Maho and Orient beaches

My husband and I, along with my BIL and his girlfriend, will be in St. Martin in November on the Getaway. My husband and I were just in St. Martin in May on the Breeze.

We visited both Orient and Maho, Orient first and then Maho (we arrived to Maho around 2, I think we had to be back to the ship by 5). We literally stayed long enough to watch maybe 3 planes, as that's all we wanted to do. Our taxi driver informed us that we'd just missed a big plane as we were pulling up.

I want to visit both beaches again, just not sure if the route that we took was ideal for seeing at least one of the big planes. We will be in port from 8am-6pm in November.

Are there any suggestions for an itinerary that would allow us to see at least one big plane and still have at least a few hours of beach time at Orient? I'm not sure on how to pin point when the big planes will arrive in Maho.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

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My husband and I, along with my BIL and his girlfriend, will be in St. Martin in November on the Getaway. My husband and I were just in St. Martin in May on the Breeze.

 

We visited both Orient and Maho, Orient first and then Maho (we arrived to Maho around 2, I think we had to be back to the ship by 5). We literally stayed long enough to watch maybe 3 planes, as that's all we wanted to do. Our taxi driver informed us that we'd just missed a big plane as we were pulling up.

 

I want to visit both beaches again, just not sure if the route that we took was ideal for seeing at least one of the big planes. We will be in port from 8am-6pm in November.

 

Are there any suggestions for an itinerary that would allow us to see at least one big plane and still have at least a few hours of beach time at Orient? I'm not sure on how to pin point when the big planes will arrive in Maho.

 

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

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In November being at Maho from 12-2:30 is a great time to see the big jets. Therefore, head to Orient first and if you leave Orient around 11-11:15 you will get to Maho between 12 and 12:15.

Another option since you visited these two beaches on your first trip is to combine Maho with a visit to Simpson Bay beach or Mullet Bay beach before Maho.

In November being at Maho from 12-2:30 is a great time to see the big jets. Therefore, head to Orient first and if you leave Orient around 11-11:15 you will get to Maho between 12 and 12:15.

 

 

Another option since you visited these two beaches on your first trip is to combine Maho with a visit to Simpson Bay beach or Mullet Bay beach before Maho.

Great suggestion...thanks!!!

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Maybe we'll visit Orient first...I really want to go back because there was a guy there who gave me an AMAZING beach massage. We can then head to Maho and then finish up the rest of our beach time at one of your suggested beaches. 3 beaches in 1 day!!!!!

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I guess it depends on which beach is closer to the port and I can't remember if Orient was closer or Maho...do you know?

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I guess it depends on which beach is closer to the port and I can't remember if Orient was closer or Maho...do you know?

Maho is closer.

LuLu

I guess it depends on which beach is closer to the port and I can't remember if Orient was closer or Maho...do you know?

 

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Time wise it takes longer to get to Maho. Normally 30 minutes will do it but there is a bridge that opens there several times a day which can back up traffic. If I am remembering correctly there is an opening scheduled for 3 pm so keep that in mind.

To get to Orient it takes about 25 minutes and that time is pretty much the same all day long.

Maybe we'll visit Orient first...I really want to go back because there was a guy there who gave me an AMAZING beach massage. We can then head to Maho and then finish up the rest of our beach time at one of your suggested beaches. 3 beaches in 1 day!!!!!

 

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If you were to add a third beach I think I would add it first. If you got dropped off at Mullet you can walk to Maho in 15 minutes or less and it's an easy and interesting walk through an entertainment district. ( think restaurants shops and resorts). After seeing a few planes at Maho then take a taxi to Orient and finish your day there. If you need to be back on board by 5:30 then you can leave Orient at 4:30 but if you were coming from the Maho end I would suggest leaving a much bigger buffer due to traffic and bridge openings. I would personally be out of Maho by 3:30. There is a new bridge going towards Marigot that has alleviated some traffic now which is great because before then I wouldn't have stayed past 2:30-3 myself.

Also, getting the massage last just seems way more relaxing to me. If you were to do this I would suggest asking others how long the massage place is open until.:)

Just an FYI: unlike Orient and Maho there will not be taxis waiting at Mullet or Simpson Bay.

If you were to add a third beach I think I would add it first. If you got dropped off at Mullet you can walk to Maho in 15 minutes or less and it's an easy and interesting walk through an entertainment district. ( think restaurants shops and resorts). After seeing a few planes at Maho then take a taxi to Orient and finish your day there. If you need to be back on board by 5:30 then you can leave Orient at 4:30 but if you were coming from the Maho end I would suggest leaving a much bigger buffer due to traffic and bridge openings. I would personally be out of Maho by 3:30. There is a new bridge going towards Marigot that has alleviated some traffic now which is great because before then I wouldn't have stayed past 2:30-3 myself.

 

Also, getting the massage last just seems way more relaxing to me. If you were to do this I would suggest asking others how long the massage place is open until.:)

 

Just an FYI: unlike Orient and Maho there will not be taxis waiting at Mullet or Simpson Bay.

Sold!!! This is the perfect route...thank you so much for your help...This is going to be legend...wait for it...dary!!! (a little How I Met Your Mother humor).

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Sold!!! This is the perfect route...thank you so much for your help...This is going to be legend...wait for it...dary!!! (a little How I Met Your Mother humor).

 

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:) enjoy your day on the island.

I agree with Karysa, grab a cab and head over to Mullet and spend the morning. Then walk to Maho to watch the huge planes come in for awhile and then head over to Orient.

We did Orient to Maho once and it was defintiely a mad house getting a cab to come back to the port from Maho.

This last time we did Mullet in the morning and then walked over to Maho for the rest of the day. We negotiated with a driver to pick us up, so no issues getting back that day.

I have reviews from that day in my signature line with TONS of pictures. We loved our day at Mullet and the walk was so easy to Maho. :)

So since lots of people had great tips i thought i would ask in this thread.....

I will be in St Martin on the Breeze in august, 9am to 6pm. I want to do shopping in downtown and go to Maho for a few and also to Orient. Would my best bet be to just get a cab at the ship or should we shop downtown first and try to get a cab downtown to take us to both beaches?

The few times i have been to St Martin we picked just one place and went, not a three stop day.

Thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks!

So since lots of people had great tips i thought i would ask in this thread.....

 

I will be in St Martin on the Breeze in august, 9am to 6pm. I want to do shopping in downtown and go to Maho for a few and also to Orient. Would my best bet be to just get a cab at the ship or should we shop downtown first and try to get a cab downtown to take us to both beaches?

 

The few times i have been to St Martin we picked just one place and went, not a three stop day.

 

 

Thoughts or suggestions?

 

Thanks!

We save the shopping for last. What day are you in? The KLM came today, Tuesday the 15th of July at 11:15. If you are in on a Tuesday you will want to be at Maho at that time.

So since lots of people had great tips i thought i would ask in this thread.....

 

I will be in St Martin on the Breeze in august, 9am to 6pm. I want to do shopping in downtown and go to Maho for a few and also to Orient. Would my best bet be to just get a cab at the ship or should we shop downtown first and try to get a cab downtown to take us to both beaches?

 

The few times i have been to St Martin we picked just one place and went, not a three stop day.

 

 

Thoughts or suggestions?

 

Thanks!

Just my opinion, but I would save the shopping for last too since you probably won't want to lug anything around that you might buy to the beach.

I have done Orient and Maho in the same day (ending with shopping) and we went to Orient the morning part of the day and then grabbed a cab and headed to Maho for the afternoon and it worked out well. I would just make sure you are there before noon if you can if you want to see the big planes come in. When we were there a little over a month ago, the KLM came in about 11:30am and we missed it coming in (we were at Mullet Bay and got to see it come in from over there, but still not the same as being underneath it). We did get to watch it leave though. :)