St. Maarten Travel Restrictions You Need to Know About

With the news that cruise lines will begin sailing from St. Maarten in just a few months, cruisers all over America are booking their flight to the Caribbean island. However, there are a few important things to know about traveling to St. Maarten because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here’s a rundown of the St. Maarten’s travel restrictions so you can be prepared when you head to your cruise ship! 

St. Maarten Travel Restrictions 

As part of the island’s COVID-19 response, all travelers to the island by air must complete a mandatory electronic health authorization application or they will not be able to board their flight. The processing time for the application takes about 12 hours to process, so make sure you do it a day or two before your flight to ensure it’s approved in time. The application includes the mandatory purchase of COVID-19 travel insurance and travelers must provide a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of departure. 

It’s important to note that not everyone is allowed to visit St. Maarten. The United States is on the list of approved countries, but there are 15 counties on the banned list, so citizens with passports from those places won’t be able to visit. Anyone who visited any of the countries on the banned list in the past 14 days will be denied entry to St. Maarten. 

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All arriving visitors are subject to temperature checks and other screening protocols like mandatory testing at the travelers expense. Failure to comply with these conditions means you will be denied entry to the country and sent back to wherever you came from. Those who are re-tested upon arrival will be required to quarantine until the test results are available. 

Getting Back Home

Remember, negative COVID-19 tests are required to re-enter America following your vacation so it’s important to find time prior to leaving to get it done. St. Maarten has several COVID-19 testings centers on the island and many of the hotels and resorts have sample collection services so check your accommodations and see if they can be of assistance. Test results usually take between 24 and 48 hours to get back so make sure you factor that into your planning.