We were in SXM last Jan/Feb and stayed close to Maho Beach. It was crowded like that almost everyday. Trying to get through the Maho area was crazy. We'll never stay in that area again, people are banging in to each other trying to get selfies of the planes coming in, when they leave it's a mess full of plastic bottles and garbage.
The big problem is that now, there are ship excursions that bring the people to airplane beach as they call it, they didn't in the past and Sunset beach bar/Maho beach was never that packed. We couldn't get in to Buccaneer beach bar/kim shau beach because the cruise ships had booked a hundred beach chairs and umbrellas.
When we were at Sandbar next to Sunset beach bar we met a lady from US somewhere and she said she will never come back to SXM because she thought all beaches were like that (Maho). We said no, you have to visit other beaches on both sides to see the island.
We went over to orient today. I like it when there's people and it's a little busy. We had a great day at Le String. Made reservations via what's ap and had front row when we arrived. Had a nice lunch along with several passion fruit mojitos which were delicious. Most of the beach was filled with cruisers but we never felt the crowd. It was just nice to see many of the beach bars enjoying a busy day. There was a little bit of traffic going but none coming back to Divi.
I like to print out the cruise schedule before we leave for SXM. This way I know if I have to run out early that morning and or if we are going to stay on property at Beachside villas. It's crazy how the ships dump hundreds of people at Maho, you can move in or out of Beacon Hill!!
It’s been a weird day for a no ship day. Quite a bit of snorkel excursion activity in Little Bay. And even the beach was busier today than any other day this week except yesterday. We’re planning on a trip to Maho tomorrow for lunch and plane watching while we wait for our room swap. Hoping for no crowds but who knows.
I'm sure you can either call, message or stop in to reserve what you want. It was very easy to do at LeString. I didn't see any beach bars on orient with live music but there's music playing from each beach bar for your enjoyment.
That place has always had the loudest and drunkest tourists. I go there every now and then and look at it as an anthropologist would do. As far as relaxing, even if people calm down you will still get the noise of planes.
I took this photo in 2009 of what I believe is the four engine Corsair that used to fly into St. Maarten. It is about the lowest I have ever seen one fly in. You can see the heads of people at the bottom of the picture which shows how low it was. I was so close and the plane so low, I couldn't fit it into the picture frame. Also, note the seagull trying to flee.
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