Two Countries on One Small Island

Sint Maarten and Saint-Martin share 37 square miles of Caribbean island between them — the Dutch south, the French north. No border controls, no passport check, just a road sign and a change in atmosphere. It is the only place in the world where two countries coexist on an island this small, and that duality is what makes it unlike anywhere else in the Caribbean.

Sint Maarten — The Dutch Side

Sint Maarten became an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands on October 10, 2010 — 10/10/10, a date the island marks with pride. It occupies roughly one third of the island's landmass and has been shaped by a consistently pro-business political tradition that turned it into the Caribbean's most open economy.

The Dutch side is Americanized in its conveniences — fast food, big supermarkets, familiar brands — and unapologetically commercial. It is also where you will find the main airport, the cruise port at Philipsburg, all of the casino nightlife, the Simpson Bay and Maho entertainment districts. For visitors arriving by air or sea, the Dutch side is where the island begins.

Saint-Martin — The French Side

The French side is not a colony or a territory in any diminished sense — it is France, governed by French law, spending euros, and sending representatives to Paris. It became a Collectivité d'outre-mer in 2007, giving it a degree of administrative autonomy while remaining fully within the European Union.

Marigot, the French capital, never became a cruise port, and that single fact preserved its character. It remains a small-town Caribbean settlement with a French accent — a market, a waterfront, restaurants that take their food seriously. The French side is also home to Pic Paradis and Loterie Farm, the island's last remaining rainforest reserve; Orient Beach, the island's most famous stretch of sand; and Grand Case, a village with more quality restaurants per square meter than almost anywhere in the Caribbean.

The combination of both sides is what the island is. Neither half alone tells the full story.