Is It Possible To Take A Day Trip From St Maarten To St Barts?
Yes, a day trip from St Maarten to St Barts is possible by private charter, seasonal group boat or public ferry. Here is how each option works, what it costs and what to bring.
Yes, a day trip from St Maarten to St Barts is possible and it is one of the most common ways visitors see the island. Three routes exist: a private charter from the St Martin side, a seasonal group boat day from Simpson Bay, and the public ferry. Only the first two can be booked through this site; the ferry runs on its own schedule. If you're weighing a quick flight against the slower boat ride, the flight or boat comparison for the St Maarten to St Barts hop breaks down how the two options stack up.
The question comes up constantly because the two islands sit close together in the northern Caribbean, and because St Barts is small enough that a single long day genuinely covers a great deal of it. Gustavia, the capital, wraps around a compact harbour. St Jean Beach and the island's most famous viewpoint are minutes from it. The bays that most boats head for, Colombier and Fourchue, sit inside the marine reserve on the island's western and northern edges and are among the beaches you can only reach by boat.
What trips people up is not distance but logistics. There is no bridge, no causeway and no tunnel. Everything that reaches St Barts from St Maarten crosses open water, and that single fact shapes every option on this page: how long the day runs, what it costs, what you need to carry, and how much flexibility you have if the weather turns.
We compared the six live listings on this site, the ferry operators' own published rules and the marine reserve's regulations to lay out the answer plainly. The short version is that the trip is not only possible, it is the reason most of the boats in this roster exist.
How The St Maarten To St Barts Crossing Actually Works
Every day trip crosses the Saint Martin Channel by boat, and in practice that means one of three doors: a private charter from the French side marinas, a group boat day from Simpson Bay on the Dutch side, or the scheduled public ferry. Charters and the group boat day can be booked here; the ferry cannot, and runs to its own timetable.
The private charter fleet departs from the Saint Martin side. The Paper Boat Charter motor trip leaves Marina Anse-Marcel for up to 8 guests over roughly 8 hours, from $2,100 per group, rated 5.0 across 17 reviews, with unlimited beer, wine and soft drinks, snorkelling gear and a giant floating mat listed as included. The same operator also runs a 7.5 hour private sailboat version from Saint Martin from $2,000 per group for up to 8, with an open bar and snacks, a new listing with no reviews yet. The Love Boat Sxm full-day charter departs Marina de l'Anse Marcel for up to 10 guests, about 8 hours, from $1,947.52 per group, with stops at St Jean Beach and Gustavia on the listing. Seven Marine's Nikki Beach charter runs 6 to 8 hours from Cole Bay on the Sint Maarten side, from $2,120 per group for a group of up to 15.
The only per-person option is different in kind. The Boomerang Boat Charters group day, St. Barths: Gustavia, Colombier Beach and Ile Fourchue Tour, meets at the Dinghy Dock Bar in Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten, runs about 7 hours with a maximum of 40 guests, and costs from $189 per person plus a government fee of US$20 per person paid separately. Lunch, alcoholic beverages, snorkelling equipment, paddle boards, life jackets, floating noodles and a lily pad are all on the listing. One catch matters more than any other detail: the listing's operating dates are 12 May to 31 August 2027. Outside that window the group day does not run, and the choice collapses to a charter or the ferry.
The public ferry is a real, separate third option, and this site does not sell it. Great Bay Express departs from Bobby's Marina in Philipsburg on the Dutch side; its own terms require every passenger, including French nationals, to carry a valid passport, and its check-in rules state you should arrive at least 45 minutes before departure, with check-in closing 15 minutes before. Voyager sails from the Marigot Ferry Terminal on the French side. Neither operator publishes times or fares on the static pages we read, so treat the live booking engines as the source of truth for schedules and prices.
| Crossing option | Departs from | Who it suits | Bookable here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private charter (Paper Boat, Love Boat Sxm, Seven Marine, Zephyr) | Marina Anse-Marcel, Marina de l'Anse Marcel, Cole Bay | Groups who want the day to themselves | Yes |
| Group boat day (Boomerang) | Dinghy Dock Bar, Simpson Bay | Solo travellers and pairs, 12 May to 31 Aug 2027 only | Yes |
| Great Bay Express ferry | Bobby's Marina, Philipsburg | Independent travellers on a budget | No |
| Voyager ferry | Marigot Ferry Terminal | Independent travellers on the French side | No |
A longer comparison of the whole day-trip question, including how the island hours actually shake out once you land, sits in our St Martin to St Barts day trip guide.
What A Private Charter Day From St Martin Looks Like
A private charter day typically runs 7.5 to 8 hours door to door, departs in the morning from a Saint Martin marina, and spends the middle of the day inside the St Barts marine reserve before returning. Prices run from $1,947.52 to $2,120 per group for the day-trip-length boats, and everything from drinks to snorkel gear is usually already aboard.
The shape of the day is the appeal. The Paper Boat Charter version, the most-reviewed crossing on this roster at 5.0 across 17 reviews, includes a fuel surcharge, unlimited beer, wine and soft drinks, a professional guide, snorkelling equipment and a giant floating mat, with lunch and gratuities excluded. The Love Boat Sxm full-day charter from Marina de l'Anse Marcel carries up to 10 guests and lists soda, snorkelling equipment, fuel, a paddle board and a floating mat, with dock fees at St Barthelemy of 40 EUR per boat plus 5 EUR per guest paid separately, and the slide excluded. On that boat the day is anchored by two named stops, St Jean Beach and Gustavia.
The sailboat version is its own product, not a duplicate. Paper Boat's 7.5 hour private sailboat charter from $2,000 per group for up to 8 is a new listing with no reviews yet, listing an open bar and snacks, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before. If the idea of crossing under sail rather than motor appeals, that is the listing to read; if you would rather maximize time in the water, the motor charter packs more into the same day.
What the charter format buys you is control. The boat leaves when you leave, the stops bend around what the group wants, and the guide's read on the day's conditions decides whether you anchor in Colombier, swing by Ile Fourchue, or spend longer in Gustavia. The reserve caps speed at 5 knots inside its waters, so the final approaches are slow and quiet by law rather than by courtesy. That slow entry is part of what makes the crossing feel like arriving somewhere rather than commuting.
It is also the format where group arithmetic matters most. Five of the six listings on this site are private charters priced per group, from $1,947.52 to $4,816.09. Split across the stated group maximums, the same boats work out to a per-guest figure that can sit near the $189 group day price, though that is plain arithmetic on our part, not a discount the operators advertise.
The Seasonal Group Boat Day From Simpson Bay
The one per-person option is the Boomerang Boat Charters day from Simpson Bay: about 7 hours, maximum 40 guests, from $189 per person plus a US$20 government fee paid separately, running 12 May to 31 August 2027. It is the only way to do this trip without chartering a whole boat.
The itinerary in the listing name is the honest summary of the day: Gustavia, Colombier Beach and Ile Fourchue. Lunch and alcoholic beverages are included, along with snorkelling equipment, paddle boards, life jackets in adult and child sizes, floating noodles and a lily pad. Gratuities, towels and private transportation are excluded. The listing shows 8 reviews at 5.0, a pool too small for a star claim. Free cancellation is listed.
The dates are the whole story. A 12 May to 31 August window overlaps the start of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs 1 June to 30 November with a peak from mid-August to mid-October. We state that as calendar overlap, not as a weather forecast; plenty of July and August days run flat and bright. But if you are travelling between September and early May, this listing is not an option at all and your realistic per-person route is the ferry, with the charter as the splurge alternative.
What A St Maarten To St Barts Day Trip Costs
Counting every route, a day trip runs from $189 per person plus a $20 government fee on the seasonal group boat, from $1,947.52 per group on the least expensive private charter, or a ferry fare set by the ferry operators, which is not published on their static pages. Charters are priced per group, never per person, and dock or customs fees sit outside some listed prices.
| Listing | Price (USD) | Group max | Extras stated on the listing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boomerang group boat day | $189 per person | 15 | US$20 government fee per person, paid separately |
| Love Boat Sxm full-day charter | from $1,947.52 per group | 10 | 40 EUR per boat plus 5 EUR per guest dock fees; slide excluded |
| Paper Boat sailboat charter | from $2,000 per group | 8 | Open bar and snacks included; free cancellation up to 24 hours |
| Paper Boat motor charter | from $2,100 per group | 8 | Lunch and gratuities excluded |
| Nikki Beach charter (Seven Marine) | from $2,120 per group | 15 | Customs clearance fees and gratuities excluded |
| Zephyr overnight catamaran | from $4,816.09 per group | 4 | 2 days; lunch in Gustavia and crew tips of 15 to 20 percent excluded |
The last row is deliberately included to show the ceiling. The Zephyr overnight catamaran is not a day trip at all: 2 days and 1 night for up to 4 guests from Grand Case, with breakfast, lunch and dinner aboard, from $4,816.09 per group and a full refund up to 6 days in advance. It exists on this roster because some travellers ask the day-trip question and then realize the overnight answer suits them better, a trade-off explored in our piece on day trip versus overnight.
For the ferries, both operators price through live booking engines rather than published static fares, and Great Bay Express notes child and resident discounts with no extra baggage fees. We will not print numbers we could not read on an official page, so the ferry line in any budget should be filled in from the operator's own booking flow. The wider set of guides lives on St Barthelemy Tours.
Rules And Paperwork For The Crossing
Two sets of rules govern the day: entry paperwork and the marine reserve. US citizens need a passport, and the State Department's French West Indies page is the reference to check before you travel. Inside the reserve, the speed limit is 5 knots, jet skis and any thermal or electric propulsion device are banned, and touching protected species is prohibited.
On paperwork, the practical points are concrete. Great Bay Express requires a passport for every passenger, including French nationals, per its own terms. The US State Department's French West Indies page is the official reference for US citizens, and because entry rules shift, we point you to it rather than restating its detail as settled. Carry the same passport on any boat crossing, charter or ferry, since St Barts and Sint Maarten sit in different customs territories.
On the water, the reserve authority's published regulations set the terms your captain will follow. Beyond the 5 knot limit and the jet ski ban, the rules prohibit taking coral, plants, shells or crustaceans, wearing gloves in the water, bringing dogs, dumping waste and feeding animals, and touching any protected marine species such as a turtle or coral. None of this constrains a normal swimming and snorkelling day; it is why the snorkelling stays as good as guests report it to be. The reserve's zoning, including the Colombier and Fourchue bays most day trips head for, is published by the reserve authority, and our marine reserve explainer walks through it in full.
When To Schedule A St Maarten To St Barts Day Trip
The calendar splits the question. The group boat day exists only from 12 May to 31 August 2027; private charters and the ferries run on their own schedules year-round, subject to conditions; and hurricane season, 1 June to 30 November with a peak mid-August to mid-October, overlaps the group day's entire run.
Rainfall, on the Meteo-France 1991 to 2020 normals, is lightest in February at 38.4 mm and heaviest in October at 135.6 mm against an annual 891.3 mm. Average monthly highs run from 28.5 C in January to 31.7 C in September. Read as planning ranges, that makes the first half of the year the statistically drier window, and it is no accident that the island's marquee events cluster there: the St Barth Bucket Regatta in mid-March 2027 and the Music Festival's 43rd edition from 8 to 18 January 2027.
Two timing notes matter for a day trip specifically. First, mid-March regatta week fills Gustavia's harbour with superyachts, which is either the whole point of going or a reason to pick another week, depending on your view of why billionaires go to St Barts. Second, because every option crosses open water, sea state can decide any given day on any route, a variable covered honestly in how rough the sea between St Martin and St Barts gets.
Booking behaviour follows from the calendar. The group day's summer-only window means July and August fill first with solo travellers and pairs. Charters hold their schedules but cancel or reschedule on conditions, and the listings here show free cancellation on the Boomerang day, the Paper Boat motor charter, the sailboat charter up to 24 hours, and the Nikki Beach charter, with the overnight catamaran offering a full refund up to 6 days ahead. That cancellation posture is the practical safety valve when the trade winds or a swell decide your week for you.
Common Questions About A St Maarten To St Barts Day Trip
Is It Possible To Take A Day Trip From St Maarten To St Barts?
Yes. A private charter crosses in a day from the Saint Martin marinas, the Boomerang group boat day runs from Simpson Bay from 12 May to 31 August 2027, and the public ferries from Philipsburg and Marigot run year-round on their own schedules. Only the charter and group day are bookable through this site.
How Much Does A Day Trip From St Maarten To St Barts Cost?
The per-person option is from $189 plus a US$20 government fee, in its 12 May to 31 August 2027 window. Private charters run from $1,947.52 to $2,120 per group for day-length boats. Ferry fares are not published on the operators' static pages, so check the live booking engines.
Do You Need A Passport For The Crossing?
Yes for the ferries: Great Bay Express requires a valid passport for every passenger, and its terms state check-in closes 15 minutes before departure if you arrive later than 45 minutes ahead. For boat charters, carry your passport as well, since the crossing moves between customs territories. Check the official US State Department page before you travel.
Can You Do A St Barts Day Trip Without Chartering A Whole Boat?
Yes, between 12 May and 31 August 2027, on the Boomerang group day from Simpson Bay: about 7 hours, maximum 40 guests, lunch, drinks, snorkelling gear, paddle boards and floating toys included. Outside that window, the per-person alternative is the public ferry.
Is The Crossing Rough?
Sea state varies and no operator or writer can promise conditions. The trade winds and open channel make some days lumpy and others glassy. Charters and ferries both reschedule or cancel on conditions, and every listing on this roster shows a free cancellation policy of some kind.
How Many Hours Do You Actually Get On St Barts?
On the roughly 7 to 8 hour listings, most of the day is spent on or beside the island: Gustavia, St Jean Beach and the reserve bays such as Colombier and Ile Fourchue are the standard anchors. The exact split depends on the route your captain chooses on the day.
