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[title]Flying into St. Martin, over its infamous beach runway, you are immediately struck by its natural beauty. The turquoise oceans, dusty white beaches and forested mountain ranges piercing a bright blue sky create a sense of paradise that almost seems too good to be true.
For most of the year, life here is pretty chilled out. But every March, this island becomes a haven for international partygoers seeking out house and techno in some of the most luxurious “stages” I’ve ever witnessed. Created by Julian Prince in 2016, the festival bills itself as: “transforming the gorgeous Caribbean island of Saint Martin into North America’s most famous party island for five days each year.”
A quick research ahead of my travels threw up a few Fyre Festival comparisons—if it’d actually happened, that is. And you can kind of see why once you’re there. Parties take place in villas, on mountaintops and at beach bars. It’s a far cry from what I’m used to back home, where you’re lucky not to step in a puddle of mystery dirt in the Corsica Studios smoking area or get swept away overnight in your tent at Creamfields.
The first night at Boho Beach Bar seemed relatively relaxed, with fire dancers performing on the beach in front of a sign that read “Be Happy” like a flower crown across the beach. Yes, a bit cringe, but when you think of this festival as attracting a sort of Coachella crowd, it makes sense. The main draw is the Happy Bay festival site, which opened on the second day we were there and acted as a central hub for the rest of the weekend.
A vortex of lasers, projections, fire throwers, dancers, DJs, photographers and art installations
It’s here that you find the festival’s big-hitters (Âme, Camelphat, and Danny Tenaglia) doing their headline slots. Walking down the hillside, past the usual festival garb of independent makers and food trucks, you can feel the rumble of house and techno basslines teasing you in. What awaits is a vortex of lasers, projections, fire throwers, dancers, DJs, photographers and art installations lining the usually peaceful oceanfront.
The crowd feels predominantly grown up, men in button-down linen shirts and women in bikinis with belly chains, eschewing the spring break vibe in favor of cocktails and shuffling to house music in dedicated VIP sections. Indeed, it does seem that in the days that follow, this sense of SXM being a premium experience is what makes up its DNA. But with a 5-day pass costing $375, a weekend pass costing $275 and single-day passes for specific events (like Happy Bay) ranging from $95 to $195, you are making an investment here. That’s not even including £800 + flights from the UK, hotel costs and extras like food and booze.
I didn’t get much time to chat with the festival’s founder, but when I did, it was clear he developed an adoration for the island at an early age. The child of hotel moguls and regulars at neighbouring St Barths, Julian Prince fell in love with St. Martin and brought to life a festival that seemed shaped by his musical tastes. “I'm a DJ, so I listen to music all the time, then check out the charts, see who's got traction on Spotify, talk to promoters and find out who sells tickets in key markets. It's quite a big job, and it's calculated,” he says. “But you’ve also gotta tell a musical story, and that’s something we never stop working on. Like, in the summer, we go to Ibiza at least three, four times and then we go to Burning Man to get a good reveal on which DJs have got the hype.”
With this feeding of appetites for its key demographics—the festival is predominantly American and French visitors, according to Prince—it grew into the sprawling four-day event it is today. “I think the idea was to curate an adventure and experience that would make the festival consistent in its delivery every year.” He adds, “We don’t want to grow it in size, but to keep on growing it in quality and improving every event and the flow of it all.”
Tottenham, this most definitely was not
When we aren’t in Happy Bay, we’re at daytime events, of which there are many, across the weekend. The chairlift up to the Panorama party is a reminder of how mesmerisingly beautiful St. Martin is, as we chugged up a cliff-face to a Kitty Amor-soundtracked morning rave (my favorite set of the weekend) with 360 views of almost unaltered natural beauty. Then there was the famous villa party, which takes place on the grounds of a James Bond-style mansion with views straight out to the ocean. It was a brilliantly bizarre setting for London regulars Defected, who I’d seen at Drumsheds merely months before. Tottenham, this most definitely was not.
Just under eight years ago, this pristine island was torn apart by Hurricane Irma, and while being shuttled to various events around the island, you can still see the effects. A crumbling, derelict house at the end of the driveway to Happy Bay is a reminder of the devastation that the hurricane left in its wake. Indeed, the festival did donate $38,178 in 2017 from a Go Fund Me created to help rebuild the island.
Prince says they’ve not stopped there and continue to look for other ways to give back. “We've done so many things over the years to help the local community,” he says. “We started small, like gifting beach towels and ping pong tables to schools. And then it evolved to doing more on the ecology side, and also on the human side. I think that kids were forgotten here after the hurricane; there are no playgrounds."
He’s quick to add, “The turtles are forgotten, too, and that's our next mission. Right now, we're talking about trying to see how we could build a hospital for turtles. So we're always on the lookout to do something that has a positive impact." Whether they’ll be living it up like we did during our time on the island is TBC, but I hope they get their own place like the mansion we had been partying at moments before.
Outside of the festival, you’ll find an island of incredible beaches and friendly locals, making a longer trip an absolute necessity. And while I can’t help but crave a little more local flavor in the line-up (the island’s radio station is blasting soca, dancehall, pop and hip-hop), SXM hits the mark for its key audience. If you’re a lover of house and techno, a little bit of glam and paradisiacal surroundings, it’s worth checking out.
SXM Festival returns in March 2026. Georgia Evans was hosted by SXM Festival and Jukebox PR. Our reviews and recommendations have been editorially independent since 1968. For more, see our editorial guidelines.