St.Maarten. December, 2021

St. Maarten is a small island in the Caribbean Sea. The island is famous for its beautiful beaches, crystal-clear turquoise waters, white sand, and consistently warm climate. It is also home to one of the most unique airports in the world. Located just 12 meters from Maho Beach, it is famous for planes flying directly over the heads of beachgoers as they approach the runway.

Our hotel was located right on this very beach. So here is my report from a vacation spent "under the wings of airplanes"...

The flight from Toronto is direct and takes about 4.5 hours. Just a few more minutes by bus, and we go from winter straight into summer

Our hotel, Sonesta Maho Beach Resort, was small, like most resorts on the island. We walked out of the lobby straight to the pool and continued toward the beach, where we didn’t have to wait long before the planes began flying overhead.

The flights only operated during the daytime and didn’t disturb anyone. In fact, quite the opposite — people would come to our resort specifically to watch the planes and take photos with them flying in the background

We didn’t swim at this beach very often because the waves were usually quite strong, but the girls loved jumping in the waves

We loved taking a 10-minute walk and arriving at one of the most beautiful beaches on the island — Mullet Bay Beach

We spent a lot of time on this beach. The water was unbelievably clear and warm, and the sun felt surprisingly gentle. None of us got sunburned, and we all came home with a beautiful tan. The daytime temperature stayed consistently around +29°C, but the heat was never overwhelming, even in direct sunlight. In the evenings, a pleasant breeze made the weather even more enjoyable.

We were vacationing with friends, and there were also some familiar faces from Toronto staying at the resort. To our surprise, we later discovered that our daughter’s friend was also traveling to the same place with her family during those exact same days

We had breakfast at the buffet, and then stepped outside to enjoy the fresh air — with a beautiful ocean view to accompany our coffee

For dinner, we went to the resort’s restaurants. There were two options: a steakhouse, where guests could cook their own food on hot stones, and an Italian restaurant

The Italian restaurant quickly became our favorite. Here we are waiting for dinner... and my husband is waiting for the next airplane to fly overhead

Of course, we also enjoyed the drinks from the bar. The resort didn’t have a large stage or big shows, but there was live music in the evenings. Across the street was a casino, where we could watch a stand-up comedy show, enjoy a magician’s performance, or try our luck at the casino itself

St. Maarten is a prosperous and safe island. We felt completely comfortable leaving the resort, walking around, visiting restaurants and pubs, shopping, renting a car, and exploring different beaches. Since we only had one week, we decided not to rent a car, but we still wanted to see more of the island. One day, we took a taxi and went to explore the town of Philipsburg, the capital of the country. We chose a day when no cruise ships were scheduled to arrive at the port, so both the town and the beach would be less crowded. As soon as we stepped out of the taxi, we found ourselves at the local market. Since our trip took place right before Christmas, the town was beautifully decorated for the holiday season

We spent some time browsing the local shops

We listened to local musicians and then stopped at Great Bay Beach. Along the beach, there were small stalls selling food and various souvenirs

We were very lucky with the beach. As I mentioned, no large cruise ships arrived that day, so the beach was pleasantly quiet and not crowded.

Some of us stocked up on beer, while the sky became cloudy and a brief rain shower passed by. But, as is typical in the Caribbean, these showers are very short-lived — just 10 minutes later, no one even remembered it had rained

We spent a lot of time sunbathing and swimming, and we also built a Caribbean snowman... just the way an artist imagines it :)

One of the days we had a yacht trip planned. We arrived at the port. The yachts all around us were absolutely stunning

We set sail

The first stop of our yacht trip was Creole Rock — a beautiful coral reef. Snorkeling enthusiasts jumped into the water to admire the colourful tropical fish swimming around the reef.

Our next stop was Tintamarre Island. This uninhabited island is famous for its wild beaches and breathtaking turquoise waters, where sea turtles freely swim. Everyone who wanted to took the chance to jump into the water, and many were lucky enough to spot turtles — while some even got the unforgettable experience of touching them!

Here you can see a turtle popping its head out of the water. The girls were relaxing on paddle boards while a delicious lunch was being prepared

We sailed further and arrived at another island — Pinel Island. We jumped off the yacht and swam to shore to walk around the beach for a while. For those who hadn’t had enough of the unlimited alcoholic drinks on the yacht, there was an option to take a “bomb” with them. It was filled with a drink, and you could easily swim with it or even toss it to a friend :)

On the island, we were greeted by its native residents