All about villa and condo rentals on
the island of St. Martin / St. Maarten.
No Booking Fees on St-Maarten-Vacation.com 
We feature over 150 vacation rentals, rental villas, vacation homes, condos, apartments, studios and suites on St. Maarten and St. Martin, for rent on both sides of the island. Browse our collection of villas for rent by owners or villa rentals by agent. Already familiar with the island? Do you have your preferences? Navigate our vacation rentals by choosing the Dutch side, St. Maarten or the French side, St. Martin or see a few examples in different categories by scrolling down.
Unlike
VRBO, Homeaway, TripAdvisor, and AirBnB, you don’t have to pay
booking fees as you work directly with owners or their property
managers.
Villa Canoua
This villa at Happy Bay near Grand Case is one of the top favorites of our website visitors. Two bedrooms, very private location in a gated community for a very attractive rate.
To plan your next island trip, view all details at Villa Canoua.
Plenty of other options are shown on this website, from studios as little as $400/week to prestigious villas for more than $1,000/night. Scroll down for some selected properties!
Photo by Morgan Tiphagne
Frequently Asked Questions FAQ |
RENTAL PROPERTY RELATED
QUESTIONS |
It gives you more freedom, privacy, and space at better rates than what a hotel with comparable comfort would charge. Away from home, and you still enjoy the comfort and convenience, you are used at home. Guests with ambitions to cook, have an additional cost saving resource at a rental place. | |
Regardless, whether you rent directly from one of our owners, our cooperating agents, or from us, we know the properties as we have seen most of them before designing the web display. We know St. Maarten/St. Martin for many years, and are in the rental business on the island for some 11 years. We know each owner and partner represented on our website in person. We don’t expose you to risks! | |
Who owns the properties? |
The properties are owned by individual proprietors. Some of them live in their properties at some periods of the year. Other owners live permanently on island at their own villa, apartment or boat. Their motivation to rent is mostly driven by reducing the maintenance cost of the property, and to recover some of the investment. Some owners let property management companies take care for the property. |
What is the relation to the other
agents on your website? |
A part of the properties displayed on our website are affiliated with other rental companies. These long term business partners use our platform for promoting affiliated properties. We closely cooperate with these partners. |
Are you the property manager for
your rental pool? |
No. We provide an Internet platform for owners and agents. Properties are either managed by the owners or separate companies. |
Is it an option to rent from the
owner directly? |
Yes, it is. Many of the shown properties are handled by dedicated owners. |
Why do prices vary so much? |
Prices vary by season, and by property location, and features. Peak season is considered to be between mid December to early January, high season from early January to mid April, and low season from mid April to mid December. Peak season prices can easily be triple the low season prices. If you are on a budget, plan accordingly. Location, location … the old saying in real estate! This is true for rental properties, too. Beach properties, which are extremely rare on this island, are much higher priced, than some yards inwards. |
What taxes do apply? | Some properties include tax and service charge, some charge them separately. If charged separately, they are mostly between 5%- 10%. Please, see our rates at each property. |
Can we rent for less than 5 nights? | Rental properties and pricing are set up to work fine for weekly rentals. Some property owners accept 5 night rentals, but do not necessarily pro rate the price as some of the cost occur regardless of the length of stay. Thorough cleaning, when tenants change, greeting services, administrative cost, all need to be covered regardless of the time spent. Therefore, short time vacationers have a hard time to find any rental property, and might be better advised to look for a hotel room. |
How do we pay ? | Rental properties are commonly paid in advance, first a 25% – 50% deposit to secure the booking, the full payment is usually due two months before arrival. Only a few owners can accept credit cards as merchant accounts are very restrictively handled for private individuals. Common payment methods are checks, wire transfers, or PayPal. Keep in mind, for check payment long processing time for clearance at the local bank occur ( 4 weeks and more). Subsequently, your payment has to be submitted very well in advance of the planned arrival day. |
What is the security deposit for? | Most property owners expect guests to provide some kind of security deposit for covering potential damage, keys, phone charges, Internet usage, more people using the property than booked for etc. If a property management company is involved, it might be possible to provide the security in form of a credit card, more often, it is asked as a cash deposit on arrival. Typical requested amounts are $ 500 – $ 1,000, which are returned on departure, if no cost and damage occurred. |
How can I trust that my prepayment doesn’t disappear? | This legitimate concern is an issue, which you can check on several levels. Clear paper trails, such as written confirmations, are an important benchmark. |
What currency is charged? | Although the former Dutch part has Netherlands Antilles Guilders, and the French part has the Euro as their official currency, most vacation rentals are priced in US-$. Some are quoted in EURO, see our currency converter for conversion. The exchange rate as of the day of the individual payment is applied. |
Who assists us, when we arrive? | Some of the higher priced properties assign a greeting person, who waits for you at the Princess Juliana Int’l airport, or at the car rental agent office. This person guides you with your rental car or taxi to the property, and introduces you to the property. This service is included and free with several villa properties. The greeter does not transport you for licensing and insurance reasons. Escorting service is not included in budget rental categories for obvious reasons. |
Do I need a rental car? | Yes, you should have one as this allows you more freedom and let you access many places, you may not see with public transportation or taxis. Taxis are priced similar to the US price level. |
Which rental car company should I rent from? | We provide advice in our documentation, which you receive after you booked and transferred the deposit. There are plenty of rental car companies. The big franchise operations tend to be more expensive without necessarily having better cars. There are some local, reliable and price competitive suppliers, which we relate to you individually. Prices start at $ 20 a day, but $ 30 – 35 is a better investment in view of the poor road quality. Our websites also list many car rental agencies, see here without endorsing those list companies. We mainly cooperate with ‘Best For Less‘ as it turned out to be a very reliable operation. In contrast to most other agencies, our recommendations are not sponsored by specific car rental operations. Our advice is independent. |
Can I use the pool of the property au naturel? | This island has a very liberal lifestyle. Some properties grant full privacy being shielded against any outside views. Feel free using your rental villa “clothing optional”. |
If we don’t rent the entire villa, do we have to share? | No, if you get a reduced rate as displayed with some villas, when using only one or two bedrooms, you don’t have to be afraid that somebody else will be around. There is only one exception on our websites, which is Villa Casa Boco, who also rents 2 studios separately to the villa, but on the same compound as the villa. |
What kind of beds are available? | The luxurious villas have king size beds in most bedrooms. Our descriptions contain this information. Budget oriented apartments may have queen-, twin-, and full size beds. More about standard sizes. |
Who do I call, when something goes wrong? | Call the person in charge, either the owner or his property manager. This information should have been provided to you prior to your arrival. |
How to cancel my booking? |
Cancellations of individual properties are more difficult than hotel bookings. There is no continuous reservation flow to offset the owners for their lost business, and especially short term last minute bookings are very unlikely. Please, consult your individually agreed terms. Travel insurance and careful planning are important. |
Frequently Asked Questions FAQ |
ST. MAARTEN AND ST. MARTIN RELATED
QUESTIONS |
Which part is better, the Dutch or French? | There are some differences, yet it all depends on your preferences. Both sides have pro’s and con’s. The former Dutch side (Sint Maarten) is more busy and better adapted to American way of living. The French side is more quiet, and has its own style of French Creole “Laissez-faire”! |
I don’t feel comfortable in a French speaking environment! | The share of English speaking people in the French part is very high, even at public offices, like the Postal service, they communicate more in English than in French. And most tourism related people speak several languages |
Is crime a problem on the island? | The “Friendly Island” of St. Maarten/St. Martin has more crime than we wish, but by far not as much as some other islands, or certain areas in larger American cities do! Be careful, never leave valuables in your car, always lock your car, and your rental property when you leave. Don’t carry large amount of cash with you. |
When is hurricane season? | Highest risk is in September. Please, see our weather pages with links to weather forecasts and probabilities! In general, some risk exists from August through October! |
When is the best time to visit the island? | The most common misconception about the Caribbean and St. Maarten is that it must be much hotter in summer than it is during the rest of the year. In fact, the average monthly temperature remains remarkably stable, varying by only a few degrees through the year. This stability can be attributed to the continuously blowing trade winds. Although, the summer months have more rain and therefore a somewhat higher humidity. Subsequently, visit any time, and off season is even better, less traffic, lower prices, … |
Do I need cash and what currency? | Although many restaurants and shops accept credit cards, consider to bring sufficient cash in US-$ as there are many services expected in cash only. US-$ are sufficient, you don’t need Euros. ATM’s are available, too. |
Can I use my cell phone on the island? |
Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question. A tri-band GSM phone with roaming capability does work everywhere on the island. The US digital cell phones (CDMA/TDMA) may not work. You may have to buy a prepaid card at one of the local providers in the Dutch part. See more info and a link to the provider supporting US standards here! |
More Information on Beaches, Travel News, key Information about St. Martin / St. Maarten can be found on our comprehensive island portal at www.sint-maarten.net.