viperrtblck Posted January 30, 2019 #1 Share Posted January 30, 2019 headed to st. maarten in sept on our cruise. would like to go to this beach as last time I was here was 5 years ago. see royal has the excursion in the cruise planner....is it easier or better to do it through royal, or save some money and grab a cab once your in the pier and have them take you to that beach?? can't remember what we did last time we went. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted January 30, 2019 #2 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Do it either completely on your own or with Bernard on one of his tours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted January 30, 2019 #3 Share Posted January 30, 2019 You can also do the public bus, for $1.25 per person, each way. Catch the bus on Back St, behind the courthouse. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirent Posted January 30, 2019 #4 Share Posted January 30, 2019 (edited) Just take a cab, or the bus as suggested above. There is nothing any tour operator can do, that you can't do for yourself at Maho Beach. At the most they can package up transportation with some food and drink. The airplane experience itself is independent of anything else. One tip: determine the day of the week (of your port day) and check out the flight arrivals on that day. You can plan your trip to be present during the landings of wide-body jets. Have fun. Edited January 30, 2019 by hirent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekDun8 Posted January 30, 2019 #5 Share Posted January 30, 2019 I agree with the others. We took a cab from outside the pier and then caught one back and had them drop us off downtown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseguy1016 Posted January 30, 2019 #6 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Do it on your own. It'll be much cheaper. If you want a drink while there, I recommend the Driftwood Boat Bar. It's at the other end of the beach from the Sunset Bar and Grill. It's less crowded and the drinks are cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyCruiser Posted January 30, 2019 #7 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Rent a car & drive around the island... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdg623 Posted January 30, 2019 #8 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Definitely take a cab. They will try to fill up a van to bring the cost per person down. Lots of people going to Maho. The bigger planes tend to land in the afternoon. Last time we were there, we took a cab to Mullet Bay beach first - it's not as crowded as Maho - enjoyed the beach for a couple hours, then walked over to Maho after lunch. It's a very easy 15 minute walk. Spent almost an hour at Maho enjoying the planes, then caught a taxi back to the ship. Easy peasy and had a fabulous time! We're doing it again in April, and probably also in October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crookedhalo Posted January 30, 2019 #9 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Just be mindful of your time if you do it on your own - traffic can be a bear - especially in the afternoon on a weekday!! Plan accordingly, wouldn't want to watch the rear end of the ship sailing without you aboard!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sitzmark Posted January 30, 2019 #10 Share Posted January 30, 2019 We are planning on just grabbing a cab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTO-Girl Posted January 30, 2019 #11 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Take a tour with Bernard’s Tours who will be sure to get you to Maho to see the big jets come in. And you will have no worries getting back to the ship on time!! We have used him multiple times and are always very pleased... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdg623 Posted January 31, 2019 #12 Share Posted January 31, 2019 We've done Bernard's Tours on previous trips and have been very pleased - they provide an excellent overall island tour. HIghly recommended. But we didn't have a lot of time at Maho with this tour - maybe 20-30 minutes. We would have liked to hang around longer. If all you're interested in is the beach and Maho, I'd really suggest just getting a taxi and going directly. If you want to see more of the island (and I recommend this if it's a first visit) then do Bernard's tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisefun77 Posted January 31, 2019 #13 Share Posted January 31, 2019 6 hours ago, Host Clarea said: You can also do the public bus, for $1.25 per person, each way. Catch the bus on Back St, behind the courthouse. Definitely use the Back St. bus. Interesting experience and you get to see how the locals travel. Just hop on, pay, and go with the flow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandiesPharm Posted January 31, 2019 #14 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Definitely use the Back St. bus. Interesting experience and you get to see how the locals travel. Just hop on, pay, and go with the flow.Don’t forget to say hello to all when you get in! The buses are easy to use. Look for the ones that say “Maho” in the window to get there and to return you want one that says “p-burg”. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cementhands Posted January 31, 2019 #15 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Grab a cab. Bring ear plugs. Beach is quite nice with gentle waves. Hold onto small children and ya hat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted January 31, 2019 #16 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Too bad KLM discontinued the 747 to St. Maarten. That was an experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sellwingri Posted January 31, 2019 #17 Share Posted January 31, 2019 On our last cruise, we planned to spend a couple of hours at Maho beach as we usually do in St Maarten. We took our time getting the ship and by the time we got to the taxi line, it was over an hour long. We ended up back on the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbug123 Posted January 31, 2019 #18 Share Posted January 31, 2019 18 hours ago, hirent said: One tip: determine the day of the week (of your port day) and check out the flight arrivals on that day. You can plan your trip to be present during the landings of wide-body jets. Have fun. I don't believe there are actually any wide-body aircraft that land at SXM anymore. KLM discontinued their once daily 747 flight from Amsterdam a few years ago. You can still see a number of narrow-body, commercial jets, as well as numerous small private jets and prop planes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted January 31, 2019 #19 Share Posted January 31, 2019 1 minute ago, waterbug123 said: I don't believe there are actually any wide-body aircraft that land at SXM anymore. KLM discontinued their once daily 747 flight from Amsterdam a few years ago. You can still see a number of narrow-body, commercial jets, as well as numerous small private jets and prop planes. I thought Air France still flew an A340 there from CDG, but maybe that's gone too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ObstructedView2 Posted January 31, 2019 #20 Share Posted January 31, 2019 To sit on a noisy small beach with one little beach bar & have sand blown in your face & your belongings just to watch planes land; take a taxi.... Different strokes for different folks, but its just not worth traveling to a beautiful island in the Caribbean with so many lovely beaches & decide to go to this small beach simply for a selfie & or video of a plane above you. Exotic St Maarten has so much more to offer. 🌴 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbug123 Posted January 31, 2019 #21 Share Posted January 31, 2019 17 minutes ago, Host Clarea said: I thought Air France still flew an A340 there from CDG, but maybe that's gone too? I don't know, maybe? And now that I've had my coffee, I realize of course that anything coming from Europe would be a wide body aircraft, it's just the 747 that now longer flies the route. That's the one everyone was always excited to see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
effinaround Posted January 31, 2019 #22 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Air France flies the A330-200 (scheduled to operate today's flight) and last I heard KLM was using an A330-300 after switching from the 747-400. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted January 31, 2019 #23 Share Posted January 31, 2019 2 minutes ago, effinaround said: Air France flies the A330-200 (scheduled to operate today's flight) and last I heard KLM was using an A330-300 after switching from the 747-400. Thanks for the update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikew0805 Posted January 31, 2019 #24 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Done this many times, and each time we rented a car. This is the only way we would do this.. we get a good 4+ hours at Maho. Yes traffic is bad on the way back, but we leave 2 hours before we have to be on the ship. No worries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
effinaround Posted January 31, 2019 #25 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Correction, KLM is operating the A330-200 and not the -300. I'm hoping to some day make it there as well. Watching jets land never gets old for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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