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Yacht Charter — St Martin
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St Martin.
Two nations, one island, endless sea.
Plan Your Charter
Two nations, one island, endless sea.
Plan Your CharterSt Martin — or Sint Maarten on the Dutch side — is the smallest island in the world divided between two nations, and that duality defines it entirely. The French side is quieter, more refined and gastronomically exceptional; the Dutch side is livelier, commercially busier and home to the main marina infrastructure. Together they make the finest charter base in the northern Caribbean — well-provisioned, well-connected by air from Europe and the US, and surrounded by some of the most rewarding sailing in the Leeward Islands. Anguilla, St Barths, Saba, St Eustatius, St Kitts — all are within a day’s sail, each offering something entirely different.
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Grand Case, St Martin
Simpson Bay Lagoon is one of the best-equipped marina complexes in the Caribbean — exceptional provisioning, professional yards and a yacht services industry that ensures your vessel is ready for anything.
French Marigot and Dutch Philipsburg offer two entirely different experiences on the same island — Creole cuisine and Parisian boutiques on one side, casinos and duty-free shopping on the other.
Anguilla, St Barths, Saba, St Kitts and Nevis are all within a day’s sail — giving St Martin the finest island-hopping range of any single base in the northern Caribbean.
Grand Case on the French side is known as the gourmet capital of the Caribbean — a single street of lolos and fine-dining restaurants that punches well above its size on any culinary measure.
The classic Caribbean trade wind season — reliable northeast winds, warm days, cool evenings and negligible storm risk. Christmas and New Year book up fast; plan at least nine months ahead.
Quieter anchorages, lower rates and still very good sailing. The winds ease slightly from their winter consistency but remain perfectly adequate for comfortable island hopping throughout the Leewards.
The Atlantic hurricane season peaks in September. St Martin was significantly affected by Hurricane Irma in 2017 and has since fully rebuilt. Charter is not recommended during this period.
St Martin and St Barths are the two most refined islands in the northern Caribbean and together make a natural first leg for any Leeward Islands charter. The French side of St Martin — Grand Case, Marigot, the lagoon anchorages — provides an excellent starting point, with superb provisioning and a restaurant scene that would hold its own in any European city. St Barths, a 25-mile passage southeast, is something else entirely: a French Overseas Collectivity of manicured villages, designer boutiques and beaches of extraordinary beauty. Gustavia harbour is one of the great marina experiences in the Caribbean — compact, beautifully maintained and lined in high season with superyachts of every description. The beaches at Saline and Gouverneur, accessible by a short dinghy landing, are among the finest in the Caribbean.
Anguilla lies eight miles north of St Martin — a flat, dry British Overseas Territory of extraordinary beaches and a culinary scene disproportionate to its size. The island has no significant hills and no rivers; what it has instead is a string of white sand beaches, remarkably clear water and a collection of restaurants and small hotels that consistently attract guests from St Barths and beyond. Shoal Bay East is one of the finest beaches in the Caribbean by any measure — long, wide, white and backed by beach bars of considerable quality. The passage from St Martin through Road Bay and along the southern Anguillan coast offers some of the finest daysailing in the Leewards, with multiple anchorages along an otherwise undeveloped coastline.
Saba is the most improbable island in the Caribbean — a volcanic cone rising 887 metres from the sea, with no beach, no marina and a single road descending from the cloud-capped summit to the landing at Fort Bay. It is also one of the most remarkable destinations in the northern Leewards. The diving is exceptional — the Saba Marine Park is among the best-managed in the Caribbean, with pinnacle dives, walls and extraordinary visibility. The villages of the Bottom and Windwardside, reached by climbing the Road, have a quiet, somewhat Tyrolean quality entirely unlike any other Caribbean island. St Eustatius to the southeast — Statia — is similarly uncommercialised, with colonial ruins and a caldera crater worth the climb for the view alone.
St Kitts and Nevis, 60 miles southeast of St Martin, mark the natural southern limit of a Leeward Islands circuit based from Sint Maarten. St Kitts is a substantial island of volcanic peaks, sugar cane fields and a railway that once served the plantation industry and now carries tourists around the island’s circumference. Basseterre, the capital, has a pleasant waterfront and a well-sheltered anchorage. Nevis, separated from St Kitts by a two-mile channel, is the quieter and in many ways more beautiful of the two — the great volcanic cone of Nevis Peak rises to 985 metres, almost always wreathed in cloud, and the island retains an intimacy and lack of development that the larger Caribbean islands have entirely lost. The Four Seasons on Nevis is one of the finest resorts in the Caribbean for those who want the option of a night ashore.
St Martin sits at the centre of the finest island-hopping in the Caribbean. Every direction leads somewhere worth sailing to.Yachting Europe — Leeward Islands
Yes — the northern Leeward Islands are divided among several sovereign nations and territories. Moving between the French and Dutch sides of St Martin requires no formalities, but sailing to Anguilla, St Barths, Saba, St Eustatius, St Kitts or Nevis each requires customs and immigration clearance. The processes are generally efficient and your skipper will manage all paperwork. Your Yachting Europe broker will plan the itinerary with clearance ports factored into the routing.
A classic one-week circuit from St Martin might run: Day 1 — St Martin to Anguilla; Day 2 — Anguilla to St Barths; Days 3–4 — St Barths; Day 5 — St Barths to St Martin via Tintamarre; Days 6–7 — St Martin. For those wanting more range, substituting Saba for one of the St Barths nights adds significant variety. Our brokers will tailor the itinerary to your pace, interests and the yacht’s capabilities.
St Martin is an excellent family charter base. The lagoon anchorages are calm and sheltered, the passages to Anguilla and St Barths are short and manageable, and the beaches throughout the island group are outstanding. The provisioning on the Dutch side is among the best in the Caribbean — excellent supermarkets, chandleries and a well-established support industry. The French side offers world-class dining for adults; the Dutch side has more accessible options for children. The island airport has direct connections from both Europe and the US East Coast, making it one of the easiest Caribbean destinations to reach.
Tell us your dates, group size and preferences. Tell us your dates, group size and preferred islands. Our brokers know the Leeward Islands intimately and will match you with the right yacht for your brief.
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