Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten

In July 2017, our family met for a cruise through the Caribbean. This was our second trip to the island and we enjoyed our visit both times.

Our first port was the island of St. Maarten. This small island is divided with the lower 40% of the island belonging to the Dutch while the upper 60% is French.

While the views are amazing all over the island, two beaches were the highlight of our first trip. Maho Beach, also known as “Airplane Beach”, is a small, very crowded, stretch of sand right next to the airport runway. The beach is directly under the final flight path for the airport so airplanes are often within 100 feet (30 meters) of the beach. Standing under incoming planes is such a popular attraction that the flight times were listed on a board in the bar we stopped into.

The other beach is Orient Beach. We were there before Hurricane Irma devastated the island, however, reports on the internet say it is starting to come back. The beach is free though there is a modest charge for umbrellas and beach chairs. A section of the beach at the south end is used by naturists (nudists). But Orient Beach is a really long stretch of beach so we were not aware of this until after we left. While we were there we stopped at one of the local restaurants to enjoy lunch and one of my favorite things…toes in the sand.👣

During our second trip here we walked into town with several family members. Philipsburg is the capital of Sint Maarten on the Dutch side of the island. Beachfront bars and stores lined the boardwalk along Great Bay. Along the beach there were colorful umbrellas and beach chairs set up. Here are some pictures from that day.

We’ve been here both in February and the end of July…February is a much better time to go. Less crowds, and the weather is much better. July was hot and humid and not many of the stores or restaurants/bars had air conditioning, opting instead to just open windows and doors trying to get any breezes that came by.