10 Best Beaches in Saint Martin

Maho Beach is famed as the spot to go if you like watching planes roar overhead, but it also offers snorkeling, swimming, watersports, and world-class beach bars. St. Maarten's western shore beach offers the excitement of planes flying overhead so low you'll feel like you can touch them. It's just next to the airport so planes take off and land just overhead.

In addition to the heart-pounding sight of low-flying huge aircraft, you can also enjoy a wide range of watersports from jet skiing to windsurfing and many others. It's also a prime spot for snorkeling to see a wide range of tropical fish. The beach bars here are also fantastic with unbelievable sunset views.

Orient Bay Beach on St. Maarten's northeastern shore is a well-known stretch of soft white sand offering watersports, relaxation, snorkeling, and pristine waters for wading and swimming. This beach is famed as the St. Tropez of the Caribbean and among the largest on the island. Located on the northwestern coast, it's ideal for a leisurely float or a snorkeling experience among the schools of sea life just offshore.

This beach offers tons of amenities from jet skiing and parasailing to beach volleyball courts, barbecues, and fresh seafood restaurants on the shore. You can also enjoy live music and shopping just steps away in the nearby village square.

Great Bay Beach in Philipsburg offers a long stretch of gold sand, a mile-long boardwalk, and many amenities from shopping and dining to cocktails and relaxation. Shops just steps away from the beach allow you to find the ideal souvenir of your trip along with handmade arts and crafts by local artisans. You can head for one of the many seafood and barbecue restaurants along the shore, or of course, just spend the day swimming, splashing, or lying in the sand.

The boardwalk here is a mile long and offers tons of opportunities to soak up the local culture and atmosphere. You can also grab a relaxing seaside drink at a cocktail bar or café, and just recharge.

Mullet Bay Beach offers an idyllic and serene place to relax away from the crowds while basking in the warm sun or palm-tree-shaded areas with local food and delicious drinks. This one is something of a hidden gem of the Sint Maarten side of the island, offering gorgeous sands and tons of great beachfront restaurants and bars but lower crowds than others. It's also one of several beaches where you can watch planes arriving and departing from the nearby airport.

If you're a golfer, this is the place to be since there is a nearby championship-level golf course. Whether you're here for the sun and sand, the restaurants and clubs, or sports, it's a great locale.

Simpson Bay Beach skirts the runway of the Princess Juliana International Airport and offers an undeveloped strip of sand and bright turquoise waters, a quaint village, and natural rock formations. This is the place to come to wonder at planes taking off and landing, to take a dip in the waters that are so bright blue they seem to glow in the sun, and to wander the streets of a quiet, serene fishing village with independent small shops.

You can dine at small local restaurants serving up fresh seafood just caught, find that ideal souvenir, and catch photos of the Pointe Burgeaux rock formations. It's a serene escape into a picturesque tropical paradise.

Cupecoy Beach offers a trio of small, secluded coves offering dramatic scenery, astounding limestone cliffs, and a relaxing and refreshing escape from the crowds of the surrounding towns. You can capture photographs of amazing natural formations or the islands offshore, kick back in a lounge chair on the golden sands and look out over the deep blue waters, and capture memories of fantastic sunset views on St. Maarten's southern shores.

This island is ideal for long walks in the sand, reading books, or taking a quick dip to cool off in the calm surf. A local beach bar offers fantastic cocktails, and you'll find memories you never forget.

Kim Sha Beach offers a lively atmosphere with watersports, beach bars and clubs, restaurants, outstanding sunsets, a vibrant nightlife scene, or good old-fashioned lounging in the sun. No matter what kind of beachgoer you are, this is an island that has something for everyone. Grab a lounger and kick back in the sand, go swimming in the water, or get out on the sea for surfing, jet skis, and other sports. After dark everything comes to life with a wild nightlife scene where the party never ends.

If you happen to be on the island's southwest edge, Kin Sha Beach has it all. You can dance the night away, catch spectacular sunset views, or just relax and be.

Friar's Bay Beach offers a protected cove with calm surf and a destination for beach bums and culinary enthusiasts, offering fantastic Caribbean cuisine, azure seas, and stunning flora. This is a stretch of soft sand and clear water with a gorgeous backdrop and is lined with some of the best restaurants in the area. The calm waters here are ideal for swimming and relaxation since there aren't huge waves for watersports. If you're just in it for the relaxing beach experience, this is a great stretch.

For foodies, Friar's Bay offers up authentic Caribbean, jerk, and fusion eateries all along the beach. You can grab everything from takeaway to upscale sit-down just steps from the island's northwestern shore.

Little Bay Beach is separated by a peninsula from its larger cousin and offers hotel resorts next to a stretch of undeveloped land with calm cove waters ideal for swimming. It's just minutes away from the historic Fort Amsterdam and is a spot that's outstanding for kids. You won't find kitesurfers or jet skiers here due to the shallow, calm waters, so this place is perfect for a long day of laying out in the sand and swimming in the bright blue Caribbean sea.

This beach on the island's southern side is great for a budget-friendly getaway or a luxurious, fully pampered experience. For the latter, choose one of the high-end resorts on one side of the beach.

Dawn Beach on the island's east side offers some of the most spectacular sunrise vistas on the island, as well as amazing snorkeling opportunities to see native sea life. The beach sits right on the border of Saint Martin and Sint Maarten, offering the best of both worlds. Many people come here to take in a romantic sunrise view after a night of partying, while others seek to snap photos for their Instagram feed.

If you're a snorkeling enthusiast, you'll also find some of the most exciting views on the island. Not only will you see colorful tropical fish, but you might even see exotic sea life such as squid zipping through the water.