Maho Beach

[daliflor]

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

 

Yes.

 

The Maho Beach is just across the street, less than 3 min to the left of the picture : ))

[NakedBeancounter]

I LOVE Maho Beach...have visited on my last 3 visits to St Maarten. I have seen people stand on the fence for the 747 taking off...not sure if there is less sand there, but directly into the jet blast on the beach you get an instant exfoliation of the skin by the sand blast. So warm, stinging but what a thrill.

 

I have seen a few people blown down the beach a little, it's powerful enough to knock you over to be honest. I guess if you do stand on the fence (which this year has safety warning painted on them) then you do so at your own risk, but it's certainly a thrill.

 

Here is a video taken by me last month

 

Don't be put off by the scaremongers...it's the best beach in the world!

[3ofwe]

Great video...brought back memories...I'm so glad we left before they took off. We saw the big KLM come in and I was "a shaking"..... Great video. Now I can show my friends what I mean by how freaked out I was.

[softsands]

I am not sure there is any place you can look on at home before you go if that is what you mean. We were there in Jan 2011, and the bar was open. There is the surfboard with the flight times. From what we were told the bigger planes come in in the afternoon. we had gotten there first thing in the am. There is a steady (every 20 to 30 minutes) of smaller planes all morning. Someone said the bigger planes get there in the afternoon because they leave Europe etc very early in the am, but I don't know enough about how fast a plane flies to know if that is correct.

Give yourself a lot of extra time to get back to ship, the traffic is awful! Have fun!

 

Actually, if you have a little time on your hands before your trip, just research flight dates and arrival/departure times for the major carriers that go there, American, KLM, US Airways, etc. etc. Then you'll know.

[Boricuacruiser]

Hi!

 

We will be visiting St Maarteen on the OAS in Christmas day (Dec 25). Does anyone knows if Sunset Beach Bar in Maho and the famous Bakery (don't remember its name) in Marigot where they sell all those delicious pastries should be opened on this day???

 

Also, we wnat to visit Orient Beach, Marigot, and maho. What is the best order to do so and what about transportation ideas??:confused:

 

Thanks?

[kandr]

We were just at Sunset Bar last week. It was really fun to sit and watch the planes. They have a schedule posted of the arriving flights. Check out the video we took from Sunset Bar of a flight landing (link below).

 

We watched from a safe distance.

 

We rented a car for the week so I am not sure of taxi pricing. However, I did hear a group of women discussing a $15 cab ride from the bar to the Sonesta Hotel which was really close by in my opinion and not worth a $15 cab ride. They ended up walking although one had a roller board suitcase.

[Tough as Leather]

Someone on my Allure roll call is interested in going to Maho Beach next year. Read that a bus tour guide said that the water comes up to the road three times a year (making the beach unusable). Anyone know if this is a regular thing, and during what months?

[Coralc]

The beach at Maho is mostly rocks and rock ledge. The hotels and other sources pay to keep it covered in sand. I don't know if it is a regular event that the sand is washed out.

 

On one of our visits, a few weeks after a hurricane, the beach was mostly rocks again. We sat at Sunset Beach Bar, like we usually do....and the sand trucks were offloading all day long to replenish the sand.

 

If you have seen photos, it's not a very big beach anyway. Most people don't visit for the beach. :D:):D

 

I just re-read your question. Most coastal places have "King Tides" maybe twice a year, I suppose you could look at that and see when it might be the highest high tides there.

[Luckyman_apd]

We were there last Tuesday after a port visit on the Norweigian Epic. We made sure to go right there first thing off the boat to catch the big planes. $8 cab ride (in a van) for 5 of us so $40. The KLM 747'was scheduled to arrive at 11:42 but came in 20 min early. Here is a link for the video I took on my smartphone.

 

 

The water was a bit rough as there is a sand dropoof to the water. My kids went in holding on to me, but I couldn't stay out with them for too long. Of course we went there for the airplanes, but its not a great beach. The water taxi off the cruise ships will take you to a great beach. Calm warm water, great views of the ships in port, and plenty of people to bring you beverages from the local establishments. But everyone should see airport beach at least once.

[kingston86]

How far by cab/price is it to Maho Beach from the ship??

We're actually going to try to go there after an excursion at Simpson Lagoon (anybody know if that's close to Maho Bay at all?). So we won't actually get to Maho until approx 1pm. Our ship leaves at 5 and I've heard that traffic can be pretty bad trying to get back to the ship, so I'm trying to get an idea of what time we'd have to leave the beach?

We don't need to stay at the beach long... I'm just hoping to see a couple planes.

[SWACK]

Flights become sparce in the afternoon, here's a schedule. Does take 45-hour to get back to the ship..

 

http://flightaware.com/live/airport/TNCM

[SWACK]

Appears if you get there before 2pm you'll be fine..

 

[kingston86]

Appears if you get there before 2pm you'll be fine..

 

Thank you sooo much!!

[sueandtimj]

How far by cab/price is it to Maho Beach from the ship??

We're actually going to try to go there after an excursion at Simpson Lagoon (anybody know if that's close to Maho Bay at all?). So we won't actually get to Maho until approx 1pm. Our ship leaves at 5 and I've heard that traffic can be pretty bad trying to get back to the ship, so I'm trying to get an idea of what time we'd have to leave the beach?

We don't need to stay at the beach long... I'm just hoping to see a couple planes.

 

 

we went there last week. My kids LOVED it! The water is warm, lots of waves and the planes are fabulous. I could not get over how many planes landed during the time we were there. In addition to the large ones listed on the surf board, there are dozens of smaller planes that come in as well. We got there around 1 and stayed until 3pm. We got back in plenty of time. It cost us $7 pp (for 4 of us) each way. We began with drinks and appetizers at Sunset restaurant. (we actually forgot our bag there and they had put it in safe storage for us - VERY impressed! Our waitress got an extra tip from us!!)

[taboom]

I was just there in March and we took a bus to Maho Beach....SUPER EASY and I don't see how it could have taken that much longer than a taxi since it's really just one road all the way there! We stopped to pick up a few people and drop some people off, but really, how long does that take? Bus only costs $1 each way. You catch it on Back Street (street behind Front Street in Phillipsburg) and you get off right by Maho Beach - you just need to walk down from the street...no too far. Then, to go back to the ship, walk back up to the street and wait for it....we waited about 2 minutes before it came. SO EASY! The extra money you saved from taxi money goes towards a drink!!! :)

[gtaylor]

taboom,

 

Great report, but I would suggest that the Official fare for that ride is $2 each way, and, for the record, there is not a set schedule for busses, so you might end up waiting 15 minutes or more for the next bus headed to your destination.

 

gary

[♦ComeSailAway♦]

How far by cab/price is it to Maho Beach from the ship??

We're actually going to try to go there after an excursion at Simpson Lagoon (anybody know if that's close to Maho Bay at all?). So we won't actually get to Maho until approx 1pm. Our ship leaves at 5 and I've heard that traffic can be pretty bad trying to get back to the ship, so I'm trying to get an idea of what time we'd have to leave the beach?

We don't need to stay at the beach long... I'm just hoping to see a couple planes.

 

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

I would say you could do both Simpson and Maho !. Simpson Bay Lagoon is near the Airport. In fact the Jets from Princess Julianna Airport take off over the western tip of the bay. If you are at Maho by 1pm, stay 2 hrs for some Planes and a beverage, even leaving by 3 pm...you should be OK.

 

Just DON'T MISS the JETS at Maho Baech and Sunset Bar!! :)

They are awesome.!!

 

see my video of some HUGE Jets landing here→

►

 

Almost hit my wife !!! (or so it seemed) wow- !!

[maritaysa]

We were just there last Saturday. We had a great seat, at the edge bordering the beach. Lots of planes while were there for 1.5 hours. $20 bucks each way to get there. Had an awesome time! DH also said that their burgers are on his top 10 list.

 

I'd post a pic, but I can't figure out how.

[dagored]

Great info. Will be in St. Maarten in Sept. First stop will be Maho. Been to St. Maarten 7 times, never been to Maho Beach. Can't wait.

[ciera123]

Do the buses also go to Mullet? We're going to Mullet, then walking over to Maho and were planning on a taxi. We've used local buses on other islands and found them to be just fine and a LOT less money.

[Signal Mtn]

Is there a good beach close by that we can walk to after watching planes??

[Karysa]

Is there a good beach close by that we can walk to after watching planes??

 

Mullet Bay beach is a beautiful beach an easy 10 minute walk from Maho Beach where the planes fly right overhead as they land at the airport adjacent to the beach. I would suggest going to Mullet in the morning, then walk to Maho and have lunch and watch the planes land before heading back to town or the pier.

[B-52]

Our ship does not arrive untill noon.....we could catch a cab and be there in plenty of time, but then it would waste the entire day, to do anything significant afterwards.....

Ship does not leave untill 8pm

 

We've stopped at Maho years ago with Bernard...

 

Any thoughts?

[waverley7]

Need to put this post on my page.....this looks awesome! :p