Sint Maarten

Sint Maarten's premier Atlantic-coast beach on the eastern shore, Dawn Beach faces the open ocean with stronger surf than the Caribbean side, offers striking views of the volcanic island of Saba on clear mornings, and has a small cluster of upscale resorts and beach bars that give it a more refined atmosphere than the busier Dutch-side beaches near Philipsburg.

An 18th-century Dutch colonial fort at Point Blanche overlooking Great Bay and Little Bay, built to defend the approach to Philipsburg and now a heritage site offering panoramic views over the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic coastline of Sint Maarten.

Sint Maarten's capital runs along Great Bay, where a broad white-sand beach meets a Dutch Caribbean commercial strip of colourful shops, casinos and colonial architecture that has made this one of the Caribbean's most visited cruise ports.

A small beach at the western tip of Sint Maarten where the runway of Princess Juliana International Airport extends to the shoreline, creating one of the world's most dramatic plane-spotting experiences as aircraft pass directly over sunbathers at treetop height.

The premier surfing beach on the Dutch side of Sint Maarten, Mullet Bay faces the open Atlantic and produces consistent reef breaks during the winter months when Atlantic swells arrive, drawing a dedicated local and visiting surf community alongside swimmers who use the protected channels between the reef shelves.

The largest natural lagoon in the Caribbean separates the Dutch and French sides of Sint Maarten and has become the Caribbean's primary superyacht hub, with sheltered water, a vibrant waterfront social scene, and a drawbridge connecting the two halves of the island.