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Saint Martin and Sint Maarten

One island, two marine rulebooks, reefs and historic wrecks.

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Destination Guide Sources For Saint Martin and Sint Maarten

Reference links used to build and maintain this guide.

47 sources • Updated Oct 30, 2026

Written by DiveJourney. Built from public sources and local operator knowledge. Last updated Oct 30, 2026.

French reserve: fragile marine sites - Official French reserve site descriptions and site-specific access, mooring, snorkeling and landing rules.
French reserve: Creole Rock - Official description of Creole Rock dive and snorkel access and protected wildlife.
French reserve: Tintamarre - Official protected-islet access, underwater activity and mooring context.
French reserve: Pinel Island - Official island access, moorings and visitor-site restrictions.
French reserve: mooring and camping - Official day versus night mooring requirements, buoy access and anchoring restrictions.
French reserve: commercial activity authorizations - Official requirement for separate annual commercial authorizations within the French reserve.
French state: 2026 commercial authorizations - French public-authority 2026 permit validity and operator compliance notices.
Port of Saint-Martin: 2026 Cul-de-Sac protection order - Port authority notice: September 2026 anti-sargassum barrier exclusion areas, with Pinel access maintained.
Nature Foundation Sint Maarten: dive registration - Primary Dutch authority for individual tags, private-vessel registration, local operator context and diving-season caveats.
Nature Foundation Sint Maarten: marine park - Official protected-area mooring, diving, authorized freediving and no-snorkeling-at-dive-moorings rules; named dive sites.
Nature Foundation Sint Maarten: turtle care - Official nesting-month information and no-disturbance guidance.
Nature Foundation Sint Maarten: marine park tag checkout - Live provider page confirms USD 15 annual tag and multi-day tags but does not expose current per-day price.
Meteo-France: local climate - Official Northern Islands dry January-April and wet June-November seasons and yearly sea temperatures.
NOAA National Hurricane Center: climatology - Atlantic June-November hurricane-season definition and seasonal peak risk.
SXM Divers: current dive prices - Operator-published local scuba/training prices and included equipment; check live schedule before booking.
SXM Divers: location - Operator location and dive-center logistics in Cole Bay.
Activites Nautiques du Flamboyant: SeaDolphin - French-side operator advertising 2026 scuba, discovery, snorkeling and course prices; availability unconfirmed.
Atabey Dive Center: freediving - Named Saint Martin provider advertising SSI introduction, training and certification; not proof of booked sessions.
Creole Rock Watersports: local activities - Operator details guided snorkeling and scuba from Grand Case; confirm license/schedule and current rates.
Visit St Maarten: snorkeling and diving - Island tourism information on shore snorkeling choices and normal local dive products.
Visit St Maarten: Pinel and island ferries - Tourism description of Pinel shuttle and boat access to Tintamarre; schedules are subject to change.
Visit St Maarten: practical information - Travel advice on power, ATMs, currency, gratuities, air gateways and local transport.
Princess Juliana Airport: immigration - Official Dutch-side airport immigration, entry form and border-crossing guidance.
France-Visas: French overseas territories - Official French requirements distinguishing overseas entry from Schengen permissions.
Central Bank of Curacao and Sint Maarten: currency - Official XCG legal-tender and Netherlands Antillean guilder withdrawal information.
Sint Maarten government: room tax clarification - July 2026 government clarification that room tax applies to nonresident paying guests.
Sint Maarten room-tax ordinance - Published Sint Maarten lodging-tax ordinance showing the one-twentieth lodging-price rate.
DAN: flying after diving - Minimum preflight surface-interval guidance for recreational diving.
DAN: emergency assistance - 24-hour dive emergency medical consultation and contact.
French maritime ministry: emergency at sea - Official French sea rescue contact numbers and radio Channel 16.
St Maarten hospital - Primary Dutch-side hospital contact and location; branding is in transition.
French hospital directory: Louis Constant Fleming - French Hospital Federation listing of Concordia public hospital and contact.
Visit St Maarten: Grand Case - Grand Case restaurants, beach and regional airport information.
Visit St Maarten: Pic Paradis - Official island-tourism hiking and landscape description.
Visit St Maarten: Loterie Farm - Island-tourism hiking, nature, zipline and pool information.
Visit St Maarten: island airport information - International versus regional airport role for SXM and SFG.
Visit St Maarten: island overview - Island tourism overview confirming two jurisdictions and common visitor circuit.
US State Department: Sint Maarten - August 2026 traveler entry and safety guidance, particularly for U.S. passport holders.
US State Department: French Saint Martin - August 2026 French-side entry, safety and passport document guidance.
Visit St Maarten: activities at Philipsburg - Tourism description of current local dive operator at Bobbys Marina, Philipsburg.
Visit St Maarten: Tintamarre day visits - Boat-only island day-trip access context.
Visit St Maarten: winter and year-round diving - Describes Proselyte, Carib Cargo and wreck-oriented scuba tourism.
Visit St Maarten: island experiences - Cultural events in March, beaches and visitor-side contrasts.
Destination hero photo by Thierry Pierrard (historical) - Baie Rouge beach, Saint Martin. Photo: Thierry Pierrard / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Cropped and resized. Cropped image retains the same license.
Destination hero photo by Loris Boulinguez (historical) - Unsplash License. Photographer profile: https://unsplash.com/@cli_k | Location: Saint-Martin, France
Destination hero photo by Jeff Horne (historical) - Creole Rock. CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/). Cropped and resized for the cover.
Destination hero photo by Rajvinder singh - Aerial view of the pier and shallow water at Grand Case, Saint Martin. Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license). Photographer: https://unsplash.com/@singhwithanh. Cropped and resized for the cover.