What's on in Philipsburg (Sint Maarten), Sint Maarten through the year

Peak crowds — Cruise ship season, Christmas and New Year peak

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Cruise ship season (1 Nov – 30 Apr (usually)), Christmas and New Year peak (18 Dec – 5 Jan)

Busy — Cruise ship season

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Cruise ship season (1 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, SXM Festival

• Festival

  St. Maarten Heineken Regatta

  5–8 MarMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Four days of racing out of Simpson Bay in the first week of March, and the shore parties pull a bigger crowd than the boats do. Rooms on the Dutch side go months ahead of it. Source ↗

• Festival

  SXM Festival

  9–17 Mar · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Five days of open-air electronic music at beach and hilltop sites in the second week of March, running past dawn. It books out the Simpson Bay end of the island months ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Cruise ship season (1 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, St. Maarten Carnival

• Hazard

  Sargassum on the windward coasts

  1 Apr – 31 Aug · usuallySargassum season

  The drift piles up on the Atlantic-facing east and north shores; Great Bay in front of town faces south and usually escapes it. Check which way a beach points before you book a week on it. Source ↗

• Nature

  Sea turtle nesting

  1 Apr – 30 Nov · usually

  Leatherbacks come first in spring, greens and hawksbills through the summer and autumn. Nests on the quieter beaches are staked off, and lights or furniture near one is a fineable business. Source ↗

• Festival

  St. Maarten Carnival

  10 Apr – 5 MayCrowdedClosures

  A month of it, not a weekend: the village by the Great Salt Pond opens in April and runs nightly until King Momo is burned in early May. The Grand Parade closes the roads through town for most of a day. Source ↗

• Holiday

  King's Day

  26–27 AprNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  The Dutch side takes 27 April off for the king's birthday, orange included, and it usually lands inside the carnival weeks. Government offices and banks shut; the beach bars do not. Source ↗

Still on: Cruise ship season (1 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — St. Maarten Carnival

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Sargassum on the windward coasts (1 Apr – 31 Aug (usually)), Sea turtle nesting (1 Apr – 30 Nov (usually)), St. Maarten Carnival (10 Apr – 5 May)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Hazard

  Hurricane season

  1 Jun – 30 Nov

  Six official months, but the risk concentrates between mid-August and mid-October. Irma flattened this island in September 2017 and everyone here still plans around that fortnight; read the airline change policy before you book it. Source ↗

Still on: Sargassum on the windward coasts (1 Apr – 31 Aug (usually)), Sea turtle nesting (1 Apr – 30 Nov (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Sargassum on the windward coasts (1 Apr – 31 Aug (usually)), Sea turtle nesting (1 Apr – 30 Nov (usually)), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Sargassum on the windward coasts (1 Apr – 31 Aug (usually)), Sea turtle nesting (1 Apr – 30 Nov (usually)), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 Apr – 30 Nov (usually)), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 Apr – 30 Nov (usually)), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Peak crowds — Cruise ship season, Sint Maarten Day

• Season

  Cruise ship season

  1 Nov – 30 Apr · usuallyCruise seasonCrowded

  The Wathey pier takes up to six ships at once and Front Street belongs to them from nine until four. Published call schedules tell you which mornings to be anywhere else; the beach empties again by five. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Sint Maarten Day

  11 NovMajor festivalClosures

  Both halves of the island mark the saint's day on 11 November with a parade and a joint ceremony at the border monument. Offices and most shops on the Dutch side close for it. Source ↗

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 Apr – 30 Nov (usually)), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Peak crowds — Cruise ship season, Christmas and New Year peak

• Holiday

  Christmas and New Year peak

  18 Dec – 5 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  The dearest fortnight of the year on both sides of the island, with the yacht crowd in Simpson Bay and villas quoted at multiples of the spring rate. Restaurant tables need booking days ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Cruise ship season (1 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))