A Local's Guide to Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten

Simpson Bay is a stretch of the Dutch side, near the airport, that wraps around Simpson Bay Lagoon, one of the largest inland lagoons in the Caribbean. It's marinas and superyachts during the day, restaurants and a lively strip at night. If you want to be near the water and the action without being in the cruise-town crush of Philipsburg, this is where we'd point you.

What is Simpson Bay known for?

The lagoon is the heart of it. It's a large, sheltered body of water ringed by marinas, which is why you'll see serious yachts moored here. Around the edge runs a strip of restaurants and bars that gets busy in the evening. By day it's a working waterfront with a relaxed, boat-watching feel; by night it turns into one of the Dutch side's main places to eat and go out.

The lagoon and the marinas

Simpson Bay Lagoon is genuinely big, shared by both sides of the island, and it shapes the whole area. The marinas draw a yachting crowd, so the waterfront has that mix of polished boats and casual dockside bars. Walking the marina edges, watching boats come and go, is a low-key pleasure that costs nothing. It's also where a lot of water-based day trips and charters base themselves.

The strip: where to eat and go out

The Simpson Bay strip is the Dutch side's go-to for dinner and nightlife. It runs the gamut from casual to upscale, and the evening crowd is a mix of visitors, boat crews, and locals. We won't name specific spots, the lineup shifts, but the area is dense enough that you can simply walk it and choose by feel. This is the part of the island that stays up late.

How close is Simpson Bay to the airport and Maho?

Very close. The island's main airport is right by Simpson Bay, which is part of why the area is so convenient as a base, you're minutes from arrival and from a lot of the Dutch side's beaches. Maho Beach, the famous one where planes pass low over the sand on approach, is nearby as well, an easy hop from Simpson Bay. That cluster, airport, Maho, lagoon, makes this a practical home base for a stay.

The flip side of being near the airport is aircraft noise at times, though many travelers find the planes part of the appeal here rather than a nuisance. If you're a light sleeper, it's worth keeping in mind when choosing exactly where to stay.

Morning versus night

Simpson Bay has two distinct moods. Mornings are quiet and bright, good for a slow coffee, a walk along the water, or heading out early to the nearby beaches before the day heats up. Nights are when the strip wakes up, with the restaurants and bars filling and the area taking on its livelier character. We'd plan around both: beach and calm in the morning, dinner and the strip after dark.

Getting around

You drive on the right, and Simpson Bay's position makes it an easy launching point for the rest of the island. There's no hard border with the French side, so a day trip up to Marigot or Grand-Case for dinner is straightforward, just a drive past a roadside monument. The US dollar is accepted almost everywhere on the Dutch side, with the Caribbean guilder the official currency since 31 March 2025.

One practical note: the high season, roughly December through April, is dry and bright; hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, peaking in August and September. Simpson Bay, like the rest of the island, rebuilt substantially after Hurricane Irma in 2017.

For a base this convenient, the small rituals matter. Starting the morning with a fresh pastry and a coffee, before the strip wakes up and the day's plans kick in, is one of the quiet pleasures of staying in Simpson Bay. There's a French-style bakery and pâtisserie in the area for exactly that kind of unhurried first hour.