TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin September travel recommendations

Considering a September trip to Sxm . Any thoughts or experiences with travelling that time of year . Our typical Sxm trip is Mar - April …
Thanks

Bad luck for us. The 1st time we went in Sept. Hurricane Irma followed us home to SWFL. The 2nd time we got Covid and just made the cutoff so we could fly home. Many businesses are on vacation shutdown. Nice & quiet though!! Your mileage may vary!! LOL We have been there nearly every month of the year. I think our June trip was #24 or 25. Planning on May or June 2026.

We used to go to SXM in September or October fairly regularly. We always travel off season and September is the HEIGHT of off season. On the French side, a lot of restaurants will be closed, but there still will be plenty of places to eat. On the Dutch side, some places will be closed, but not nearly as many as on the French side. There is NO traffic anywhere. No need for restaurant reservations. Often you can get cheap airfare for then. Do make sure that you purchase travel insurance. Look at the coverages and make sure there is coverage for storms.

For US, now that we live in Florida, I worry more about getting hit HERE than THERE, so I probably wouldn't go in September now unless it was a really special occasion. For you, if you don't have any such problems, I say go for it!!

We have traveled the first week of September to the Caribbean for the last 30 years and have had two major storms that effected our stay.

Hurricane Earl (2010) brought winds of 120-135 MPH and shut down the island for a day and a half.
Royal Islander weathered the storm very, very well and ran on its sea generator

We were lucky to leave the island the day Irma (2017) hit cutting our vacation short. Many did not get so lucky and got stuck on the island for at least a week.

It is a humid time of the year, but other wise no problems with the weather.

Yes, some of our restaurant choices are closed for vacation, but we stay 3 weeks and still don't eat at all restaurants on our long list.
Some restaurants do offer some discounted menus for the slow season.

Traffic is much better and there should be problem getting into any restaurant

The week of Irma is when we met Jerry who posted above I believe

Accommodations should be cheaper, also get trip insurance for SURE! Water will be very warm, almost like bath tub water.

How about the Orient Bay bars and restaurants? Any closures in September there? Perch Bar? Our first trip is planned Sept 26 - Oct 1. Staying at Adam and Eve.

Thanks.

The Perch should be open, but several of the other restaurants may be closed. The crowds should be pretty light, so still will be plenty of places to eat. You may want to reach out to Adam and Eve. They probably will know closing schedules for restaurants. Please do rent a car.

Thanks Carol. Emailed Adam and Eve, waiting to hear back. We picked that weekend because it’s our anniversary, but could easily slide to November or even early December. We don’t want massive crowds but we don’t want it to be completely sleepy either. We like a little bit lively. Might be less hurricane risk too I would think?

Any advice is appreciated on things to see and do. We plan to do a couple of dives too if anyone has any recommendations.

We typically visit in April or November. I think both of these times would fit with what you are looking for. We like November because the hurricane season is pretty much over. Also,all of the restaurants/beach bars are open. Like you,we like to have people on the beach and bars to socialize with and find the crowd size just right in November. Enjoy your trip!

November would be more lively and definitely less chance of hurricanes, for sure.

I don't think I could take the stress of booking those dates with accomodations/airfare and then worrying about the unpredictable weather.

That’s what travel insurance is for.

Doesn't cover disappointment in canceled vacations

They let us rebook to Dec 4-9.

Wise decision.

AirlineCouple--OK, good. Please let us know how it was when you return.