Top 5 Beach Bars in St Maarten-St Martin
Five St Maarten–St Martin bars where the tables really sit on the sand — from Kim Sha's busy strip to a rustic Cupecoy shack that empties its chairs at sunset.
On this half-Dutch, half-French island the feet-in-the-sand drink is almost a civic institution. Our database counts more than twenty genuine beach bars, and they bunch up in a few distinct spots: Simpson Bay and Kim Sha Beach on the Dutch side, the Great Bay boardwalk in Philipsburg where cruise passengers land, and on the French side the restaurant sands of Grand Case, Orient Bay and the lagoon-calm stretch at Baie Nettle.
The real choice is side and style. Dutch-side bars around Simpson Bay and Philipsburg run livelier and price in dollars, mostly in the $$ band; French-side spots at Orient Bay and Baie Nettle lean toward $$$ beach-club territory with loungers, longer lunches and euros on the menu. Nobody expects more than a cover-up anywhere, and reservations only matter for the club-style places in high season, roughly December to April.
Every bar here is reachable by road — no boat rides needed — but parking near Simpson Bay is tight, so go early or walk from your hotel. The island's west-facing sands, Cupecoy above all, are where you want to be holding a drink at sunset.
The five picks below deliberately cross the border twice, running from Cupecoy's cliffs to Grand Case's boulevard so you can drink your way around both sides.
1. Dany's at Cupecoy Beach Bar
A rustic wooden shack tucked under Cupecoy's sandstone cliffs, grilling fish a few steps from the water. The west-facing cove makes it the sunset pick on this list — arrive an hour before dusk and stay put.
2. Buccaneer Beach Bar
The big, loud anchor of Kim Sha Beach — over 1,700 reviews and a grill running all day. This is the sociable one: bar stools in the sand, crowds off the nearby resorts, and no pretence of being a hideaway.
3. Tropics Beach Bar Sxm
The French-side counterweight: a laid-back bar on Grand Case boulevard, the village otherwise famous for fine dining. You get Grand Case's calm bay and Creole cooking culture at a $$ beach-bar price instead of white-tablecloth rates.
4. Big Bastard's Beach Bar
Sells a full-service beach day rather than just a drink — chairs, food and drinks brought to you on Philipsburg's sand. Its 4.9 rating across 315 reviews is the strongest of any bar in our data here.
5. Boho Beach Bar
Boho sits on Baie Nettle's lagoon-facing strip, where the water is glassy rather than surfy — the mellow, stay-all-afternoon option. Expect French-side $$$ pricing and loungers, closer to a chill-out club than a rum shack.
