What you can see on the Philipsburg cams
One camera looks from a beach hotel over the umbrellas and loungers of Great Bay Beach to the turquoise bay, with the wooded hills, the yachts and the cruise pier beyond. Another stands on the Boardwalk itself, turning between views along the promenade between the beach bars, the palms and the sand, where cruise passengers stroll and shop. A third, from a resort on the beach, turns between the walk with its umbrellas and the beach huts in front of a pier, and is replayed as a 24-hour time-lapse.
Great Bay Beach and the cruise port
From a beach hotel in Philipsburg, this camera looks over rows of blue and yellow umbrellas and loungers on Great Bay Beach, with jet skis waiting at the water's edge. Beyond them the bay runs out in bright turquoise towards wooded hills, the yachts at anchor and, on the left, the cruise pier.
It is the view for cruise days, when the ships fill the far side of the bay. SHOWME Caribbean streams it on YouTube from the Seaview Beach Hotel.
The Boardwalk in Philipsburg
Set above the Boardwalk, this camera turns between views along the paved promenade that runs behind Great Bay Beach. Beach bars with colourful fronts line one side, palms and the sand the other, and visitors walk between the umbrellas and the shops; another view looks out past the trees towards the bay.
It is the best cam to see how busy Philipsburg is, especially on cruise days. SHOWME Caribbean streams it on YouTube from a beach bar on the Boardwalk.
Great Bay Beach from the sand
From a resort right on Great Bay Beach, this camera turns between several views of the Philipsburg waterfront: the beachfront walk with its umbrellas and loungers, the thatched beach huts in front of a pier, and the boardwalk lined with jet skis and buildings, with the hills across the bay.
It complements the other Philipsburg cams with a view from the beach itself. The resort also shares it on Windy, with a 24-hour time-lapse.
Between Great Bay and the salt pond
The town was laid out in the 18th century on the sandbar between Great Bay and the Great Salt Pond, where salt was once raked for export. Front Street, the main shopping street, runs parallel to the beach, and the Boardwalk was built along the sand in front of it. On the headland at the west end of the bay, the ruins of Fort Amsterdam recall the first Dutch fort on the island.
When to watch Philipsburg
On cruise days the town fills from early morning, and the beach and Boardwalk are busiest around midday; in the late afternoon, once the ships have sailed, it grows quiet.
Nearby
Little Bay, just west past the fort, has a quieter beach. The French side of the island begins a few kilometres north, at the border near Cole Bay and Oyster Pond, and Marigot, the French capital, is about half an hour's drive away.
Getting there
Princess Juliana International Airport is about 20 minutes away by car. Water taxis run from the cruise pier to the Boardwalk, and most of the town can be covered on foot.
