TL;DR
The three best day trips from Sint Maarten are Anguilla (20-minute ferry to powder beaches and high-end beach restaurants), St Barths (45-minute ferry to harbor-front shopping and celebrity-watching), and Saba (90 minutes by ferry or 12 minutes by air to a vertical, hike-driven volcanic island). Anguilla suits beach loungers, St Barths suits luxury travelers, and Saba suits divers and active explorers. Budget $90 to $250 per person for transport plus on-island spending of $80 to $400 depending on island and pace.
Table of Contents
- Why Sint Maarten Is the Best Day Trip Hub in the Caribbean
- Anguilla: The Beach Day Trip
- St Barths: The Luxury Day Trip
- Saba: The Adventure Day Trip
- Side-by-Side Comparison
- Which Day Trip Fits Which Traveler
- Planning Tips for Smooth Day Trips
- FAQ: Day Trips from Sint Maarten
Why Sint Maarten Is the Best Day Trip Hub in the Caribbean
Sint Maarten sits at the geographic center of the northeastern Caribbean. Anguilla is 8 miles north. St Barths is 15 miles southeast. Saba is 28 miles south. All three are reachable as comfortable day trips from Sint Maarten without an overnight stay.
Most Caribbean islands do not offer that range of accessible side trips. From St Lucia, you are mostly stuck on St Lucia. From Sint Maarten, you can wake up in Simpson Bay, eat lunch at a Shoal Bay beach club in Anguilla, and be home by sunset.
For owners and long-stay residents, this multiplies the value of a base on Sint Maarten. Our vacation and buy pages cover the broader context of why Sint Maarten anchors so many Caribbean property strategies.
Anguilla: The Beach Day Trip
Anguilla is a low-lying British Overseas Territory 20 minutes by ferry north of Sint Maarten. It is famous for one thing: the best white-sand beaches in the Caribbean. There are 33 of them on an island only 16 miles long.
How to get there:
- Public ferry from Marigot (French side) to Blowing Point, Anguilla. Departs roughly every 30 to 45 minutes during the day.
- Round-trip cost: $35 to $55 per person.
- Crossing time: 20 to 25 minutes.
- Required: passport.
- Anguilla entry fee: $20 per person.
What to do:
- Spend the day at Shoal Bay East or Meads Bay
- Lunch at Blanchards Beach Shack, Veya, or Straw Hat (reservations recommended December to April)
- Snorkel at Little Bay or Sandy Island
- Rent a car at Blowing Point ($55 to $85 for the day) or use taxis ($25 to $45 per ride)
Realistic day budget: $150 to $350 per person including ferry, entry, lunch, and a beach activity.
Best for: Travelers who want pure beach time, beach club lunches, and a slower pace than Sint Maarten. Excellent for couples and families.
St Barths: The Luxury Day Trip
St Barthelemy, usually just “St Barths,” is a French collectivity 15 miles southeast of Sint Maarten. It is small, hilly, polished, and expensive. The harbor at Gustavia is the visual symbol: superyachts, French boutiques, and a hill of red roofs above a tight bay.
How to get there:
- Voyager ferry from Marigot or Oyster Pond. Multiple departures daily.
- Round-trip cost: $90 to $130 per person.
- Crossing time: 45 to 75 minutes depending on departure port and sea conditions.
- Required: passport.
What to do:
- Walk Gustavia harbor and browse the boutiques (Hermes, Bvlgari, Cartier all present)
- Lunch at Shellona, Le Toiny, or Bonito for the harbor view
- Spend the afternoon at Saline Beach or Gouverneur Beach
- People-watch from the cafe terraces above the harbor
Realistic day budget: $250 to $700 per person including ferry, transport, and lunch. St Barths is not where you go to save money on the Caribbean. A beach club lunch for two routinely lands at $250 to $450.
Best for: Luxury travelers, couples on a polished date day, and visitors who enjoy upscale shopping and people-watching as much as beach time.
Saba: The Adventure Day Trip
Saba is volcanic, vertical, and almost entirely unlike Sint Maarten. The island is 5 square miles, rises to Mount Scenery at 2,910 feet, has fewer than 2,000 residents, and feels like a quiet Dutch mountain village floating in the Caribbean.
How to get there:
- Ferry from Sint Maarten (Dawn II or The Edge): roughly 90 minutes, $90 to $130 round-trip.
- Flight from SXM to Saba: 12 minutes on Winair, $190 to $260 round-trip. Saba’s runway is the world’s shortest commercial runway; the landing is its own attraction.
What to do:
- Hike Mount Scenery (cloud forest, 1,064 steps, 2 to 3 hours up)
- Dive the Saba Marine Park (world-class wall and pinnacle diving)
- Visit the village of Windwardside for lunch
- Walk through Hell’s Gate and the Bottom (the island’s two other villages)
- Photograph the runway at Juancho E Yrausquin Airport
Realistic day budget: $200 to $450 per person including transport, lunch, and one activity. Dive days run $180 to $250 additional.
Best for: Hikers, divers, photographers, and travelers who want the most distinctive day trip Sint Maarten offers. Not a beach day; Saba has almost no beach.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Factor | Anguilla | St Barths | Saba |
| Travel time | 20 min ferry | 45 to 75 min ferry | 90 min ferry or 12 min flight |
| Round-trip cost | $35 to $55 | $90 to $130 | $90 to $260 |
| Entry fee | $20 | None for ferry | None |
| Best for | Beaches | Luxury, shopping | Hiking, diving |
| Lunch cost | $$ | $$$$ | $$ |
| Pace | Relaxed | Polished | Active |
| Passport required | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cash needed | Some | Cards accepted everywhere | Some |
| Family-friendly | Excellent | Moderate | Limited (steep terrain) |
Which Day Trip Fits Which Traveler
The honest match-up:
- Couples on a relaxed beach day: Anguilla wins. Easier logistics, lower cost, more beach options.
- Couples on a luxury anniversary or milestone: St Barths. The harbor, the lunch, the boutiques.
- Families with kids 6 and up: Anguilla. Calm water, beach restaurants, easy transport.
- Active travelers and divers: Saba. There is nothing else like it in the region.
- Photographers: Saba and St Barths both deliver, for different reasons. Saba for landscape and architecture, St Barths for harbor and yacht scenes.
- Repeat Sint Maarten visitors who have already seen the main island: Rotate all three over a 7 to 10 day stay.
For relocators and long-term residents using Sint Maarten as a Caribbean base, see our platinum dreams program for property options and our mortgage calculator for affordability modeling.
Planning Tips for Smooth Day Trips
A few practical notes that save day-trippers from common frustrations:
- Book ferries the day before in high season (December through April). Boats fill on holidays and weekends.
- Always carry your passport. All three islands check it. Sint Maarten driver’s licenses are not accepted.
- Build buffer time on the return. A 6:30 PM ferry that delays 45 minutes is normal; a rebooked flight from Saba is not.
- Plan around the swell. Eastern departures can be rough November through January. If you are prone to seasickness, choose calmer days or fly to Saba.
- Use the morning ferry, not the noon one. A 9 AM departure gives you a full day. A noon departure feels rushed.
- Tip in the local currency where possible. USD is widely accepted on all three but Euros work on St Barths and the French side of Sint Maarten.
If you would like recommendations for specific lunch spots or guides on any of the three islands, our team has personal contacts and is happy to share them. Reach out through contact or read our long list of guest experiences on the testimonials page.
FAQ: Day Trips from Sint Maarten
Which is the easiest day trip from Sint Maarten?
Anguilla. Twenty-minute ferry, lowest cost, simplest logistics, and the most flexible return schedule.
Can I do all three day trips in one Sint Maarten vacation?
Yes, comfortably on a 7-day stay. Suggested order: Anguilla on day 3, Saba on day 5, St Barths on day 6, with rest and main-island time around them.
Do I need a passport for day trips from Sint Maarten?
Yes, for all three. Anguilla and Saba are separate territories and St Barths is French. A driver’s license is not enough.
Is St Barths worth the cost for a day trip?
For travelers who enjoy upscale dining and shopping, yes. For travelers who primarily want beach time, Anguilla delivers more for half the spend.
Should I fly or ferry to Saba?
Both are viable. The ferry costs less and gives more flexibility on what you bring. The flight is one of the most memorable short flights in the world and saves 2 hours of total travel time. Many visitors fly one way and ferry the other.
The three day trips from Sint Maarten are not just travel options; they are part of why owning or renting on Sint Maarten is different from owning on a single-island Caribbean base. Build at least one of them into your next trip. The FAQ page on our site covers more questions our buyers ask before relocating to the region.
