Cruise Port to Maho Beach

Getting there

Maho sits at the western end of the island, directly under the approach to Princess Juliana. From the cruise terminal it is about 13 km, which runs to 18 minutes on a clear road and closer to 25 through Simpson Bay traffic on a busy port day.

The Simpson Bay bridge is the variable. It opens on a schedule to let boats through, and while it is open this road stops entirely. We plan around the published times.

Back on board, worked through

The maths is not tight, but here it is properly rather than as reassurance.

Take a ship in at 8am with all aboard at 5pm. Ashore by 8:45 once the gangway clears. Twenty-five minutes to Maho puts you on the sand by 9:15. Leave at 3pm, back at the terminal by 3:30, and you are aboard with well over an hour to spare.

That is a nine-hour call with about four hours committed. Even a short six-hour call works — it just means less time on the beach, not a rush.

Back on board is guaranteed. Your return is set at a time we work backwards from your all-aboard, and if something on the road goes wrong it is ours to solve, not yours.

Whether it is worth your port day

It depends entirely on what you came for, so here is the honest version.

Go if you want the aircraft. There is genuinely nowhere else like it. The approach crosses the beach at a height that does not look survivable until you have watched a few, and the photographs are as good as everyone says.

Do not bother if the landing schedule is thin that day. Between about 3:30pm and the following morning, Maho is an ordinary beach with a steep shore break and a lot of bars. The planes are the point, and without them the drive is not worth your port day.

Consider instead Mullet Bay, ten minutes further west, which is the better swimming beach by a wide margin — or staying in Philipsburg if you would rather shop and keep the ship in sight.

What is actually there

Bars and restaurants along the road behind the beach, chairs and umbrellas for hire, and public toilets at the bar end. There is no shade to speak of on the sand itself, so bring a hat rather than plan to buy one.

The jet blast fence at the runway end carries warning signs that are not decorative. People are hurt there most years holding onto the fence during departures. Watch the arrivals, which are the spectacular part anyway, and stand well clear of anything taking off.

What it costs

The official tariff from the cruise port to Maho is $25 for one or two passengers, then $9 per person for three to five and $8 each above that. A group of six pays $48 each way — $96 for the round trip.

Ours is per vehicle and includes the wait while you are on the beach, which is the part a metered fare does not cover at all. A taxi that drops you at Maho is not a taxi that is there when you want to leave.