Philipsburg St. Maarten boardwalk. © Scott S. Bateman

Two walking tours of Philipsburg over a 10-year period revealed two different views of this popular St. Maarten cruise port.

During the first visit, we disembarked our cruise ship right at the Philipsburg waterfront, walked off the docks and plopped down on Great Bay Beach.

The long Philipsburg boardwalk lines the beach. It is a robust shopping and dining district that caters to cruise tourists and others who visit the capital city. After some relaxation, we explored the tourism district.

During the second visit, we disembarked our ship at the new, massive cruise terminal called A.C. Wathey Pier about three fourths of a mile from the city.

The new cruise terminal is less convenient than the old one, but it allows more ships to visit the city. It has also made a difference in the shopping experience because it has a large outdoor mall that is packed with shops and restaurants.

The busy Front Street shopping mecca was less busy on our second visit than on our first. The mall at A.C. Wathey Pier has taken over much of the dining and shopping. So cruise and hotel visitors should consider going straight to the cruise mall.

Our two walking tours taught us that the new cruise terminal is equal in stature and experience to other cruise malls at major Caribbean destinations. It’s also a good starting point for a walking tour of Philipsburg.

Walking Tour Highlights

• Harbour Point Village
• Great Bay Beach
• Philipsburg Boardwalk
• St. Maarten Zoo
• Great Salt Pond
• Fort Amsterdam

Cruise and hotel visitors will find that Philipsburg actually has two walking tour destinations. They are Harbour Point Village, which is right in front of the A.C. Wathey cruise pier, and the city of Philipsburg itself.

A large part of the shopping and dining has moved from Front Street in Philipsburg to Harbour Point Village. Walkers find plenty to see and do there. The Village is quite large.

For one of the best and most convenient beach experiences in the Caribbean, walkers can go to the city. Although we could have taken a taxi or water taxi, we chose to walk the distance, which took us less than 15 minutes. Be on the lookout for signs pointing to the beach. Walkers should go as early as possible to avoid heating up too much from the exercise during hot weather.

Best Philipsburg Attractions

Great Bay Beach and the Philipsburg boardwalk are still the best attractions on a walking tour along with Harbor Point Village. The beach is a convenient beach for any cruise visitor. The boardwalk remains long and inviting with quite a few restaurants. Front Street, which runs parallel to the boardwalk, is much quieter these days but still offers some shopping and dining.

Shopping on Front Street in Philipsburg. © Scott S. Bateman

Cafes on the boardwalk that line the beach also rent chairs and umbrellas. Many of them promote free Internet access.

The cafes often have employees who stand on the boardwalk to push their deals. Frugal visitors should walk along the boardwalk to find the best beach deal before buying instead of getting the first one they find.

Front Street is almost entirely made up of shops and restaurants. It also has the St. Maarten Museum at 7 Front Street. It is a national museum of island heritage, which is common on many Caribbean islands.

Beyond those attractions, Philipsburg is more like a typical city. But a few more attractions are reachable on foot for fit and energetic people.

The St. Maarten Zoo claims it is the largest zoo in the Caribbean with hundreds of animals. It also claims it has the largest playground on St. Maarten. It is on Arch Road across the Great Salt Pond and is a two-mile walk or quick taxi ride from the waterfront.

Nearby Attractions

Energetic people also can visit the ruins of 17th-century Fort Amsterdam. Go west along the waterfront away from the cruise port and follow the bay’s edge to the peninsula that juts out between Great Bay and Little Bay. The fort is a decaying ruin with a handful of rusty cannon in place.

It is worth visiting for the photographic views and the nearby Little Bay Beach. It is a mile and a half from the east end of the boardwalk by the Sint Maarten Museum. That’s a lot of walking for anyone who walks from the cruise terminal to the boardwalk. It’s much easier to reach for anyone who takes a water taxi from the terminal to the city.

For us, the greater appeal of any island is the unique set of attractions that we don’t see anywhere else. In the case of Philipsburg, the combination of Great Bay Beach, the boardwalk, Harbor Point Village and Front Street will fill a day-long cruise visit with plenty of things to see and do.

Other Ways to Tour Philipsburg

Shore excursion operators offer other ways to tour Philipsburg that don’t involve walking.

A guided bicycle tour takes about three hours and has prices starting at $60 per person. The tour covers the town’s history going back to its founding in 1631 and includes a visit to the salt pond and the beach.

Another option is a trolley train that takes two hours with costs starting at $55 per person.

Tours with transportation are usually worth the money because they are among the least expensive shore excursions in the Caribbean. I don’t recommend paid and guided walking tours in a city such as Philipsburg. It doesn’t have the extensive history and cultural attractions of other major ports such as San Juan and Nassau.