St Maarten is divided in to separate countries the North being the French side called Saint Martin and the south being the Dutch side called Sint Maarten.
Table of Contents
Travelling to St Maarten
Arrived at the cruise port of Philipsburg which is the capital St Maarten on 5th January 2023 on the Marella Explorer 2. When you get off of the ship there are people selling excursions which is around $20 – $25 US dollars.
Taxi’s
There are also many taxi’s waiting to take you to Maho beach. We didn’t book any excursions in St Maarten as we wanted to go to Maho beach which is not far from the port. We knew it was just a short taxi ride away.
You need to queue for the taxi which are mini buses. They will fill the mini bus up before setting off. Everyone who is in the queue is going to the beach. Our taxi driver was very informative about the island and advised that both sides of the Island live independently with their own hospitals, schools, government etc. He was born on the Dutch side of the island which he informed is where there is more work and appears to be financially better than the French side. There were many Casino’s on the Dutch side but not any on the French as it is illegal to gamble there.
The beach is around 20 minutes away from port . Where the mini bus drops you off is where they will pick you up again.
Maho Beach
The beach itself is just a couple of minutes away from the car park. There is a small bar which sells food and drinks on the way to the beach. There are also many people walking around the beach selling cold drinks.
Maho beach is renowned for how close it is to the airport and how low the planes come in to land. There are many signs stating how dangerous it is to get too close to the fence of the airport. Although there are Tiktok and Youtube video’s of thrill seekers clinging to the fence when jets are taking off.
The Power of the jet planes
We witnessed a jet take off and people, hats, shoes, towels all getting blown in to the sea. The beach has a very steep incline from the sea. There were people literally rolling down the beach. It was funny to watch as nobody got hurt thankfully. The beach did clear around that area just in case another plane took off but it wasn’t long before other unexpecting people came and sat in the same area in the path of the jets.
Planes taking off and landing
It is really busy with flights coming in to land every few minutes. Most of the planes were smaller planes from other Caribbean Islands. The smaller planes and the propeller planes did not have the same impact as the larger jets when they were taking off. It was quite safe on the beach when they took off or landed.
When the planes are landing it really does feel that you can reach up and touch them although not advisable to even try.
The Beach
The beach itself has lovely soft sand and crystal clear turquoise sea. The sea was so pleasant to swim in with its warm temperature. There were many people swimming in the sea but the main attraction is the planes flying in and out.
After a few hours we then went back to get a taxi to the ship. Again there are many taxi’s lined up to take you back.
Summary
We did not see much of the island therefore can not comment on what it is like to stay there or to have visited other places of interest in St Maarten’s other than Maho Beach. What we did see of the island was beautiful even though in parts there was still evidence of 2017 hurricane Irma . Although being on the cruise allowed us to see many destinations in a short time but the downside is you don’t get enough time to really explore the island. It would be better to visit less places and have more time in them.
Images
Things to do
- Visit Maho Beach
- Visit one of the Casino’s
- Visit Fort Louis
- Visit the Zoo
- Have a go on the ziplines
- Do an island tour
- Visit Fort Amsterdam
Top Tips
- If going to Maho Beach ensure you are not sat inline with the runway of the jets
- Follow the safety advice
- Ensure you have what you need for the beach (Towels, sun cream, drinks, swimwear, hats etc) as we didn’t see anywhere to buy these items.
- Island tours are cheaper from the local operators
- Although this is a Dutch/French country everywhere excepted US dollars.
- Check out the temperature and rainfall for best time to visit the island. Be aware that the hurricane season officially runs from June to November.
- Check out other destinations we have visited in the Caribbean. Please click on the following links Mexico , Cuba , Jamaica , Antigua , Dominica
- Check out UK government safety advice before travel St Maarten https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/st-maarten
- Check out our general travel tips. Click on the following link Travel Tips
| Temp – Celsius Rain – mm | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| High Temp | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 29 |
| Low Temp | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 24 |
| Rainfall | 65 | 50 | 45 | 65 | 95 | 60 | 70 | 100 | 140 | 115 | 150 | 95 |
| Number of days | 12 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 13 |