St. Maartin, Whose been?

SixPapaCharlie

SixPapaCharlie

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I'm going there next week. Cruise so just for a day.
Are these photos all legit? Do the planes come in frequently or are these photo worthy ones a rarity?

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I think Tango Whiskey was there within the last two or three years.
 
I've been there, yes the airplanes come in that low. Both times I've been there, the sand from the beach had been washed away, and it was all rocks. There are two bars there, one on each end of the beach. The Sunset Beach Bar is the most famous, and the most expensive. The one at the other end is a lot cheaper. I don't remember its name.
 
P.S. I'll be there in December - also taking a cruise so watching this for some insight as well.... :)
 
I suggest grabbing a cab and heading over to Dutch side and checking out the nude beach. You can either get naked and enjoy yourself or stay clothed at the beach side bar and watch everyone else enjoy themselves.

That’s where many of the ship’s crew ends up.


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We were on a Princess cruise and I found a Jeep Rental and headed over. The lot at the far side had plenty of parking and that's where the bar was with a radio linked to ATC so you knew when one was inbound. We enjoyed a pretty quiet beach at the time and I met the photographer from Airliners.net who ostensibly took the iconic photo of the 747 landing there. This was 13 years ago when everyone I talked to there was a pilot/CFI. There was none of the nonsense there is today. An airbus landed and that was the largest plane we saw & it was big. My wife said it was one of the highlights of the trip for her.
 
Bill Watson said:
I suggest grabbing a cab and heading over to Dutch side and checking out the nude beach. You can either get naked and enjoy yourself or stay clothed at the beach side bar and watch everyone else enjoy themselves.

That’s where many of the ship’s crew ends up.Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
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Is that Maho beach? When we were there one gal, already deeply tanned was working on her tan sans top, not that I sneaked a peek. But she was the only one, although there were probably no more than a dozen people on the beach at the time.
 
Been there about 6 years ago, stayed on the side opposite where the airport is. We stayed at the Oyster Bay Beach resort, we were with another couple. At check in we registered, swiped a card, then we were told to pick up our welcome package with the concierge. We went to the desk, they gave us the package and said our concierge would be by shortly, I smelled a rat so we went to our room. I was right, I found out later they were trying to wrangle people into a sales spiel for the time shares. Other than that the hotel was great.

The island is great also, beach was nice, we went to the bar at the end of the runway, big lines when the cruise ships come it, which is pretty much constant, but it was a great experience. Be careful of the jet blasts, I think about 1 a week end up in the hospital, the danger area is pretty well marked. I believe all the 747s going there are retired, but it's still awesome to watch an airliner fly a pattern there. Have fun.
 
No more 747s or A340s
The bar has a schedule of the day's flights
 
@SixPapaCharlie PM me if you want some restaurants and places to go. I spent most of my summers growing up on the island. Parents still go every year but I haven’t been in about two years due to work.
 
Made a cruise stop there several years ago. We took a tour boat called The Explorer, IIRC, across the inland lake from the Dutch side to the French side. Open bar and music. As a result, I don’t recall much about the French side. I did see some fools hanging on the fence in the jet blast. Darwinism at its finest.

Last May another cruise also made a stop at Philipsburg and we went horseback riding. We were supposed to ride in the ocean but a storm came up and made the surf too rough so we just rode in the rain.

Cheers
 
We did the Airport Excursion SXM which takes you from the cruise ship harbor to just off Maho Beach on a decent sized boat and stayed there for several hours. You can snorkel, play in the water, or simply sit on the boat and watch planes. They had the tower frequency over their speakers when they anchored. Food and drinks onboard. I'd do that again in a heartbeat.
 
Bill Watson said:
I suggest grabbing a cab and heading over to Dutch side and checking out the nude beach. You can either get naked and enjoy yourself or stay clothed at the beach side bar and watch everyone else enjoy themselves.

That’s where many of the ship’s crew ends up.


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So I am taking my kids and my parents.
The less nudity, the better.
 
I never understood the nude beach obsession.. in my experience it's usually a bunch of old people or fat people or both
 
Typically those nude at a nude beach are not the ones I want to be looking at.
 
Been there, but not for decades. Yes, I've seen the nude beaches, and went to the town of Marigot on the north side where there's a small fort on a hill overlooking the harbor.

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I was there two and half years ago for a long weekend. I liked it a lot, both bars at the end at the flight schedule up on whiteboards.

KLM was still bringing in the four engine Airbus at the time which was awesome on landing. For takeoffs I really prefer the older American Airlines. I forget the model but think it was an MD80. Anyway AA would pull to the end of the runway and advance the engines and it would take three/four seconds to spool up to full power and the pilot releases the brakes. All the other jets were a lot newer and would release brake really quickly (I think spool up time was a lot less). As a result you saw a lot more and felt a much larger blast from the AA jet. Note, I was not crazy enough to stand near the fence. I was down in the water....

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We were just there a couple months ago in December '18
The height over the beach varies a little, but they are pretty low. The pics you have posted are the lower ones, but all are pretty cool.
Fairly frequent, and you can check out Flightaware to see whats coming in/when, which is really helpful.
Also, seeing the departure times for the big boys is nice....and you really need to get up on the fence/guardrail if anything big takes off (what warning signs? ;) )
I'd suggest sunglasses or some type of eye protection though.
Bar to the left, bar to the right. Bucket o' beer is $15

Enjoy...
 
iflyvfr said:
Is that Maho beach? When we were there one gal, already deeply tanned was working on her tan sans top, not that I sneaked a peek. But she was the only one, although there were probably no more than a dozen people on the beach at the time.
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Orient Beach is the nude beach, topless bathing is acceptable everywhere. I may have the French and Dutch sides mixed up... it’s been awhile. There was a resort on Orient but I believe they’ve been hit by a hurricane some years back so as is all over the Caribbean - things are often being rebuilt.

As a cruise stop, the place is perfectly safe for prudes and kids. Unless you make an effort, every cruise stop looks like every other cruise stop.


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Nude beach - French side

Airport - Dutch side
 
We stopped there on a cruise ship in 2006. It was the first rainy day there in nine months. The locals were delighted to have the rain, but we were not amused. My son and I took a cab to Maho Beach, while my wife and DIL went on an ATV tour in Philipsburg.

We got to Maho early in the day, in pouring rain. We saw a bunch of BN-2 Islanders, some Dash 8s, an Aztec and a B-727 cargo ship. Just as we had run out of time and were getting into the cab to go back to the ship, the sun broke out and a shiny AA B-757 came in. Missed the photo opportunity.

Meanwhile, the girls drove their ATVs through every foul effluent puddle in the streets of Philipsburg. We were all glad to get back to the ship. :(

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Used to fly into there on a semi-regular basis. Usually just turns back to the States but occasionally we would have 24-48hr overnights. Those were a blast. Macho is definitely worth it for the airplane geeks. Plus the Sunset Bar (the one with the airline schedules on the surfboard) lets topless women drink for free.


Here’s a vid of someone holding the brakes a little. Was probably a wind shear kind of day and needed to do a max blast takeoff.

Love the sound of those Rolls...

 
Unfortunately the island is far from what it was pre-Irma. Sunset Bar is up and running but the heavy jets are a rare sight. The airport is still a temporary structure.
 
The Sunset Bar & Grill, at Maho Beach, has opened in increments. A large bar and seating area is open to the steady stream of tourists who flock here to watch the planes take off and land on the famous air strip of Princess Juliana International Airport. But construction continues as the property builds a new stage, fixes sidewalks.

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Huge rocks washed up on the beach during the storm, and while removal is scheduled for any day now, the boulders haven't prevented beachgoers and plane-watchers from finding a patch of sand or putting their backs in the sea while these massive jets bring in new and returning visitors to an island well on its way to recovery.

--By Brittany Chrusciel, Associate Editor
 
It’s kind of nice seeing people go out on vacation and enjoy something that many of us grew up enjoying; watching airliners land.

I used to do it with my RC buddy at KPIT. We’d get right in among the lighting system and marvel at whine of turbine, the smell of kerosine and the whistle of the vortices.

Of course 9/11 changed a lot of things. But I still enjoy visiting family in Jackson Heights Queens where I may not be able to get quite as close, but the proximity of LGA Rwy4 to homes and such keeps it exciting. And the jets are a bit bigger than 1960s traffic at Greater Pitt.



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I was there in June and its no where close to a recovery from the hurricane... and been several times to Maho for the show...we always hang at the opposite side of the beach to the Sunset Bar and Grill at the Drift Wood bar...smaller and way cheaper and better food...actually closer to the approach path as well...Sun Set=Tourist.... Driftwood=Expat/Local/Tourist...its an honest 30 min cab ride each way depending on traffic...they have standard per person rates and would negotiate your ride back at the time of drop off as cabs can dry up around the time you need to get back...
 
Been there many times. Usually a couple of flights per hour. Mostly legit. Even the morons hanging on the fence.
 
Tantalum said:
I never understood the nude beach obsession.. in my experience it's usually a bunch of old people or fat people or both
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The difference between swimming with that lovely mesh that's in a bathing suit, and without. The difference between the breeze and sun with a bathing suit and without. Not all about the scenery (Real People, not airbrushed, Men and Woman)
 
It's been since 2016 that we were there. The pictures are real. But, KLM's 747s are a thing of the past. No longer flown to St. Maarten. I'm glad we saw one.

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Tantalum said:
I never understood the nude beach obsession.. in my experience it's usually a bunch of old people or fat people or both
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Me either..my only experience with a nude beach was in Australia, and the only nude person I saw was a 70s-something overweight guy hiking the beach. The only clothes he had on was one of those miniature backpacks that were popular in the early 2000's. Ugh

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