Spotting in the Caribbean. St Maarten.
St Maarten
Probably still once of the most famous places in the world for getting '' up close '' to the aircraft from down on the '' Beach ''
St Maarten located in the Dutch part of the Caribbean isn't a busy airport. Movements are mainly dominated by local airlines such as LIAT. Traffic from the USA starts from 10am through till 4pm. The main attraction for the locals is the daily arrival of an Air France A340 from Paris CDG. Each afternoon at around 2.30pm the end of Maho Beach gets crowed by locals and tourists to see the A340 arrive low over the beach.
Hotel - Sonnesta Maho Beach. Resort & Casino. http://www.sonesta.com/mahobeach/ - Prices on an All Inclusive room basis in a Sea View/Runway View room range between £110-£140 per night. per room.
Here is the view from room 501. Taken from the balcony.
You can also spot from the pool areas around the hotel. All offer views of the approach over Maho Beach and those lining up for departure. Here is the view taken from the main pool area.
The best views by far are found on Maho Beach. The hotel is built on to this beach and you can walk to the end of the runway along the beach within 5 minutes. Here is the view.
On Maho Beach is another excellent spot called the Sunset Beach Bar http://www.sunsetbeachbar.com/, Some excellent photos of aircraft lining up for departure can be taken from this point as well as those famous shots of those arriving LOW over the beach. Here is the view taken from the Sunset Beach Bar.
Places to eat and shop around the hotel.
Although your board basis is All Inclusive, The town of Maho is only a 5 minute walk outside the hotel. This is a good area to get buy cheap souvenirs. There are some good bars to be found also.
Spotting from the Terminals.
St Maarten is a small airport and therefore the terminal isn't very big, However once airside you have full view of the airport including the GA Apron.
To see all my other photos from St Maarten click here. http://worldwidephotos.pm.fotopic.net/c1414438.html