No been on here lately but was wondering if there was any news on when St Maarten might open back up to letting US travelers

I honestly have no idea, but maybe some time in June? If a visit to St. Martin is in your plans (like it is mine all the time), my best advice would be to wait until the late fall of this year. Just not because of COVID-19, but I would personally plan for after hurricane season. We've been to St. Martin in November several times and we've always enjoyed nice weather as well as lodging prices that usually do not begin to increase until December. And, if it's in your budget adding travel insurance that specifically covers situations regarding closures because of a pandemic, epidemic, etc. could be a smart move.

Right. Our next trip down is May 29 to June 16.
Just don’t think it’s going to be open for us then.
Just hoping as soon as they open we will know

I feel your pain. May 29 was the date we were supposed to fly down. AA changed the time on my flight, so I was able to cancel already and get my money back, but I think there is zero chance the airport will be open by then.

If you believe the airport themselves, there is a letter from the airport which has been posted here several times, which states that they are currently in a minimum two month shutdown, which would put the possible reopen date past June 1. When they reopen, my suspicion is that the first period of time (month or two?? no idea) will be for residents of SXM only to enter. Even if the airport were open by the first of June, I personally would not want to go then, as there is no way to know what will happen when you try to come back home and I really don't want to be on a plane or in an airport waiting room for a while yet. Your mileage may vary.

Thinking most countries in Caribbean including St Maarten will allow citizens to return first as you have indicated.
I believe they will require all who re enter to self quarantine for 14 days.
The next group to enter may also have that requirement. It only makes sense after what the country has went through to get the virus under control.
Would anyone now in US return to St Maarten when airport reopens under the requirement they self quarantine for 14 days?
Guess those who stay for extended periods might consider but do not see the tourists returning anytime soon if they have that requirement.

Clifftops--yes, that will make sense, that they would require a 14 day quarantine upon arrival. That would be pretty tough for a tourist to do, first thing upon arrival, unless they had someone pre-stock their house ahead of time. And most tourist accommodations are not set up to where it would be very comfortable to self quarantine for any period of time. I guess if you had a private villa with a pool, it wouldn't be too bad, but unless you plan on going for a month or more, why bother?

That didn't work so well with the last repatriation flights. Many did not self quarantine and I expect was the biggest factor in our positive cases.

You may well be right, Elaine. What is the answer then? I really don't think the goal of having some type of a test available before anyone comes back, is a reasonable goal. Here in Florida, people are still having troubles getting tested, even if they have symptoms!!

Wish I knew. But bringing back all our students from Europe was not a good idea in hindsight.

Agree. You really cannot trust even your own people and that is only going to get worst.
People are getting restless everywhere and self quarantine requires responsible and rational people.
Therefore the shelter in place requirement that so many countries are observing may be the only way to get a handle on this virus.

You're probably right again. BVI is apparently going to limit people coming back into the territory to residents only for a period of up to three months, once they reopen. I wouldn't be surprised to see a similar requirement for SXM, although, as you say, just because they are residents, doesn't mean they are virus free, that's for sure.

It depends on what SXM is trying to do, and possibly on the availability of a rapid test if they want tourists again. Here in WNY, anyone who has symptoms can get a Covid19 test, and any “essential “ worker can get an antibody test. Anyway, quarantining for 14 days on arrival won’t work for the vast majority of stayover tourists. As long as they keep such a stringent requirement SXM will be for residents and part time residents/ long stay visitors only. They could be a closed island society and wait for a vaccine, but that could take 18 months or more. That’s probably not sustainable for an island so reliant on tourism.A rapid test stateside before boarding could work and might be available soon enough to pull off, even though it’s a logistical nightmare. Anyway, even if all the Coronavirus cases currently on island were recovered it won’t solve the tourism issue. As soon as the island opens back up it will return. The virus isn’t going anywhere.The early antibody testing results in NYS ( for example) show there are far more cases than the “ confirmed cases”. About 1.6 million infections in the NYC area. This was expected, as such a high percentage have only mild symptoms or are entirely asymptomatic.

Hi, question maybe could be when and how SXM [or other countries] let residents of [name the country] back in.
A month ago we might have said no to someone from Spain or Italy - given the # of US cases that could now apply to the US
My guess is a lot of Dutch side tourism is American - causing more potential tension on timing to reopen
Not sure what the future holds but it will be interesting to see when and how travel restrictions change.

Temp checks alone don't do it, it's only a snapshot for that point in time. Works in plants and offices as it is done all day long - at least where I work [apparently I am an essential service!]
I agree with Carol, need instant testing for travel to think about resuming, but even then countries with high infection rates might find themselves on a restricted list or at least regions of a given country

For us, no travel without a vaccine. We are over 60 and my wife has a low immune system. We were already very careful, this just adds to the no travel soon for us
We hope to go back, but not for now.
Making the best of it with flip flop Friday's with Island 92 playing and a rum cocktail for happy hour


J&B