St Martin and Sint Maarten are not two islands. They are one island, roughly 87 square kilometres, divided between France and the Netherlands since 1648 — the smallest landmass in the world shared by two nations. You can drive from one to the other without slowing down.
But the two halves run different governments, currencies, phone networks, speed limits and licensing laws, and which side your villa sits on changes the week more than the shared coastline suggests. Here is what actually differs.
The quick answer
| Saint-Martin (French, north) | Sint Maarten (Dutch, south) | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | French overseas collectivity; EU outermost region | Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; not in the EU |
| Land area | ~53 km² (61%) | ~34 km² (39%) |
| Capital | Marigot | Philipsburg |
| Currency | Euro | Caribbean guilder; US dollars widely used |
| Language | French (English widely spoken) | Dutch and English |
| Character | Residential, quieter, dining-led | Commercial, cruise port, casinos, nightlife |
| Villas with us | 35 | 9 |
One island, one airport, no border control
Almost every international visitor arrives at Princess Juliana International (SXM), which is on the Dutch side — including everyone staying on the French side. You clear immigration once, there, regardless of where your villa is. The French side’s own airport, L’Espérance at Grand Case (SFG), handles small regional aircraft only and is not a practical international arrival point.
The border itself is about sixteen kilometres long and completely open. No checkpoint, no passport control, no ID check. It is marked by welcome signs, two flags and an obelisk erected in 1948; at most road crossings there is nothing at all, and visitors routinely cross several times a day without noticing.
One correction worth making, because it is widely repeated: Saint-Martin is an EU outermost region but is not in the Schengen area. Being French territory does not make this a Schengen arrival.
Practical note on entry: all air arrivals at SXM are asked to complete a digital ED card at entry.sx. It is free and takes a few minutes. Official sources and airlines have been inconsistent about whether it is strictly mandatory, so complete it either way — and use only entry.sx, since fee-charging copycat sites exist.
Currency, and a detail that has recently changed
The French side uses the euro. The Dutch side switched to the Caribbean guilder in March 2025; the old Netherlands Antillean guilder ceased to be legal tender in July 2025, so any guidance still referencing it is out of date. The guilder is pegged at 1.79 to the US dollar.
In practice, US dollars are accepted almost everywhere on both sides and euros circulate on the Dutch side too. English is the everyday working language across the whole island. The one thing to avoid is converting currency at in-store rates on the French side, which are usually poor.
What each side is actually like
The French side is quieter and more residential. Grand Case has held a reputation as the island’s dining centre for decades — fine dining alongside the lolos, the open-air barbecue grills on the waterfront. Marigot has the capital’s market and Fort Louis. Orient Bay is the big beach destination. Terres Basses, the low-lands peninsula on the western side, is the island’s principal private villa enclave and is where most of our inventory sits.
The Dutch side is the commercial half. Philipsburg is the cruise port with Front Street duty-free retail; Simpson Bay holds the marina, restaurants and nightlife; Maho Beach sits directly under the SXM approach path, where aircraft cross at low altitude — the island’s most famous photograph. Casinos are legal and concentrated entirely on the Dutch side; the French side has none.
On Maho, a genuine safety note rather than a marketing one: a tourist was killed by jet blast there in 2017, and the warning signage exists for a reason. Watch from the beach, not from behind the fence at the runway threshold.
The cruise numbers, and why they matter to a villa booking
Sint Maarten received 1,597,940 cruise passengers across 592 ship calls in 2025, up 16% on 2024, against 855,994 air arrivals. Cruise passengers outnumber flying visitors by roughly two to one, and the traffic is heavily seasonal — nearly 40% of it lands in the first quarter and another 35% in the fourth.
That is a winter-season congestion pattern centred on Philipsburg. It is also the clearest argument for a French-side villa: Terres Basses and the northern beaches are structurally insulated from cruise-day crowds in a way that Philipsburg and Front Street are not. If your dates fall in January or February and you want quiet, that is a data-backed reason to book north.
Beaches, and where the rules differ
The island has 37 beaches. On the French side: Orient Bay, Baie Rouge, Friar’s Bay, Happy Bay, Anse Marcel, Plum Bay and Baie Longue in Terres Basses. On the Dutch side: Maho, Mullet Bay, Simpson Bay, Cupecoy and Great Bay at Philipsburg.
The rules are not symmetrical, and guests should know before they arrive. Toplessness is a customary norm on French-side beaches, and a section at the south end of Orient Bay is used by naturists. Nudity is not permitted on the Dutch side.
One outdated reference worth correcting: the Club Orient naturist resort was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017 and never reopened. Construction of a replacement, a five-star naturist hotel called La Griselle, began in June 2026 with an opening around three years out. Any guide describing Club Orient as operating is wrong.
Hurricane season and where recovery actually stands
Atlantic hurricane season runs 1 June to 30 November, with the climatological peak from August to October. The 2026 outlook cited by the island’s meteorological department calls for 8 to 14 named storms, 3 to 6 hurricanes and 1 to 3 major hurricanes — somewhat below the long-term average.
Hurricane Irma made landfall on 6 September 2017 as a Category 5, causing around $3 billion in damage and affecting an extraordinary share of the building stock — roughly 95% of structures on the French side and 75% on the Dutch side were damaged or destroyed.
The honest position on recovery: tourism infrastructure functions and is largely rebuilt, but the island is not finished. SXM’s fully reconstructed arrival hall only reopened in October 2024, seven years after the storm. The World Bank–administered reconstruction trust fund, a $519 million programme, was originally due to close in 2025 and has been extended to the end of 2028. Isolated derelict structures remain visible. We would rather set that expectation than have guests discover it.
Practical things that catch villa guests out
Driving. Right-hand side on both halves, no change at the border. But the speed limit drops from 70 km/h on the French side to 50 km/h on the Dutch side outside towns, and the right-of-way convention differs: the Dutch side expects turning vehicles to yield, while the French side runs priorité à droite, giving way to traffic entering from the right. Signage is inconsistent. This is a genuine accident risk for North American drivers.
Car hire. Rentals cross the border freely and it is entirely normal to do so. Confirm cross-border insurance cover with the supplier — permission is not the variable, coverage is.
Mobile roaming — the most common hidden cost. The French side is EU territory, so EU roaming rules apply for European operators. The Dutch side is an overseas country and territory and is explicitly outside that regulation. The island is small and hilly, so handsets silently latch onto the other side’s network — including while sitting still in a villa near the border. Set your phone to manual network selection or use a local eSIM.
Power. Outages are a documented reality on both sides. A backup generator or solar-and-battery system is a legitimately valuable villa amenity here rather than a luxury flourish, and worth asking about specifically.
Two of everything. Separate emergency numbers, health systems and utilities per side. Know which side your villa is on and keep the correct local emergency contacts.
The villa inventory
We list 35 villas on the French side and 9 on the Dutch side — a deliberate weighting, because the private villa stock on this island is concentrated in the north.
Terres Basses alone holds 29 of the 35, with the remainder in Grand Case, Orient Bay, Anse Marcel and Cul-de-Sac. The largest are Mes Amis at 12 bedrooms for 26 guests and Château des Palmiers, a 10-bedroom beachfront estate, with Privilège Estate at nine bedrooms in Anse Marcel.
The Dutch-side houses are smaller and sit in the newer developments — Indigo Bay (3) and Cupecoy (3), plus Simpson Bay, Guana Bay and Oyster Pond. Villa Vittoria and Aqua Vista both take 12 across six bedrooms.
Browse villas on the French side and villas on the Dutch side.
Which side fits your trip
Choose the French side for a quieter, more residential base with the island’s strongest dining, the largest private villas, and real insulation from winter cruise-day congestion. Terres Basses is the enclave to look at first.
Choose the Dutch side if you want to be minutes from the airport, close to Simpson Bay’s marina and restaurants, and near the casinos and nightlife — or if you simply want a shorter transfer at either end of the week.
And because the border is open, this is a softer decision than it sounds. Whichever side you base on, the other is a twenty-minute drive.
Frequently asked questions
Are St Martin and Sint Maarten the same island?
Yes. One island of about 87 km², divided since 1648 between French Saint-Martin in the north (~53 km²) and Dutch Sint Maarten in the south (~34 km²). It is the smallest landmass in the world shared by two countries.
Do you need a passport to cross between the two sides?
No. The border is completely open — no checkpoint, no passport control, no ID check. It is marked only by signs, flags and a 1948 obelisk, and at most crossings there is no marking at all.
Which airport do you fly into?
Princess Juliana International (SXM), on the Dutch side, whichever side your villa is on. You clear immigration once, there. Grand Case (SFG) on the French side handles small regional aircraft only.
Is Saint-Martin in the Schengen area?
No. Saint-Martin is a French overseas collectivity and an EU outermost region, but it is outside the Schengen area. Sint Maarten is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and is not in the EU at all.
What currency should I bring?
US dollars work almost everywhere on both sides. The French side prices in euros; the Dutch side uses the Caribbean guilder, which replaced the Netherlands Antillean guilder in 2025. Avoid converting at in-store rates on the French side.
Which side is better for dining?
The French side, and Grand Case in particular, which has carried the island’s dining reputation for decades — both the fine-dining rooms and the waterfront lolos.
Has the island recovered from Hurricane Irma?
Largely, but not entirely. Tourism infrastructure functions and is mostly rebuilt, but SXM’s reconstructed arrival hall only reopened in October 2024, the $519 million reconstruction trust fund has been extended to the end of 2028, and isolated derelict structures remain visible.
When is hurricane season?
1 June to 30 November, peaking August through October. The 2026 forecast is for a somewhat below-average season.
Can I drive a hire car across the border?
Yes, and it is routine. Confirm cross-border insurance cover with your supplier. Note that speed limits and right-of-way rules change at the border even though the side of the road does not.
Are the beach rules the same on both sides?
No. Toplessness is customary on French-side beaches and a section of Orient Bay is used by naturists. Nudity is not permitted on the Dutch side.
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