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FranceSint Maarten France / Sint MaartenLesser AntillesIsland

Saint Martin

72.9 km² of land in the Caribbean Sea.

When to go

Saint Martin seen from space, cut out from the sea (Sentinel-2)
Cul de SacLower Prince’s QuarterGrand-CaseConcordiaKoolbaaiLittle BayUpper Prince’s Quarter
N 1 km

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

72.9km²

Area

70km

Coastline

424m

Highest point

Pic Paradis

72,239

People

29°C

Warmest sea

September

803km

To the mainland

When to go to Saint Martin

Best for the beach from December to April.

The sea is warmest in September (29 °C) and coolest in February (26 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days Best months

Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.

French and Dutch island in the Lesser Antilles

Saint Martin is an island in Saint Martin. It belongs to Lesser Antilles. It covers 72.9 km², with 70 km of coastline. Its highest point, Pic Paradis, rises to 424 m. About 72,239 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 803 km away.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there

  • Grand Case-l'Espérance Airport (SFG)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at SXM airport (Sint Maarten)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
  • FerriesMarigot, Saint-Martin - Blowing Point, Anguilla, Blowing Point, Anguilla - Princess Juliana International Airport, Sint Maarten, Îlet Pinel, Phillipsburg, Sint Maarten - Gustavia, Saint-Barthélemy
  • 803 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
  • From December to Aprilbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

On the island

What you find on Saint Martin.

  • 38beachesSimpson Bay Beach, Orient Bay, Lay Bay Beach and 35 more
  • 24viewpointsFort Amsterdam, Observatoire de l'Étang du Cimetière, Observatoire aux Oiseaux and 21 more
  • 1lighthouses
  • 8ferry terminalsAquaventure Boat, The Edge Ferry, Gare Maritime de Marigot and 5 more
  • 18marinasAny Way Marine, Aquamania, Marina Royale and 15 more
  • 30named peaksPic Paradis, Mont Caréta, Flagstaff and 27 more
  • 1castles and forts
  • 13ruins and archaeological sitesFort Louis, Roche Gravée du Moho, Maison de garde and 10 more
  • 6dive centresBubble Shop, SXM Divers, Octopus Diving Center and 3 more
  • 82hotels, guesthouses and apartments
  • 387restaurants, cafés and bars

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Saint Martin in our other atlases

Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Saint Martin, each with its own numbers.

  • 23beaches and covesCoastya
  • 21mountainsPeakyas
  • 2lakesLakeyas
  • Highest point

    424m

    Pic Paradis

    prominence 424 m · according to Peakyas

  • Largest lake

    1.3km²

    Great Salt Pond

    according to Lakeyas

  • Warmest lake

    29.1°C

    Great Salt Pond

    surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas

  • Beach with the warmest sea

    28.8°C

    Le Galion

    sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya

23 beaches

on Coastya, the beach atlas

  1. Le Galion28.8°C
  2. Coralita Beach28.8°C
  3. Petite Plage28.8°C
  4. Anse des Pèrescove28.8°C
  5. Little Baycove28.8°C
  6. Cole Baycove28.8°C
  7. Ducks Beach28.8°C
  8. Orient Beach28.8°C

15 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗

21 mountains

on Peakyas, the mountain atlas

  1. Pic Paradisprominence 424 m424m
  2. Mount Flagstaff390m
  3. Sentry Hill340m
  4. Fort Hill, Sint Maarten217m
  5. Pigeon-Pea Hill
  6. Mont de Marigot
  7. Montagne France
  8. Petit Fond

13 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗

2 lakes

on Lakeyas, the lake atlas

  1. Great Salt Pond1.3km²
  2. Étang aux Poissons0.51km²

Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 75 m above the sea. 91 % of it is below 200 m.

  • 52 %0–50 m
  • 38 %50–200 m
  • 10 %200–500 m

Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).

Size, for real

Next to islands you may know.

Saint Martin73 km²
Santorini76 km²
Manhattan54 km²

5 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Towns on the island

  • Cul de Sac8,467 people
  • Lower Prince’s Quarter8,000 people
  • Grand-Case6,333 people
  • Concordia6,102 people
  • Koolbaai6,000 people
  • Marigot5,700 people
  • Little Bay5,581 people
  • Upper Prince’s Quarter4,020 people
  • Quartier d’Orléans3,385 people
  • Colombier3,335 people
  • Agrément1,876 people
  • Oyster Pond1,830 people

Month by month

The weather on the island.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon high (°C)262626272828282929292827
Night low (°C)252525262727282828282726
Sea (°C)262626272728282829292827
Rain (mm)2012162663425466901087840
Wet days5446121013141815149
Sun h/day8.28.99.39.48.88.99.09.08.67.97.57.7
Wind (km/h)252523222324262419202125

Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.

Recent years

Warmer and cooler years at sea.

Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020+0.7+0.8+0.7+0.8+0.5+0.5+0.8+0.3+0.6+0.3+0.1+0.3
2021+0.4+0.5+0.2+0.1+0.1−0.1+0.2+0.2+0.6+0.5+0.5+0.5
2022+0.4+0.3+0.3−0.1±0.0+0.1+0.3+0.3+0.3±0.0−0.1±0.0
2023+0.2−0.1+0.1+0.1+0.7+0.8+0.9+1.0+1.2+1.0+0.8+0.6
2024+0.8+0.8+1.2+1.1+1.4+1.6+1.4+1.2+1.3+1.6+1.1+1.3
2025+1.1+0.9+1.1+0.5+0.3±0.0+0.4+0.7+0.8+0.7+0.4+0.5

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

About these numbers

Names, area, populationWikidata (Q25596) · CC0
Outline© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Sea temperatureNOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
ClimateNASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
TownsGeoNames · CC BY 4.0
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfallsCoastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit