Philipsburg, St. Maarten: The Dutch Capital on Great Bay
A shopping street, a boardwalk and a beach, at their loudest when the ships are in.
Why Go
Philipsburg is four narrow streets on a sandbar between Great Bay and the Salt Pond, and it is the busiest square mile on the island. Front Street is the duty-free shopping — jewellery, watches, liquor, electronics — and the boardwalk one block behind it is bars and restaurants with their feet almost in the sand. Come here to shop, to eat lunch on the water, and to catch a boat. Do not come here expecting a quiet beach holiday, because on a four-ship morning this is the least quiet place in the Caribbean.
The Experience
The town runs east to west along two parallel streets and the alleys between them. Front Street is pedestrianised in stretches and packed shoulder to shoulder from about ten in the morning; Back Street behind it is where the island actually shops, cheaper and less polished and worth the two-minute walk. The boardwalk on Great Bay is the pleasant part — a wide paved strip along the sand with bars spilling onto it, the courthouse and Wathey Square anchoring the middle, and the cruise ships parked in the bay in front of you like buildings. It is hot, there is very little shade on Front Street, and the pace changes completely at about five in the afternoon when the last tender leaves and half the shops pull their shutters down. Evenings here are quiet in a way that surprises people who only saw the town at noon.
What to Try
Eat on the boardwalk: Dutch Blonde Beach Bar & Restaurant and Sint Rose Beach Bar put you on Great Bay, the Thirsty Pirate is the reliable middle, and Marley's Sports Bar & Grill is where a match gets watched. BOLD BUDDHA does Caribbean fusion and Aziana is the change of pace when you have had enough fried fish. Coffee Lounge is the morning fix before the shops open. For shopping, Little Europe Jewellers and Grand Jewelers are the Front Street institutions, Sunglass Hut and Supreme Electronics are the duty-free staples, and Gulmohar's, which trades as Whisky Paradise, is the one to know if you care about what you are pouring. New Super Value Market is where you buy groceries rather than souvenirs. On the water, Red Baron Charters, Sail The Phoenix and Robinson Boat Charter run out of the bay, Private Yacht Charter N.V. handles the bigger version, and Solid ATV rents the scooters if you want to see the rest of the island under your own steam.
Insider Tip
Check the cruise schedule before you plan a Philipsburg day, then invert it. On a heavy morning, park at Clem Labega Square or Walter Plantz Square early or do not drive in at all, and walk Back Street rather than Front Street to get from one end of town to the other in half the time. If you are arriving off a ship, the water taxi across Great Bay drops you on the boardwalk in a few minutes and saves the twenty-five minute walk around from the pier at Pointe Blanche.
The Practical Stuff
Philipsburg is about twenty minutes from Princess Juliana airport in ordinary traffic and considerably more on a cruise morning, when the road in from Cole Bay backs up badly. The town itself is entirely walkable end to end in fifteen minutes; parking is the hard part and the two public squares fill first. Great Bay Express and the Saba ferry run from the wharf here, so this is where you start a day trip to Saba, Statia or St Barths. Shops on Front Street keep cruise hours and many close early or entirely on Sundays and ship-free days, while the boardwalk restaurants stay open later. Beach Plaza Casino covers the evening if you are staying in town, though most nightlife on the island is over in Simpson Bay and Maho rather than here. Hurricane season runs roughly June to November, and the whole town sits at sea level on a sandbar, which is worth remembering when you read a forecast.
Common Questions
Is Philipsburg walkable?
Very — the whole town is four parallel streets on a narrow strip, and you can cross it end to end in about fifteen minutes. Driving in is the difficult part, not walking around once you are there.
Where do you park in Philipsburg?
Clem Labega Square and Walter Plantz Square are the two public options and both fill early on cruise mornings. If ships are in, arrive before the crowd or take a taxi and skip the problem.
Should you stay in Philipsburg or Simpson Bay?
Simpson Bay for restaurants, bars and being near the airport; Philipsburg for shopping and the boardwalk. Philipsburg empties in the evening once the ships leave, so it suits a day out better than a week.
How far is Philipsburg from the airport?
About twenty minutes from Princess Juliana in normal traffic, going through Cole Bay. Allow considerably more on a morning with several cruise ships in port, when that road is the island's worst bottleneck.
Is Great Bay Beach any good?
It is a genuine sand beach right in town with calm water, which is unusual and convenient, but it is also a working harbour with ships anchored in front of it. For a beach day proper, Orient Bay, Mullet Bay or Dawn Beach are better.
What is there to do in Philipsburg in the evening?
Less than you would guess. The boardwalk restaurants and Beach Plaza Casino carry the evening, but Front Street shuts with the ships and the island's nightlife is concentrated in Simpson Bay and Maho instead.
Pair It With
- Phillipsburg Boardwalk — The good half of the town, once you have done Front Street.
- Dutch Blonde Beach Bar & Restaurant Guide — Lunch on Great Bay with the ships in view.
- Great Bay Express Guide — The ferry out to Saba or St Barths for the day.
