The first thing that came into my mind when I was thinking of going to St Maarten was; “The Caribbean must be pretty expensive”.
But is that true? How expensive is St Maarten really? I share the average cost for daily spending, accommodation, car rental and transport in this blog. I also share my personal budget planning for a trip to St Maarten.
In a hurry and need a quick answer?
St Maarten is not as expensive as you might think if you save money at some key points. The expenses in St Maarten are mid-level, compared to other Caribbean islands.
Now, let’s hop into the details and get you informed about the expenses you can expect in St Maarten!
Daily spending in St Maarten
Spending money is easier than keeping it. That’s why it’s smart to put yourself on a budget during your stay. I’ll tell you a little bit about my experience with spendings in St Maarten and I’ll add a table with average prices below.
Food
A list of food prices below, followed by my personal experience:
- Breakfast – $3 to $9
- Lunch – $11 to $16
- Affordable dinner – $12 to $20
- Fancy dinner – $50 to $75
- Supermarket – Slightly more expensive than US mainland
Some people choose to book an all-inclusive accommodation. It’s easy because you know what you are spending and you don’t have to worry about food. However, you won’t enjoy the local cuisine of St Maarten. I would advise you to go out for dinner at least once or twice a week, even if you have an all-inclusive hotel.
My experience with dinner is that it gets as expensive as you want it to get. There are great mid-range restaurants where you can eat for $12 to $20. The served food is of good quality.
Do you want to have a fancy dinner? In that case, you should expect to spend $50. That’s the average cost of a higher-range restaurant on the Island. You can always spend more, but 50 dollars will do.
I personally like to eat something small for lunch. The rest of the afternoon I just eat some stuff I get from the grocery store like a sandwich or some salty bites. The supermarket is slightly more expensive than in the US, but in general, the prices are about the same.
I don’t have much experience with breakfast since it’s always included in my hotel stays. However, you could eat breakfast out for as little as $3 to $10.
Drinks are the same price as back in the US. Drinks at the beach can be a little bit more expensive though, but that’s something you see anywhere around the world.
The beach
Going to the beach can be free if you bring your own food and towel. However, most tourists choose to get something to eat at the beach. A chair with parasol is also something you might consider, especially on the hotter days.
List of the beach prices below, followed by my personal experience:
- Beach chair with parasol – $15
- Beer at the beach – $3
- Fresh juice at the beach – $6
Looking for a beach chair with a parasol? Most place charge between $10 and $15. However, there are some places that offer a free chair and parasol when you order food and drinks with them. The other way around as well, free drinks if you order a chair with parasol.
Beer usually costs you around $3 each. The most common beer brands are dutch brands like Heineken and Amster (which is also from Heineken). Beers like Corona will cost you more.
I’ve had questions about bringing your own food to the beach. Some people wonder if it’s ok to eat and drink your own (supermarket) food. I think it’s absolutely fine if you are in a rented chair. I wouldn’t drink it at the beach restaurant though, especially when they offer you free chairs and parasols.
Activities
I don’t know if this should be under ‘daily spending’ but I decided to add this here. I’m talking about activities like ziplining, jet skiing or snorkeling.
Some example activities and their prices:
- A half-day boat tour with snorkeling opportunities – $100
- A day around the island with a cruise – $140
- Jet ski rental for half an hour – $60
- Ziplining including a view over the island – $100
My experience is that these kinds of activities make the difference between expensive and affordable. One tour or activity can be as expensive as a night in a hotel or dinner for 5 days.
I usually plan one or two expensive activities like this. For example; I could go ziplining and doing a boat tour around the island. The rest of the week I try to stick to my budget by choosing for cheaper options like renting a bike or just chilling at the beach.
How expensive are hotels in St Maarten
Next up are the accommodations in St Maarten, or hotels in particular. The accommodations in St Maarten range from small inns to big all-inclusive resorts. I have the most experience with mid-range hotels or inns.
St Maarten doesn’t offer many budget options. You’ll barely find any budget hotels on the island. The biggest reason is the fact that it’s only accessible by plane or cruise, which means that visitors are spending some money to get there. St Maarten is not a budget option.
You will have loads of options if you are looking for mid-range hotels or resorts. St Maarten is packed with them and it might be hard to find the perfect pick for yourself. You’ll find the 10 best hotels on this page (Booking.com)
You will also have enough options if you are looking for high-range hotels or resorts. I don’t have much personal experience with these since I’d rather spend my money on food and activities than on a fancy bathroom.
Always look at what is included when considering a hotel. Sometimes it’s smart to pay a little bit more for a hotel, in order to save some money later. I always pick hotels with a good breakfast and I also check for airport transfers when I don’t have a rental car.
Duty-Free Shopping
Duty-Free Shopping is one of the reasons for a lot of tourists to travel to St Maarten. St Maarten is completely duty-free, which means you save loads of money on government taxes.
This results in saving between 15 and 50 percent on items like jewelry, electronics, cosmetics, clothing, and alcohol.
You might think that there is no way that the government is making money from tourists paying taxes, but that’s not true. You’ll pay departure tax for leaving Princess Juliana Airport. This is $30 for international destinations and $10 for destinations in the former Netherlands Antilles such as Aruba, Bonaire or Curacao. Taxes for departing ferries can run from $2 to $4. Last but not least, you’ll pay about 5% tax on your hotel stay.
Tourists that travel back to the United States have an allowance of $800 which can include up to 200 cigarettes, 100 non-Cuban cigars, and two liters of alcohol, as long as one liter is produced in a Caribbean Basin Initiative Country. However, these laws can always change over time! Make sure to double-check this on the government website. I cannot guarantee that the numbers above are still right at the moment you read this post.
Flights to St Maarten
Almost all tourist come to St Maarten by plane or cruise ship. If you come with a cruise, you obviously don’t have to plan your transportation costs.
Prices for flights to St Maarten can vairy. It depends on which time of the year you book, which time of the year you fly, where you fly from, etc. The prices below aren’t averages, it’s just what I found when researching this subject. A few examples:
- Flight from New York – $350 return
- Flight from Seattle – $600 return
- Flight from London – $750 return
St Maarten only has one airport. It’s the Princess Juliana International Airport, named after a princess (and later queen) of the Netherlands. The airport is world-famous due to its location. It’s located right next to a small beach, which is known for blowing people into the ocean during takeoff.
My personal budget for St Maarten
I’m somebody that doesn’t look at every dollar during traveling, but I’m not a big spender during my holidays. I go for mid-range hotels, I don’t mind eating lunch from the grocery store and I go for affordable dinners.
My budget for St Maarten (for 2 persons) is $1500. I pay everything cash, except for the bookings I made prior to my visit (hotel and rental car).
It’s a realistic budget if you don’t spend your money like a crazy man. Do you want to go for fancier dinners and do you want to pack your week with activities? In that case, you should expect to spend more than 1500 dollars.
