Best way to get to Maho Beach from Port

[madcat444]

Sifting through and found this good info for cheap way to visit Maho....thanks guys :D

 

Visiting in a couple of weeks on Epic transatlantic :)

 

Fiona

[Life is Good Cruising]

Sifting through and found this good info for cheap way to visit Maho....thanks guys :D

 

Visiting in a couple of weeks on Epic transatlantic :)

 

Fiona

 

If you do take the bus from Philipsburg to Maho, be sure to ask the driver where to stand to catch the bus back to Philipsburg.

 

Have a great time at Maho!

[madcat444]

If you do take the bus from Philipsburg to Maho, be sure to ask the driver where to stand to catch the bus back to Philipsburg.

 

Have a great time at Maho!

 

:cool: Thanks Life is Good, will do especially as I'm travelling solo!! :eek:

 

Fiona

[hartskys]

Great info. We have a group and the bus may be the way to go. Where does the water taxi take you? Does it stop several places?

[Life is Good Cruising]

Great info. We have a group and the bus may be the way to go. Where does the water taxi take you? Does it stop several places?

 

The water taxi makes 2 stops and takes no more than 10 mins total. First stop is at Captain Hodge Pier and it's at the foot of the boardwalk. The boardwalk along Great Bay has an extensive beachfront where you can rent chairs and umbrellas. Second and last stop on the water taxi is Great Bay Beach and also brings you in the heart of downtown Philipsburg. When you get off the water taxi, walk one block to Front St. plenty of stores to go shopping.

[cruisersmom]

Looking forward to visiting Maho Beach in January and this thread has answered our questions! Thanks so much!

[dreday3]

Hi!

 

Maho Beach is our main focus for our St. Maarten day, we were wondering if you can actually walk to it from the port? That way we can take in some sights, we don't mind long walks.

 

Thanks!

 

Andrea :)

[RMH]

Hi!

 

Maho Beach is our main focus for our St. Maarten day, we were wondering if you can actually walk to it from the port? That way we can take in some sights, we don't mind long walks.

 

Thanks!

 

Andrea :)

 

Nobody will tell you that you CAN'T walk to Maho Beach, but it is 12 KM (7.5 miles) and takes 2.5 hours according to Google Maps.

[dreday3]

Nobody will tell you that you CAN'T walk to Maho Beach, but it is 12 KM (7.5 miles) and takes 2.5 hours according to Google Maps.

 

whoops! :D thanks, didn't know it was so far!

[gtaylor]

Besides the time/distance, there are several stretches of roadway along the route which would be just flat-out dangerous.

 

gary

[gtaylor]

The water taxi makes 2 stops and takes no more than 10 mins total. First stop is at Captain Hodge Pier and it's at the foot of the boardwalk. The boardwalk along Great Bay has an extensive beachfront where you can rent chairs and umbrellas. Second and last stop on the water taxi is Great Bay Beach and also brings you in the heart of downtown Philipsburg. When you get off the water taxi, walk one block to Front St. plenty of stores to go shopping.

 

The Captain Hodge Pier is the one in the center of town, in front of the Courthouse.

 

The other stop is Bobby's Marina. There is actually another stop at the Down Street Pier, which is used rarely right now.

 

I don't think that you can guarantee which direction the Water Taxi will travel.

 

gary

[Life is Good Cruising]

The Captain Hodge Pier is the one in the center of town, in front of the Courthouse.

 

The other stop is Bobby's Marina. There is actually another stop at the Down Street Pier, which is used rarely right now.

 

I don't think that you can guarantee which direction the Water Taxi will travel.

 

gary

 

Thank you Gary for the correction for Bobby's Marina.

 

I did forget to tell Bernard you said hi because there were so many people at the Info Booth paying Bernard and he was very busy checking all these people in and assigning them to different tour guides. We will see Bernard again in January and I will try to remember to say hi from you and mention the tent on Orient. You'll be happy to hear the island did a very good job of cleaning up after the storm and things are back to normal.

 

Linda

[redefinition]

Does Maho get boring after a few hours? Are there any nearby beaches that are good for swimming/snorkeling if we get tired of Maho?

[Jolly Mon Sings]

How long does it take to taxi from Maho back to the cruiseport? Tx

[Life is Good Cruising]

Does Maho get boring after a few hours? Are there any nearby beaches that are good for swimming/snorkeling if we get tired of Maho?

 

Maho never gets boring to us. There is a beautiful beach near by called Mullet Bay, good for swimming, don't know about the snorkeling.

 

 

How long does it take to taxi from Maho back to the cruiseport? Tx

 

 

Taxi from Maho to the pier is approx. 30 mins. without traffic and there is always traffic, more if multiple ships are in port. If our ship leaves at 5 pm and all aboard is 4:30 pm, we leave Maho at 3 pm.

[cruise026]

If you are on a cruise and want to make it to Maho Beach to see the planes land and take off, double check with KLM and Air France what their flight arrival times are. We went last December and did not get there until the afternoon and the 747 and other big planes had come and gone. Just have a cab take you there and once you are there, there are cabs constantly looking for people going back to the port. Traffic can really back up, if you can believe that, and you need to allow plenty of time to get back to your ship. You don't want to watch your ship sail from the back seat of a cab.

 

It is an experience not to be missed.

[ttnc4me]

Please keep him from fence surfing at Maho! It is very dangerous but he may have seen you tube videos of others holding on to the fence while the big jets rev their engines and take-off and he may be planning on doing this himself. Really a dumb thing to do IMHO and definitely a bad idea for a child.

 

Watching the planes from a safe distance however is a very fun way to spend an hour and a half or so though. Enjoy!

Will this be the kind of statement that just "makes sense" once we get there?

 

In a perfect world, I want to be right under the landing planes and close enough to the departing planes to not get hurt. Any place in particular to be?

 

Then, any chance those two aforementioned places are also near ok water to swim in (assuming the weather is cooperating)?

[Karysa]

Will this be the kind of statement that just "makes sense" once we get there?

 

In a perfect world, I want to be right under the landing planes and close enough to the departing planes to not get hurt. Any place in particular to be?

 

Then, any chance those two aforementioned places are also near ok water to swim in (assuming the weather is cooperating)?

 

Nope sadly some people read the signs and still grab onto the fence ( and are blown away from the fence) as jets are backed up right near the fence and taking-off.

 

Standing in the water or on the beacg under the path of the planes in anticipation of their imminent arrival is definitely the Maho experience. :D Standing in the exact same place as the jets are leaving to me at least is not. Getting sand and rocks and people blown at me is not my kind of fun.:eek:

 

It's really a fun place. I would suggest moving around as seeing the landings from different perspectives is best IMHO.

 

And yes most people do just get it when they are there. Nothing wrong with telling your teens what and what not is allowed prior to going though.:)

[Karysa]

If you are on a cruise and want to make it to Maho Beach to see the planes land and take off, double check with KLM and Air France what their flight arrival times are. We went last December and did not get there until the afternoon and the 747 and other big planes had come and gone. Just have a cab take you there and once you are there, there are cabs constantly looking for people going back to the port. Traffic can really back up, if you can believe that, and you need to allow plenty of time to get back to your ship. You don't want to watch your ship sail from the back seat of a cab.

 

It is an experience not to be missed.

 

Welcome to cruise critic. Sounds like you found us just a little too late. Hopefully you will experience Maho again very soon. :)

[NJsharon]

Last minute question here. Leaving on our cruise tomorrow morning... heading to St Maarten among other islands & want to go to Maho Beach!

 

So are the prices from the beginning of this thread still pretty accurate?

 

$10 pp each way for taxi from Phillipsburg cruise terminal?

 

OR

 

$3 taxi to downtown Phillipsburg, then $2 bus from there to Maho Beach?

 

We are a family of 4 & just want to go to the beach for a couple of hours for the airplane experience. But not really beach people, so don't want to be there hanging out for too long. So thinking instead of doing a tour, may just go by ourselves.

 

Thanks in advance for any answers!!!!

[Lard Greystoke]

So are the prices from the beginning of this thread still pretty accurate?

 

$2 bus from there to Maho Beach?

 

We are a family of 4 & just want to go to the beach for a couple of hours for the airplane experience. But not really beach people, so don't want to be there hanging out for too long. So thinking instead of doing a tour, may just go by ourselves.

 

Thanks in advance for any answers!!!!

 

I took the bus a month ago. I think it was $2. No problem going or coming - just pay attention to where the bus stop is at Maho.

 

The jet blast and planes coming in to land are as advertised. The beach itself is not that great. A fairly short walk takes you to Mullet, which is large and nice.

[NJsharon]

I took the bus a month ago. I think it was $2. No problem going or coming - just pay attention to where the bus stop is at Maho.

 

The jet blast and planes coming in to land are as advertised. The beach itself is not that great. A fairly short walk takes you to Mullet, which is large and nice.

 

 

Great, thanks!

[Quilting Queen]

Weare interested in a taxi to Marigot for pastries, ice cream & shopping then go to Maho & Sun Set Beach bar for lunch, drinks & plane landings.

 

A few years we did Bernard's island tour with a goup of friends. That was great but we don't need a tour again.

 

Any ideas of the taxi prices for the trip of port pick up, Marigot for about an hour then Maho forabout 2 hours. Would like price info and logistics of this.

 

Norine

[sonogal]

Weare interested in a taxi to Marigot for pastries, ice cream & shopping then go to Maho & Sun Set Beach bar for lunch, drinks & plane landings.

 

A few years we did Bernard's island tour with a goup of friends. That was great but we don't need a tour again.

 

Any ideas of the taxi prices for the trip of port pick up, Marigot for about an hour then Maho forabout 2 hours. Would like price info and logistics of this.

 

Norine

 

Wondering the same for us.

[propwash]

Wondering the same for us.

 

We went in January, taxis were readily available at the doc, 1 way to Sunset Bar,was $10. On the way back to the dock, I went solo, waited a few minutes and then we left. Same $10 back to the ship.

Danny