Located in the Caribbean’s Leeward Islands, Sint Maarten is an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The tiny nation, which comprises 34 square kms, is unique in that it only covers part of the island of Saint Martin; the northern portion is referred to as Saint-Martin and is an overseas collectivity of France. While both sides are of similar size, it’s Sint Maarten that receives most of the island’s visitors.
The Dutch nation’s capital city of Philipsburg not only has Saint Martin’s only major airport, but it’s also a popular cruise port. The cruise ship pier is shown in the distance near the end of my above video of the sunset at Great Bay. The island of Saba is also visible on the horizon around the midway point of my footage; like Sint Maarten, it’s part of the Dutch Caribbean.
While Philipsburg gets busy when cruise ships are at port, the city is a quiet tropical paradise in the periods between departures and arrivals. My video was filmed on a Sunday evening in late December, the beginning of the Caribbean dry season that runs through April/May. The favorable climate makes it the best time of the year to plan a visit.
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