BJJ in St.Maarten

October, 2022

Party, BJJ and Caribbean feeling

Duration: 3 days, 2 nights

Island: St.Maarten, SX

Costs: Ferry 70$, Hotel 150$

Second stop of my journey was a three days stay over in St. Maarten.

Quite a busy island with a lot of partying, alcohol and casinos.

With all those distractions I`m happy I made it to train twice at SMX BJJ.

Getting here

There are two ways of getting to the island. One is by airplane the other is with the ferry. I took the ferry from St. Barth. In 45 minutes you will be crossing over to St. Maarten. The customs will take some minutes even if they just checking your passport and stamp it.

I will leave the island by airplane. SXM airport is also on the list of the 10 most dangerous airports. The track is just behind Maho beach. The perfect spot to take your souvenir photo and get sand blasted.

BJJ

SMX BJJ is located close to Simpson Bay. On the first floor of a building you will find the entrance to the left. The mat area is around 80-100 square meters divided into 2 rooms.

They are offering daily BJJ and Muay Thai classes except on Sunday.

I had the pleasure to go to the Friday evening and Saturday morning open mat. Both days there were around 15 persons on the mat with all kind of levels.

As always I was welcomed. The people are super happy of every foreigner to test their skills.

I had a lot of fun rolling with all the guys there and they gave me some hard rounds.

Hope to be back one day to challenge them again.

Good to know

I rented a car to go around the island. There are buses but I don`t know how the system works.

St Maarten is a French and Dutch colony. Most people speak French or English.

Since the island belongs to France and Netherlands, the same rules apply to travelers as in the EU. As a European you don’t need a visa.

The currency is Dollar or Gulden. I used Dollars because I need them as well on my next stop.

The Dutch side of the island is more loud, it`s all about partying and drinking. The French side is more quite, I heard it`s saver to stay on the Dutch side. Both sides have some very nice beaches.

The system here is more American. There are a lot of American fast food restaurants and brands. At the restaurant you always have to think about adding taxes and tips (10-20%) on to the bill just like in the US.

It seems to me that St. Maarten is the perfect spot for a weekend with friends or bachelor partys.

off to PR