Philipsburg Beaches and History: Dawn Beach Surfing, Pinel Island Day Trip, the 1648 Concordia Treaty Legend, Saba Bank, Maho Casino Strip, and Princess Juliana Airport Connections
The Philipsburg beach and history circuit covers the Atlantic Dawn Beach surf, the Pinel Island day trip paradise, the diplomatic legend of the 1648 division treaty, the enormous Saba Bank submerged atoll, the Maho entertainment and casino strip, and the rebuilt Princess Juliana Airport flight and ferry connections.
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Dawn Beach: The Windward Surf Side
Dawn Beach on the eastern Atlantic-facing coast of Sint Maarten, the primary surf and kitesurfing beach of the island where the Atlantic swell produces the consistent shore break and the trade wind creates the kitesurfing conditions, is the contrast to the calm leeward Palm Beach of Aruba in the rougher, more energetic wave environment of the windward Lesser Antilles coast. The Dawn Beach reef directly offshore is one of the most accessible reef snorkeling sites on the Dutch side.
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Pinel Island: The Day Trip Paradise
Ilet Pinel off the French Saint Martin north coast, accessible by a 5-minute boat shuttle from the Cul de Sac beach in 10 minutes from the Orient Bay road, is the most beautiful uninhabited island accessible on a day excursion from Sint Maarten, with the clear snorkeling water, the white sand beaches on both the leeward and windward sides, and the two beach restaurants serving the French Caribbean lunch that together make Pinel Island the most complete day trip experience from the Sint Maarten base.
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The 1648 Treaty of Concordia: The Diplomatic Legend
The 1648 Treaty of Concordia that divided Saint Martin between the French and the Dutch according to the legend of the walking competition, in which a French soldier starting from Oyster Pond and a Dutch soldier starting from Cul de Sac walked in opposite directions around the island and divided the island at the points where they met, is one of the most appealing origin stories in Caribbean colonial history regardless of its historical accuracy. The actual treaty was negotiated to resolve the competing occupation of the island between the two colonial powers.
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Saba Bank: The Caribbean Bermuda Triangle
The Saba Bank, the submerged atoll 25 kilometers southwest of Saba and 65 kilometers from Sint Maarten, is the largest submerged coral atoll in the Atlantic Ocean and one of the most important fish spawning aggregation sites in the Caribbean. The Saba Bank is considered a candidate for the Bermuda Triangle of the Caribbean for the number of maritime incidents in the area attributable to the shallow uncharted reef extensions of the bank.
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Sint Maarten Casino Culture: The Maho Strip
The Maho hotel and casino strip adjacent to the airport runway is the primary nightlife and entertainment concentration of Dutch Sint Maarten, with the Sonesta Maho Beach Hotel casino, the Buccaneer Beach Bar, and the SXM Festival electronic music venue creating a concentrated entertainment district that attracts the party tourism demographic from North America and Europe. The Sunset Bar and Grill at Maho Beach is the most famous single bar in the Caribbean for its aircraft landing viewing.
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Sint Maarten Practical: Princess Juliana Airport and Ferries
The Princess Juliana International Airport, rebuilt after Hurricane Irma and reopened at full capacity in 2019, serves Sint Maarten with direct flights from New York, Miami, Boston, Atlanta, and the European charter market via Amsterdam. The Oyster Pond and Marigot marinas provide ferry connections to Anguilla in 20 minutes, to Saint Barthelemy in 45 minutes, and to Sint Eustatius and Saba by inter-island ferry from the Philipsburg harbor.