05/11/2026
One of my favorite islands 🇸🇽/🇫🇷
“Welcome to St Maarteen”: The Island’s Greatest Mystery Isn’t Traffic, It’s Spelling
There are few things on this tiny, beautiful, occasionally chaotic Caribbean rock that unite locals faster than one universal experience: watching someone confidently butcher the spelling of St. Maarten.
Not the roads. Not politics. Not airport delays.
The spelling.
At some point, every resident of the island has witnessed the moment.
A tourist posts vacation photos with crystal blue water, happy cocktails, and the caption:
“Amazing trip to St Maarteen 😍🌴”
Immediately, somewhere on the island, a local quietly closes their eyes.
Another day, another victim.
Because somehow, despite maps, airport tickets, passports, road signs, government websites, hotel bookings, and approximately seven million souvenir magnets, people remain astonishingly confused about what this island is actually called.
So, for the benefit of humanity, confused visitors, geography students, travel bloggers, and that one Facebook commenter arguing with absolute confidence while being completely wrong, here is the unofficial emergency guide to spelling St. Maarten correctly.
Rule #1: SXM Is Not the Name of the Island
Let us begin with the most common misunderstanding.
SXM is not the island’s name.
No, your vacation destination is not called “SXM.”
You are not “moving to SXM.”
You did not “fall in love with SXM.”
You flew through SXM, which is the airport abbreviation for the entire island.
Think of it like people saying JFK for New York airports or LAX for Los Angeles. Useful? Yes.
Official geography? No.
SXM simply refers to the island’s internationally recognized airport code for the entire island.
Relax. Nobody is arresting you for saying SXM. Locals use it too. Just know what it actually means.
Rule #2: The Dutch Side Is Sint Maarten (Or St. Maarten)
This is where things become slightly more sophisticated.
On the Dutch side, the official spelling is:
Sint Maarten
That is Sint, with an i, not “Saint.”
However, St. Maarten is also commonly used as the abbreviated Dutch spelling.
In other words:
✅ Sint Maarten
✅ St. Maarten
Both are correct when referring to the Dutch side.
Easy enough.
Or at least it should be.
Rule #3: The French Side Is Saint Martin (Or St. Martin)
Now cross the invisible border and suddenly we are French.
The French side is:
Saint Martin
Or abbreviated:
St. Martin
Notice something important?
No “Maarten.”
No Dutch spelling.
No random extra vowels someone invented after two margaritas.
So:
✅ Saint Martin
✅ St. Martin
Correct for the French side.
Rule #4: St. Maarten Is the Neutral Cheat Code
Now here is the part many outsiders—and even some residents—do not fully understand.
St. Maarten has evolved into the island’s diplomatic, neutral shortcut.
When people are talking about the island as a whole, or they simply do not want to repeatedly say Sint Maarten/Saint Martin every five seconds, many people use:
St. Maarten
Yes, even when discussing both sides.
Why?
Because saying:
“Economic cooperation between Sint Maarten and Saint Martin on the island of Sint Maarten/Saint Martin…”
sounds like someone fighting for their life in a geography exam.
So people simply say:
“St. Maarten”
It becomes shorthand for the whole island.
Neutral. Efficient. Peaceful.
Like a ceasefire between Dutch bureaucracy and French spelling.
Rule #5: Absolutely Nobody Knows Where “St Maarteen” Came From
And now we arrive at the island’s most persistent mystery.
St Maarteen.
Not Maarten.
Not Martin.
But… Maarteen.
The spelling that appears to have been invented by a keyboard possessed by tropical confusion.
Nobody asked for it.
Nobody approved it.
No government recognizes it.
No map supports it.
Yet somehow, it survives.
Thrives, even.
Especially among visitors, foreigners, and tourists—particularly from parts of South America and the Spanish Caribbean—who seem deeply committed to adding an extra “e” for reasons science has not yet explained.
Travel post:
“Best beaches in St Maarteen!”
Facebook review:
“Loved St Maarteen so much!”
Random influencer:
“Thinking of relocating to St Maarteen 🇸🇽”
At this point, locals have learned acceptance.
Correction fatigue is real.
You gently explain it once.
Twice.
Maybe ten times.
Eventually, you simply whisper:
“Bless their heart.”
A Survival Guide for Foreigners
To avoid embarrassing yourself online, here is the cheat sheet:
Entire island / airport code:
✅ SXM
Dutch side:
✅ Sint Maarten
✅ St. Maarten
French side:
✅ Saint Martin
✅ St. Martin
Neutral island-wide shortcut:
✅ St. Maarten
The forbidden spelling:
❌ St Maarteen
If you remember nothing else from this article, remember this:
There is no extra “e.”
The island already has enough vowels.
No need to donate more.
And if you accidentally type St Maarteen, don’t panic.
A local somewhere has already sighed dramatically, corrected three tourists before breakfast, and moved on with their day.
Welcome to St. Maarten—spelled correctly, preferably.
