Maho beach....

[drogerm]

Some time ago I posted here that departing jets could blow "towels, coolers and small children" into Maho Bay, exageratting only slightly.

 

After reading kal's post, I went back to YouTube to

that I remembered. Enjoy.

 

gary

 

That was great. Poor people had no idea what was about to happen! I'm going for sure now.

[Bonnie Voyager]

Hmmmm, this would be the case with the little 2-engine pretend commuter jets. Get some big wide-bodies involved and Maho is a very tiny beach. Even if a person is laying on the beach at the far end, it would be an uncomfortable day with all that going on.

 

The beach is EXCELLENT for plane spotting, but for pure sunbathing it's not a good choice.

 

 

I'm pretty sure someone who had no interest in the planes and was looking for pure sunbathing would not choose this beach anyway. We wanted both! We had quite a few big-a$$ed planes land and a few take-off while we were there too. We were there from about 12:30 till 2:30 or 3. It was fun to watch the crazy people who stood right behind the engines as it took off (including my own Son)! But we were relaxing more toward the side of the beach in the direction of the Sunset Beach Bar and we were just fine the whole time. What was shown in the video above took less than a minute and it was over. It was only the big planes taking off that caused that fun ruckus with the wind and in the 2 1/2 hours we were there only 1 large plane took off :( . We wished there were more! Only 9 more months and we will be there again though! :D

[bwohlgemuth]

Well, if we're going to show off pics of Maho.....

 

 

 

 

Video of a 36 year old geek acting like a five year old is pending.... :-)

[BTSEN5]

I know I am in the minority here, but we LOVED our day at Maho Beach and wouldn't give you two cents for Orient! I hate crowds and when we got to Orient Beach first thing in the morning all I saw were chairs EVERYWHERE soon to be filled with people!!! Way too congested for me! I was glad to see it in person as it is such a famous beach, but as soon as we saw it, we decided to head elsewhere. Here is a photo I took during my very brief visit to Orient Beach (where we DID see some funny sites that we all still laugh about though ;) )...

 

 

 

 

After taking a lovely tour of the island, we ended up at Maho Beach to watch the planes for a while and it was here that we decided to just park ourselves and spend the remainder of our day. It was the most fun yet relaxing afternoon! The beach was not crowded at all when we were there and the water was beautiful! The planes were so much fun! The noise wasn't bad at all. They didn't land all that often and unless you were directly beneath the planes, there was no issue with wind or sand blowing or anything like that. There were a few people who were deliberately trying to get blown over when one large plane took off, but not many planes actually took off while we were there. Mostly they were coming in for a landing and that happened about every 15 minutes or so. Mostly it was smaller planes. I never noticed any jet fuel smells. I did smell burgers cooking at Sunset Beach Bar though. Yum!

 

Here are a couple of photos I borrowed from Webshots (I was having so much fun at Maho, I forgot to take photos, but I did get some video of the planes!). Anyway, Maho looked exactly like these photos while we were there and it was a great beach to spend some time on!

 

 

Maho Beach looking right (away from Sunset Beach Bar)...

 

 

Maho Beach looking left (toward Sunset Beach Bar)...

 

Wait, I do have one photo that I took at Maho Beach. This is my children swimming in the crystal blue water! As you can see, it was NOT crowded! The water was wonderful too! We had a blast! Next year we are headed back to St. Maarten and we are going straight to Maho!

 

Did you rent a car for the day? My hubby, me and our 2 sons decided to do this. We want to stop by Orient, then just head around the entire island. We will stop at Maho for the afternoon. WE were there last year and our boys absolutely loved it and are insisting that we go back.

 

How was driving on St. Martin, if indeed you did drive yourself?

[BTSEN5]

Just grab a taxi, I can't remember the fare but it wasn't that much. I think it was about a thirty minute or less drive from port. The big planes start coming in around 12:30 in the afternoon, so if you wanted to shop or do something else do that first and then head over to Maho. If you go to the Sunset Beach bar website [don't know the exact address, but it's easy to look up online] it may have all the info you're looking for. Just make sure you get a taxi arranged to pick you up at the time you'll be ready to leave [or you could do a tour that includes a stop there]. There isn't a taxi stand there, so you need to keep that in mind.

When we were there in March we took a taxi to Orient beach and the driver said he'd come back at a designated time to pick us up and take us to Maho. We waited awhile and he never showed. Another driver at Orient took us there and arranged to have someone waiting for us when we were ready to go back to the dock. It's a long way from Orient to Maho, so we paid alot in taxi fares to get from one place to the other. Next time I'll just pick one place or the other to hang out at. Maho was fun for us, and the story about jet fuel and wind was exaggerated. I never smelled any jet fuel and it's only a small part of the beach that is affected by the wind from the engines. It's easy to avoid.

There are alot of cool videos on you tube showing the planes coming in.

 

We took the public transportation last year and it was a dollar per person each way. It was also a very pleasant ride. The bus can be picked up one street behind the main shopping street in Phillipsburg ( I can't remember the name) and they drop you off right at Maho. The buses run all day, so there is always one available to take you back to Phillipsburg.

[gtaylor]

Bonnie Voyager,

 

I don't think that the posted photo of your children swimming is at Maho.

 

Actually I don't recognize the background from anywhere on St. Maarten/Martin.

 

gary

[Bonnie Voyager]

Bonnie Voyager,

 

I don't think that the posted photo of your children swimming is at Maho.

 

Actually I don't recognize the background from anywhere on St. Maarten/Martin.

 

gary

 

 

Well Gary, you just solved a mystery for me! When I made that post I didn't think I had taken any photos at Maho but when I looked in my webshots album and saw that photo of my kids, it looked just like our day at Maho, so I thought perhaps my husband had taken the photo....but now that you pointed out the background being unfamiliar for Maho....I see that it is Trunk Bay! So, I was right! I didn't take any photos at Maho! :o I didn't think I did! But, that photo is representative of how uncrowded it was not only at Trunk Bay on Easter Sunday (which is where I took the photo), but it was just as empty the next day at Maho! ;) Now, that brings up another thought...I was at Maho on Easter Monday. I know some of the islands consider that a Holiday as well. Perhaps Maho was not crowded BECAUSE it was Easter Monday?

[Bonnie Voyager]

Did you rent a car for the day? My hubby, me and our 2 sons decided to do this. We want to stop by Orient, then just head around the entire island. We will stop at Maho for the afternoon. WE were there last year and our boys absolutely loved it and are insisting that we go back.

 

How was driving on St. Martin, if indeed you did drive yourself?

 

We had a private tour with Bernard (http://www.bernardstours.com/ )

[gtaylor]

Well Gary, you just solved a mystery for me! When I made that post I didn't think I had taken any photos at Maho but when I looked in my webshots album and saw that photo of my kids, it looked just like our day at Maho, so I thought perhaps my husband had taken the photo....but now that you pointed out the background being unfamiliar for Maho....I see that it is Trunk Bay!

<snip>

Now, that brings up another thought...I was at Maho on Easter Monday. I know some of the islands consider that a Holiday as well. Perhaps Maho was not crowded BECAUSE it was Easter Monday?

 

I almost included in my post a guess of Trunk Bay, but then I couldn't verify the details of the background (using Google Earth). I went back now and looked again, but I just don't see the area lined up correctly.

 

Yes, Easter Monday is a holiday. I haven't been on island then, so don't have any specific explanation why Maho wasn't crowded. Even during the off-season there are usually so many cars there that parking is a problem in the afternoons. It's not like the locals will flock to Maho -- they will usually head for Mullet or le Galion.

 

Were there any other ships in port? Maybe you were there before the active afternoon flight pattern?

 

gary

[Bonnie Voyager]

I almost included in my post a guess of Trunk Bay, but then I couldn't verify the details of the background (using Google Earth). I went back now and looked again, but I just don't see the area lined up correctly.

 

Yes, Easter Monday is a holiday. I haven't been on island then, so don't have any specific explanation why Maho wasn't crowded. Even during the off-season there are usually so many cars there that parking is a problem in the afternoons. It's not like the locals will flock to Maho -- they will usually head for Mullet or le Galion.

 

Were there any other ships in port? Maybe you were there before the active afternoon flight pattern?

 

gary

 

I seem to recall that we were the only ship in port at St. Maarten, but I may be wrong about that (since obviously my memory is questionable at best :o ). We were at Maho all afternoon. We had eaten lunch at Marigot and then headed over to Maho. We saw loads of planes at Maho! About every 15 minutes a plane came in. A few of them were really big planes too. But only one large plane took off. Lots of smaller planes took off. But there weren't that many folks there watching the planes that day. Although, Sunset Beach Bar seemed to be full. :D

 

At Trunk Bay we were to the far left of the beach area (this is a fact I know for sure! :D ).

[3dogmom]

Has anyone eaten at Sunset Beach Bar? We'll be there in February on a Tuesday and plan to spend our day there. We're in port from 1-8PM, so hoping we won't have an issue with traffic. If anyone can post cab fare I'd appreciate it.

[gtaylor]

Things will certainly change by February, but at the moment SunSet Beach Bar is closed.

 

From Friday's Daily Herald

 

Sunset Beach Bar owner evicted

 

BEACON HILL--Popular Beacon

Hill nightspot Sunset Beach

Bar was taken apart early Thursday

as two years of litigation ended

with the execution of a June 25

eviction order, The Daily Herald

understands.

 

Workers pushed dollies with

boxes, dismantled canopies and

seating as company was forcefully

pushed off the property, which

belongs to the principals of Caravanserai

Resort.

 

<snip>

 

It was further contended

that several new structures,

such as the open-air kitchen

and TV screens, had been

erected without the owners’

permission and that the

Island Receiver had placed

a lien because the bar had a

backlog in taxes of NAf. 1.6

million.

 

<snip>

 

According to Kildare

Properties’ [Caravanserai Resort owner]

insiders, Sunset

Beach Bar will continue to

operate, but the owners will

appoint an interim manager

while a purported deal

to sell the lease to a wellknown

local businessman is

finalised.

 

Photos show workers dismanteling the site, as others cart off dollies stacked with boxes of supplies and equipment.

 

 

gary

[cruisindoggie]

Here is a link to the story.

 

http://www.thedailyherald.com/tdhonline/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=348:sunset-beach-bar-owner-evicted&catid=56:today

[jccruiser]

Does anyone have the flight schedules (or link to the web site- I seem to have misplaced it) for March 2009 - that way we can check if it;s worth going out to Maho and if there are any large jets arriving while we are there.

 

thanks:)

[gtaylor]

kal has a schedule posted on his website, but I'd suggest that you wait about 6 months before worrying about how to schedule your day. The airlines are doing some heavy schedule changing right now.

 

gary

[3dogmom]

I hope they are open when we go in February. That's all we wanted to do this time while visiting the island.

[gtaylor]

Things will certainly change by February, but at the moment SunSet Beach Bar is closed.

 

From Friday's Daily Herald

 

Sunset Beach Bar owner evicted

 

BEACON HILL--Popular Beacon Hill nightspot Sunset Beach Bar was taken apart early Thursday as two years of litigation ended with the execution of a June 25 eviction order, The Daily Herald understands.

<snip>

... and that the Island Receiver had placed a lien because the bar had a backlog in taxes of NAf. 1.6 million.

<snip>

Photos show workers dismanteling the site, as others cart off dollies tacked with boxes of supplies and equipment.

Joyce Prince tells me that the previous SunSet Beach Bar will be reopening very soon, possibly by this weekend. She was in the area and asked the workmen.

 

It will probably be renamed the SunSet Bar and Grill.

 

gary

[BTSEN5]

I'm pretty sure someone who had no interest in the planes and was looking for pure sunbathing would not choose this beach anyway. We wanted both! We had quite a few big-a$$ed planes land and a few take-off while we were there too. We were there from about 12:30 till 2:30 or 3. It was fun to watch the crazy people who stood right behind the engines as it took off (including my own Son)! But we were relaxing more toward the side of the beach in the direction of the Sunset Beach Bar and we were just fine the whole time. What was shown in the video above took less than a minute and it was over. It was only the big planes taking off that caused that fun ruckus with the wind and in the 2 1/2 hours we were there only 1 large plane took off :( . We wished there were more! Only 9 more months and we will be there again though! :D

 

There are 2 danger signs on either side of the beach. If you stay on the outside of those signs, you will not feel the wind or the sand. We saw one of the huge planes land (is it a 747...it had 4 huge engines and had 2 stories of windows on the front part), and we were right there, and no problem. It was noisy, but not unbearable. This was the week of August 3 this year.

 

I was sad to see Sunset being closed, but they were working very hard, and it looked like it may be open in a couple months, judging from the work being done.

[Govac24]

We're cruising in 29 days & will end up again in St. Marrten. We plan on spending the day at Maho. It's been a while since we were there last, what time do the big planes start coming in? What would be a good time to head back to the ship? I think we leave at 5:30 and are the only ship in port that day. Thanks

 

Lisa

[Kikkycat]

I couldn't find the schedule for this summer but here's where to find some information on the jet schedule at SXM:

 

http://www.bywindkal.com/Files/AircraftHigh.pdf

[drogerm]

http://www.bywindkal.com/Files/AircraftLo08.pdf

[lazydayz]

We visited Maho Beach and the Sunset Beach Bar in late September, 2008. Our taxi driver, Mary, was awesome and agreed to wait for us. We arrived around 1:00 and saw at least four planes land in one and one-half hours. It really is a rush and one I highly recommend. Sunset Beach Bar has a great setting and the other customers were friendly. However, they do not offer any local beers so I enjoyed an Amstel Bright while plane-spotting. After visiting Maho Beach, St. Martin moved up on my list of favorite Caribbean islands.;)

[tn1728]

Lazydayz,

 

It is great to hear that the bar is still open, did they also serve food? We will be in St. Maarten in December, and were thinking of spending most of the day there (we have been a few times before to the old place and loved it).

[xxjulzxx]

We were just there last week!

Alot of people don't recommend the beach but we thought it was absolutely beautiful! There is not a whole lot of sand, but we are ok with that. We would rather be in the water anyways! It is definitely a must see! Here are a few pictures from our trip to Maho Beach.

 

 

[The Big Booper]

We were just there last week!

Alot of people don't recommend the beach but we thought it was absolutely beautiful! There is not a whole lot of sand, but we are ok with that. We would rather be in the water anyways! It is definitely a must see! Here are a few pictures from our trip to Maho Beach.

 

 

 

 

The picture is the newly re-opened Sunset Beach Bar? Or whatever it is called now. How are the prices re: food and drinks? The old place was expensive for what you got.