Maho Beach

[oceanlvr1016]

We will be there (Maho Beach) on Saturday, February 13th. We want to be able to have 2 chairs and an umbrella on the beach and just veg for the morning/early afternoon and watch the water and airplanes. Has anyone been there recently. Is the sand back and are lounges and umbrellas available again??

[Life is Good Cruising]

We will be there (Maho Beach) on Saturday, February 13th. We want to be able to have 2 chairs and an umbrella on the beach and just veg for the morning/early afternoon and watch the water and airplanes. Has anyone been there recently. Is the sand back and are lounges and umbrellas available again??

 

We were there mid Nov and the beach was slowly coming back. Yes, chairs and umbrellas are available again, 2 chairs and an umbrella was $20. We're going back to Maho in a couple of weeks and I'll come back with an update on beach and sea conditions.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Life is Good Cruising

[oceanlvr1016]

We were there mid Nov and the beach was slowly coming back. Yes, chairs and umbrellas are available again, 2 chairs and an umbrella was $20. We're going back to Maho in a couple of weeks and I'll come back with an update on beach and sea conditions.

Thank you that would be great!! If you are there in a couple of weeks...I'll be there a couple of weeks after that!!!

[groovechick]

We were there on December 28 and there was plenty of beach, loungers and umbrellas for hire. The wall along the road was packed, as was the Sunset Bar & Grill. The beach was pretty busy but there was still space to pick a spot.

 

The planes still come in low and you still get the jet wash from a big plane!

 

Highly recommend the pizzas at the Sunset - we grabbed one for lunch during our tour and they were huge and one pizza comfortably fed two of us. All the other food we saw looked great too, and generous portions.

 

I recommend Twin Island Excursions, booked through Capt Bob Cass at Soualiga Destinations. It cost $180 for four of us for a 5-hour tour, including unlimited water, soda, beer and rum punch. The tour included Lucas Bay, Orient Beach (1 1/2 hour stop), Marigot, Maho Bay (1 hour stop - we got there between 1 and 2 pm, so saw lots of small planes, several medium sized and one big) and lots of other sights. Luxury a/c vehicle - our driver, Rick, was great. Friendly, informative, funny, took really good care of us.

Maho was the last main stop on our tour and I don't remember it taking very long to get back to the cruise port.

 

A friend on our cruise got a local taxi back from Maho to Philipsburg for $2. They have a sign in the window that gives the destination. They're frequent and much cheaper than a taxi.

[dodger1964]

We were there Christmas Eve...Yes, they have umbrellas...only 1 row...I would say about 1/2 the beach is now rocks (for sure over 1/3 is rocks). They used to have 2 rows of umbrellas, but can't any more because of the rocks.

 

The middle of the beach is still fine, and there are many people in the water in that section.

[gtaylor]

Traffic disruptions are scheduled for today for the road at the runway/Maho Beach to remove accumulated sand.

 

The Daily Herald.

 

gary

[dodger1964]

Traffic disruptions are scheduled for today for the road at the runway/Maho Beach to remove accumulated sand.

 

The Daily Herald.

 

gary

 

Your headline is misleading...(if you are joking I'm sorry).

 

The sand they are removing is on the road at the north (i think it is north...it is on the left side of the airport, looking at it from the sea).

 

The beach is (at least as of Christmas) only about 1/2 of what it was, or normally is.

 

I hope the take the sand from the roadway and put it on the rocks near the Sunset Bar.

[MaggieMay1931]

When we were there a week ago, the tide was so high it was going onto the road toward the airport.

[gtaylor]

Your headline is misleading...(if you are joking I'm sorry).

 

The sand they are removing is on the road at the north (i think it is north...it is on the left side of the airport, looking at it from the sea).

 

The beach is (at least as of Christmas) only about 1/2 of what it was, or normally is.

 

I hope the take the sand from the roadway and put it on the rocks near the Sunset Bar.

 

I'm not sure which area you are talking about, but here is a Google Earth image of Maho Beach, which identifies Beacon Hill Road, where the sand was being removed.

 

(click)

 

The photo in the newspaper appears to have been taken on the roadway, just above where the label 'Maho Beach' appears, with the camera pointed North, Up on the Google shot.

 

gary

[Jezo]

Hello folks. This post is a bit shocking to me as we were planning on heading out to this beach in about two weeks. We were there just about a year ago and it was an actual beach, not the rocks and boulders that I see here.

 

We liked the beach because it was a beach with fun planes overhead, which is what my 4 year old son really enjoys. Just above someone posted there is a little bit of a beach now, does anyone have any new pictures? If there is no beach to play on then we're going to need to pick something else. The bars are still there but it's not just my wife and I, so we cant sit and drink all afternoon and need some sand for the little guy.

[dodger1964]

Hello folks. This post is a bit shocking to me as we were planning on heading out to this beach in about two weeks. We were there just about a year ago and it was an actual beach, not the rocks and boulders that I see here.

 

We liked the beach because it was a beach with fun planes overhead, which is what my 4 year old son really enjoys. Just above someone posted there is a little bit of a beach now, does anyone have any new pictures? If there is no beach to play on then we're going to need to pick something else. The bars are still there but it's not just my wife and I, so we cant sit and drink all afternoon and need some sand for the little guy.

 

There still is beach, just not as much. we were there on christmas eve day...the side that the sunset bar is on is where we noticed the erosion...there still is plenty of people and beach to use...but it is noticeable less.

[dodger1964]

I'm not sure which area you are talking about, but here is a Google Earth image of Maho Beach, which identifies Beacon Hill Road, where the sand was being removed.

 

(click)

 

The photo in the newspaper appears to have been taken on the roadway, just above where the label 'Maho Beach' appears, with the camera pointed North, Up on the Google shot.

 

gary

 

 

Yes, the extra sand that is being removed is indeed on the roadway near the driftwood bar at the top of this picture.

 

The erosion is at the bottom of the picuture...in this picture the area with the yellow umbrellas is now almost all rocks...there is a small area near the road that still has sand, but the first two rows of the yellow umbrellas is not just big rocks.

 

So for "beach use" (assuming you don't set up in directly in front of the runway...take my advice if you haven't been there before...DON'T!! or be able to swim out and gather your belongings) you can use the area between the rocks that are now exposed and the edge of the runway, and the area from the other edge of the runway to just past Guy's Driftwood Bar.

 

There is still room to have fun and many were in the water when we were there.

 

And everyone I talked to said the sand would come back...I assume they know what they are talking about.

[Jezo]

We need some first hand reports of what its like.

 

Somehow no pictures exist of it in the past few weeks.

[gtaylor]

Here is a page at Airliners.net with a photo (copyrighted) of a landing over Maho on January 6, 2016.

 

gary

[dodger1964]

Here is a page at Airliners.net with a photo (copyrighted) of a landing over Maho on January 6, 2016.

 

gary

 

 

wow, that is LOW landing!!

 

I was there when the Embrair jet made a very similar landing last year...I took a video of it and I watch it every so often just to remind myself how low it actually was!!!

[Karysa]

Here is a page at Airliners.net with a photo (copyrighted) of a landing over Maho on January 6, 2016.

 

gary

 

This picture shows the condition of the beach and just how many people come for the planes. The beach chairs far down belong to a resort and not to either of the two beach bars on Maho. Thanks for posting this Gary. :)

Edited January 21, 2016 by Karysa

[Jezo]

I have been looking on Instagram for #mahobeach and I see a lot of stuff there, tons of people are in all of the pictures, as expected, but I still cant figure out the condition of the sand and if there are chairs or areas to set up camp for an afternoon.

[thamanrp]

I made this video for our cruise in December. The last part was at Maho Beach. Hope it gives you some idea.

 

[Jezo]

So it looks like there is enough room if you want to hang out on the beach and go in the water.

 

Not a lot like there used to be, but people are swimming and hanging out, its just not a boulder field.

[Karysa]

So it looks like there is enough room if you want to hang out on the beach and go in the water.

 

Not a lot like there used to be, but people are swimming and hanging out, its just not a boulder field.

 

That would depend how many ships are in and how many people show up. KLM day is always the busiest. Many vacationers choose that day for their Maho visit.

[cindy_k]

I'm glad to see there is still sand. I am going in a few weeks and was afraid it was going to be just a bar on some rocks.

 

Its been a few years since I visited and I remember reading that at some point there was almost no sand left on the beach after a few hurricanes had sucked it all away.

 

:D Can't wait to go! :D

Thanks for linking that great picture.

[Jezo]

That would depend how many ships are in and how many people show up. KLM day is always the busiest. Many vacationers choose that day for their Maho visit.

 

A whole whopping two ships in port the Sunday we are there, the Gem and the Costa Favolosa, so not too bad compared to times where there are half a dozen ships in the area.

[Karysa]

A whole whopping two ships in port the Sunday we are there, the Gem and the Costa Favolosa, so not too bad compared to times where there are half a dozen ships in the area.

 

Is the KLM in that day? Hopefully it will be. :)

[Jezo]

I know how to see what ships are in port but where do I go to see what the airport schedule is?

[oceanlvr1016]

I know that you can rent chairs at Driftwood Bar but can you rent umbrellas too?