St Maarten

St. Maarten: Full Island Tour with Maho Beach & Orient Bay

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/16

Duration5h

GroupUp to 100

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

One Day, Two Countries, Five Islands in View

You travel the full perimeter of St. Maarten in one day, stopping at Philipsburg's duty-free shops, Orient Bay's beach bars and water sports, Marigot's waterfront markets and Fort Luis, and Maho Beach's famous runway-adjacent shoreline. Refreshments and a knowledgeable guide are included, and you finish at a lookout with views of five neighboring islands before returning to your starting point or ship.

Step-by-step itinerary

Drive through Philipsburg capital
Visit Grand Case coastal village
Stop at Orient Bay Beach
Pass by historic French fishing town
Explore Marigot waterfront town
Drive by border monument
Relax at Maho Beach
View five neighboring islands
Return to Philipsburg for shopping or drop-off

The Experience

You want to see the whole island but don't want to rent a car or figure out which beaches matter. That's the pull of this St. Maarten tour — it moves through both the Dutch and French sides in one loop, and you're not navigating or deciding where to stop next. The guide handles the route while you watch the landscape shift from one capital to the other, picking up the story of the place as you go.

The day starts in Philipsburg, the Dutch side's main town and a duty-free shopping hub that's been running since 1763. From there you head toward Orient Bay Beach, which has become known as the "Saint-Tropez of the Caribbean" — it's got the upscale beach bars, the water sports scene, and the kind of shoreline that fills Instagram feeds. After that comes the French side: Marigot, a waterfront town with local markets and Fort Luis sitting above it, offering a 360-degree view of the surrounding water and islands. The route crosses the border monument, the smallest divided landmass in the world, which sounds stranger than it actually is when you're driving through it. Then comes Maho Beach, the one everyone talks about — it sits at the end of an international runway, so planes land low enough that you can feel the moment they pass overhead. It's the kind of beach that generates the photos people can't believe are real.

Complimentary refreshments — water, sodas, beer and rum punch — come with the tour, so you're not hunting for drinks between stops. The guide provides live commentary about the island's history and culture as you move through each area, which is the difference between seeing a place and understanding why it looks the way it does. The final stop is a lookout point where you can see five neighboring islands in the distance before heading back to Philipsburg. If you're a cruise passenger, the timing works around ship schedules; if you're staying in a hotel or villa, pickup and drop-off are arranged accordingly.

This runs as a shared tour, so you'll be with other travelers, though a private option is available if you'd rather have the van to yourself. Water shoes are worth bringing for some of the beach time, and the tour suits all fitness levels — it's more about moving between spots and taking in views than any physical demand.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel or ship pickup, travel to Philipsburg, Marigot, Orient Bay Beach, and Maho Beach, live guide commentary throughout, complimentary water, sodas, beer and rum punch, and a final lookout point viewing five neighboring islands before return to your starting point.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearby

Operated by Grand Tour Island

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see both sides of St. Maarten in one day without renting a car or planning stops — the fixed route and included refreshments mean you arrive at each beach and town ready to explore, not figuring out logistics.