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We were recently visiting the beautiful island of St. Maarten and of course had to make our way over to the famous (or infamous?) Maho Beach. Many locals and vacationers refer to Maho Beach as Airport Beach and once you go there, it’s pretty obvious why. This beautiful beach has amazingly clear blue waters, soft sand, bars to the left and right and a regular flow of low flying aircraft.
Princess Juliana International Airport has one runway for take off and landing and the very start of it is just across the road from the beach. We spent about 3 hours here and counting the smaller prop planes, I think we watched about 20-30 landings and 5 or 6 take-offs.
As dumb or risky as it sounds, any adventure seeker should consider it! But we really want everyone to consider a visit so here is some helpful info and our recommendations to make sure you have an exciting and safe experience at Maho Beach:
Research the airport schedule and aircrafts
We recommend doing a little research before getting there to find out the size of the aircrafts that will be landing/taking off during your visit. You can easily find the most up to date airport arrival and departure schedule on the Princess Juliana International Airport website. Also, Sunset Bar & Grill on one end of the beach posts a daily arrival schedule on a chalk surfboard.
Pay attention to the size of the plane
We stood through a jetBlue A320 landing and take off on the beach side and, while slightly unnerving, we survived just fine! A few people’s hats were blown off and the sand was a little rough on the skin but we were not harmed in any way or blown into the ocean.
BUT it becomes increasingly dangerous to be directly in the path of any of the larger aircrafts. These things not only come in extremely low but during takeoff, they can very easily knock you off your feet and potentially injure you or someone near you. I’ve seen lots of videos of unsuspecting beach-goers standing directly behind the 747 as it takes off and no only get knocked to the ground but pushed into other people and tossed into the water.
Protect your eyes
Wearing sunglasses or some sort of eye protection is highly recommended to protect your eyes from the blowing sand.
Read the signs
If it says “don’t stand here”….then DON’T STAND THERE!
This should be a no brainer. All of those “danger/warning!” labels on the fence on the airport side of the road are there for a reason. People have gotten severely injured and killed by standing against the fence, trying to hang on but then being thrown over the barrier, across the road into the cement wall on the beach side.
Protect your skin!
Ok this has nothing to do with the airplanes really but I just have to say it. The sun is hot and extremely strong here so you are going to want to bring a strong, waterproof sunscreen and reapply often! Sunscreen does not prevent you from getting a tan so just slather it on. Trust me 🙂
Coming from a cruise? Grab a taxi
We arrived on the island from a cruise ship and the port is some distance away. Every cruise ship that I’ve seen that lands in St. Maarten will offer you some sort of excursion package that is simply transportation over to Maho/Airport Beach. On Royal Caribbean this excursion sold out long before the cruise ever departed and cost $44/person. Skip it.
We disembarked from the ship and immediately outside the cruise port shopping area, we hailed a local taxi driver for $10 per person to take us to the beach. On our way back, we found another taxi driver who charged us $9 per person for the ride back to the ship. So instead of spending $88, we only paid a total of $38. The taxi drivers in St. Maarten are readily available and incredibly friendly. Taxi rates are determined by specific zones, which are regulated by the government of St. Maarten. Therefore, it's advisable to inquire about the current rates before entering the taxi.
So is this beach actually safe?
Before visiting Maho Beach, I watched so many videos of YouTube that showed the best and worst of what can happen here. While this is a fairly large beach, the bulk of tourists will plant themselves at the end of the runway. It should go without saying that standing on the beach directly in the path of ANY aircraft of ANY size landing or taking off, is going to come with some risk. No matter how small the aircraft is, it’s going to push air and sand at you.
But our opinion is that yes, this is a safe beach to visit, even with small children. If you aren’t sure or worried about being in the path of the aircraft, I am still going to highly recommend you visit Maho Beach to enjoy the beautiful water and relax on the beach with a drink in hand. There is plenty of beach for you to enjoy without having to be directly in the path of the airplane.
