Sint Maarten: Airport Beach

 We have stopped at the island of Sint Maarten/Saint Martin, which is one island,  both French and Dutch. The Dutch side is Sint Maarten and the French side is Saint Martin. This time when we stopped on the island we did more than a sea sick inducing catamaran ride (the last time we came here that is what happened), we went to the airport beach. This beach is not famous for being a relaxing area to swim and play.  It is in front of an airport. Planes land and take off all the time. The bar in front of the beach has a sign with all the take off and landing times of planes and what airlines are flying them.

The airport has two fences because people were constantly holding on to one fence, getting blown away and standing way to close.  There are signs every where warning people about the jet fumes, the heat, and the fact they are taking a major risk standing that close. My husband still decided to stand in the road next to one of the fences proving he's a daredevil.

This island is worth a stop for more than just the airport beach. We went to a different beach to go snorkeling and I found a ton of green sea glass. The resorts looked amazing. They are still recovering from last year's hurricane and it wasn't hard to see how badly they got hit in some places.  They are still in recovery mode. We didn't go to the French side this stop, but many people told us the French side was a lot worse.


In summation: There is a lot to do. Great snorkeling. Great beaches.  Great drinks. Great everything.  If none of that does anything for you the French side has nude beaches and the Dutch side has brothels, so choose your own adventure.

Attached are links with more info about the island and a youtube video we took of a plane landing near the beach.

YouTube video:  
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iUlb4lKJl4

Additional Information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Martin

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g3160017-d539433-Reviews-Maho_Beach-Maho_Sint_Maarten_St_Martin_St_Maarten.html