Explore Sint Maarten
A tiny in the Caribbean Sea, east of Puerto Rico, is split into the Dutch and French side. St Maarten, which is the Dutch portion of the island, is the focus of this article. It’s the perfect island getaway, and offers pristine, warm diving all year round thanks to its tropical climate.
There are around 17 dive sites around the south and southeast sides of the island. Sites usually don’t exceed 18 meters (60 feet), meaning diving is easy and perfect for beginners. Tourism isn’t bustling, so it’s great for those that enjoy uncrowded dive sites, even in the high season. Sites include beautiful reefs, lots of wrecks and encrusted rocky spots explore. With around shipwrecks to discover, wreck lovers will be kept very busy.
Many of the exceptional reefs around St Maarten are rocky structures covered in coral and sponges. Volcanic activity created a lot of the rock formations underwater, which are now teeming with colorful life. Some older reefs suffered hurricane damage, however, they’ve shown great recovery in recent years with new coral taking over the old.
With sufficient dive centers and dive resorts to choose from in this small island, there’s plenty of availability. Furthermore, some operators travel by boat to nearby islands, like Anguilla, St Barts and Saba. A few liveaboards visit the island, though not many actually depart from it.
Furthermore, it’s a great place to take an open water certification, or for more advanced dive courses, a wreck specialty would be suitable thanks to abundant shipwrecks here.
Dive Activity
Diving in Sint Maarten
The majority of dive sites here are colorful reefs and wrecks with some breathtaking topography thrown into the mix. Boat diving is the most common practice, though there are a few shore diving opportunities at shallow reef sites.
The beautiful reefs all around the island are normally shallow and very easy with mild to zero current, promising a relaxing dive for divers of all levels of experience.
For shipwreck enthusiasts, there are around ten wrecks to explore, and are all taken over by nature, encrusted by corals and sponges and home to an array of tropical fish species. The most famous wreck is the HMS Proselyte, which sank in 1801 and is now located in the Proselyte Reef.
Top Wildlife Sightings in Sint Maarten
A wealth of vibrant marine life and underwater habitats can be discovered all around St Maarten, from diverse hard and soft coral species, sea fans, gorgonians, hydroids, sponges and lava rocks, to critters both big and small, from frogfish, seahorses and hundreds of reef fish, to moray eels, blue tangs, lobsters, schooling fish, trumpetfish, barracuda, tarpon, stingrays and even eagle rays, reef and nurse sharks, to only name a few.
Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 27
iStock-Global_Pics
442 Sightings
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33
F
53
M
73
A
39
M
27
J
55
J
23
A
29
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12
O
22
N
36
D
40
Shutterstock-Shane Myers Photography
Green Turtle
253 Sightings
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21
F
29
M
30
A
12
M
16
J
20
J
31
A
17
S
6
O
13
N
35
D
23
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 200
Alamy-WaterFrame
Moray Eel
149 Sightings
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10
F
7
M
24
A
9
M
21
J
18
J
15
A
6
S
7
O
10
N
12
D
10
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 25
iStock/Juliosanjuan
Eagle Ray
139 Sightings
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11
F
7
M
24
A
18
M
10
J
13
J
14
A
4
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1
O
3
N
26
D
8
Shutterstock-Ed Jenkins
Hawksbill Turtle
86 Sightings
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9
F
4
M
7
A
9
M
11
J
8
J
1
A
11
S
2
O
0
N
16
D
8
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 300
Alamy/Reinhard Dirscherl
Octopus
60 Sightings
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7
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5
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3
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1
M
4
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7
J
2
A
5
S
2
O
3
N
14
D
7
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 600
iStock/ultramarinfoto
Wrasse
36 Sightings
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0
F
2
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0
A
4
M
1
J
7
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0
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2
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3
O
5
N
9
D
3
iStock-ShaneGross
Loggerhead Turtle
27 Sightings
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0
F
0
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2
A
3
M
9
J
6
J
1
A
2
S
1
O
1
N
0
D
2
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 80
iStock/Extreme-Photographer
Stingrays
451 Sightings
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40
F
33
M
49
A
25
M
27
J
47
J
22
A
38
S
15
O
33
N
65
D
57
AdobeStock-Marc Henauer
Grey Reef Shark
440 Sightings
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42
F
38
M
60
A
38
M
28
J
40
J
20
A
35
S
11
O
23
N
51
D
54
The best Months to Dive in Sint Maarten
Like its French counterpart Saint Martin, St Maarten experiences amazing diving all year, and has similar seasons. The low seasons are around May to July, and September to November. The higher seasons are July to August, and December to April.
The air temperature is stable all year, with an average of 27°C/80.6°F, which can climb to 32°C/89.6°F. The two seasons are the dry and winter periods. The dry season lasts from December to April, and the winter, from May to November. There isn’t much of a definite rainy reason.
The water temperature is stable all year, fluctuating between 26°C-29°C/79°F-84°F in the warmer months, which are around January and February, down to 22°C-24°C/72°F-75°F in colder August. Visibility is usually excellent year round, reaching 30 meters/98 feet or more depending on the site.
The hurricane season runs from June to November, though the island isn’t inside the worst of the hurricane area.
