Why go
A small island on a map can still involve very different landscapes. Philipsburg and Marigot are useful town anchors, but the hills around Pic Paradis explain why inland Saint Martin feels different from the coast. Understanding the island’s position also helps put Anguilla and Saint-Barthélemy in context when considering excursions.
The full story
Saint Martin lies in the northeastern Caribbean, about 300 kilometres east of Puerto Rico. Its roughly 87 square kilometres are divided between French Saint-Martin in the north and Dutch Sint Maarten in the south. The political boundary cuts across a single hilly island rather than separating two different landforms. Pic Paradis is the highest point, within a chain of hills on the French side. Dry forest covers slopes and summits, while settlements also occupy the valleys. Dry drainage channels take the place of permanent rivers. These contrasts matter when looking beyond the beach districts: the interior is a landscape of slopes rather than a flat continuation of the shore. Anguilla lies across the Anguilla Channel to the north. Saint-Barthélemy is southeast of Saint Martin, across another channel. Trade winds generally arrive from the east or northeast, and rainfall varies with tropical storms and hurricanes.