunbeds and an umbrella for 30$ or stay in the free part at no cost. Plenty of bars and restaurants just behind your back.