Ikponmwosa takes a long weekend trip to Sint Maarten: discover the best food, drinks, and activities for a few days on the island.

Sint Maarten is a Caribbean island partly owned by the Netherlands and France, with the French “half” of the island being called Saint Martin. The island is a popular Caribbean cruise stop with colonial-style streets, and beautiful beaches are the perfect short-stay destination. 

Day 1: Arriving by Delta, of course, Ikponmwosa landed on Friday and checked into the Royal Palm hotel, which is a Diamond Resorts hotel on the Dutch side of the island. There was a little situation on check-in as although the hotel was pre-booked, the payment was made on an American Express card which wasn’t accepted at the hotel, so our first tip for Sint Maarten is to avoid using an Amex or check with your hotel whether they can accept it. The hotel had a two-bedroom room on the fourth floor with a balcony overlooking the ocean from the master bedroom and lounge area; the bathrooms are very modern, and Ikponmwosa commented on how clean the rooms were, which is a bonus at this time! 

After check-in, the first day included mostly beach time, the Royal Palm is situated right on the beach, and an evening visit to a bar across the road called Nowhere Special, which had a chilled vibe with a live band and some lethal Mango Margaritas!

Where to eat:

Recommended by the hotel staff is a local restaurant (on the Dutch side) called Captain’s Rib Shack. This restaurant has some cheekily named dishes and drinks but serves the most delicious food with a local twist. High on the menu recommendations are the Orgasmic Ribs and the Wild F*ck or D*ick Up cocktails, both made with Caribbean rum, of course! 

The Palapa Grill and Steakhouse is a popular spot on the island, and without reservations, you’ll have a bit of a wait, but they’ll do their best to squeeze you in as soon as they can. If you can plan, definitely make a reservation. The atmosphere is enjoyable, perfect for a date night, birthday party, or family meal. The food and drinks are excellent and so came highly recommended by Ikponmwosa. 

The local food in Sint Maarten revolves heavily around seafood and includes lots of crab, Cod, and Conch. One of the specialties is Callaloo, a thick soup made with lots of green veg, pork, onions, and okra with thyme and hot peppers. Influenced by their owning nations, you’ll also be able to find plenty of Dutch cheese and French pastries on the island. 

You’ll find the local people really helpful so asking staff in your hotel, or a local restaurant about places to visit will get you some great recommendations. 

Day 2: Many visitors to Sint Maarten rave about a French patisserie on the French side of the island for its sumptuous baked goods, so breakfast on day two was at La Sucrerie. This is an experience, as well as a delicious breakfast spot as regular visitors to this cafe, include the local iguanas who aren’t afraid to come and search for crumbs whilst you eat pastries in the back garden seating area! Highlights off the menu for Ikponmwosa were the bread pudding, quiche, chocolate almond croissants. 

After breakfast, the day was spent at the Rainbow Cafe, which is right on the beach; from here, you can take day trips or book into water activities, or hang out on the beach and take part in some beach yoga sessions. The waters at this beach are pure aquamarine, and it’s just a beautiful location to relax and very instagrammable! If you’re looking for a bit of local shopping, there’s a small boutique above the cafe, the Rainbow Boutique, where you can find some gorgeous vacation garments, wraps, swimsuits, and kaftans. If you visit this store, they don’t take Amex, but they do have Apple pay to use a Visa or Mastercard, and you can also pay in Euro cash which will give you a good exchange rate. 

Day 3: After picking up some emergency “sensible footwear,” Ikponmwosa headed over to the French side of the island to the Loterie Farm, which is where the zipline course is. The course is suitable for everyone but, be warned, and it’s a bit of a workout and quite a serious course. Taking around two hours and including 14 zip lines of increasing length, coupled with the heat and humidity, you’ll be sweating by the end – but you may also have conquered your fear of heights!

The next morning, my abs and arms were sore! It was like a proper workout but a lot of fun. 

The course has start times of 10 am, 12 pm, and 2 pm, and if the weather has been wet, you may have to wait until the ropes have dried before they’ll allow you to start. Ikponwosa praised the teaching and guidance from the course’s guide, Chris, who was very patient and always on hand to help. He also recommended a fairly unknown beach called Friar’s Beach, where they spent the afternoon and evening. The beach is another strip of perfect white sand and aquamarine water, so ideal for whiling away the afternoon and relaxing into the evening. 

Day 4: Your final day is a great opportunity to visit Maho beach. This is the famous beach where the aircraft flies just meters over your heads before landing and a must-see, even if it’s just on your way back to the airport. As the airport is small, you only have to arrive about an hour and 15 before your flight, so the beach and its nearby cafes and Sonesta resort are good preflight pitstop. 

Top tips for St Maarten:

  • Check ahead whether your accommodation accepts Amex but have back-up cards just in case;
  • Bring plenty of cash as a lot of the smaller local places to eat and drink only take cash. You can bring American dollars or Euros if you want to venture to the French side;
  • Hire a car – waiting for taxis to get about could cut a lot of time out of your day, but be aware that although most places will rent you the car for around $15-20 per day, you will need $1000-$1,500 for a refundable deposit;
  • Buy a whole case of water and put it in the fridge, it’s a hot and humid island and you’ll dehydrate easily if you don’t drink water regularly throughout the day;
  • If you plan to do any kind of activities like the zip-lining, pack a pair of sneakers;
  • The best time for water activities, especially snorkelling is before 3pm and before the light drops;
  • Go to the Rainbow Cafe and watch the planes at the famous airport beach, it’s a surreal experience!