Top 5 Things to Do With Kids in St Maarten-St Martin
Five St Maarten–St Martin beaches where the water stays shallow and calm for small swimmers, from Le Galion's reef-locked lagoon to Kim Sha's easy Simpson Bay sand.
St Maarten–St Martin has some thirty named beaches, but only a handful genuinely work with children along. The calm ones cluster in three zones: the reef-sheltered east coast of the French side around Le Galion and Baie de l'Embouchure, the coves between Marigot and Grand Case like Friars Bay and Anse Marcel, and the Dutch-side strip from Simpson Bay round to Little Bay. Much of the rest — Cupecoy, Mullet Bay, Guana Bay — trades calm water for surf and current, and Maho is a plane-spotting spectacle, not a swimming plan.
The real choice is which side of the border to spend the day on. The Dutch side puts food, chairs and parking within pushchair distance; the French side is quieter but often means packing your own cooler, shade and cash. Nowhere on this list needs a reservation — where there are beach restaurants, chairs come with lunch.
Go in the morning: the trade winds pick up after midday, especially on the east coast, and weekend afternoons bring local family barbecues to Le Galion and Grandes Cayes — lively, but parking fills early.
The five picks below span both sides of the island, from a Philipsburg-adjacent cove to the far northern French coast.
1. Galion Beach
A reef across the bay mouth keeps the water waist-deep and flat for a long way out — this is the beach St Martin families claim on island holidays, with windsurfing beyond the reef for older kids.
2. Friars Bay
Two beach restaurants with chairs and umbrellas mean lunch, shade and a toilet are steps from your towel — the pick when you'd rather have the day catered than carried in a cooler.
3. Kim sha beach
Sitting between Simpson Bay and Pelican Key on the Dutch side, this is the lowest-effort option — minutes from most resorts and the airport, with food close by, for arrival days and last swims.
4. Little bay
Cut off from Great Bay by the Fort Amsterdam peninsula, so the water stays protected while Philipsburg's cruise crowds stay on the other side; the fort ruins above give restless kids a short walk with a payoff.
5. Anse Marcel
The far-northern choice: a secluded bay ringed by green hills where shallow, calm water comes without the mid-island traffic — worth the drive when you want the quietest day of the trip.
