Aviation Vacation

Float on your back in the warm Caribbean water while a 747 jumbo jet from Paris thunders less than 50 feet over your head. Experience a 150-mile-per-hour jet blast across your body as a plane takes off less than 50 feet in front of you! Sip cocktails at a beachside bar while watching people think that standing on a sandy beach during a 150-mile-per-hour jet blast is a good idea!!!

Quick Tips:

Avoid winter at all costs! This is high season and prices will be double. St. Maarten is not a cheap destination, and though you can go on a budget, you'll have to stay a long way from Maho Beach, where the planes land. Best to save up and get a room at luxurious La Terrasse, right on the runway and steps from the beach. Buy food and liquor at the grocery store at La Terrasse to save BIG bucks!

Best Way To Get Around:

The island bus plies the main routes between Philipsburg (Dutch capitol) and Marigot (French capitol) and Mullet Bay (which includes Maho Bay) on a regular basis, and costs less than for its farthest route. Taxis, on the other hand, are ridiculously expensive. Avoid travel 9:30am-10:30am, 11:30am-12:30pm, and 5:30pm-6:30pm as the Simpson Bay drawbridge opens to let yachts through, and traffic backs up for an hour. You can walk from the airport to any Maho Bay area hotel in about 8 minutes, or take a cab for .

St. Maarten is NOT a cheap place, by any stretch of the imagination. Go in winter, and you're even MORE up a creek if you're trying to pinch pennies.

If you can't afford to stay at Maho Beach, where the planes land, your closest budget bet is in Philipsburg, the Dutch capitol, at George's Guest House. Your cabbie will know where it is, located a block from the police station.

The place is very spartan, but does have a/c, a blessing in this muggy climate. There are private bathrooms in every unit, with cold running water. TVs are in each room as well. But don't expect a comfortable bed! Thin "taco" mattresses are really the only thorn in this guesthouse's side. Nonetheless, the linens were always crisp and clean. The towels they provide are a bit thin and worn, so I recommend you bring your own.

George's is in the backstreets of Philipsburg, which can be a bit unnerving for "resort tourists" not having experienced "local Caribbean." But for those of us who regularly patronize hostels and guesthouses, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Security is probably better than you think, being right across the street from the police station. And George's has big iron grates that you can lock across your room when you leave for the day.

The hotel is right next to a local restaurant which has great breakfast and lunch, but closes promptly at 6pm, like most local restaurants. If you're looking for a bit late at night, try KFC around the corner by the marketplace, or Burger King just four blocks down on the waterfront.

To get to Maho Bay, you'll need to walk down to the square and wait in front of KFC for the local buses, which will say either Maho or Mullet in the window. Flag them down as they pass and jump in. They'll want about a dollar for the ride to Maho, which takes 10 minutes at best, or close to an hour during rush hour, or when the drawbridge at Simpson Bay is up to allow the yachts into the marina. A taxi to the area will negate the reason for staying in a budget hotels. Buses run until about 9pm, sometimes later.

For the aviation buff, La Terrasse is the ultimate in accomodations for St. Maarten. It was just completed in December 2003.

This gorgeous resort sits parallel to the Princess Juliana Airport runway, and every room has a balcony from which to view the big planes landing. But they're soundproofed so your afternoon nap won't be disturbed. (Planes don't land here at night.)

Just steps from Maho Beach, the resort offers studio rooms, and suites from 1 to 3 bedrooms. The beds are very comfortable, and the bathrooms are palatial with amazing water pressure and plenty of fresh towels every day. All rooms come with kitchens which are complete and well accessorized except for no oven (though the fancy toaster oven will do in a pinch for fish or other small meats.) Rooms are large and airy, decorated in island style. All have oceanview balconies overlooking the terrace pool and have great views of incoming planes.

The pool area is about the most stunning of any resort I've patronized in the Caribbean. The massive zero-entry pool is sparkling clean and was totally deserted during my entire stay. There are some other small dipping pools with waterfalls nearby which offer a great water massage. A couple of hot tubs and outdoor showers round out the wet area, along with a viewing deck for watching the planes arrive and depart, or for watching the people watch the planes arrive and depart, which is just as entertaining.

Expect a studio that sleeps 2 to run $130 in the summer, twice that in winter. A 1 bedroom suite will run you $210 in summer, and twice that in winter. There is a whopping 21% room tax to add on to that! Booking through Travelocity or Expedia, and pre-paying your room in full at the time of booking may save you quite a bundle, as it did me. I got the 1 bedroom suite for only $130. The resort also offers airline employee discounts. Call Lucy in the sales office to enquire.

The lovely thing about this resort is the fully stocked and reasonably priced grocery store in the basement, so you can cook your own meals! The store also offers a buffet every meal of the day. Also, the store has liquor at those ridiculously cheap St. Maarten prices...about 1/4 that in the US!!! (Example: 1L Bombay Sapphire Gin $31.89 in Dallas, $11.50 at the La Terrasse grocery store.) The store is open until midnight.

The only annoyances I experienced at this resort were the fact that the water comes out yellow (probably due to iodine purification) but it tastes fine. Also, there was the minor annoyance of the alarm clock being reset every time I left the room. Your room key is inserted into a slot just inside the door which turns on the electricity in the room. So when you're gone, the lights and TV are out and the clock resets (though the A/C and fridge continue to operate).

Maho Bay Resort was the old standby for the aviation buffs. It is aging (one of the oldest hotels on the island), not on the beach, and priced DOUBLE that of La Terrasse, it's brand-spanking new neighbor.

Nevertheless, if you want to stay in a musty resort for twice the price, feel free. There is a casino here. And the pool area is nice, as is the gazebo which sticks out over the ocean cliffs. The entry areas are gracious, and the whole thing feels like the luxury era of the Caribbean in the 1960s.

Expect to pay $250 for the cheapest rooms in summer, up than $100 in the winter.

The sister property to the (in my opinion) BETTER La Terrasse across the street, La Plage was just opened in early 2004. It sits between the ageing Maho Beach Resort and Maho Beach, and has its own private little sandy spit which is separated from Maho Beach proper by a rocky area.

La Plage is bigger and more bustling than La Terrasse. The prices are a bit higher, too, simply because it's "beach front."

My advice? Skip the crowds and the higher prices. Go for the quieter, smaller are with a better pool across the street at La Terrasse. And walk 2 minutes more to get to the beach.

Marigot's Marina Royale is French St. Martin's ground zero for gastronomy. Though more yachts pull into Simpson Bay Marina on the Dutch side, the French and the snobbish always dock in Marigot. And for good reason. Along the boardwalk which fringes the marina are two dozen of the finest restaurants in all the Caribbean serving up all varieties of global cuisine, with a heavy emphasis on seafood.

Stroll the boardwalk and take a peek at the menus, which are all prominently displayed. Hosts will undoubtedly tempt you with crates of live lobster, or offers of a free cocktail.

Prices at Marina restaurants range from moderate to third-mortgage. At the far ends, you can get pizza or crepes for around $10 per person. For a full dinner at the cheaper restaurants, including wine and appetizer, expect to pay around $50 per person. You can easily run up a $200 tab for a couple at one of the nicer places

All the restaurants offer open-air and terrace-covered dining, as well as semi-indoor dining. This creates a casual atmosphere, but don't think that showing up in a swimsuit is acceptable.

Prices here are in Euros, though they will accept American dollars, usually at an exchange rate of roughly $1.20 to the Euro. Most restaurants accept credit cards, but MAKE SURE YOU CHECK in advance! The nearest ATM is 4 blocks down a very dark street.

I strongly recommend that you spend at least one evening having dinner in Marigot. It really adds to the St. Maarten experience!

To get to Marigot from Maho Bay, you can either take a cab for $20 each way, or take two buses. Stand on the curb in front of La Plage or Maho Bay Resort and flag down an island bus, which is a minivan that will say Philipsburg or Mullet Bay in the window (or some clever abbreviation thereof). Tell the driver you're going to get off to catch the Marigot bus. Your fare will be $1.50, and if the bus takes a sharp right turn and starts climbing a hill, shout "STOP HERE PLEASE!" and get off. Walk a few steps back down the hill and turn right, and walk on the right side of the street. Flag down a bus, which says Marigot or Philipsburg, and continue on into Marigot for another $1.50. Tell the driver you want to stop at the Marina, and he will stop on a busy street and let you off (along with half the bus). Walk downhill away from the busy street and the entrance to the marina will be on your left. Signs help guide you. Return via the same method, but as locals for the place to stand for the return bus, which doesn't go along the same street as the arriving bus. Trying to get a bus after 10pm will be a challenge, so go early!

The Sunset Beach Bar is about as famous as Caribbean bars get. It's located on the fringe of tiny Maho Beach, and is the gathering place for aviation buffs from around the world. Expect to see airline pilots and flight attendants on layover, drinking (rather alarmingly, I might add!), teenagers from Europe with massive cameras trying to get the best shots to post on Airliner.net, old balding fat guys with even more massive cameras, trying to get a cover shot for an aviation magazine, local kids selling henna tattoos and pot, folks from the nearby resorts come to watch people get hit by the jet blasts...it's really a great crowd.

There is a lovely deck built out over the sand and water with umbrellas. Lunch and dinner is served from about 10am until the crowd leaves, burgers, fries, barbecue, fish sandwiches, all for around $8. Pricey, but good.

Drinks are around $4, beer is about the same. The place sells a variety of t-shirts and caps and koozies. And there is always a special $1 shot of the day. Don't bother with local currency, US dollars are much more welcome here.

Though the planes are the biggest draw, the bar is named for the spectacular sunsets which draw a massive crowd in their own right.

A few people are duped by flashy advertising into staying in the Maho Beach area, only to discover that all afternoon, widebody jets from the US, Canada, and Europe thunder over their hotels and beaches to land on the runway of the Princess Juliana International Airport. The runway begins literally 10 feet from the sands of Maho Beach, and as the planes approach for landing, it looks as if beachgoers could literally jump up and grab the landing gear. This offends many folks, and they leave after fighting for a refund with hotel management. After all, most people go to the Caribbean for a nice quiet vacation.

HOWEVER, there are a few of us out there who think the idea of a white sand beach, crystal blue water, and massive widebody jets is pretty cool! It gives St. Maarten just the edge it needs to scoot out other beachy, commercial places in the Caribbean like St. Thomas or Aruba.

For interested parties, the best plane watching is Thursday afternoon and all day Saturday. This is when the 747s and Airbuses from Europe arrive and depart. There is nothing quite like the feeling of lying on the sand or floating on your back and having a 747 whiz 50 feet over your head! You can actually hear the air whistling with turbulence 5 minutes after the plane has landed!!!

Takeoff is even more dynamic. The massive planes taxi to the end of the runway, only 50 feet from the short fence at the beach. The runway is very short, so the planes must crank their engines to maximum for about 30 seconds before they release their brakes and roar down the runway.

This creates a jet blast which roars back toward the beach at over 150 miles per hour. Ever experienced 150 mile per hour winds? You will if you're standing at the fence or on the beach! It creates a big wave in the water which sends a wake a good half mile out into the sea.

Many people think it will be fun to stand on the beach and experience this jet blast, without thinking that with 150 mile per hour wind comes 150 mile per hour SAND. And thus, it is quite amusing to stand on the observation deck at La Terrasse, or at the Sunset Beach Bar right next to the beach, and watch the spectators line up for a 747 departure. Seconds later they all being shrieking in pain and alarm, and either dive to the ground or run for the water as the sand blasts into their skin. It's really funny! Take a camcorder.

If you wish to experience the jet blast, which you really should, at least once, my recommendation is to stand with the observers at the airport fence, and hold on tight. There is much less sand here, but keep your eyes closed! The feeling of the warm air blasting over your body at 150 miles per hour is unreal! If you're light, like me, you might even fly for half an instant. Over the years I've seen all sorts of folks gather on Saturdays to watch the big planes arrive and take off, including several folks wearing superhero costumes.

This is really a unique experience in all the world, and warrants a trip (with lots of cameras) for any aviation buff. And if you have come to St. Maarten for other reasons (God forbid) make sure you make a special trip to Maho Beach on Thursday afternoon or Saturday to see this spectacle. It will BLOW YOU AWAY! Literally.