How to Enjoy a Perfect Afternoon in St. Maarten

Sint Maarten is part of a Caribbean island shared with Saint Martin. Notice the different in spelling? That’s because the island is uniquely shared between two nations - St. Maarten is Dutch and St. Martin is French. The currency is also different depending on what side of the island you’re on, although US dollars are accepted across the island.

St. Maarten is known for its famous Maho Beach, which is adjacent to the airport runway where planes fly right above beachgoers below. Although Maho Beach is a great experience, I don’t recommend spending too much time there, so here’s how to enjoy the perfect afternoon on the island.

A Hidden Beach

Start your morning at Mullet Bay (pictured above), a beautiful quiet beach with crystal-clear waters. It’s truly one of my favorite beaches in the WORLD and everything you’d want on a Caribbean vacation.

Beach chairs and umbrellas are available to rent, and a nearby snack bar serves a variety of foods and drinks. Since the waves are so calm, I recommend taking a water tube or swim noodles to sit on while relaxing in the water. There are also some fish that swim around if you’d like to bring snorkel gear. It’s best to get there early before some tour boats stop by in the afternoon.

Maho Beach

If you’d like to check out the planes landing at Maho Beach, head over there around 1:30pm-2pm as it’s only a 15-minute walk from Mullet Bay. It’s definitely an incredible sight to see huge planes fly right above you, and I recommend at least stopping by for this one-of-a-kind experience. However, after seeing a few planes land, it can feel a bit redundant so a full day isn’t needed there.

There are restaurants on either side of the beach with outdoor seating and perfect views of the planes. There are also signs nearby with the arrival times. The larger aircrafts arrive between 1:30pm-5pm, so you can time your afternoon accordingly.

You’ll notice the rocks in the image below, but depending on the tide, weather, and time of year, the beach can sometimes be completely covered in sand.