untitled design

The beach in the Caribbean where planes pass just meters from the heads of bathers

The sand is white and the water is a turquoise blue that looks like it came straight out of an Instagram filter. Couple that with irresistible blue skies and high temperatures, and you have a Caribbean beach paradise.

There is only one caveat: huge planes from international airlines land a few meters from the heads of bathers, with the thunderous sound of engines and very strong gusts of wind.

so it is maho beach one of the most famous beaches in the world, right next to the Princess Juliana International Airport in St. Maarten , Dutch side of the island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean.

Main gateway to the island – which also has French territory, called St. Martin – and to other small islands around it, such as Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Barths, Anguilla, Dominica and Nevis, the Princess Juliana features year after year on lists of the most extreme and quirky airports in the world.

The beach also appears among the most best known in the world with the help of millions of photos and videos online, which make the region famous because of the tourists who “adventure” with the intense winds of the aircraft.

The proximity of the runway to the sand, combined with the breathtaking scenery of the surroundings, makes the beach not only suitable for bathing, but also one of the most visited tourist attractions in the region, with the right to disputed bars and even a luxurious resort that benefits from views of the bay.

popular attraction

“It’s fun to be here! On the weekends we gather when the big Air France and KLM planes land and we take care of the wind on the road” says Steve Small, a tourist from Toronto who has been visiting the island for at least 20 years and has been to Maho Beach several times .

He is one of the many visitors who curl up on the sands of the beach every day and, cell phone in hand, wait for takeoffs and landings based on the interactive map on the FlightRadar24 website, a tool that tracks flights arriving and departing from the airport.

Thus, it is possible to determine several details so that the photos – and the whole experience – are more complete, such as airline, model and place of departure or destination of the aircraft.

According to management information, 34 destinations are served directly from the airport, with airline services from the US, Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.

You direct flights most famous are those of Paris operated by Air France and amsterdam by KLM, both aboard an Airbus A330-200. The model is 58.82 meters long and has capacity for up to 260 passengers.

Until 2016, the great protagonist of the airs awaited by tourists was the characteristic Boeing 747 blue from KLM.

the huge aircraft made its last trip to Princess Juliana International Airport on October 28 of that year, a fact that was considered as the “end of an era” since the plane was champion in the thousands of photos and videos of the airport that exist in droves on the internet.

The last landing of the “king of the skies” crowded the beach of Maho Beach with tourists and aviation enthusiasts and, before taking off back, the plane was baptized with the traditional arch of water.

“Jet Blast”, the wave of the wind

Between the sand on the beach and the airport runway, there is only one narrow street where cars pass close to a wall and the runway fence.

The latter is the place where some of the more “brave” stay to wait and “surf” in the famous jet blast , strong gusts of wind caused by jet engines of aircraft, especially before and during takeoff.

The practice is discouraged by local authorities and signs placed on the fence leave a clear message: “jet blast from takeoffs and landings can cause serious physical harm and result in extreme bodily harm and/or death”.

The message raises an alert, but does not keep tourists away. Even without hanging from the fence, they gather on the sand in the direction of the turbines and wait for the intense winds that come accompanied by the strong noise of the engines – to give you an idea, the gusts produced by an aircraft can reach 190 km/h.

The challenge then is to try to balance while the winds lift the sand and make the vision distorted – some tourists even get dragged a few steps close to the water.

“It’s a little sandy, but a lovely experience”, says Russ, a tourist from England who ventured into the sands with the winds caused by the takeoff of an Airbus A321 of the North American company JetBlue, with a laugh.

This was the tourist’s second time to the beach at the time of the visit of the CNN Travel & Gastronomy report in Maho Beach. Why then the return? He cites the experience as “exciting” and highlights the “beautiful landscape”.

The beach: bars and five-star hotel

Maho Beach is lined with bars and hotels on both sides with views overlooking the beach.

Just a few steps from the airport runway is one of the best known spots in all of St. maarten, the Sunset Bar and Grill.

The place is a favorite of plane spotters enthusiasts of aircraft observation and photography, and has an open deck with tables overlooking the beach.

Hamburgers and pizzas are part of the menu, the latter named after airlines that operate at the airport and expressions that refer to aviation. The site even has a swimming pool, as well as a television with all flights arriving and departing from the airport to help customers program themselves for the perfect shot.

Those who arrive by plane and are sitting in row A of the aircraft can, very close to landing, see from the window a luxurious building with some individuals in a swimming pool.

And the Sonesta Ocean Point Resort a 120-suite adults-only hotel built on top of a cliff next to the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort, Casino & Spa this one with 420 rooms and aimed at families.

The hexagonal pool and bar area, named after the airport’s runway, is where guests can sip cocktails with privileged views of Maho Bay and take beyond photogenic shots of the planes’ arrival.

According to the hotel, the location of the construction was chosen for the beach and the view of the sea.

“As airport traffic grew in the late 1970s and 1980s, the view of the planes became a new attraction for guests,” wrote the hotel’s press office to CNN Viagem & Gastronomia.

The Sonesta Ocean Point was rebuilt and reopened in 2014 as it is known today, but the site was formerly the Concord Hotel, which opened in the early 1970s.

At the time, the airport was still small and not very busy, but Concord even changed its name in 1981 after the emblematic Concorde supersonic aircraft made its maiden landing on the island – the letter “e” was then added to the hotel’s name.

In addition to the curiosities, it is to be expected that the suites that face the bay of Maho are the most disputed. In all, with the two hotels combined, more than 300 rooms face the sea.

“The rooms facing Maho Bay and Maho Beach and the access path to Runway 10 [pista do aeroporto] are definitely the most sought after by our guests”, confirms the advisory.

Source: CNN Brasil

You may also like

Ethena Labs project will hold an airdrop
Top News
David

Ethena Labs project will hold an airdrop

The Ethereum-based decentralized stablecoin (USDe) protocol team, Ethena Labs, announced an airdrop on April 2, 2024. We are excited to

Get the latest

Stay Informed: Get the Latest Updates and Insights

 

Most popular