Lifestyle
Taxi fares in St Martin: how taxis work on the Dutch and French sides
Taxis in St Martin have no meters. On the French side, official zone-based fares in euros come from the Collectivité's grid (page updated 6 Feb 2025). On the Dutch side, fares are fixed by the Landsbesluit taxitarieven 2020 (AB 2022 no. 09), published in NAf and USD, with example fares from Princess Juliana airport.
By SXM Daily ·
Taxis in St Martin don't use meters on either side of the island. On the French side, fares come from an official zone-to-zone price grid published by the Collectivité de Saint-Martin, and you'll find example prices in euros below. On the Dutch side, fares are fixed by national decree, the Landsbesluit taxitarieven 2020, and you'll find example prices below as the decree publishes them, in Netherlands Antillean guilders (NAf) and US dollars.
Photo: Richie Diesterheft / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Dutch side (Sint Maarten)
How taxis work. You won't find meters in Sint Maarten taxis. Fares are set by district and by the number of passengers. Always agree the price with the driver before you get in, and tell them how many people and bags you have.
Where to find one. The government runs taxi dispatchers at three points: the A.C. Wathey cruise facility, Captain Hodge Square in Philipsburg, and Princess Juliana International Airport. They share out rides among drivers and help visitors. On days with more than four cruise ships in Great Bay, an extra dispatcher works the pier at Bobby's Marina.
Fares. Dutch-side fares are set by the Landsbesluit taxitarieven 2020 (AB 2022, no. 09, corrected by AB 2022, no. 14), and permit holders must charge the tariffs in it. The decree only covers trips within the Dutch side and sets no fares to the French side. The first price covers one or two passengers; from three passengers up, each passenger pays the per-passenger amount.
Example fares from Princess Juliana airport, as published in the decree:
| Trip | 1–2 passengers | Each for 3–5 | Each for 6 or more | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Airport – Simpson Bay (Pelican) | NAf 27.00 / USD 15 | NAf 12.60 / USD 7 | NAf 12.60 / USD 7 | | Airport – Mullet Bay | NAf 21.60 / USD 12 | NAf 10.80 / USD 6 | NAf 10.80 / USD 6 | | Airport – Philipsburg | NAf 36.00 / USD 20 | NAf 16.20 / USD 9 | NAf 14.40 / USD 8 | | Airport – Dawn Beach / Oyster Pond | NAf 72.00 / USD 40 | NAf 28.80 / USD 16 | NAf 25.20 / USD 14 |
Other charges in the decree:
- Night: 25% more from 10 PM to midnight, and 50% more from midnight to 5 AM.
- Waiting: NAf 7.20 per 5 minutes. Hiring a taxi by the hour costs NAf 90 an hour.
- Luggage: one piece of hold luggage per passenger is free; each extra piece costs NAf 9.
- Children ride free up to and including age 3.
Currency note: the 2020 decree still sets its tariff in Netherlands Antillean guilders (NAf) and also prints US dollar amounts, so we show both as published. XCG replaced NAf in 2025 (the NAf stopped being legal tender on 1 July 2025), at one to one, and today USD 1 = XCG 1.79, according to the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten.
A government release of 7 October 2024 said five taxi associations had sent the Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication (TEATT) a proposal to change tariffs. "According to the associations, the last updated tariff change was in March 2022," the release said, and the minister said the proposal was "being handled by the Ministry." We found no later notice saying whether it was approved.
French side (Saint-Martin)
How taxis work. Taxis have no meter and follow the Collectivité's official price grid, which divides the French side and the main Dutch-side areas into 26 zones. Prices are in euros. According to the Collectivité, you can usually pay in euros or dollars.
Who pays what. The grid price covers one or two passengers. From three passengers up, a "group rate" applies and each person pays the per-person amount on the grid. Children pay the full fare.
Example fares from the official grid (EUR):
| Trip | Per trip, 1–2 passengers | Each for 3–5 | Each for 6 or more | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Princess Juliana airport – Marigot | €25 | €10 | €9 | | Princess Juliana airport – Grand Case | €35 | €14 | €12 | | Princess Juliana airport – Orient Bay | €40 | €16 | €14 | | Marigot – Grand Case | €25 | €10 | €9 | | Marigot – Orient Bay | €30 | €12 | €11 | | Grand Case – Orient Bay | €20 | €9 | €8 |
Surcharges on the grid:
- Night: 25% more from 10:00 PM to 11:59 PM, and 50% more from midnight to 6:59 AM.
- Hard-to-reach spots: €5 to €10 extra for dangerous zones, dead-end roads and slopes, and €35 for steep hills and hilltops. The grid notes that drivers may refuse some of these destinations at any time.
- Luggage: each passenger can bring one regular suitcase and one carry-on free. Extra items cost from €2 for a regular suitcase to €10 for a motor scooter or a surfboard.
- Waiting: after 10 minutes, waiting costs €1 a minute. Shopping trips are charged at €50 an hour.
- Child car seats: when a seat is occupied, it is charged at a passenger's price.
Sightseeing tours. The grid also sets prices for tours. A three-hour island tour costs €120 for one or two people.
Taxi stands. The Emmanuel Monique taxi station in Marigot (+590 590 77 87 62) and the Grand Case airport taxi station (+590 590 77 87 26) are staffed from 7 AM to 7 PM, Monday to Friday. Staff there can find you a taxi, check you're charged the official price and make sure the taxi is licensed.
Dates. The fare grid is signed by Arnel Daniel, President of the Transport Commission, and dated 3 July 2023. The Collectivité's taxi fares page and the downloadable guide were last updated on 6 February 2025.
Correction, 16 October 2026: this guide was updated to add the Dutch side's official fare table from the Landsbesluit taxitarieven 2020, replacing our earlier statement that there was no Dutch-government fare table. We also clarified that the French-side supplement for hard-to-reach spots applies to dead-end roads and slopes, not to the Cul de Sac area, and fixed the layout of the French-side example fare table.
Sources
- https://www.com-saint-martin.fr/thematiques/mobilite-et-transport/taxis-a-saint-martin/tarifs-des-taxis-a-saint-martin
- https://comsaintmartin.cdn.prismic.io/comsaintmartin/Z6S0UJbqstJ9-TEy_A3TAXIFARESNAFSANSQRCODE.pdf
- https://www.com-saint-martin.fr/thematiques/mobilite-et-transport/modes-de-transport/conduite-transports-en-commun
- https://www.sintmaartengov.org/news/pages/Taxi-Associations-Present-Tariff-Change-Proposal-to-TEATT-Minister.aspx
- https://www.sintmaartengov.org/Ministries/Departments/Pages/Taxi-Dispatching-and-School-Bus-Transportation.aspx
- https://www.sintmaartengov.org/Documents/Official%20Publications/AB%202022,%20no.%2009%20Landsbesluit%20taxitarieven%202020.pdf
- https://www.sintmaartengov.org/Documents/Official%20Publications/AB%202022,%20no.%2014%20Verbeterblad%20bij%20AB%202022,%20no.%2009%20Landsbesluit%20taxitarieven%202020.pdf
- https://centralbank.cw/functions/banknotes-coins/caribbean-guilder