There are aviation bucket listing objects, after which there’s Maho Seashore.
For many years, this tiny stretch of sand beside Runway 10 at Princess Juliana Worldwide Airport (SXM) has change into nearly legendary amongst aviation fanatics. The thought of standing beneath arriving plane whereas Caribbean waves roll onto the seaside sounds nearly too ridiculous to be actual till you really expertise it your self.
And now, after wanting to go to for years, I lastly did.
I arrived in Sint Maarten, a small japanese Caribbean island that’s half Dutch and half French, by cruise ship on a Thursday, with our ship docked from 0800 to 1630. That gave us loads of time to discover the island, seize lunch, and spend chunk of the afternoon at Maho Seashore.
We had been additionally fortunate. We had been the one cruise ship in port that day, which helped preserve the island from feeling fully overrun. Phrase on the road is that 6-7 ships will be in port at any given time, and I don’t assume I ever need to expertise that.
Nonetheless, Maho Seashore is Maho Seashore. Even on a quieter day, it’s half seaside, half aviation circus, half bucket-list spectacle, and half reminder that the web tends to make every little thing look somewhat extra glamorous than it truly is.
And but, should you love airplanes, you completely should go.
Flexibility is Value It!
There are a number of methods to get to Maho Seashore.
You’ll be able to e book a cruise line tour, take a shared island tour, rent a non-public tour operator, seize a taxi, or hire your personal automotive for the day. Every possibility has execs and cons, however for my household, we determined to e book a non-public tour by way of Bernard’s Excursions.
I promise this isn’t an advert. No person is paying me to say this. However when, not if, I return to Sint Maarten, I’ll 100% use Bernard’s once more.
I used to be genuinely impressed.
Bernard’s gives a number of several types of excursions, together with shared island excursions, non-public excursions, and packages particularly constructed round Maho Seashore planespotting. In our case, we booked a non-public tour that gave us the liberty to go the place we needed, once we needed.
That flexibility was big.
If you wish to seize lunch in Marigot, the capital of the French facet of the island, then head to Maho Seashore on the Dutch facet of the island for the afternoon – you possibly can. Professional Tip: Undoubtedly attempt the French pastries and treats at Chez Fernand la French Bakery in Marigot. If you wish to keep longer as a result of one thing fascinating is inbound, you possibly can. If you wish to skip one thing as a result of your child is drained or the seaside is looking, you are able to do that, too.
For cruise passengers, particularly, that flexibility is price loads.
Know the Flight Schedule Earlier than You Go
If you’re going to Maho Seashore particularly for airplanes, don’t simply present up and hope for one of the best.
Do your homework.
I didn’t have web entry whereas I used to be there as a result of I’m low cost and didn’t need to pay for a world information plan. That meant I couldn’t depend on flight monitoring apps in actual time. Luckily, I had already researched the SXM schedule earlier than leaving house, particularly the bigger plane arrivals.
On the time of this writing in mid-Could 2026, the bigger plane serving SXM are concentrated within the early afternoon, which is definitely very handy for cruise passengers.
Air France operates 5 weekly flights from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Flight 498 is scheduled to reach at 1325 native time, with the outbound Flight 499 departing at 1530. The plane is an Airbus A330-200.
KLM additionally operates 5 weekly flights from Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. The Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday flights use the Airbus A330-200, whereas the Wednesday and Saturday flights use the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Flight 777, operated by the A330, is scheduled to reach at 1300 and depart at 1420. Flight 789, operated by the 787-9, is scheduled to reach at 1240 and depart at 1410.
One fascinating element is that KLM’s inbound flights are direct from Amsterdam, however the outbound flights make an intermediate cease earlier than persevering with on to AMS. Flight 777 stops at Port of Spain, Trinidad, whereas Flight 789 continues to Georgetown, Guyana.
Delta Air Traces additionally brings in some bigger narrowbody motion. The every day Atlanta flight arrives from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport (ATL) at 1345 utilizing the Boeing 757. Delta’s JFK service arrives at 1357 on Saturdays from Could by way of September, and every day throughout the remainder of the 12 months. Departure occasions are 1520 for the Atlanta flight and 1535 for the JFK flight.
So, if you wish to see the bigger birds, early afternoon is your pal.
That additionally works properly for cruisers, because the drive from Maho Seashore again to the cruise terminals can take 45 to 60 minutes, relying on site visitors, and plenty of cruise ships depart Sint Maarten between 1600 and 1700.
In different phrases, you possibly can catch the good things and nonetheless make it again to the ship, so long as you aren’t reckless along with your timing.
A fast observe about Sint Maarten’s time zone: The island operates on Atlantic Normal Time (AST) year-round and doesn’t observe Daylight Saving Time. Meaning in the course of the summer time months it shares the identical time because the US East Coast, however in the course of the winter it’s one hour forward.
Use the Sundown Bar Screens If You Do Not Have Information
The open-air Sundown Bar and Grill has TV screens exhibiting arrivals and departures at SXM.
This was extraordinarily useful for me since I used to be working with out cellular information. As an alternative of regularly guessing what was coming subsequent, I might test the screens, watch the stream of arrivals and departures, and plan whether or not to remain within the water, transfer to the fence line, or seize a drink.
Would flight monitoring apps have been good? Completely.
Did I survive with out them? Additionally sure.
Nonetheless, in case you are severe about catching particular arrivals, analysis the schedule earlier than you go. Flight monitoring apps are nice, however schedules, even imperfect ones, provide you with a stable recreation plan earlier than you ever step onto the seaside.
Convey a Change of Garments
We toured the island in common garments, however we additionally needed to swim at Maho Seashore whereas planespotting.
As a result of truthfully, how typically do you get to drift in heat Caribbean water whereas airliners cross over your head on quick remaining?
If you wish to do the identical, convey a change of garments.
One factor to know: Sundown Bar costs $1 to make use of the restroom, whether or not you’re altering or utilizing it for different causes. The excellent news is that they offer you a $1 voucher towards your invoice at Sundown Bar, so it isn’t fairly as annoying because it sounds.
And let’s be sincere, you’re in all probability going to purchase one thing there anyway. I did. And $1 is $1, in spite of everything (bear in mind how I stated earlier that I used to be low cost?)
Perceive What Maho Is Immediately
Right here is the place I need to be very sincere.
I’m so glad I went. As a lifelong avgeek, Maho Seashore was a bucket listing expertise I had needed to test off for years. Lastly standing there, watching plane drop over the seaside at SXM, was genuinely particular. Attending to share that second with my 8-year-old son made it even higher.
However I additionally assume the expertise has been romanticized, particularly lately, as social media and influencer tradition have made Maho appear to be some flawless aviation fantasyland.
It isn’t.
It’s sizzling. It’s crowded. The seaside is smaller than many individuals count on. The street is busy. The bar is touristy. Persons are in all places with telephones within the air. And relying on the day, you could spend much more time watching ATRs, A320s, 737s, Twin Otters, and bizjets than widebodies.
That isn’t a foul factor. In reality, the variability is a part of the enjoyable. I noticed airways land that I didn’t even know existed.
However in case you are anticipating the glory days of KLM 747s and Air France jumbos roaring over the seaside, that period is gone.
Immediately, the most important scheduled plane you’re more likely to see are the Air France A330-200, KLM A330-200, the occasional KLM 787-9 Dreamliner, and Delta’s 757s. Giant cargo plane can seem, however I didn’t have the privilege of seeing any throughout my go to.
And whereas an A330 or 787 is definitely not small, standing on the fence line throughout departure simply doesn’t hit the identical means it did when four-engine heavies had been widespread.
The quadjets of yesteryear helped construct the legend. Immediately’s Maho continues to be superior, however it’s totally different.
The Jet Blast Is Not A Joke
One phrase of warning: the sand hurts.
So much.
After a number of departures, each my son and I felt like we had been blasted with 1000’s of tiny nails touring at Mach 4.
Which, truthfully, makes full sense once you do not forget that sand is principally microscopic shards of glass.
The movies make it look hilarious. And sure, it form of is. However when you find yourself really standing there, and the blast hits, it in a short time stops feeling like a cute little aviation-themed breeze.
Use your head.
The jet blast warnings will not be ornament. Folks have been injured — and worse — at Maho Seashore, and whereas the entire fence-line expertise is a part of the lore, there’s a huge distinction between having fun with the facility of aviation and volunteering to change into a human tumbleweed.
I imply, simply on the day we had been there, we noticed a number of footwear, baggage, hats, and different objects blown into the ocean.
Watch. Snigger. Take photographs. However respect the engines.
Do Not Neglect To Simply Take pleasure in It
This may increasingly sound unusual, however considered one of my greatest suggestions is to not spend your entire time making an attempt to doc the expertise.
Sure, take photographs. Sure, shoot video. Sure, get the shot of the plane coming in low over the seaside.
But additionally put the cellphone down for a couple of minutes.
Hearken to the spool-up. Watch the strategy lights. Really feel your entire seaside flip towards the identical plane on the identical time. Go searching on the mixture of hardcore aviation nerds, curious vacationers, children, pilots, cruise passengers, and first-timers all reacting to the identical absurdly fantastic factor.
That’s the magic of Maho.
It isn’t simply that the airplanes are low. It’s that everybody there is aware of one thing uncommon is going on.
For a number of seconds, an airport strategy turns into a public occasion.
So…is Maho Seashore Value It?
Completely.
With out query.
As a lifelong avgeek, visiting Maho Seashore was a bucket listing expertise I had dreamed about for years. And eventually standing there, listening to the roar of arriving plane over the seaside, smelling jet gas mixing with salty Caribbean air, and watching airplanes descend impossibly low over the water was genuinely particular.
However it’s also okay to acknowledge actuality.
Maho Seashore in 2026 will not be good.
It isn’t as glamorous because it appears on-line. It isn’t the identical place it was in the course of the 747 period. It’s sizzling, crowded, commercialized, and formed by social media greater than many avgeeks in all probability need to admit.
However it’s nonetheless Maho Seashore.
And if you end up on Sint Maarten, whether or not you like airplanes or not, it’s one thing you must expertise a minimum of as soon as. For avgeeks, it’s principally a ceremony of passage.
And even now, after the social media hype, after the influencers, after the infinite TikTok clips and dramatic YouTube thumbnails, a jet’s arrival nonetheless makes folks cease what they’re doing. The departures nonetheless rattle the seaside. The engines nonetheless ship sand flying. The group nonetheless cheers when one thing huge rolls in. And for a number of seconds at a time, the entire place feels prefer it belongs to the airplane overhead.
That second by no means will get previous.
