Jeff Berger's Original St. Maarten / St. Martin Information Center - The Largest, Most Complete Guide to "Everything St. Maarten / St. Martin"

First: Click 170+ Discounts Across St. Maarten / St. Martin for discounts at dozens of restaurants, hotels, car rentals, shopping, jewelry, souvenirs, sunset cruises (free for members every Sunday & Tuesday during high season), cruises to nearby islands, tons of activities, and more. Washington's Birthday sale now underway!

Second: Get our Free St. Maarten / St. Martin Weekly Newsletters for free updates on new restaurants, island news, beach happenings, cruises, airline deals, and much more. "SXM" Weekly News includes updates about all St. Maarten timeshare resorts. 

Now our site:

Our Newest Pages (List and Links)

Everything St. Maarten/St. Martin Home Page 

Caressed by warm tradewinds year-round, St. Maarten, Dutch West Indies, and St. Martin, French West Indies, share a borderless 37 square-mile Northeast Caribbean paradise with palm-tree fringed pristine beaches (many topless and several clothing-optional), hundreds of restaurants, nonstop nightlife, casinos, world-renowned shopping, fine hotels, convenient timeshare rentals, cozy Inns, and villas with breathtaking views and all the amenities. 

Here you'll find everything about "SXM" (the island's nickname): from what to expect when you arrive by plane, cruise ship, or megayacht, to accommodations, sightseeing, restaurants, shopping, bars, activities, and "everything" else.

Everything SXM: Our most popular pages are listed below the masthead, and our complete Table of Contents is stacked to the left. See our Site Map (link, bottom left) for recent site additions, and use the Search window (top right, below masthead) for "everything" SXM.

Key items about St. Maarten / St. Martin / SXM:

• Low Airfares to "SXM": This link, both above and to the left, is your source for low fares to SXM plus free ads to sell or rent out timeshares you own in SXM or anywhere else, and unique SXM-focused travel benefits that deliver a more enjoyable vacation at lower cost.
• About St. Maarten / St. Martin:  This link, also both above and to the left, tells you in detail about many topics of interest . . . from currency to phone systems to lagoon drawbridge schedules and much more.
• Sightseeing: This link takes you to information on everything from the Butterfly Farm to sunset cruises, trips to neighboring islands, lagoon Pub Crawls, "Da Party Bus," the parfumerie on the French Side where you can create your own perfume, our beaches, and lots more.
• Air: Served by all major airlines from the USA and Canada, St. Maarten's new Princess Juliana International Airport -- "SXM" -- also welcomes flights from Paris, Amsterdam, and locations in South America, as well as air charters. In season, many private jets are parked all around the airport property, including occasional private 737 and widebody 767 jets.
• Cruise: All major cruise lines serve St. Maarten through the Dr. A. C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities on the Dutch Side, whose deep-water port accommodates the largest cruise ships in the world. The Port of St. Maarten is one of the busiest in the Caribbean.
• Electricity: The Dutch Side uses 110 volt systems, the North American standard.  The French Side uses 220 volts. Plug adapters in and you can quickly fry any American appliance - hair dryer, shaver, computer, cell phone, etc. Use converters made specifically to enable 110v appliances to be used on 220v systems.
• Currency: Search "Currency" in the search window (above left) for details. In  short, U. S. dollars are accepted everywhere. Antillean Guilders are the official Dutch Side currency. In markets, you'll see "fls" (Guilder pricing); one dollar is worth about 1.8 guilders. The value of guilders versus dollars does not vary.  Since the Antilles were dissolved officially 10/10/10, that currency will eventually disappear. The Euro is the official French Side currency. Its value varies widely; watch for businesses that accept Euros at par with dollars; they'll usually have signage that says $1=€1. That happens mostly in restaurants. 
• St. Maarten / St. Martin Phone System: The Dutch and French Sides have two entirely different systems; there is no such thing as simple phone calls across the island (Dutch to French or vice-versa). The Dutch Side got a US/Canada-style area code 721 effective 9/30/11, but a grace period enables using old calling methods for a year or so. Watch for island news of interest to tourists, and phone news, in our free SXM Weekly News; subscribe free here.
• Megayachts: During high season, December through March, dozens of megayachts and super-megayachts moor in St. Maarten's Simpson Bay lagoon, while the largest super megayachts, hundreds of feet long, moor at the cruise ship terminal or in Simpson Bay on the Dutch Side. Many other large yachts anchor in the harbor at Marigot, on the French Side, and others (like those owned by Russian billionaires) are often moored in Simpson Bay.
• Political System: This island accommodates two nations which have existed peacefully for hundreds of years. To learn the island's History, search History in the Search window, top right. Borders between the nations are open, marked only by monuments which are a popular spot for pictures. The Dutch Side, "County St. Maarten," is a semi-autonomous nation within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The French Side is affiliated with France.