# Day trips from Sint Maarten / St-Martin

> Caribbean-best day-trip range: French Saint-Martin counts as home. Anguilla is a ~20-25min ferry from Marigot (French side) to Blowing Point, multiple sailings daily. St Barth (Gustavia) is a 45-min high-speed ferry from Philipsburg (Great Bay Express) or ~60-75min from Marigot; there's also a ~10min hop-flight with very limited seats. Saba and St Eustatius (Statia) are each a ~15-25min Winair flight from Princess Juliana (SXM) - note the old 'Edge' ferry to Saba has been suspended since April 2026, so Saba is flight-only for now. St Kitts is a ~25-35min flight (Winair/Sunrise Airways), with Nevis a further short ferry from Basseterre if you push on. Evening events on the outer islands (cricket, late carnival nights) are the main timing trap: last commercial flights/ferries back to SXM are typically late afternoon/early evening, so some of these are realistically 'stay the night' rather than guaranteed round-trips.

Canonical: https://rockhopping.com/sint-maarten-st-martin/day-trips  
Source: Rockhopping (rockhopping.com) — a what’s-on guide for 55 island and low-tax jurisdictions.

- **Sir Emile Gumbs Boat Race (Anguilla Summer Festival)** — Sandy Ground, Anguilla, AI · 2026-08-03 · ~30-40 min door to door each way
  Anguilla's national sport - big wooden A-Class racing sloops crewed by a dozen sailors, tearing along Sandy Ground beach in one of the most photogenic maritime spectacles in the Caribbean.
  Getting there: Ferry Marigot (French side) to Blowing Point, Anguilla, ~20-25 min, hourly-ish daytime departures; taxi to Sandy Ground ~10 min.
  https://anguillafocus.com/anguillas-full-boat-racing-schedule-released-for-the-2026-season/
- **Anguilla Summer Festival - Parade of Troupes** — The Valley, Anguilla, AI · 2026-07-24 to 2026-08-09 · ~40 min door to door each way
  The festival's most visually spectacular day - village troupes in full carnival costume judged on colour and performance through The Valley's streets; J'Ouvert (Aug 3, pre-dawn) and the Poker Run/Calypso Monarch finale (Aug 8-9) bookend the season if you want a second trip.
  Getting there: Ferry Marigot to Blowing Point ~20-25 min, then taxi/bus to The Valley ~15 min.
  https://anguillasummerfestival.com/anguilla-summer-festival-52-officially-launched-get-ready-for-carnival-season/
- **Nevis Mango Festival** — Malcolm Guishard Recreational Park, Charlestown, Nevis, KN · 2026-07-02 to 2026-07-05 · ~1.5-2h combining flight + inter-island ferry each way
  Nevis is the 'Mango Capital of the Caribbean' with 44 home-grown varieties; 2026's four-day expanded edition is headlined by Top Chef alum Eric Adjepong, with tastings, a mixology contest, mango tug-of-war and 60 food vendors.
  Getting there: Flight SXM-St Kitts (SKB) ~35 min, then ferry/water taxi Basseterre-Charlestown, Nevis ~45 min (or combined charter). Long day - realistically needs an early outbound flight.
  https://www.caribjournal.com/2026/04/28/nevis-mango-festival-returning/
- **Nevis Culturama 52** — Charlestown, Nevis, KN · 2026-07-23 to 2026-08-04 · ~1.5-2h combining flight + ferry each way
  The Caribbean's answer to a full-blown island carnival: Miss Culture Queen and Mr Kool pageants, big-drum performances, calypso monarch heats and a grand street parade - genuinely local, not touristy.
  Getting there: Flight SXM-SKB ~35 min, then ferry Basseterre-Charlestown ~45 min.
  https://carnivalvibez.com/nevis-culturama-festival/
- **Statia Carnival** — Oranjestad, St Eustatius (Statia), BQ-SE · 2026-07-15 to 2026-07-27 · ~25 min flight (plus check-in) each way
  A small, unpolished, genuinely local carnival on one of the Caribbean's quietest islands - queen pageants, roadmarch and a last-lap street jump-up, with none of the crowds of the bigger island carnivals.
  Getting there: Winair flight SXM-EUX, ~25 min, several times daily.
  https://www.statiagovernment.com/events-1/evenement/statia-carnival
- **Fete de la Saint-Barthelemy (Fete de Gustavia)** — Gustavia, St Barthelemy, BL · 2026-08-24 · 45 min-1h15 each way
  St Barth's own patronal festival - church bells, a working harbour regatta among fishing and pleasure boats, a quayside public ball, and fireworks over one of the prettiest natural harbours in the Caribbean.
  Getting there: High-speed ferry Philipsburg-Gustavia (Great Bay Express), ~45 min, multiple daily departures; or Marigot-Gustavia ferry ~60-75 min.
  https://hauteretreats.com/st-barts-calendar-of-events
- **CPL 2026 - St Kitts & Nevis Patriots home matches (Warner Park)** — Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts, KN · 2026-08-27 to 2026-09-03 · ~30-40 min flight each way
  Franchise T20 cricket at a genuinely lively small-island ground - St Kitts & Nevis Patriots host Jamaica Kingsmen (Aug 27) and Antigua and Barbuda Falcons (Aug 30) as CPL 2026's group stage swings through Basseterre.
  Getting there: Winair/Sunrise Airways flight SXM-SKB, ~25-35 min, several times daily.
  https://www.wisden.com/cricket-news/cpl-2026-schedule-full-fixtures-match-timings-and-venues-of-the-caribbean-premier-league
- **Saba Carnival / "Carnival Month"** — The Bottom / Windwardside, Saba, BQ-SA · 2026-07 (exact dates unconfirmed) · ~15 min flight each way
  If it lands during your visit, Saba's version of carnival is tiny and intensely local - but honestly, the stronger year-round case for a Saba day trip is the hiking (Mt Scenery) and diving rather than a firm festival date.
  Getting there: Winair flight SXM-SAB, ~15 min (one of the world's shortest commercial runways); note the former 'Edge' fast ferry from Simpson Bay has been suspended since April 2026, so this is flight-only for now.
  https://www.sabagov.nl/news/saba-tourist-bureau-introduces-2026-events-calendar-to-inspire-travel-to-unspoiled-queen