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).
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.
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
2lakesLakeyas
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
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
23 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Le Galion28.8°C
- Coralita Beach28.8°C
- Petite Plage28.8°C
- Anse des Pèrescove28.8°C
- Little Baycove28.8°C
- Cole Baycove28.8°C
- Ducks Beach28.8°C
- Orient Beach28.8°C
15 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
2 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Great Salt Pond1.3km²
- 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.
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
| Night low (°C) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 |
| Sea (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
| Rain (mm) | 20 | 12 | 16 | 26 | 63 | 42 | 54 | 66 | 90 | 108 | 78 | 40 |
| Wet days | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 9 |
| Sun h/day | 8.2 | 8.9 | 9.3 | 9.4 | 8.8 | 8.9 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 7.7 |
| Wind (km/h) | 25 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 24 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 25 |
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Anguilla
Anguilla72 km²65 m17 km away
Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts and Nevis169 km²1,156 m88 km away
Dog IslandAnguilla2.0 km²28 m32 km away
Pelikan Rock, Sint Maarten
Sint Maarten0.02 km²15 m6 km away
NevisSaint Kitts and Nevis94 km²985 m113 km away
Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda161 km²122 m139 km away
Montserrat
United Kingdom102 km²1,042 m171 km away
AntiguaAntigua and Barbuda272 km²402 m171 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q25596) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, 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.
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