Maho Beach

[dancing bear]

We were there last week, but also weent with Bernard's so don't know the cab cost. The beach was crowded when we were there, as there were 7 ships in port. The bar was open, and they post plane arrival times on a surfboard outside. Most planes come in after 2:30 p.m., and you probably want to be on the beach and holding onto your hats when the big planes fly over, as the water gets turbulent during fly-over, but it's a real treat to see them so low. If there are a lot of ships in, Orient and some of the other beaches listed on posts for the island might be a better choice for swimming.

[Snostar]

Sightseersalso and Daning Bear - thank you so much for the updated info....will be surprising my kids with Maho on Tuesday!:D

[jmwg49]

Sightseersalso and Daning Bear - thank you so much for the updated info....will be surprising my kids with Maho on Tuesday!:D

 

We were there with Dancing Bear...and I would just like to add my 2 cents! When the planes take off...the sand is CRAZY!!! it feels like being stung by a million bees! We were in the water at the time and had to go under the water to escape the sand! With kids in particular, take them off to the side for take offs, and protect them from the sandblast! Socks, tshirts, sandals, hats...lots of them lost into the water!!!! Enjoy, but be safe! We also saw people holding onto the fence, and we were specifically advised by our tour guide NOT TO DO THIS, as it is common for people to get injured by being blown backward, broken arms, clavicles etc....be smart! Enjoy your day on St. Maarten, it is beautiful!

[gtaylor]

<snip>

 

NOT TO DO THIS, as it is common for people to get injured by being blown backward, broken arms, clavicles etc....be smart! Enjoy your day on St. Maarten, it is beautiful!

 

I've read stories like this here on many occasions, but I consider them Urban Legends, as I've never heard of this actually happening.

 

I've certainly watched others do it, and I have seen towels, air mattresses, styro coolers and small children blown into the water, (just kidding about the small children :) ) but I've never seen/heard first person accounts of the broken bones.

 

Be safe out there.

 

gary

[Coralc]

We are currently on our cruise and were at Maho Beach on Monday, Feb. 13 and it was wonderful. We followed the directions to take the bus to Maho Beach and it worked perfectly and was a very enjoyable ride. It cost $2pp. We caught our bus behind the Court House and were dropped off at Maho.

Re: the bus...It was interesting how the driver, as he was driving and would see someone walking in the same direction, would give a light tap and the horn and ask the person if they needed the bus. Some said yes and some said no. It was very user friendly. They take US dollars, and Euros. There was a couple on the ship that told us how they took a taxi and it was $16 plus the tip. We also enjoyed visiting w/the locals.

Re: the sound, we were at the Sunset Bar and Grill and there were families and a couple with a 7 month old and I tend to have problems w/loud noises and did not find it necessary to wear ear plugs. There were small planes at first and then large planes.

Re: standing in the path for planes taking off...We spoke w/a couple who had been there last week and they told us about someone who had done this and was blown into the water and lost both legs. So, with all the sand we saw being blown and peoples belongings ending up in the water, we would chose not to do this.

We enjoyed our trip to Maho and would suggest it.

 

But don't you think this account is more fascinating? I would love to know more! :rolleyes::eek::D Are there sharks there too?

[wendyb43]

Question!

I can't decide whether to take bernards tour or do the day on our own. By this I mean taking the water taxi to the shopping area and then get to maho beach in the early afternoon. ( I realize we should leave there by 2:30 at the latest).

I'm wondering if those taking bernards tour feel like they get enough time at maho beach watching the planes. We are 2 adults and my 16 yr old son.

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[ibcnusoon]

Question!

I can't decide whether to take bernards tour or do the day on our own. By this I mean taking the water taxi to the shopping area and then get to maho beach in the early afternoon. ( I realize we should leave there by 2:30 at the latest).

I'm wondering if those taking bernards tour feel like they get enough time at maho beach watching the planes. We are 2 adults and my 16 yr old son.

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

 

That's how we feel too. I think we're going to do the tour on our own. I would do Bernards if he could bypass Orient Beach.

 

We are going to do taxi's all day, should be about $40 each for the 6 of us (same as Bernards tour) - BUT, we get to do this on our own. We want to go to Marigot for pastries and shopping, then just before lunch take a taxi from Marigot to Maho. At 3pm, take a taxi from Maho to the pier.

 

I just wish Bernard would be willing to set up a tour (not private, for $40) and bypass Orient Beach to spend more time in Maho. We are traveling with a teen and my older parents and no one is impressed with going to Orient, would rather use that time in Marigot or Maho.

[CleoV]

I'm not convinced about the broken bones/lost legs (unless the legs were prosthetics to begin with :D ). We were there last week and saw dozens of people standing along the fence and in the blast zone on the beach when a Jumbo jet took off. They were certainly blown backwards toward the water (some were running anyway), but no one on the beach was even knocked over.

 

If you were blown back when holding on to the fence I could see possibly breaking a bone when you hit the wall at the front of the beach, but you shouldn't be that close anyway (see those DANGER signs?). I'd be very skeptical about being blown off the beach into the water and breaking a bone or losing your legs. :rolleyes:

 

I'd be more worried about all that energy being forced through your body, and breathing in all that jet fuel exhaust. That CAN'T be good.

[Coralc]

I'm not convinced about the broken bones/lost legs (unless the legs were prosthetics to begin with :D ). We were there last week and saw dozens of people standing along the fence and in the blast zone on the beach when a Jumbo jet took off. They were certainly blown backwards toward the water (some were running anyway), but no one on the beach was even knocked over.

 

If you were blown back when holding on to the fence I could see possibly breaking a bone when you hit the wall at the front of the beach, but you shouldn't be that close anyway (see those DANGER signs?). I'd be very skeptical about being blown off the beach into the water and breaking a bone or losing your legs. :rolleyes:

 

I'd be more worried about all that energy being forced through your body, and breathing in all that jet fuel exhaust. That CAN'T be good.

 

I think it's a complete fabrication! :D But I wish they had come back to explain what they were talking about. :D:):D

[aimodels]

I found no issues with standing in the wash while a jet took off...

 

The only thing I lost were my sunglasses, which got blown off my face while I was filming. I turned around, picked them up and put them back on, keeping the camera rolling the whole time.

 

You definitely have to lean into the wash, and prepare to get sandblasted a little...

 

If you're standing at the fence and filming, most cars will stop and wait for you...

 

In the first video, my friend is standing in front of me at the fence - the guy with the hat...

 

 

This was a "bucket list" item for us - it was quite an experience...

 

Cheers, P:)

[sightseersalso]

Just back from trip and catching up on e-mails. When we were at Maho Beach an older couple told us of some incidents dealing w/the planes. We had no reason to not believe them. However, when we received a remark that asked if there were any sharks? and another comment that seemed belittling, we decided to reply. First of all, we felt the two remarks made were not very nice. Reading other peoples remarks/comments, we noticed someone else had courteously remarked of possible urban legend. Second, we looked up snopes and urban legends for any injuries at Maho Beach which we didn't find. Thirdly, we have taken some time and thought about this and have decided that we need to be more discerning and not so trusting and will do so in the future. We will ask more questions, in a polite fashion, and have some info and/or details.

 

We enjoyed St. Maarten, the island is just beautiful. :)

[Coralc]

Just back from trip and catching up on e-mails. When we were at Maho Beach an older couple told us of some incidents dealing w/the planes. We had no reason to not believe them. However, when we received a remark that asked if there were any sharks? and another comment that seemed belittling, we decided to reply. First of all, we felt the two remarks made were not very nice. Reading other peoples remarks/comments, we noticed someone else had courteously remarked of possible urban legend. Second, we looked up snopes and urban legends for any injuries at Maho Beach which we didn't find. Thirdly, we have taken some time and thought about this and have decided that we need to be more discerning and not so trusting and will do so in the future. We will ask more questions, in a polite fashion, and have some info and/or details.

 

We enjoyed St. Maarten, the island is just beautiful. :)

 

I am sorry your feelings were hurt. :rolleyes: But you can't post a comment as provocative and titillating as ..."someone lost their legs" on a message board without something to back it up and an expected request for more information. :D

 

There are Maho sharks. LOL :D I have no idea where the beach name comes from.

 

Getting more information before posting an unfounded rumor is a great idea.

 

I (and others) think the visual provided by your comment is extremely funny...someone, somehow...." blown into the ocean and lost both their legs ??" This simply begs explanation!!:D

 

Thank you for providing follow up to your comment.

[CleoV]

I certainly meant no offense by saying I didn't believe someone could lose both legs by being blow into the water, but honestly, doesn't that beg the question "how?"

 

Don't feel bad for believing something someone told you. We all do it sometimes. I used to live in Michigan, and most of my friends worked on Mackinaw Island at some point in their young lives. The standard response to tourists who asked when the last boat leaves the island (info readily available in about a million places) was, "10pm, but don't worry. The Mackinaw Bridge swings over at midnight."

 

Now...let's think about that for a moment, shall we? :D You'd be astonished how many people believe it and needed to be told it was a joke.

 

Same kind of thing with the lost legs comment. I'm guessing that older couple didn't think to hard on it either. ;)

[bobsfamily]

Well I have a friend that did do just what you should not do... he stood at the fence, with his hands hooked in the wire... woke up 2 days later in the island hospital with 2 teeth missing, about a 6 inch gash (been fixed up) on the side of his head, swollen face and a broken arm. He does not remember anything other than going to the fence. Friends with him (all locals from home) said he looked like a rag doll as he was blown over the road and into the rocks. He survived but was a lesson to all of us.

[CleoV]

Now THAT I can believe, bobsfamily. It's very easy to see how someone holding on to the fence could be blown across the road and into the wall at the upper edge of the beach. The blast from a Jumbo jet is enormous.

 

Thankfully he survived it. The warning signs that indicate death is possible if you stand at the fence make good sense. We were astonished to see people ignore those warnings.

[♦ComeSailAway♦]

Well I have a friend that did do just what you should not do... he stood at the fence, with his hands hooked in the wire... woke up 2 days later in the island hospital with 2 teeth missing, about a 6 inch gash (been fixed up) on the side of his head, swollen face and a broken arm. He does not remember anything other than going to the fence. Friends with him (all locals from home) said he looked like a rag doll as he was blown over the road and into the rocks. He survived but was a lesson to all of us.

 

SERIOUSLY: ?? People are NOT being blown like rag dolls anywhere. Things are- Hats, bathing suits, sand, paper plates, etc.etc ► Unless you friend weighs less than 100lbs, he's Not getting blown over the roads 3 concrete dividers and down a crowded beach. Look at the many videos on Youtube. Things FLY- YES. But NOT people.! geez. Why scare people away from such a great plane-spotting beach.?

 

Can it be a dangerous place? - Sure.. Thrust, Sand, Dirt, Rocks etc→ blown in your face- But only if you do 'STUPID' things.→ Like hanging on a fence directly behind a 747 while 4 GE Or Pratt and Whitneys blow the equivilent of 120,000 lbs of horsepower --> Right At You from 50 yards away ! :D

 

Sit at the Sunset Beach Bar, on Maho- with a adult beverage in one hand and a camera in the other → and you be safe as could be. Promise-

----------------------------------------------------------

 

Shot this Jan 2012.. and saw not bodies flying around anywhere...!

 

EXTREMELY LOW 747-400 Landing SXM (Didn't hurt anyone)

→ But Excited the WHOLE beach-

 

►►

 

 

 

YEEHAAWWWWWW !!!

[willise]

I've been an air traffic controller for over 20 years, and unfortunately, I have seem a couple of big jets crash. The approach that these jets fly is the most critical time of the entire flight, the time when there is no recovery time if something goes wrong. I am a little amazed that people will stand right on the approach path as the jet is lined up on the ILS.

 

As for the people being blown into the ocean, ironically, as the jet is landing, the area of least turbulence is actually directly beneath the jet. As long as the nose wheel is in the air, the wing tip vorticies (mini tornadoes from the wingtips) create all the turbulence. So people to the left and right of the plane will actually experience the most turbulent air. These wing tip vorticies are so strong, that we have increased separation requirements when a small plane takes off after a jumbo jet - the small plane can actually get flipped over from the force.

 

Having said all that, I will be visiting Maho for the very first time next year. I'd really like to see it, just because it is such a tourist attraction, but I'll do it from a safe distance.

[aimodels]

People are getting blown off their feet not by the jets landing, but by them taking off. You just need to lean into a little... :D

 

I'm one of those crazy people who stood under many planes as they landed, and also stood at the fence in the wash of an MD-80 and a 757 taking off.

 

Coming to this beach and watching these planes "up close and personal" was a bucket list item for me.

 

Besides, my morning commute to work everyday is more dangerous than this... :eek:

 

I'm with ComeSailAway: YEEHAAWWWWWW !!!

[bobsfamily]

Like hanging on a fence directly behind a 747 while 4 GE Or Pratt and Whitneys blow the equivilent of 120' date='000 lbs of horsepower --> Right At You from 50 yards away ! :D[/quote']

Uh IT WAS a 747... and uh he WAS thrown in the air like a rag doll, and uh he WAS out cold for a good while with missing teeth, scar and cast on his arm for 6 weeks... SO um, yeah it's dangerous! Glad you make it OK but others should learn from stupid mistakes....

[Mach1]

I think it depends on the age of your kids. The planes are loud but really fun! The water was very rough and was knocking my son (age 13) and I off our feet, the waves crash on the shore with a lot of force. We were "playing" in the surf and many times had waves crash over us with a force the made me think I was nuts to be out there and a few times I thought I was in trouble. While trying to recover from one wave another would pick me up, roll me over and slam me into the beach. When we were done I had sand in places I didn't know I had places. :D BUT it could have just been a bad surf day. We also spent a few days at Dawn beach that day and had rough surf too. If that is the normal, I would not let little kids play in the water, but kids who can swim and are a bit older (at least ten or so) should be fine. But kids are all different so use your judgement. The beach is kind of steep, so it is a differnt beach experience than just a flat beach.

Also, I don't know what you want to expose your kids to, but the bar on the beach offers free drinks to toppless women, and it seems to be the place to remove your top and take a photo by the surfboard. There wasn't tons of naked ladies running around, but toplessness is there. :eek:

 

I had to laugh when I read this, we too had so much sand in our shorts!! :D

The waves are a little rough and wild here, it was very hard to swim or play in the ocean.

 

We ended up getting to the beach a little later in the day - and the bar area was full as well as most places on the beach. I do suggest getting there early and getting a good seat either at the bar or on the beach.

 

Thanks for all the tips on the buses (we used a taxi last time and it did add up) so we'll be looking for the bus. We have actually used many buses in other ports since our first cruise and find them very easy to use, just need to ask where they are going before getting on.

 

Enjoy:cool:

[cojuqui]

 

 

!

 

 

Does the bus drop you off at this roundabout near the grocery store? How long of a walk down to the beach to see the airplanes is it from here?

 

PAST CRUISES:

 

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean

[aimodels]

Not sure about the bus, but that roundabout is about 50 yard north of Maho.

[gtaylor]

Does the bus drop you off at this roundabout near the grocery store? How long of a walk down to the beach to see the airplanes is it from here?

 

Yes, the bus will stop near the mini-market.

 

For the distance see the below Google Earth shot.

 

(click)

 

gary

[bingobango]

I loved Maho beach. The beach itself if pretty narrow but its a decent beach and the big waves were pretty good. Knocked a few people over!

 

The best place (for a photo) was from the sunset bar. There is a corner where there is a speaker (sounds like its picking up the plane tower or something) - you good a good wide angle to get video/picture of the plane in full and the beach.

 

Was awesome!

[cojuqui]

Great picture Gary, thanks. The only other picture I had seen was showing a long walk from Mullet Beach thru a golf course. Much appreciated. This looks safer and easier for the couple older folks in our group.

 

PAST CRUISES:

 

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean