Princess Juliana Airport (SXM): What to Expect

The airport itself

Princess Juliana is small and straightforward. One terminal, one baggage belt for most arrivals, and a short walk from the belt to the exit.

The slow part is immigration, and it is entirely about timing. Several aircraft land within the same half hour in the early afternoon, and when they do the hall fills. Arrive on a quiet morning flight and you will be through in ten minutes; arrive in the afternoon bank and it can be over an hour.

There is nothing to be done about it, but knowing means you can stop worrying about whether your ride has given up. A booked driver waits.

Getting out

The taxi rank is outside the terminal, and on a busy afternoon there is a queue. Fares are fixed by zone rather than metered — see the full rate table — and many drivers are cash only in US dollars.

The rule that catches people out is that the tariff is per trip for one or two passengers and per person above that. A family of five to Philipsburg pays $45 rather than $20.

A pre-booked driver meets you inside, past customs, with a board. The difference on a heavy arrival day is not subtle.

Rental cars are at the airport and it takes a while, particularly at the afternoon peak. See renting a car for whether you actually want one.

There is no Uber. See Uber in St. Maarten for what people do instead.

How long to anywhere

Add fifteen to twenty minutes to anything crossing the Simpson Bay bridge when it is open. It lifts on a published schedule to let boats through and the road stops entirely while it does.

Which side you land on

The airport is on the Dutch side. If you are staying in Grand Case, Marigot or Orient Bay you will be crossing to the French side, and that is 30 to 45 minutes.

There is no border post, no checkpoint and no formality of any kind — a sign at the roadside is the whole thing. See Dutch side or French side.

Departures

Get there earlier than you think. The check-in hall is small, the queues for the US-bound flights in particular are long, and the security line moves slowly when several flights go at once.

Three hours for a US departure is not excessive here. Two is optimistic.

The famous bit

The approach over Maho Beach is real and it is worth seeing from the ground. Aircraft cross the beach at a height that looks impossible until you have watched a few.

If you are on the left side of the aircraft coming in, you get the view from above instead. See Maho Beach for when the arrivals come in and where to stand.