The Philipsburg Boardwalk is the seaside promenade beside Great Bay Beach in St. Maarten. Despite its name, it is a promenade rather than a wooden boardwalk. The beach runs alongside it, with restaurants and cafés along the waterfront and Front Street’s shops inland. You can make the visit a walk beside the bay, a beach afternoon or a few hours exploring the town, without treating each as a separate excursion.
Reviewed by St. Maarten Boardwalk Team · Last verified: September 18, 2026
At a glance
- What it is: Philipsburg’s waterfront promenade along Great Bay, on the Dutch side of the island.
- Cost: A normal stroll is free; food, drinks, transport, parking and rentals cost extra.
- Time needed: Allow about an hour for a first look, two to three hours for town and a meal, or half a day for beach time. These are suggested allocations, not measured visit durations.
- Where to start: Captain Hodge Pier and Wathey Square make a useful central starting point, with the Courthouse inland on Front Street.
Find your bearings along the waterfront
Picture the area from the sea inward: Great Bay, sand, promenade, then Front Street and Back Street. The two shopping streets run parallel; Old Street connects them. That layout helps you find your way between the waterfront and the shopping streets.
Sources vary on the Boardwalk’s length, and descriptions do not consistently distinguish the promenade from the wider Great Bay shoreline. No measured end-to-end distance is verified here. For planning, use named stops: Bobby’s Marina is a useful eastern-side landmark for visitors walking from the cruise port, Captain Hodge Pier anchors the central waterfront, and Walter Plantz Square lies toward the western end.
Step-free access: If you need step-free access, ask your chosen venue about the approach, entrance and toilets, and the transport provider about boarding. This guide has not verified an end-to-end step-free route.
How much time to spend
These plans describe time in the area. Add your journey to and from Philipsburg separately.
| Time on site | A suggested way to spend it | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| About an hour | Walk a stretch of the promenade and see the Courthouse from Front Street | A first look without a beach setup |
| Two to three hours | Combine the waterfront with Front Street browsing and a seated meal | Town, shopping and lunch |
| Half a day | Make the beach the main stop, with a meal and a shorter town detour | A slower beach-and-town outing |
For a shorter visit, Captain Hodge Pier, Wathey Square and the Courthouse give you a compact focus. Walter Plantz Square adds another architectural stop if you want to continue along the waterfront.
Great Bay Beach: a stop or the main event
Great Bay Beach sits beside the promenade. Lounge chairs and umbrellas are available to rent in the area, and waterfront bars and restaurants make it possible to combine time on the sand with a meal. A beach package is a separate purchase from simply walking along the Boardwalk. Before paying, ask for the total price and what it includes: chairs, shade, towels and access to toilets or showers. These are possible inclusions to ask about, not standard benefits promised by this guide.
The beach can be busier when cruise ships are in town.
Swimming conditions and current water quality have not been established by this guide. Check local notices and sea conditions before entering the water. The government’s beach and sun guidance explains general precautions, including attentive supervision of children near water.
Things to do: landmarks, history, the Sports Park and watersports
The Courthouse and Walter Plantz Square
The Courthouse on Front Street was built in 1793 and is a useful place to pause during a town walk. Look for the wooden pineapple on top, a symbol of hospitality described by the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau. The building also appears on the Sint Maarten flag. Its exterior makes an architectural stop during a visit centered on the beach or shops.
At Walter Plantz Square, colorful buildings draw on traditional island architecture. Look at the decorative gingerbread-style roof details: they give the square a different character from the shopping frontage along Front Street. The square is on the Great Bay waterfront, so it fits a promenade walk as well as a separate photo stop.
Under SXM sculptures
Look for the blue Under SXM sculptures placed along the Boardwalk and around the Philipsburg waterfront. The life-sized figures are based on people and characters connected with the island, turning the promenade into a small public-art trail. They add an easy sightseeing and photo stop to a walk between the beach and town.
Sint Maarten Museum
At 7 Front Street, the Sint Maarten Museum gives a town walk some historical context. Its published exhibition guide covers the island’s pre-Columbian past, salt industry and slavery, alongside a model and recovered artifacts from HMS Proselyte, the ship wrecked off Great Bay in 1801. That maritime collection connects the waterfront in front of you with the bay’s history.
The museum lists opening hours of Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday closed. A weekday visit can combine the museum with Front Street and the beach; leave it out of a weekend plan unless the museum announces a special opening.
Saint Martin of Tours Church
Saint Martin of Tours Church stands at 51 Front Street. The heritage museum dates the present building to 1952, on the site of an earlier wooden church. It also records that the bell came from San Nicolas in Aruba.
This is an active Catholic church. If it is open to visitors, dress respectfully and keep your voice low; let services take priority over sightseeing and ask before taking photographs inside.
Boardwalk Sports Park
The Boardwalk Sports Park adds outdoor recreation beside Great Bay. The National Sports Institute lists fitness, calisthenics, beach football and beach volleyball at this Philipsburg Boardwalk facility. Calisthenics means bodyweight exercise, so the park brings both workout and ball-sport options into a waterfront visit.
Jet skis, jet cars and other watersports
Great Bay’s advertised watersports include jet ski rentals, kayaking and paddleboarding. Jet-car rides are also advertised from the Philipsburg waterfront: these are motorized watercraft shaped like cars, ridden on the water rather than driven through town.
A water activity needs its own time allowance for the briefing, getting ready and returning equipment, as well as the ride. Before paying, confirm the departure point, participation requirements, safety equipment and weather-cancellation terms. Ask whether the quoted duration means time on the water or the whole session. Availability depends on the provider and conditions; this guide does not promise a particular craft, price or departure time.
Restaurants, cafés and beach bars
Beach bars, cafés and restaurants line the Great Bay side of town, while Philipsburg’s wider dining choices include local and international food.
A beach bar suits a drink or a casual stop around time on the sand. A seated restaurant meal works better as the main break in a town visit. Some waterfront venues combine food, drinks and beach-chair service, but a table reservation and a beach package are different arrangements.
Browse the Boardwalk restaurants and beach bars listings for places to consider. The directory uses both Boardwalk and Front Street addresses to help you locate a venue.
Shopping: Front Street, Back Street and Old Street
Front Street brings together jewelry, clothing and electronics shops behind the waterfront. Back Street has clothing shops and everyday shopping, while Old Street links the two.
The St. Maarten Tourist Bureau describes shopping on the island as tax-free. That means displayed retail prices are not increased by a local sales tax, although it does not guarantee that every item will cost less than it would at home.
For a souvenir or a particular purchase, the Philipsburg and Boardwalk shopping listings give you a starting point.
Staying nearby, events and webcam views
Our places to stay listings include Front Street addresses, placing the search in the same town area as the promenade and shopping streets. For a waterfront stay, compare the property’s location with the room description: a Front Street address alone does not establish a beachfront room.
For something tied to your travel dates, use our guide to finding local events. It explains where to look for dated listings.
The Boardwalk webcam page brings together camera resources for Great Bay and the port. Availability varies by feed.
Arriving from the cruise port or by car
Port St. Maarten’s visitor information describes a walk into Philipsburg of about 15 minutes and lists water taxis and road taxis as alternatives. Published estimates vary: some tourism pages say about ten minutes, without matching start and finish points. Neither figure is a timed journey from your ship’s gangway to your chosen spot on the Boardwalk.
A water-taxi transfer includes boarding and getting between its stop and your destination, as well as the ride itself. Allow time for those stages and possible waits when working backward from your ship’s all-aboard deadline.
If you are driving, parking areas along Pondfill Road, also called W. J. Nisbeth Road, put you on the inland side of Philipsburg. Clem Labega Square is another central parking option and is described as paid parking. The parking checks below apply to whichever lot you use.
Before you go
- Returning to your ship: Note your ship’s all-aboard time and which clock it uses: local time or ship time.
- Water taxi: Confirm the landing, ticket terms and return service before boarding.
- Road taxi: Agree the destination and fare before leaving.
- A particular meal or shop: Confirm the location and opening hours of any stop you are building the day around.
- An event: Check the date, location and latest organizer announcement for any event you plan around.
- Parking: Check current signs, charges and restrictions where you park.
- Time outdoors: Bring drinking water and sun protection, and make room for shade breaks.