It is not for nothing that the island bears the unspoken status of a unique one. First, the territory of Saint-Martin is peacefully divided by two states. Secondly, it is the smallest land on which two countries coexist on the planet. Thirdly, one of the most unusual airports in the world is located here. There are fifth, seventh, tenth ...
Saint Martin on the map
The island of Saint-Martin on the world map or a detailed map of the island can be viewed using the navigation buttons (+/-). Caribbean on the map
Since the island belongs to two European powers geographically, it has two names: the French say Saint-Martin (accent on the last syllable), while the Dutch call Sint-Maarten. Accordingly, there are also two administrative centers: Marigot (French) and Philipsburg (Dutch).
City of Marigot An extraordinary island is located in the north of the archipelago of the Eastern Islands of the West Indies. The total area is 87 km², with the Netherlands holding a smaller part - 34 km². On French soil (53 km²) is the highest point of the island (424 meters) - Mount Paradise Peak. The Caribbean Sea washes the coast of this political and geographical miracle.
Philipsburg city Holidays on Saint Martin
South Drive, solar energy, luxury holidays - this is Saint-Martin. The whole spectrum of traditional beach pastime for which the Caribbean is famous is available on the island in full, so the facts will be more informative:
- giant Boeings take off / land incredibly low right above Maho Beach;
- the best beaches are Mullet Bay, Orient Beach and the same extreme Maho;
- duty-free shopping and beloved by millions of tourists, the Dute Free zone will provide an exciting shopping experience at affordable prices;
- the euro, the guilder, and the dollar are equally valid;
- the most popular bar is Sunset bar & Grill on Maho;
- Marina Simpson bay is the most comfortable for living: in a minute proximity to the beach, developed infrastructure, many cafes and restaurants with first-class cuisine and live music;
- you can get anywhere in Saint-Martin by minibus or rented car.
Tourists, despite the two euro-hosts, move freely throughout the island, freely crossing the conditional border-pillar. The only thing is that you need to decide in advance on which side to spend the night - which country will provide a visa depends on it. And further. It's easy to bump into cooing, unconventional couples on a nudist beach, so homophobic travelers should avoid these places.
Airport "Princess Juliana" on the island of Saint Martin
The nature of Saint Martin
The exotic charm of the Caribbean nature is revealed one hundred percent on Saint-Martin, although the soil here is not fertile. The territory is a rounded summit of an inactive volcano. The island is surrounded by a scattering of picturesque coral plantations around the perimeter, which are easily accessible by swimming. The wealth of the underwater kingdom will provide exciting diving and effective fishing (white and blue marlin, barracuda, wahoo, less often sea urchin, etc.).
Ground chic is as good as underwater. There are palm trees, cactus trees, lush thickets of forests, and iridescent fields of cotton, vegetable crops, and reeds on the miniature land. Flower lovers arrive in ecstasy from the variety of buds, their aromas, shades, sizes. The fauna is many times poorer than the flora and is represented mainly by feral livestock, birds and lizards.
The magnificent Saint-Martin can be discovered for yourself every day, but you cannot fully understand it - such a compact Caribbean island is diverse. Ecotourists will certainly appreciate walking through the Botanical Gardens and Zoo, located on the Netherlands side. Also in the Dutch part of the island, excursions to nine churches, inspection of buildings of the colonial era, the monument to Her Majesty Wilhelmina, the forts of Amsterdam and Willem, the Sint Maarten Museum, Down Beach, Cole Bay Hill tower, Watney Square are popular.
And the French possessions will not disappoint tourists eager for impressions, especially those who like nightlife - this is a real paradise of casinos, restaurants, bars, discos, beach parties, and original music. The day can be devoted to inspecting in French graceful buildings on the Rue de la République, climb to the ancient fortress of Saint-Louis, explore the unique exhibitions in the Museum of Culture and History of Saint-Martin and the Loulou Gallery, take a photo against the background of the original building in which the Rue de la Court is located Liberte. Then go for a run through the Marigot market, go to the Creole village of Colombier, take a tasting tour of the gastronomic capital of Gran Caz, and relax at the charming Butterfly Farm.
"Post from the Past": Maho Beach on the island of San Martin is famous for the fact that many people go there not to swim, but to see the landing of planes. Photographer Thomas Prior traveled to the Caribbean to capture the chaos on this beach in the immediate vicinity of the international airport. It is difficult to believe in the authenticity of the pictures of giant liners flying at an altitude of 10-20 meters above sunbathing tourists, nevertheless, they are real.
(13 photos total)
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1) Princess Juliana International Airport serves Sint Martin, the Dutch side of the island of Saint Martin. It is the second busiest airport in the Eastern Caribbean. Therefore, beachgoers on Maho Beach have a hard time.
2) The beach is just an ideal place for a detailed examination of low-flying planes, although this causes some inconvenience when swimming and getting sunbathing.
3) It is more than difficult to shoot under such conditions, and the sand that rises like a cloud during landing is not the best "companion" for optics.
4) Despite the difficult conditions of takeoff and landing, not a single accident has been recorded in this so far.
5) Some beachgoers deliberately tickle their nerves, standing under the "belly" of landing airliners.
6) This is dangerous: the jet from the engine can injure or even kill. A poster at the entrance warns about this.
7) Airliners and small planes, when landing, fly so low that they seem to be about to hit, if not vacationers, then the umbrellas or the roof of one of the local bars.
8) Maho Beach is so popular with airplane enthusiasts that local bars have airport flight schedules. And one of them even has a speaker that broadcasts conversations between pilots and controllers.
9) The owners of local drinking establishments make a good impression: from the impressive sight, many tourists want to drink something stronger.
10) The hum when landing airliners is unimaginable, but it does not scare away tourists.
11) In a couple of minutes, a carefree vacation gives way to an atmosphere of chaos, and the beach embraces a real revelry of the elements.
12) The airport runway and is only 2,180 meters long. This length is barely enough for maneuvering and the aircraft must fly at minimum altitude.
13) There is also an information board on the beach, which details the flight times of the airliners.
During the Great Geographical Discoveries, many European countries acquired overseas territories and colonies. Some colonies later achieved independence, but there are places that are still "under the wing" (remember this phrase, it will be needed a little later) of the Europeans.
This happened with the island of Saint-Martin. This small piece of land in the beautiful Caribbean Sea was divided between France and the Netherlands. And practically in half. The northern part of the island is owned by France, the southern part, respectively, belongs to the Netherlands. The name of the island is pronounced slightly differently by the French and the Dutch. Saint-Martin for the French and Sint-Marten for the Dutch. Translated, both means "St. Martin's Island".
We will not touch the island itself for now, we will only pay attention to the part of it that belongs to the Netherlands, or rather to the western coast of this part. It is here that one of the most dangerous airports on the planet and one of the most dangerous beaches in the world is located. These are Princess Juliana Airport and Maho Beach, which is right at the beginning of its runway.
It was the Maho beach that attracted our (and not only our) attention. It is located, as we have already said, in the western part of the island just north of Berjo Bay.
Maho beach on the map
- Geographic coordinates 18.039228, -63.120539
- Distance from the capital of the Netherlands about 7000 km
- Nearest airport across the fence from the beach
What is Maho Beach famous for?
The beach itself is unlikely to evoke violent emotions. It is only 300 meters of sandy coast, up to 20 meters wide. But its southern half ... will not cause any adrenaline either, until a giant passenger airliner such as Boeing 767 or Airbus A320 flies over your head at a height of only a couple of tens of meters. A plane over the beach can fly at any time of the day or night. As you can imagine, airplanes flying over the beach are not a tourist attraction at all. Flying over a small beach, the plane lands literally behind its fence.
This is where the phrase "under the wing" comes to mind. Tourists, basking in the sand, are literally "under the wing" of planes landing or taking off over Maho Beach.
The beach and the beginning of the runway are separated by a road and a mesh fence. The airport just behind the beach has a rather limited runway length of only 2300 meters and ends with Simpson Lagoon. This is a fairly short stretch for large aircraft. In addition, the runway from the north and east is bounded by Simpson Lagoon, and from the south by the bay of the same name with the lagoon.
It turns out such a narrow tie surrounded by water, which the plane must hit. He has to descend as much as possible to land at the very beginning of the runway. Therefore, planes fly over the beach, almost catching the heads of tourists with their landing gear, and therefore the airport is considered extremely difficult to fly.
Maho beach and spotters
It is natural to see an airplane landing or taking off over the beach, and even almost at arm's length, the dream of many extreme lovers. They are also called spotters. These are the people who love to watch airplanes. And Maho beach is perfect for this.
Here you can practically scratch the belly of a landing plane (well, if you jump well). Of course, this is a joke, the authorities do not really welcome such an activity. Everywhere in the beach area, warning signs are posted that stop few people.
There are signs like this all over the beach, but that doesn't stop anyone. The famous Sunset Bar and Grill cafe is located next to the beach. Here, until August 2015, a loudspeaker was installed, which warned of the approach of aircraft. On the beach you can see information boards where the schedule of aircraft landings and takeoffs is written.
Quite crazy tourists have the same crazy entertainment, something like "withstand the jet stream." This is when a group of people tries to get hit by a strong stream from an airplane taking off and tries to resist. Someone succeeds, but someone falls off their feet, because the flow speed can reach 160 km / h.
We, as sane people, warn you, as sane people, in no case try to repeat this. Games with death will not lead to any good. In addition, there has already been a vivid confirmation of this. On July 12, 2017, a 57-year-old New Zealand tourist was killed when Caribbean Airlines Flight 457 departed from Princess Juliana Airport. The jet stream from the plane with its flow strongly threw the woman onto the concrete, as a result of which she died. After all, it is not in vain that warning signs are hung on the beach.
Relax on the Maho beach, swim in the gentle Caribbean Sea and sunbathe on the sand in the usual sense of a beach holiday, you are unlikely to succeed. But to tickle your nerves and get a lethal dose of adrenaline will definitely work out.
For a classic beachfront getaway, head to San Salvador Island. It is located 1350 km to the northwest. Well, if finances allow, then to the island of Laucala, located on the other side of the world, 13,000 kilometers from Saint-Martin.
- The beach is popular not only among lovers of selfies against the background of a landing plane, but also among windsurfers and skinboarders because of the large waves that periodically appear here, caused by jet streams from aircraft taking off.
- Maho Beach is completely devoid of flora, as this area is constantly exposed to jet streams from aircraft
- In October 2008, Hurricane Omar blew away all the sand from the beach, leaving only bare stones. The authorities had to import sand here from other places and refill the beach.
- In September 2017, hurricane Irma already tested Maho beach not strength
Maho beach photo
Maho beach videos
The famous host of the "Heads and Tails" program Anton Ptushkin in this video will show you what a beach with planes overhead is like.
The island of Saint Martin (some people use the name Sint Maarten) and its airport are located in the Caribbean Sea, which is one of the most popular tourist regions in the world. Almost every island that can be reached with comfort has potential for development. There are two main ways to deal with the delivery of passengers: ship or plane.
At the same time, sea and ocean cruises create a significantly smaller part of the flow of tourists compared to air transport. But the cost and complexity of the air harbor infrastructure is significantly higher and sometimes requires non-standard solutions from engineers and architects.
Saint Martin's Island of the Lesser Antilles has one of the most interesting airports in the world (ranked in the top 10 in terms of danger, according to Reuters). It also plays a large role in the transport of the surrounding areas: Sint Eustatius, Saba, Saint Barthélemy and Anguilla.
Princess Juliana Airport (full official name) has the ability to accommodate even large Boeing 747 aircraft, although the landing strip with a normal width of 45 m is only 2300 m long, which is the maximum allowable value for some types of liners. In this regard, takeoff and landing, passing on a glide path of 3 °, are considered the most dangerous in the Caribbean.
The construction of the airport began with the construction of an air force base back in 1942. Although already in 1943, due to the absence of hostilities in the region during the Second World War, it was converted into a civilian one. After 1964 it was reconstructed and a new control tower and terminal appeared. After 1985, it was modernized, so it began to be able to accept long-haul aircraft classes and fully comply with the high development of tourism on Sint Maarten.
Air harbor features
Here we can talk about a variety of factors.
The island has a relatively small area - only 87 km², with a predominantly hilly relief and tropical thickets.
The island is divided by different states: the northern part is the overseas community of France Saint-Martin, the southern part is the autonomous formation of Sint-Maarten, subordinate to the Dutch crown.
Only after 1994 was the Franco-Dutch protocol on border control signed. The landing strip with its end abuts against the Maho beach in the west of the Dutch part. Planes land and take off directly over the heads of tourists, 10-20 m above the surface.
Spectacular photos and videos of airplanes make Princess Juliana incredibly popular among other airports in the world. There are several cafes and hotels nearby, which specialize in the most famous type of island. A loudspeaker is installed on the beach, which informs about the planes coming in for landing, and broadcasts the negotiations between the dispatchers and the crew.
In the central part of Maho, the wind speed can reach 180 km / h, which can be very dangerous and even fatal for humans, but this does not stop curious tourists who are trying to take vivid photos and video with air liners.
In 2012, renowned photographer Josef Heflehner published black-and-white spotter images from the vicinity of the airport, including them in the book Jetliner: The Complete Works.
Infrastructure
The capacity is thus up to 30 flights per hour.
The dispatch service also provides control over other small airports in this area: Clayton J. Lloyd, L'Espérance, Gustaf III. The 30,500 m² terminal can handle up to 2,500,000 passengers per year. In the entire history of the airport, not a single disaster has been recorded, although this runway is considered one of the most difficult for the crews of airliners and dispatch services.
Photos and videos from Sint Maarten airport
View of the island of Sint Maarten
This is what Princess Juliana airport looks like.
In this regard, takeoff and landing, passing on a glide path of 3 °, are considered the most dangerous in the Caribbean.
Princess Juliana airport runway
The landing strip with its end abuts against the Maho beach in the west of the Dutch part. Planes land and take off directly over the heads of tourists, 10-20 m above the surface.
Runway
The location and topography of Sint Maarten did not imply the construction of a full-fledged runway. Therefore, it was decided to build the minimum allowable strip length for long-haul liners (for example, 747). At the same time, the width was increased to 45 m. Radar systems provide a range of up to 460 km.
The capacity is thus up to 30 flights per hour. The dispatch service also provides control over other small airports in this area: Clayton J. Lloyd, L'Espérance, Gustaf III. The 30,500 m² terminal can handle up to 2,500,000 passengers per year. In the entire history of the airport, not a single disaster has been recorded, although this runway is considered one of the most difficult for the crews of airliners and dispatch services.
