Is This Is SXM an official tourism site?

No. It is an independent guide, not run by any tourism board or government. That is the point: sourced, honest information. Nobody buys their way into a recommendation, and anything paid is always clearly labeled and kept separate from the editorial.

Is this about the Dutch side or the French side?

Both. It is one island shared by Sint Maarten on the Dutch side and Saint-Martin on the French side, and the guide covers all of it. Where a place sits on one side, we tag it so you always know.

The whole island, one page at a time

Everything this island is made of.

Forts, salt ponds, flamboyant trees, two flags and one coastline. Pick a piece and we will tell you the sourced version, not the brochure version.

Tap any name, the way you would read the seal

A white stone obelisk beside a road marking the boundary between the French and Dutch sides of the island, with flags flying and green hills behind

A bronze plaque mounted on stone at Fort Amsterdam, listing the periods of Dutch, Spanish, French and British control of the fort from 1631 onward

The stone ruins of a hilltop fort with a French flag flying from a pole, overlooking Marigot bay and the sea beyond

The front of the Philipsburg Courthouse during restoration, with workmen on the roof rebuilding the cupola and the shutters removed

Several men stand at the edge of a worked salt pond, some in white colonial dress and pith helmets, beside a cut channel in the pan

A brown pelican gliding low over the water with the green hills of Saint Martin's harbour blurred in the background

A view from the hill at Fort Louis over the red and pastel rooftops of Marigot, its waterfront square and marina, with boats moored in the bay

A brightly painted beach bar with a windmill on its roof on the Philipsburg boardwalk, with people walking past under a blue sky

Friendship · Concordia · 1803

One island, split by a walk in the woods.

The 1648 Treaty of Concordia gave the island two nations and no wall. The obelisk on the ridge is the only border most people ever see.

Read the treatySourced · the Treaty of Concordia, 1648

JB82Wikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA 3.0

Built 1631 · Great Bay

The oldest Dutch fort in the Caribbean.

Stuyvesant lost a leg trying to take it back. The bastion still looks down on the cruise berths that replaced the salt trade.

Read the fort's storySourced · the history pillar, every source named

YmnesWikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA 4.0

Marigot · 1789

The French side, from the top of the hill.

A short, steep climb over Marigot for the best free view on the island. Bring water, go early, mind the loose stone.

Plan a morning in MarigotReported · checked Jul 2026

Paul SablemanWikimedia CommonsCC BY 2.0

Philipsburg · 1793

Still working after two centuries.

Courthouse, jail, post office, fire station, and now the island's most photographed facade. It has been all of them.

The whole storySourced · RCE archive

Coenraad Liebrecht Temminck GrollRijksdienst voor het Cultureel ErfgoedCC BY-SA 4.0

Great Salt Pond

The reason anyone came here at all.

Before tourism there was salt, raked by hand in the heat by people who had no choice. The pond is still in the middle of town.

Read the hard yearsSourced · KITLV collection

Unknown photographerKITLV / Leiden University LibrariesCC BY 4.0

Brown pelican · Pelecanus occidentalis

The bird on the flag, in the harbour.

On both coats of arms and on every pier post in Marigot. Watch one fish for five minutes and you will understand why.

The island's anthemReported · one source

Saint-Martin · French side

Market mornings, then the ferry.

Wednesday and Saturday the waterfront fills with spice, fruit and fabric. By two o'clock it is quiet again.

Plan a morningReported · checked Jul 2026

David StanleyWikimedia CommonsCC BY 2.0

Philipsburg · Dutch side

A mile of boardwalk and the week's ships.

Some weeks six ships stack into four days and the rest of the week runs empty. Which days those are is the whole trick, and it changes every week.

See this weekLive · Port St. Maarten, updated every Monday

Dr. Thomas LiptakWikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA 4.0

Eight things that make this island

Each one opens onto the full story, with every source named.

Where do you want to start?

Planning a trip
Plan it properly
Which side to sleep on, what a taxi really costs, and the tradeoffs nobody puts in a brochure.
Start planning
On the island now
This week, for real
Ships in port, what is on across both sides, and the conditions for the week you are actually here. Updated every Monday.
See this week
From the island
Five thousand years
Taíno, salt, sugar, freedom, the runway, Irma. Twelve eras, every source named.
Read the history
David StanleyWikimedia CommonsCC BY 2.0

Good to know

Is This Is SXM an official tourism site?: No. It is an independent guide, not run by any tourism board or government. That is the point: sourced, honest information. Nobody buys their way into a recommendation, and anything paid is always clearly labeled and kept separate from the editorial.
Is this about the Dutch side or the French side?: Both. It is one island shared by Sint Maarten on the Dutch side and Saint-Martin on the French side, and the guide covers all of it. Where a place sits on one side, we tag it so you always know.

Stay posted

Get the week ahead on SXM

Ships in port, what's on, and island conditions for the week ahead. Every Monday. A couple of minutes to read, unsubscribe anytime.

Why you can trust this

Independent. Not a tourism board, not sponsored. Every claim carries its source and the date it was checked.

Aug 2026

Last checked against sources

Beaches listed, 27 with a page. Explore the coast

Paid placements, ever