Saint Martin airport in the Caribbean. The uniqueness of the island of saint-martin and helpful tips. Beaches. Which is better

Here! I want to get here for a long time and "grab the plane by the tail." This is not "photoshop" - this is a real place. Cool!

Remember, we have already discussed it ...

The island of Saint Martin, located in the Caribbean Sea, has a lot to do with interesting facts... Not only is it the smallest inhabited island in the world, but it is also governed by two independent governments, France and the Netherlands, at the same time! However, the main thing that St. Maarten, that when approaching, the planes almost touch the beach and tourists resting on it.

During the whole history Caribbean islands, most of them were inhabited by Indians. Saint Martin was no exception. Saint Martin Island was the home of the Arawak Indians. Of course, as history says, the island was discovered by Christopher Columbus, however, before European explorers reached St. Marty's, the Caribbean Indians attacked the island, capturing the local population, many of whom were killed. Most of the Arawak Indians were taken as slaves by the Caribbean. When the Europeans arrived on the island, it was already under the control of the aggressive Caribbean Indian warriors.

Columbus has never been to St. Martin, but history says that on November 11, 1493, Columbus saw the island and named it after the feast of St. Martin of Tours.

Saint Martin, an island of 37 square miles, is the smallest land mass in the world, divided between two governments. Its dual owners are France and Holland.

And of course the island has two capitals, or administrative centers. These are Marigot, the administrative center of the French side, and the city of Philipsburg, the capital of the part of the island belonging to the Netherlands. These two states peacefully share a small patch paradise island, for over 350 years.

Isle of Saint Martin is located, about 150 miles east of Puerto Rico, and belongs to Netherlands Antilles.

French territory, occupying approximately two-thirds of the island's territory, is considered a European territory and community. The Dutch side, belongs to the Netherlands Antilles, and is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and is not considered a European territory. On Saint Martin, there are no real boundaries, just humble monuments and signs.

The island is known for its exotic nature, almost ideal for relaxation. Also its visitors, the island impresses with its beaches and nightlife, and the shops and restaurants of Saint Martin, the best in The Caribbean.

Saint Martin Island is an island with a fast growing economy, home to residents from more than 90 countries around the world.

Saint Martin Island is rich in beaches, there are 37 of them on the island, all of them are open to the general public.

The island will appeal to everyone. And for those who like scuba diving, and those who like to travel on a yacht and those who just like to sunbathe. But you need to remember that the rays of the Caribbean sun burn the skin of the body very much, and therefore without sunscreen, the doctors of the island, strongly do not recommend sunbathing.

Also, if you are going to the island of St. Martin to relax with children, then you need to carefully approach the choice of the beach, given that some of the island's beaches are nudist. One such official beach is Cupecoy Beach on the Dutch side of St. Martin.

On the Dutch side, there are beautiful long beaches with golden sand and green mountains, where you can sunbathe, play ball or Frisbee.

Down Beach is one of the best beaches, for scuba diving. Even swimming not far from the coast, you can see beautiful exotic fish swimming calmly by the coral reefs.

Guano Bay is a beach that is perfect for guys who love surfing, as well as strong swimmers who love a hard kickback.

Bay Long, on the French side, is a beach for the rich and famous. The two-mile beach with the most expensive real estate. Multimillion-dollar homes overlook a picturesque view of a white sand beach.

It is worth remembering that all tourists arriving on St. Martin must have a return ticket. Also, if a citizen arriving on the island has more than $ 11,000 with him, then this must be reported to the customs service and filled in a declaration. If you intend to bring a dog or cat, or any other animal with you to the island, then you must have a veterinarian certificate with you, not older than 6 months.

Saint Martin is in the Atlantic time zone, which is - 4 hours Greenwich Mean Time (GMT-4).

Any foreigner wishing to work on Saint Martin must have a work permit before arriving on the island. This must be arranged by an employer wishing to hire a foreigner.

Princess Juliana airport Is one of the largest transport hubs in the Caribbean region. One of the ten most dangerous airports in the world. Located on the island of St. Martin. During World War II, an airfield was built on the island, which is now the Princess Juliana International Airport. Takeoff / landing of medium or high difficulty for the pilot, depending on weather conditions.

The end of the airport runway is located right on the seashore, close to the Maho beach, so that when approaching, aircraft fly at an altitude of 10-20 meters over the heads of tourists relaxing on the beach behind the end of the runway. The place is known as "Spotter's Paradise".

There is an international airport on the island. In 1942, during the Second World War, an airstrip was built on the island. In 1944, the island was visited by Crown Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, landing on this strip. A year later, the Dutch authorities opened a small airport on this site, which later grew into an international one.

Princess Juliana Airport, also known as St. Martin International Airport, serves the Dutch side of St. Martin's Island. In 2007, the airport handled almost 1.7 million passengers and 104 thousand aircraft, which is still its record to date.

The airport serves as the hub for the airways of the Windward Islands and is the main gateway to the smaller Leeward Islands, including Anguilla, Saba, St. Bartholomew's Island and St. Eustatius Island.

Princess Juliana Airport is one of the most dangerous airports in the world, with a high difficulty of landing. He received such fame because of the very low altitude when landing on the runway, as well as the fact that the Maho beach and the sea are almost adjacent to the runway. History Channel ranked it as the 4th most dangerous airport in the world.

Despite the fact that the airport of Princess Juliana has a high difficulty of landing, there have been two accidents in its history. The first occurred on May 2, 1970, when McDonnell Douglas DC-9CF Flight 980 crashed into the sea near the beach. Killed 22 people out of 57. The weather at that time did not allow landing on the first try, the pilots decided to make several more attempts, but, alas, they ran out of fuel. The second - on December 21, 1972, an Air France De Havilland Canada Twin Otter flight took off from Guadeloupe, but fell into the sea on approach, killing all 11 passengers on board, along with both pilots.

We can say that the island of St. Martin is more popular among photo tourists than among amateurs. beach holiday... Almost everyone arriving at the Princess Juliana airport, after leaving the airport, do not go to the hotel, but go straight to the beach to photograph themselves against the background of a landing plane that flies overhead.

And here is the airport itself:

Saint-Martin has only one airport, which annually receives tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world. The only feature of this airport is its short runway - only 2,130 meters, which is not enough for the landing of wide-body Boeing-747 aircraft. The people of Saint-Martin are certainly not happy about this fact, but somehow it is necessary to receive tourists.

So planes fly from the mainland to Saint-Martin literally over the heads of vacationers. The fact is that the territory of the airport. Princess Juliana begins right behind a thin strip of beach, where they lie under the scorching Caribbean sun locals and tourists. Some travel agencies they even make special tours for those wishing to view the huge area of ​​the bottom of a Boeing, lying on the warm golden sand.

It is not for nothing that the island bears the unspoken status of a unique one. First, the territory of Saint-Martin is peacefully divided by two states. Secondly, it is the smallest land on which two countries coexist on the planet. Thirdly, one of the most unusual airports in the world is located here. There are fifth, seventh, tenth ...

Saint Martin on the map

Isle of Saint Martin on the world map or detailed map the islands can be viewed using the navigation buttons (+/-). Caribbean on the map

Since the island belongs to two European powers geographically, it has two names: the French say Saint-Martin (accent on the last syllable), while the Dutch call Sint-Maarten. Accordingly, there are also two administrative centers: Marigot (French) and Philipsburg (Dutch).

An extraordinary island is located in the north of the archipelago Eastern Islands West Indies. The total area is 87 km², with the Netherlands holding a smaller part - 34 km². On French soil (53 km²) is the highest point of the island (424 meters) - Mount Paradise Peak. The Caribbean Sea washes the coast of this political and geographical miracle.

Holidays on Saint Martin

South Drive, solar energy, luxury holidays - this is Saint-Martin. The whole spectrum of traditional beach pastime for which the Caribbean is famous is available on the island in full, so the facts will be more informative:

• giant Boeings take off / land incredibly low right above Maho Beach;
• the best beaches are Mullet Bay, Orient Beach and the same extreme Maho;
• duty-free shopping and beloved by millions of tourists, the Dute Free zone will provide an exciting shopping experience at affordable prices;
• the euro, the guilder, and the dollar are equally valid;
• the most popular bar is Sunset bar & Grill on Maho;
• Marina Simpson bay is the most comfortable for living: in a minute proximity to the beach, developed infrastructure, many cafes and restaurants with first-class cuisine and live music;
• you can get anywhere in Saint-Martin by minibus or rented car.

Tourists, despite the two euro-hosts, move freely throughout the island, freely crossing the conditional border-pillar. The only thing is that you need to decide in advance on which side to spend the night - which country will provide a visa depends on it. And further. It's easy to bump into cooing, unconventional couples on a nudist beach, so homophobic travelers should avoid these places.

Airport "Princess Juliana" on the island of Saint Martin

The nature of Saint Martin

The exotic charm of the Caribbean nature is revealed one hundred percent on Saint-Martin, although the soil here is not fertile. The territory is a rounded summit of an inactive volcano. The island is surrounded by a scattering of picturesque coral plantations around the perimeter, which are easily accessible by swimming. The wealth of the underwater kingdom will provide exciting diving and effective fishing (white and blue marlin, barracuda, wahoo, less often sea urchin, etc.).

Ground chic is as good as underwater. There are palm trees, cactus trees, lush thickets of forests, and iridescent fields of cotton, vegetable crops, and reeds on the miniature land. Flower lovers arrive in ecstasy from the variety of buds, their aromas, shades, sizes. The fauna is many times poorer than the flora and is represented mainly by feral livestock, birds and lizards.

The magnificent Saint-Martin can be discovered for yourself every day, but you cannot fully understand it - such a compact Caribbean island is diverse. Ecotourists will certainly appreciate walking through the Botanical Gardens and Zoo, located on the Netherlands side. Also in the Dutch part of the island, excursions to nine churches, inspection of buildings of the colonial era, the monument to Her Majesty Wilhelmina, the forts of Amsterdam and Willem, the Sint Maarten Museum, Down Beach, Cole Bay Hill tower, Watney Square are popular.

And the French possessions will not disappoint tourists eager for impressions, especially amateurs nightlife- this is a real paradise of casinos, restaurants-bars, discos, beach parties, original music. The day can be devoted to inspecting in French graceful buildings on the Rue de la République, climb to the ancient fortress of Saint-Louis, explore the unique exhibitions in the Museum of Culture and History of Saint-Martin and the Loulou Gallery, take a photo against the background of the original building in which the Rue de la Court is located Liberte. Then go for a run through the Marigot market, go to the Creole village of Colombier, take a tasting tour of the gastronomic capital of Gran Caz, and relax at the charming Butterfly Farm.

Princess Juliana Airport in the Dutch part of the island of Saint-Martin is one of the largest air hubs in the Caribbean. One of the ten most dangerous airports in the world. In the seventeenth century, the conquistadors sieged for a long time, but they could not take possession of the island, which was divided between the Netherlands and France according to the oldest treaty of 1648. By the way, the treaty is still in force de jure. In 1942, an airfield was hastily built here, which is now an international airport. Named after the Queen of the Netherlands, who visited here as Crown Princess in 1944, a year after the airport opened.

The runway is only 2,180 meters long - barely enough for large liners. For heavy aircraft, such as the Boeing 747 or Airbus A340, this is not enough - but there are no other options for landing. The pilots start the liner to land directly over the famous Maho Beach. This is why this place is so popular with plannerspotters. Maho Beach is the perfect place to take a closer look at low-flying aircraft. It's hard to believe in the authenticity of the pictures: giant liners fly at an altitude of 10-20 meters above the rest. Despite the unusual conditions of takeoff and landing, not a single accident was recorded here.

Saint Martin Island is the smallest piece of land in the world with dual citizenship. The northern part is regulated by the French government, while the southern part is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. English is spoken on both sides, Dutch is the official language on the south side, and French is on the northern half of the island. The island has two capitals - Marigot and Philipsburg. When they say Saint-Martin, they mean the French part of the island, and Saint-Martin (or Sint-Maarten) means the Dutch part. There is also an airport on the French side of the island near Marigot called Aéroport de Grand Case.

Terminal

The new four-storey building offers all the services you need on the road. Air-conditioned premises, shops, pharmacies, ATMs, taxi and information desks. Wi-Fi in the terminal is ubiquitous.

You can land a liner at this unusual airport in the popular flight simulator game Microsoft Flight Simulator X. In the full version of the program, this mission is called "Caribbean Landing".

How to get there

Rent a car. The following car rental companies are represented here:

• Adventure Car Rental American Car Rentals
• Avis car rental Best Deal car rental
• Hertz Car Rental Lucky Car Rental
• Paradise Island Car rental Safari car rental
• Sidro United Sunshine Car Rental
• Thrifty Car Rental

You can ask the price and immediately book a car of any class on the official websites.

Taxis ride tirelessly all over the island. Moving from the airport to the nearest city of Philipsburg will cost about $ 30.

Airport shuttle buses run all over the island. They have no numbers, the route is written on the bus itself. The island is small, any transport moves freely throughout the territory.

There are also hotel shuttles. Many hotels on the coast have their own shuttle service.

During the Great Geographical Discoveries, many European countries acquired overseas territories and colonies. Some colonies later achieved independence, but there are places that are still "under the wing" (remember this phrase, it will be needed a little later) of the Europeans.

This happened with the island of Saint-Martin. This small piece of land in the beautiful Caribbean Sea was divided between France and the Netherlands. And practically in half. The northern part of the island is owned by France, the southern part, respectively, belongs to the Netherlands. The name of the island is pronounced slightly differently by the French and the Dutch. Saint-Martin for the French and Sint-Marten for the Dutch. Translated, both means "St. Martin's Island".

We will not touch the island itself for now, we will only pay attention to the part of it that belongs to the Netherlands, or rather to West Coast this part. It is here that one of the most dangerous airports on the planet and one of the most dangerous beaches in the world is located. These are Princess Juliana Airport and Maho Beach, which is right at the beginning of its runway.

It was the Maho beach that attracted our (and not only our) attention. It is located, as we have already said, in the western part of the island just north of Berjo Bay.

Maho beach on the map

• Geographic coordinates 18.039228, -63.120539
• Distance from the capital of the Netherlands about 7000 km
• Nearest airport across the fence from the beach

What is Maho Beach famous for?

The beach itself is unlikely to evoke violent emotions. It is only 300 meters of sandy coast, up to 20 meters wide. But its southern half ... will not cause any adrenaline either, until a giant passenger airliner such as Boeing 767 or Airbus A320 flies over your head at a height of only a couple of tens of meters. A plane over the beach can fly at any time of the day or night. As you can imagine, airplanes flying over the beach are not a tourist attraction at all. Flying over a small beach, the plane lands literally behind its fence.

This is where the phrase "under the wing" comes to mind. Tourists, basking in the sand, are literally "under the wing" of planes landing or taking off over Maho Beach.

The beach and the beginning of the runway are separated by a road and a mesh fence. The airport just behind the beach has a rather limited runway length of only 2300 meters and ends with Simpson Lagoon. This is a fairly short stretch for large aircraft. In addition, the runway from the north and east is bounded by Simpson Lagoon, and from the south by the bay of the same name with the lagoon.

It turns out such a narrow tie surrounded by water, which the plane must hit. He has to descend as much as possible to land at the very beginning of the runway. Therefore, planes fly over the beach, almost catching the heads of tourists with their landing gear, and therefore the airport is considered extremely difficult to fly.

Maho beach and spotters

It is natural to see an airplane landing or taking off over the beach, and even almost at arm's length, the dream of many extreme lovers. They are also called spotters. These are the people who love to watch airplanes. And Maho beach is perfect for this.

Here you can practically scratch the belly of a landing plane (well, if you jump well). Of course, this is a joke, the authorities do not really welcome such an activity. Everywhere in the beach area, warning signs are posted that stop few people.

The famous Sunset Bar and Grill cafe is located next to the beach. Here, until August 2015, a loudspeaker was installed, which warned of the approach of aircraft. On the beach you can see information boards where the schedule of aircraft landings and takeoffs is written.

Quite crazy tourists have the same crazy entertainment, something like "withstand the jet stream." This is when a group of people tries to get hit by a strong stream from an airplane taking off and tries to resist. Someone succeeds, but someone falls off their feet, because the flow speed can reach 160 km / h.

We, as sane people, warn you, as sane people, in no case try to repeat this. Games with death will not lead to any good. In addition, there has already been a vivid confirmation of this. On July 12, 2017, a 57-year-old New Zealand tourist was killed when Caribbean Airlines Flight 457 departed from Princess Juliana Airport. The jet stream from the plane with its flow strongly threw the woman onto the concrete, as a result of which she died. After all, it is not in vain that warning signs are hung on the beach.

Relax on the Maho beach, swim in the gentle Caribbean Sea and sunbathe on the sand in the usual sense of a beach holiday, you are unlikely to succeed. But to tickle your nerves and get a lethal dose of adrenaline will definitely work out.

For a classic beachfront getaway, head to San Salvador Island. It is located 1350 km to the northwest. Well, if finances allow, then to the island of Laucala, located on the other side of the world, 13,000 kilometers from Saint-Martin.

1. The beach is popular not only among lovers of selfies against the background of a landing plane, but also among windsurfers and skinboarders because of the large waves that periodically appear here, caused by jet streams from aircraft taking off.
2. Maho Beach is completely devoid of flora, as this area is constantly exposed to jet streams from aircraft
3. In October 2008, Hurricane Omar blew away all the sand from the beach, leaving only bare stones. The authorities had to import sand here from other places and refill the beach.
4. In September 2017, hurricane Irma already tested Maho beach not strength

Maho beach photo

Maho beach videos

The famous host of the "Heads and Tails" program Anton Ptushkin in this video will show you what a beach with planes overhead is like.

Incredible facts

The most incredible airport is located on the island of Sint Maarten in the Caribbean. The oddity of this airport is that planes, approaching landing, fly a few meters above the beach with tourists resting there, and the runway itself starts very close to the coast.

Looking at the photos of the landing Boeings and Airbases, it may seem that this is just a joke for those who like to play with Photoshop, but the reality is this: the territory of the island is so small, and there are so many people who want to come here that you have to save space.

The slightest mistake by the pilot, and you can end up in the water.

Airplanes are landing, alarming serene relaxation vacationers.

The airport was built to serve the island of Sint Maarten. It is the second busiest airport in the eastern Caribbean.

The runway is very small and starts just 12 meters from the beach and is only 2,180 meters long.

Fortunately, so far there have been no reports of any disasters in the vicinity of this dangerous airport.

Those who fear the thrill will prefer another, less "nervous" place to relax.

1) Airport on the Caribbean island of Saba. The runway of this airport is located in a rather strange place: there are cliffs at both ends. However, it costs nothing for an experienced pilot to land a plane in the right place if there is at least some kind of runway.

A similar situation is observed in Madeira Island where there is a break on one side of the strip. For a while, this airport was notorious for having a runway that was too short, which was squeezed on one side by mountains and on the other by the ocean. The strip was later widened and doubled in size by installing a pillared bridge on one side.

Gorny airport

2) Courchevel airport (France). Courchevel - name ski resort in the French Alps, which is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. The easiest way to get to these places is by plane.

Do you think that it is impossible to build an airport in the mountains? It is possible, albeit a little strange. Courchevel Airport has a very short runway - only 525 meters in length, with a slope of 18.5 degrees!

3) Barra airport Is the only airport in the world where planes land right on the beach. Isle of Barra is one of the islands of the Outer Hebrides archipelago, which belongs to Great Britain.

There is practically no runway in these places, and the planes land directly on the beach. Due to the high tides, once a day, this strange airport is literally submerged under water. Needless to say, resting on this beach is prohibited?

Unusual airport on the island

4) international Airport Kansai the Japanese city of Osaka occupies an entire island. Since the Japanese cannot boast of large spaces and every bit of land counts, they had to build an airport before building an island for it.

The artificial island consists of two parts, the length of most of it is 4 kilometers, and the width of the island is 2.5 kilometers. This island is a true masterpiece of engineering. Unfortunately, due to global warming and rising sea levels, this artificial island flooding threatens.