St. Martin Sailing: Helpful Tips For Cruisers | Fun Things To Do
Arriving off an overnight sail into St. Martin sailing from St. John, USVI, we wanted to stay for a while, regroup from our Thorny Path passage, and figure out stops on our way to Grenada.
Well, St. Martin is definitely the place to stay for a while as they have everything you need and more (I will get into all these details below). We stayed for nearly 3 weeks!
It was a little confusing arriving to Saint Martin in the beginning. There’s the French side (St. Martin), the Dutch side (St. Maarten), bridge schedules to get into the protected lagoon, figuring out which side to check in on, and more. In this article, I will share helpful tips and information we learned during our stay in St. Martin / St. Maarten, and some of the fun things we got into while we were here.
St. Martin Sailing: Helpful Tips
Below are helpful tips I will cover:
- Clearing In and Out
- Bringing a Dog to St. Martin
- Bridge Schedules
- Cruisers Net
- Transportation for sailors
- Marine Supply Stores
- Food provisioning stores
Clearing In And Out In St. Martin / St. Maarten
As I briefly mentioned in Sailing the Thorny Path article, we checked into the French side of St. Martin, as it is very simple (simplest country we have checked into to date). There are computer kiosks in Ȋle Marine and Island Water World in Marigot to use to check in. Bring your vessel documentation and passports for yourself and all crew/passengers.
You will need the same vessel documentation and passports for checking out on the French side as well. There was no fee on the French side to check in or out.
Since we checked in on the French side, I do not have first-hand knowledge of checking in on the Dutch side. However, our American friend traveling from the US Virgin Islands informed us that the Dutch side requires clearance/check-out paperwork from the country you departed from.
Bringing A Dog To St. Martin / St. Maarten
Sailing with a dog requires additional steps when traveling to different countries. Just like bringing a dog to the Bahamas, there are often pet import permits and health certificates to obtain when sailing with a dog in the Caribbean. Luckily, when sailing to the French islands, they are pretty relaxed.
The French side of St. Martin did not ask us any questions about our dog, Mangaux. There is not even a question about pets on the form we filled out on the computer to clear in.
The Dutch side of St. Maarten does require a pet import permit, and health certificate in addition making sure your pet is up to date on its rabies and other vaccinations.
Bridge Schedules
There are a total of 3 bridges that require opening to get a sailboat or large motorboat in and out of Simpson Bay Lagoon. There is one bridge on the French side and there are 2 bridges on the Dutch side.
I’m just glad there are no 65’ fixed bridges to worry about such as when we were traveling the Florida ICW!
French Bridge
The Sandy Ground Bridge is the only bridge you need to go through if entering the lagoon from Marigot Bay. Once inside the lagoon, there is a narrow, unmarked channel to stay within.
| Time | Inbound / Outbound Traffic |
| 8:30 AM | Outbound traffic first, then inbound traffic |
| 5:00 PM | Outbound traffic first, then inbound traffic |
Dutch Bridges
There are two bridges on the Dutch side of the lagoon: Simpson Bay Bridge from Simpson Bay into the lagoon, and the Causeway Bridge located inside the lagoon, through which you can get to the French side of the lagoon (and vice versa).
Simpson Bay Bridge
Causeway Bridge
| Time | Inbound / Outbound Traffic |
| 8:30 AM | Outbound |
| 9:30 AM | Inbound |
| 10:30 AM | Outbound |
| 11:30 AM | Inbound |
| 3:00 PM | Inbound |
| 4:00 PM | Outbound |
| 5:00 PM | Inbound |
| Time | Inbound / Outbound Traffic |
| 8:00 AM | Not specified |
| 10:00 AM | Not Specified |
| 3:30 PM | Not Specified |
Note: These are the bridge schedules as of April 2024 and are subject to change.
Cruisers Net
There is a cruisers net on VHF Channel 10 Mondays through Saturdays at 8:00 AM. They cover topics such as weather, arriving and departing cruisers, buy/sell/trade and safety/ security topics, among other topics.
The cruisers net was very helpful to us the morning we arrived as they provided us with coordinates and useful information for getting through the narrow, unmarked channel on the French side once inside the lagoon.
It was also on the Cruisers Net that we learned about a shuttle to take us to Cost U Less (this is like a Sam’s Club or Costco, without a membership fee!) and a very large Carrefour grocery store from Island Water World (more on this in the Transportation and Provisioning sections).
Transportation For Sailors
We found it very easy, and economical, to get around St. Martin and St. Maarten.
St. Martin (French Side) Transportation
On the French side of St. Martin, we took a bus from Marigot to Orient Beach, approximately 6 miles (10.2 km) each way. There is a bust stop in Marigot located on Rue de Hollande, in front of Stade J. Louis Vanterpool soccer field where we got on the bus. The bus ride cost us $2.50 per person each way. They accept both euros and U.S. dollars.
St. Maarten (Dutch Side) Transportation
On the Dutch side of St. Maarten, we took a ride from a gentleman to Maho Beach near the Dinghy Dock Sailors Bar. We were waiting for a bus (which is actually a passenger van) to pass through for a ride, when the gentleman offered us a ride in his car. He charged us and our friend approximately 8 dollars for the three of us for the approximately 2.2 mile (3.6 km) ride.
On the way back from Maho Beach, we took a bus back to the Dinghy Dock Sailors Bar.
Buses in St. Maarten are anywhere from $1-2 dollars each way, depending on how far your ride is.
We also took a shuttle coordinated for cruisers from Island Water World to Cost U Less and Carrefour located just outside of Philipsburg. As we learned on the Cruisers Net, they set up this shuttle every Friday morning to leave from Island Water World at 9:00 AM (actually leaves at 9:30 AM, but you need to be at Island Water World at 9:00 AM) to go to Cost U Less and Carrefour for $6 per person round trip.
Once the group of cruisers is together, you decide as a group what time you would like the shuttle to pick you back up. The time we went, there were approximately 10 of us, and the shuttle made 2 return trips to allow for room for all our groceries.
We had the shuttle driver pick us up 2 hours after he dropped us off for the first return trip, and 2.5 hours after he dropped us off for the second return trip. We found this was an ample amount of time to leisurely shop through both stores located across the street from one another.
Marine Supply Stores
One of the greatest things about St. Martin/St. Maarten are the marine supply stores! There are no less than 4 supply stores accessible by dinghy.
St. Martin Sailing: Marine Supply Stores
On the French side, there is Ȋle Marine (same place you clear Customs) and Island Water World. Both stores carry several items in stock; however, they are a bit smaller than the marine supply stores on the Dutch side.
St. Maarten Sailing: Marine Supply Stores
On the Dutch side, the two most popular marine supply stores are Budget Marine and Island Water World.
Budget Marine
We were first introduced to Budge Marine in St. Thomas in Red Hook. We thought it was a great store with a good stock of items, so we were excited to check out the Budget Marine in St. Maarten.
The Budget Marine in St. Maarten is even bigger than the store in St. Thomas, and had a large selection of items in stock. It is easy to find in the Lagoon and has a dinghy dock for easy access to the store.
Island Water World
Not far from the Budget Marine is Island Water World. I think that Island Water World is even bigger than Budget Marine in terms of items stocked. They are also easy to find from the Lagoon and have a dinghy dock for easy access.
Note
Both Budget Marine and Island Water World have membership programs that you can apply for to receive discounts on your purchases. Both programs are free, but be sure to have your vessel documentation, and photo ID to sign up.
Bonus Store: Ace Mega Store
We found the Ace Mega store walking to a grocery store one day, and it was huge! The downstairs has everything you can think of at an Ace Hardware store, and the upstairs has all of your home goods from appliances, sheets and bedding, kitchen ware, and much more.
We were excited to check out all the marine supply stores, and stock up on a few items we needed. While the stores on the Dutch side are larger, we did find a waterproof backpack at the Island Water World on the French side that was not in stock on the Dutch side, so it is worth checking them all out!
Food Provisioning for St. Martin Sailing
The grocery stores in St. Martin and St. Maarten alike are phenomenal!
St. Martin (French Side) Grocery Stores
Super U
Super U is a large grocery store approximately 1 mile (1.5 km) from where we land our dinghy in downtown Marigot. We have a folding wagon we bring with us to carry our groceries back as we walked there and back.
They have a great selection of food, fresh fruits and veggies, meats, wines and cheeses. And of course, French baguettes!
CADISmarket
This smaller grocery store has two locations in the heart of Marigot. Very convenient and a very short walk to where we land our dinghy (the other CADISmarket that we didn’t check out has its own dinghy dock). They have fresh fruits, veggies, meats, wines, cheeses and breads.
St. Maarten (Dutch Side) Grocery Stores
Carrefour Supermarket (Colebay)
I think Carrefour Supermarket is our favorite of the grocery stores in St. Martin/St. Maarten. They have a wide selection of everything we were looking for. It reminded us of going to Publix in the States.
Carrefour in Colebay is a short (~10 min) walk if you get dropped off at the Port de Plaisance Resort (I don’t believe they are keen on parking your dinghy there, but you can always check with them). We left our dinghy at Island Water World and walked 0.86 miles (1.4 km) with our folding buggy to the Carrefour.
Carrefour Supermarket (SXM)
This is the larger Carrefour Market that we took a shuttle to from Island Water World. It was very large, clean, organized and well stocked. They even have a hot deli section. Definitely worth a visit.
Cost U Less (SXM)
Cost U Less is located directly across the street from Carrefour Market (SXM) and we also visited here via the shuttle from Island Water World.
It is set up just like Costco, but without needing a membership card to shop here! It is a great place to stock up on your bulk items before heading south for the summer. We found the prices to be comparable to Costco in the United States as well.
There is also a Cost U Less in St. Thomas if you are heading west, although we haven’t checked this one out yet.
This has been the best stop heading east for stocking up on household items since shopping at Walmart while sailing in Puerto Rico.
Market Garden Supermarket
Market Garden is a smaller grocery store, and a bit pricier that the others I listed, however, they have an excellent selection of items here, including items you are used to if shopping in the United States. I found things like Spicy Montreal seasoning and my favorite refrigerated pesto sauce here that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else.
Overall, the grocery shopping in St. Martin / St. Maarten is amazing. It was a refreshing change to put items on my shopping list with a good level of confidence that I would find it in the store.
St. Martin Sailing: Fun Things To Do
Aside from going to the marine supply stores and grocery stores, we found several fun (and inexpensive) things to do in St. Martin and St. Maartin:
- Beaches
- Fort Louis
- Happy Hours and Specials
- Cruiser Activities
Beaches
Maho Beach
Beaches are always top on our list to go to, and we couldn’t visit St. Maarten without checking out the famous Maho Beach! This is the beach where the large commercial airplanes, such as the Airbus A350 (sorry, shameless plug for my previous employer) come in for landings and take off directly over head as the beach is located right at the end of the runway. If you haven’t checked out Maho Beach, it is a must see!
Kim Sha Beach
The other beach we frequented on the Dutch side was Kim Sha Beach. This is the beach at the Simpson Bay anchorage on the outside of the Lagoon. There are a couple beach bars here, great swimming and a relaxed beach atmosphere.
Orient Beach
The other beach we visited during our nearly 3-week stay was Orient Beach on the French side. This beach is located in a resort area with several vacation rentals and hotels in the area. It is a beautiful beach with clear water and looks like a great anchorage to check out as well.
Fort Louis (or Fort St. Louis)
Fort Louis is a historic military fort built in 1789, located in Marigot. The fort overlooks Marigot Bay anchorage and Marina Fort Louis. It is a short but steep climb up to the fort but well worth the effort for the spectacular views of the island and sea.
Happy Hours and Specials
Soggy Dollar
Soggy Dollar in St. Maarten by far has the best happy hour we have ever stumbled across, in the Caribbean or the States! Every day from 5:00 – 7:00 PM they have $1 beers! It’s a great social gathering among the cruisers. You may want to get there a bit before 5:00 PM though as their dinghy dock fills up fast!
Lagoonies
Lagoonies is another great place for happy hour from 5:00 – 6:00 PM with $1.50 beers. They also have an Acoustic Jam on Mondays from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM where you can bring your instruments and jam out some great music.
The Tap & Still
The Tap & Still bar has great burgers starting at $8 and beer specials as well. We visited the Tap and Still Bar in both St. Thomas and St. Maarten and they did not disappoint!
Cruisers Activities
Be sure to tune into the Cruisers Net to learn about fun cruisers activities. They frequently hold Texas Hold ‘Em and Dominos get togethers. We joined in one Sunday at 1:00 PM for a game of Mexican Train Dominos. It was great fun!
They also frequently hold marine swap / buy / sell events where you can shop around for used parts and/or sell items you no longer need.
St. Martin Sailing
We really enjoyed our time in St. Martin / St. Maarten and the community of cruising sailors here. We met some great people that we hope to meet up with down the chain as we continue our travels southbound.
St. Martin / St. Maarten offers such a great place to stop for a while, work on your boat (as we all always are) with access to great marine supply stores, stock up on food, and relax and unwind.
We look forward to next cruising season sailing St. Martin, where we plan to spend several more weeks hanging out and checking out more of what St. Martin has to offer.
Live your dream,
