St. Maarten Now Open to Americans

Caribbean Journal-

On Aug. 1 St Maarten officially reopened its borders to travelers from the United States, following a July relaunch to Canadian and European tourists and private aviation. 

It should be noted that only St Maarten, the Dutch side of the island, is open to Americans and all other travelers; 

Saint Martin, the French side, has closed its borders to the Dutch side — meaning U.S. visitors are not able to visit the French side of the island right now. 

Most crucially, all travelers to St Maarten must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of their travel date to St Maarten. (All visitors also need to fill out a St Maarten entry form that can be found here). 

The results must be uploaded as part of that form no later than 12 hours prior to departure. 

Visitors who do not provide such a result will be tested and then quarantined for 14 days at their own expense. 

St Maarten has launched six “core measures” to help prevent the spread of COVID.

That includes physical distancing with proper floor markings, mandatory face mask usage, social distancing of 2 meters, proper self-sanitization procedure, the appropriate procedure for cleaning surfaces, a stay-at-home when sick policy, and digital menus and messages, the Ministry of Tourism said. 

St Maarten is requiring all visitors to travel with their masks, hand sanitizers and to wear their mask on their flights and at the airport. 

The destination is also “strongly advising” travelers to purchase all-risk travel insurance “ensuring that they are covered in the event they fall ill while on vacation.”

12 Caribbean Islands That are Open

This LINK presents the Caribbean destinations that are open for tourists at this time. The first, Anguilla, has only had under a hand full of Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began. The final four are restricting American tourists from entering their borders at this time.

If you are looking to get away before the real probability of most countries shutting down again then this information will be helpful to you as you prepare to vacation in the new normal. There is also a mention of additional documentation or requirements you may need.

Among the list are Anguilla, St. Barts, Antigua & Barbuda, St. Lucia, Aruba, Turks & Caicos, Bermuda, The Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, Bonaire and Curacao.

A Caribbean 2 For 1

St. Martin/St. Maarten is the smallest island in the world shared by two countries, France and the Netherlands. They have different languages, currencies, traffic patterns, food, styles of dress, electrical systems and even phone systems. So, you really get two experiences for the price of one. What they share in common is beautiful terrain-mountains, rolling hills, valleys and stunning white sand beaches.

The St. Martin side offers a more laid-back vacation, with colorful craft and food markets, festive beach and street parties, water sports, ecotourism and fabulous food.

The St. Maarten side offers a more active tourism experience: you can spend an afternoon power-shopping in boutiques amidst cruise ship day trippers and party with the locals at fancy clubs and bars well into the wee hours of the night, or explore the casinos.

You can literally adventure as you please. The island is only 37 square miles and there is no border control, fences or checkpoints. St. Martin/St. Maarten is also the perfect hub for island hopping with Anguilla and St. Barts, only a US$15 ferry ride away.

St. Martin has rightfully earned its title as the "culinary capitol of the caribbean," with its Afro-Caribbean cuisine, its fabulous French food and wine, as well as its original fusion cuisines from the 98 nationalities that live in St. Martin. You must visit Loterie Farms Hidden Forest Cafe or stop by Bellevue Farms, a Rastafarian organic farm/kitchen/market.

Gay Life: while it remains discreet at times it can be wild at other times. There's a gay beach and guesthouses and bars. American and European gays have established residences here. Try the Eros Club. Villa Rainbow is a gay guesthouse at the top of the island. Of note is the Tuesday night street festivals in the beachside village of Grand Case. Every fifty yards or so is another band playing amid arts, crafts, rum, food and trinkets.

Moderate hotels are Hotel Love in Grand Case and Palm Court in Orient Bay. A budget spot is Centrihotel in Marigot. Carnaval is spectacular the week of Ash Wednesday. You can manage quite well if you only speak english, but most people on the island are tri-lingual. The official language is French.