Great Bay Beach shows Philipsburg’s coastal side: the beach is in the city and stretches for about two to three kilometers along the coast. Soft sand and a gentle slope into the sea define its profile. Together with the town’s architectural and artistic features, it offers a varied picture to help you plan your trip.
Beach and city history
Walter Plantz Square is considered an open-air museum. Its traditionally designed, colorful wooden houses offer a glimpse of earlier building styles on St. Maarten. This draws attention to the built environment, while Great Bay Beach represents the coastal area.
Various tours in Philipsburg offer a comprehensive overview of murals by local artists. This complements the view of traditional houses with art on the walls and gives culture-minded travelers another perspective on Philipsburg. The Sint Maarten Museum is located at 7 Front Street in Philipsburg.
The Heritage Museum in Philipsburg has a gift shop featuring locally made art and crafts, as well as historical maps of the island. The shop thus brings together local works and historical island maps. If you are planning a visit, confirm current visitor information directly with the museum.
Birdwatching nearby
The Great Salt Pond is located near Philipsburg. It is designated as one of St. Maarten’s International Birding Areas and has had its own floating birdwatching platform since 2023.
From the platform, you can spot, among other birds, brown pelicans, ospreys, and great egrets visiting the pond’s saltwater; the species you actually see may vary. Information boards from the Nature Foundation and Windward Roads explain the pond’s history. For specialized birdwatching tours, you can contact the Nature Foundation. Great Bay Beach and the Great Salt Pond offer different focal points: coastal scenery on one side, birdwatching and the pond’s history on the other.
Sint Maarten in the wider context
In the wider destination of Sint Maarten, Maho Beach and the Natural Pool Hike Trail offer different nature experiences. Maho Beach lies on a deep-blue bay, where you can swim and sunbathe, although both activities depend on local conditions. On the Natural Pool Hike Trail, the Natural Pool and views of nearby islands are among the points of interest. This gives you a thematic choice between beach activities and a trail with views of the pool and islands.
The Point Blanche Hike Trail is in the Philipsburg taxi zone. Confirm the taxi-zone information locally, as such details can change. In the wider destination of Sint Maarten, a piece of the Point Blanche rock formation is on display at the Sint Maarten Museum. The layered rock formed through the crystallization of limestone and is about 15 million years old. If you would like to see it, check in advance whether the exhibit is currently on display. The museum also has an exhibition featuring newspaper clippings, pictures, and eyewitness accounts about the impact of Hurricane Luis. These subjects range from geological formation to the effects of the hurricane.
Discover more destinations: Simpson Bay, Lowlands, Maho Reef.
Go to the main travel overview: Sint Maarten.
