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Throwback Thursday: One Tropical Concorde

March 28, 2013 at 4:48 PM | by | Comments (0)

Sure, we love all the speed and comfort of modern travel, but it didn't get that way overnight. Every Thursday, we're going to take a look back at travel the way it used to be, whether that's decades or centuries ago. This is Throwback Thursday, travel edition.

"So this one time, I was tanning on the beach when a Concorde flew, like, right over me."

In 1989, an Air France Concorde made a very special flight to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten/St. Martin. It would be the only time Concorde landed at Princess Juliana International Airport on St. Maarten, but the airport itself hasn't forgotten. This photo is still on display, just after security, in the terminal at SXM.

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Making a Weekend on St. Maarten Happen: What To Do

February 28, 2013 at 5:28 PM | by | Comments (0)

Wondering when is the right time to jet down for a long weekend on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten? Right now, that's when. We did it and you can too, easily. All this week we'll be sharing the details on making the dream of sunning, sipping cocktails and spotting St. Maarten's notoriously low-flying planes a reality.

Everyone knows Maho Beach, where the airplanes land within a few hundred feet of the SPF-slathered bodies of gawking tourists, but there's more to St. Maarten than that. Rest assured that we'll bring you an entire guide to making the most of Maho tomorrow, but we can't forget the food and frolicking of other nooks of the island.

Here's four long weekend activities on St. Maarten (aside from plane spotting):

Clothing optional sunbathing

Look, St. Maarten is a tropical island split into French and Dutch sides, so prude land this is not. The most famous of the "clothing optional" beaches is Orient Bay, though it's quite a long drive which can be a challenge if you're only planning to spend a long weekend on St. Maarten. Still, the is very welcoming for ladies who prefer to tan au naturale, and Maho Beach's Sunset Bar & Grill famously lets topless ladies drink for free.

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The Adventures of Travel Cat: Maho Beach, St. Maarten

February 27, 2013 at 3:53 PM | by | Comments (0)

Kitty cats. They rule the internet and, whether we realize it or not, pretty much the world too. Ever noticed how cats sometimes stake out the coolest spots in a city? This new feature—Travel Cat—focuses on exactly that. Submit a photo to be featured by tweeting or Instagramming it to us (details below).

Travel Cat spotted at: Maho Beach, St. Maarten

This week's Travel Cat comes from yours truly! We were chillin' on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten a couple weeks back, pondering what best to recommend to you in our series on the destination, when we spotted these two likely also deep in thought.

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Making a Weekend on St. Maarten Happen: Where to Stay

February 26, 2013 at 6:48 PM | by | Comments (0)


One of the Sonesta's two pools has this awesome view of Maho beach & the end of the runway

Wondering when is the right time to jet down for a long weekend on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten? Right now, that's when. We did it and you can too, easily. All this week we'll be sharing the details on making the dream of sunning, sipping cocktails and spotting St. Maarten's notoriously low-flying planes a reality.

We're going to give it to you straight: the toughest bit of a planning travel to St. Maarten is figuring out a hotel that won't break the bank and isn't too far away from the good plane spotting at Maho Beach. The high season of winter takes hotels near sold-out levels, prime properties that look like hotels are actually condos or time-shares, and the island doesn't have an abundance of nice hotels as it is.

All that being said, there are a few to consider:

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Making a Weekend on St. Maarten Happen: How to Get There

February 25, 2013 at 11:38 AM | by | Comments (0)

Wondering when is the right time to jet down for a long weekend on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten? Right now, that's when. We did it and you can too, easily. All this week we'll be sharing the details on making the dream of sunning, sipping cocktails and spotting St. Maarten's notoriously low-flying planes a reality.

First off, you gotta get to St. Maarten. It's an island, by the way, so access options are limited to air and sea. Believe it or not, a nonstop flight from the US east coast to St. Maarten takes just over four hours; that's less than flying coast-to-coast and just a little less than going to Ireland. We know where we'd rather be.

For your reference, here's the Four Ways to Reach St. Maarten:

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Snap a Plane Photo That's Not so Plain, and Win $2,500

February 18, 2013 at 9:09 AM | by | Comments (0)

If you happen to be traveling to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten near the end of March from the 18th to the 23rd, you might be able to earn some cash from all the pictures you'll be snapping. $2,500, to be exact.

We've told you before about the infamous Maho Beach at Princess Juliana Airport—perhaps the most intimate airport in the world for those who aren't catching a flight. The St. Maarten Tourist Office is hosting an aviation photography contest for both amateurs and professionals to see who can capture the best "aviation action" over the island. First place will win $2,500, and judges will select six photos to be put on display in the arrival hall at Princess Juliana.

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Wish You Were Here: Plane Spotting at Maho Beach, St. Maarten

February 5, 2013 at 8:46 PM | by | Comments (0)


Tease! A group of guys in town from a cruise ship pose before an American flight from MIA zips into SXM

A huge hello from the Dutch/French Caribbean island of St. Maarten/St. Martin, perhaps better known as aviation geek paradise. Taking a little of our own sage advice, we pounced on one of the 80% off JetBlue #NYCFlightWeek airfare specials released last week, to find ourselves now transported 3.5 flying hours south of New York City. It may be 34 degrees on the East Coast, but it's 84 where we stand—which just happens to be right underneath arriving aircraft, at the famous planespotting destination of Maho Beach.

Joining us on Maho Beach? Oh, just about 1,000 others on this extremely busy day. We'd say about 90% are here for the adrenaline rush of having a Boeing 747 charge you straight-on, only to zoom some 100 feet overhead as it lands at the island's Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM).

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Why St. Maarten's Island Airport is Only Getting Larger and Awesomer

January 21, 2013 at 2:37 PM | by | Comments (0)

SXM. It's an airport code every avid traveler should know because it's more than just an airport; it's a kickass, bucketlist destination on its own.

SXM is Princess Juliana International Airport on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, aka the one that's split between Dutch (St. Maarten) and French (St. Martin) and aka the one that has what is arguably the best up-close plane spotting in the world. Photos and videos of the extremely low over-beach landings at St. Maarten are almost a YouTube genre in themselves.

While SXM has been a hotspot for plane spotting, island hopping and nude beaching (that last one on the French side!) for decades, it only got a modern terminal back in 2006. Now the airport will update to the tune of $132 million, which is roughly equivalent to half the draft budget of the entire St. Maarten government. So yeah, it's kind of a big deal.

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Tweet of the Week: The TSA Gets Touchy-Feely with Christian Louboutins

January 4, 2011 at 5:01 PM | by | Comments (0)

Aw heck no. The TSA can take our liquids and our iPad stands and our hair trimming shears, but when they reach to confiscate our shoes...that's crossing the line. Thanks to Racked.com, we've been alerted today to the fact that the TSA may want an extra, up-close look at your fancy footwear, especially if they happen to be metal-studded $1,200 luxury loafers. We're talking about infamously scarlet-soled Christian Louboutins, of course.

While flying back to the states via St. Maarten from a New Year's on St. Barths, artist/designer/producer (and supremely annoying tweeter) Taz Arnold (@tAzArnold) had his Louis Vuitton carry-all searched by security, and tweeted the above picture of not one—but three—TSA officers copping a feel on his shoesies:

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Island Danger: Jet Blasts May Cause Death On St. Maarten

July 30, 2009 at 11:19 AM | by | Comments (0)

We love airplanes, you love airplanes, so let's go look at airplanes! In our Prime Plane Spotting series, we'll let you in on all the best spots to whip out your cameras and binoculars for a piece of the aviation action.

No list of plane spotting locations is complete without highlighting the amazing daredevil antics that occur daily at Princess Juliana Airport on the French/Dutch Caribbean island of St. Maarten.

Due to the island's small size, mountainous center, and popularity with international tourists, jumbo jets from as far as Europe and island hoppers from neighbors like St. John zero in on a short runway that dead-ends right at the beach. This beach, Maho Bay, is open to the public and consistently draws aviation geeks, photographers, and curious tourists to the Sunset Beach Bar for some serious eye-level plane spotting.

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737 Ditches in the Mediterranean... Sorta.

March 10, 2008 at 12:17 PM | by | Comments (0)

While this video was shot along Spain's Costa del Sol, it was definitely inspired by St. Maarten's Maho Beach, arguably the world's best planespotting strand.

The 747s that touch down in the Caribbean are a bit more, you know, real than this plane, but we still think this clip is cool. After the jump, we've embedded the making of video for your debunking pleasure.

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