December through May is considered the dry season while June through November is considered the more humid season. However, in our experience, rainshowers or clear skies can occur at any time during the year. In general, rainstorms pass quickly and you should have sunshine on most days. Every year brings more sophisticated storm warning systems. It is unusual for any one island to be severely affected more than once or twice every 10 years and your actual odds of experiencing a hurricane are very low.
Some travelers purchase trip cancellation insurance in advance of travel.
By official count, the entire island has 36 perfect white sand beaches, though there probably are more, ranging from secluded coastal crescents to broad expanses of untouched sand. Beaches are seldom very crowded, even in peak season, and all are easily reached by little roads off the highway. The capital of Marigot is no longer the sleepy little fishing village it once was. It has awakened to tourism, sprucing up its lovely old houses, building new restaurants, shops, boat slips, marinas, a waterfront promenade, a handsome new market place, and a pier for yachts. The terrain of St. Martin is a pastoral green, rather than the very lush tropical green found elsewhere in the Caribbean.