Philipsburg The Capital Of Dutch St. Maarten

Philipsburg St. Maarten

The Capital of Dutch St. Maarten is Philipsburg which is adjacent to the Great Salt Pond. During St. Maarten’s history, the Great Salt Pond, among others, was at the heart of the island’s industry. Gleaning salt to ship out to other countries was a staple of St. Maarten’s economy. This is, of course, no longer true as tourism is now the island’s only industry and Philipsburg is the main Dutch Side shopping hub.

While Philipsburg has its share of restaurants along its relatively new Beach Walk, shopping, particularly jewelry shopping is its main attraction. In fact, St. Maarten’s Cruise Port, which is one of the finest, if not THE finest in the Caribbean, is located within walking distance of Philipsburg so our thousands of cruise passengers generally make it their first stop.


There are over 100 fine jewelry stores along Philipsburg’s main street, Front Street (Guess what the other main street is. You got it. Back Street) which might be more highly concentrated than even New York’s Jewelry Exchange. The difference is that St. Maarten is duty-free and New York is not.

A great piece of advice for cruise passengers when jewelry shopping in Philipsburg is pay no attention to your cruise directors when they tell you what stores to shop at. The cruise directors get paid to recommend certain stores but all the stores along Front Street are reputable and have quality product. Don’t let them scare you. Another great piece of info is that many activities booked through cruise directors can be as much as twice the price.
Particularly bus tours.

Some of the stores that I recommend (and I don't get paid by them) are the high end Little Europe (2 shops on the street), Pearl Gems, obviously the island’s pearl specialists, Caribbean Gems (2 shops on the street) Oro Del Sol, Zhaveri, Colombian Emeralds and the Platinum Mine.


For people staying at a hotel or villa on the island, the best days to shop in Philipsburg would be Saturday or Monday as there are usually no cruise ships in port on those days and you’ll have the whole town to yourselves.

Philipsburg also has a fully functioning Courthouse which is over 200 years old. This Courthouse has become a symbol of Philipsburg and it can be seen on many St. Maarten photos and postcards. Add to this a museum or two along with many other old buildings and Philipsburg can represent a whole day of eating, shopping and looking.

More Related Stuff:
St. Maarten Car Rental
St. Maarten Villa Rentals
St. Maarten Real Estate
6 Couch Potato Rules
Orient Beach St. Martin
St. Martin Restaurants