At this time, there is no cost or entry fee for Maho Beach; however, that is subject to change without advanced notice.
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The ferry will take you to Cruz Bay on St. John where you can rent a vehicle or grab a taxi to Maho Bay, which is 5.5 miles northeast. Be aware the taxis only take cash. There is no entry fee to get onto the beach and the vendors there take both cash and credit card.
I had heard it's a 10 minute walk to town and a $3 shuttle to Maho. Otherwise it's a $20-30 taxi to Maho. I considered taking the water taxi to the shuttle. It's just $7 for a round trip ticket.
Your total estimated travel time will be, depending on traffic, between 20 to 35 minutes. Taxis to Maho Beach can also be taken from Philipsburg or the cruise port. The same accounts for excursions that stop at this beach.
There is no entry fee to get onto the beach and the vendors there take both cash and credit card. Remember to bring reef-safe sunscreen as it's the only kind permitted.
This is one of the few places in the world where aircraft can be viewed in their flight path just outside the end of the runway. Watching airliners pass over the beach is such a popular activity that daily arrivals and departures airline timetables are displayed on a board in most bars and restaurants on the beach.
The best way to get from St Maarten cruise port to Maho Beach without a pre-booked excursion, is to take a taxi. The journey is way too long to walk, and costs around $15-20 per person depending on how many are in the car. Leave the piers and head to the right, where there's a row of taxis waiting to leave.
Maho Beach, which is world-famous for its location at the very end of Princess Juliana International Airport's runway, is one of the most unusual beaches on the island of St. Martin. It's a delight for tourists who love watching planes take off and land just above their heads.
Maho Beach is famed as the spot to go if you like watching planes roar overhead, but it also offers snorkeling, swimming, watersports, and world-class beach bars. St. Maarten's western shore beach offers the excitement of planes flying overhead so low you'll feel like you can touch them.
The eastern shoreline runs out to the point separating Little Maho from Maho Bay Beach. You'll be snorkeling in shallow water – between 3' and 10' deep.
Here's the deal with the Maho, planes landing arent so bad, their on top of you before you hear a thing and its over before you realize it and its pretty cool to watch. After 4 or 5 pm traffic is down to almost nil. Planes taking off are much noisier and it can be deafening.
Maho Bay is a must-visit for families, snorkelers, and first time visitors. Remember to bring swimming gear, a towel, and reef-safe sunscreen. Beach facilities include bathrooms and a covered picnic pavilion with grills.
As compared to the more popular and more heavily photographed Trunk Bay, Maho has a more laid back vibe. The bay was once full of beautiful palm trees that leaned into the ocean but since hurricane maria in 2017 nearly all of those trees are gone. Even still, Maho Bay is a jaw-dropping spot, well worth the visit.
The family-friendly Sonesta Maho Beach Resort and the adults-only Sonesta Ocean Point Resort in St. Maarten, the Dutch-side of the dual-island nation, have rebuilt and renovated after Hurricane Irma pummeled the dual-nation island nearly two years ago.
The price of a cruise is the same whether you book onboard or at home, but Royal Caribbean will give you extra onboard credit for booking onboard. It's a bonus on top of other promotions the cruise line has, and is one of the best ways to rack up onboard credit.
Cruise lines often discount their prices a month or two before sailing to fill vacant cabins. However, it's worth noting that a last-minute cruise doesn't always offer the most savings to travelers. Those who plan far ahead may be able to save even more.
Maho Beach is unusually close to the threshold of a runway and is directly under the flight path, resulting in aircraft on their final approach flying over the beach at altitudes of less than 100 feet (30 m) above ground level.
Most flights are intended to spend as little time as possible over water, since storms are more common over the ocean than on land. An aircraft would not be safe to fly over the Pacific Ocean due to the stormy weather and frequent lightning strikes that occur there.