It’s been a lifelong dream to watch the planes landing overhead at Maho Beach in St. Martin, this week, I got to finally see it for myself.
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Aviation Geek’s Lifelong Dream
For decades I have seen videos of airplanes landing shortly overhead on a beautiful beach. Some seem so close you could touch the wheels as they pass by on short final. I mentioned a couple of New Year’s posts ago that I have some aviation geek goals and it’s time to cross them off the list.
- Visit Kitty Hawk
- See a rocket launch
- Visit Maho Beach to watch the planes land
There were other items that I had already crossed off the list, like flying on a 747 and A380 on the upper decks, touring the Boeing factory in Everett, and learning to land a plane without assistance (though my pilot’s license is nowhere near complete and I am not currently taking lessons.
I got to see a SpaceX launch at Cape Canaveral, I visited Kitty Hawk just outside of the Outer Banks in North Carolina, and now I have dragged my family plane spotting to Princess Juliana International Airport beach on the island of St. Maarten.
Getting There
The island is divided into a French and Dutch territory with the airport falling on the Dutch side of the island. From where we tendered in, it was about 15 minutes away from the Marigot harbor. A flat rate of $10 per person regardless of how many are in the party was charged and while I find it a little annoying ($40 for 4 people for a 2.3 mile ride whether we take four cars and drivers or one) that there’s not a better rate, in the end it was still worth it and I have no regrets. The driver of the minivan added some color to the experience anyway as she honked at and proudly waved to her adult daughter as we passed by.
Maho beach is approximately 900 feet across and directly behind SXM’s runway 10. It’s a beautiful white sand beach with bars on the south side like the Sunset bar and grill, and to the north the all-inclusive Sonesta Maho Beach Resort. The beach itself is on a significant slant down to the ocean, and the waves are known to be substantial at times, though for our visit it was manageable.
Best Day Ever
There are three camps visitors to Maho beach in St Maarten place themselves into: those there to see and feel the jet blast of commercial aircraft as they plow down the runway toward the hills ahead, those that are there for the landings at Maho beach – and those there for both. No one stumbles upon it wanting nothing to do with aviation, it’s just too busy for that. However, we were able to snag a spot of beach directly behind the runway for four people and a baby without an issue in the middle of the day.
The highlights of the day were a particularly low 737, a Delta 757, and of course the daily Air France 446 A330-200 from Paris. For aviation geeks, yes that number is dangerously close to the retired flight number of Air France 447, a crashed A330 from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil in 2009.
I monitored the arrivals and departures for the day and while I could have been there dawn to dusk, the best use of our time was between noon and 2pm.
What I had not anticipated was the amount of private jets both landing and taking off outside of scheduled commercial activity. The landings of those LearJets, Cessna Citations, and Gulfstreams were not as exciting as the big jet but we were quickly reminded of just how loud, and powerful those jet engines can be upon departure. That said, larger aircraft like the 757 were less satisfying than anticipated because of the sand it blows around from the beach.
It was going to be a top day for me no matter what even in the pouring rain. But the weather was perfect, the water was refreshing and the sun stayed out the entire time. My family loved it and that made me even happier that they enjoyed it geeking out over airplanes with me.
Conclusion
Maho Beach has long been a bucketlist item for me and closed out my tour of aviation landmarks. We saw some great planes come in and while I would have loved to see a 747 (which used to arrive from Amsterdam), I was grateful to have had an absolutely perfect day to be in the water and watch planes go by overhead.
What do you think? Have you been to Maho Beach?
Aw, little Frankie has the it’s too loud face. Sounds like it was an otherwise great day
I had a similarly great experience on the beach in Phuket. Just plane after plane coming in. Although as you note, the sand does hurt!!
It’s Sint Maarten, not Saint Martin. Saint Martin is on the northern French side, and Sint Maarten is on the southern Dutch side of the island. Maho Beach itself is mostly on Sint Maarten.
I have also spent a wonderful afternoon at Mahoo. When KLM used to fly a 747-400 in from AMS. THAT was a treat. Did you wrap a towel around your head and “ride the fence” (hanging unto the fence for dear life ) for a takeoff ? Wild !
There were some people that have died getting blown back into the concrete divider and curb and it wasn’t worth it for me, plus the largest departure we saw was a 757 and while it was impressive, I liked watching them land more.
Sunset Beach Bar is an indescribable place on Maho Beach in SXM
Driftwood Boat Bar at the other end of the beach is much better and has better food at much lower prices. Sunset is a tourist trap.
Sunset is overrated now and their staff aren’t even friendly anymore.
Can do the exact same thing, albeit a little further below flight path but much closer to home for many of us, at LAX, near Matthew’s beloved In-N-Out Burger. A good part of Economy Public Parking Lot C is directly under the flight path for runway 24R, particularly the area closest to Sepulveda and almost across the street from the small “Airport Landing Viewpoint” park just south of In-N-Out Burger. (Google Maps indicates that 1 small corner of that park might be DIRECTLY under the flight path.)
At least one of my daily runs during the 3-4 times a year I stay at Hyatt Regency LAX for 3-4 days is to and from that area of the parking lot where I’ll run back and forth alongside the Approach Lighting System (rabbit lights) towers several to many times. Appears to be inside DH (Decision Height) for ILS 24R thus less than 200’ AGL (Above Ground Level) but not close enough to feel jet blast or wake turbulence.
It really is a fantastic place to be.
Need a story on the Silver meltdown this weekend. Suddenly pulled out of Orlando and cancellations across the system. Is the end near?
Hey ! Questions .. How about the ride back to the harbor ? or is that 10 dollars per person round trip ? did you prebook it ? – thanks
It’s been probably 15-20 years, but my afternoons at Sunset Bar/Mahoo remain one of my best travel memories, ever. Would be great to go back one day.
It definitely is fun…. though on island, we always mention to enjoy this fun responsibly, from the beach. Not cling to the fence – all underestimate the power. And to not have belongings linger as the sea will take them – especially with airbuses and boeings!
@Kyle, note since 2024 there is a manually directed webcam focusing 24/7 on the beach. So you can continue the fun from home.