Video
The small beach of Maho on the western shore of St Maarten is a pleasant enough although by Caribbean standards, fairly unremarkable. Yes, there is white powder sand and yes, the water is crystal clear aquamarine - but around these parts that doesn't make it anything special.
What puts Maho beach on the map is that it sits right at the end of the main runway of St Maarten's Princess Juliana international airport. This means that several times a day aircraft practically skim the heads of the those on the beach as they come into land. And we aren't just talking small island hoppers here - there are regular Boeing 747 / jumbo jets flying in from Europe which as you can see from the photo and video make for some pretty spectacular scenes.
It isn't just the planes landing that draw a crowd. For those with slightly more masochistic tendencies there is the take-off. Whilst this sounds much the same as the landing it is a whole different experience. The aircraft actually take off in the opposite direction to the beach, but as they prepare to head down the runway they jet blast is like a mini hurricane. There is plenty of footage around of people being literally blown over on the beach as towels and bags go hurtling towards the sea. For the ultimate (and sand free) experience, you can hang on to the perimeter fence of the airport as the jets rev up.
Maho Beach Weather Info
5 Day Maho Beach UV Index
A UV Index reading of 3 or more means some precautions should be taken. For more information visit our guide to the UV Index.
Temperature Averages
Average Water Temp
Maho Beach tide times & sea state
Thu 21/02 »
| Swell | Wind | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5:00 | 6ft | 8s |  |
 |
23mph |
| 11:00 | 6ft | 7s | |
|
24mph |
| 17:00 | 6ft | 8s | |
|
21mph |
| Tide times |
|---|
| Low 01:38am (0.32m) |
| High 07:47am (5.98m) |
| Low 02:03pm (0.25m) |
| High 08:10pm (5.68m) |
| Daylight | |
|---|---|
| First light | 06:13 |
| Sunrise | 06:35 |
| Sunset | 18:16 |
| Dark | 18:38 |
Fri 22/02 »
| Swell | Wind | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5:00 | 7ft | 8s | |
|
23mph |
| 11:00 | 7ft | 8s | |
|
22mph |
| 17:00 | 7ft | 8s | |
|
21mph |
| Tide times |
|---|
| Low 02:20am (0.45m) |
| High 08:27am (5.83m) |
| Low 02:43pm (0.48m) |
| High 08:47pm (5.49m) |
| Daylight | |
|---|---|
| First light | 06:13 |
| Sunrise | 06:35 |
| Sunset | 18:16 |
| Dark | 18:38 |
Sat 23/02 »
| Swell | Wind | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5:00 | 7ft | 9s | |
|
23mph |
| 11:00 | 7ft | 9s | |
|
22mph |
| 17:00 | 7ft | 9s | |
|
20mph |
| Tide times |
|---|
| Low 02:59am (0.73m) |
| High 09:02am (5.56m) |
| Low 03:22pm (0.85m) |
| High 09:21pm (5.22m) |
| Daylight | |
|---|---|
| First light | 06:12 |
| Sunrise | 06:34 |
| Sunset | 18:16 |
| Dark | 18:38 |
Sun 24/02 »
| Swell | Wind | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5:00 | 7ft | 7s | |
|
23mph |
| 11:00 | 7ft | 7s | |
|
22mph |
| 17:00 | 6ft | 7s | |
|
17mph |
| Tide times |
|---|
| Low 03:37am (1.11m) |
| High 09:36am (5.21m) |
| Low 03:59pm (1.29m) |
| High 09:54pm (4.91m) |
| Daylight | |
|---|---|
| First light | 06:12 |
| Sunrise | 06:33 |
| Sunset | 18:17 |
| Dark | 18:39 |
Mon 25/02 »
| Swell | Wind | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5:00 | 6ft | 7s | |
|
23mph |
| 11:00 | 6ft | 7s | |
|
20mph |
| 17:00 | 6ft | 7s | |
|
18mph |
| Tide times |
|---|
| Low 04:15am (1.54m) |
| High 10:11am (4.85m) |
| Low 04:38pm (1.73m) |
| High 10:33pm (4.62m) |
| Daylight | |
|---|---|
| First light | 06:11 |
| Sunrise | 06:33 |
| Sunset | 18:17 |
| Dark | 18:39 |
Tue 26/02 »
| Swell | Wind | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5:00 | 6ft | 8s | |
|
20mph |
| 11:00 | 6ft | 8s | |
|
21mph |
| 17:00 | 6ft | 8s | |
|
19mph |
| Tide times |
|---|
| Low 04:59am (1.95m) |
| High 10:58am (4.51m) |
| Low 05:27pm (2.13m) |
| High 11:33pm (4.38m) |
| Daylight | |
|---|---|
| First light | 06:10 |
| Sunrise | 06:32 |
| Sunset | 18:17 |
| Dark | 18:39 |
Today's weather
25 °C
(77 °F)
