Maho Beach

Maho Beach – a small  located on the beach of the Dutch island of Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles). Unusual feature of this beach is the proximity of international airport of Princess Juliana. Princess Juliana Airport is equipped with a runway, which is separated from the beginning Maho beach is only a narrow street dwupasmową.

Podchodzące starting and landing aircraft przelatują on the beach at the height of several meters, which is the biggest tourist attraction of the beach.

Local authorities have warned tourists and enthusiasts planespottingu major (even śmiertelnymi) injuries related to the presence on the beach during the off and landings of large machines. Low przelatujące huge jets (eg Boeing 747) can contribute to physical injuries, and ear injuries (eg uderzaniami caused by the blast of poderwanych accompanying startom and lądowaniom) .

Because some of the Maho Bay on the average, and large waves, the beach is popular amongst windsurfing enthusiasts. The beach is covered with white sand – because of the low-transiting aircraft vegetation is very poor. Nearby there is a bar and a tourist center .

Maho Beach is probably the only place on earth where you can watch from so close to starting and landing aircraft, being an extension of the runway.

The Dutch part

The Dutch part of the island covers 34 square km, inhabited by 33,119 people. The main town is Philipsburg. There is Juliana International Airport, a few hundred meters along the beach, where fans gather in aviation, to document the aircraft przelatujące 10-20 meters above the ground. It forms part of the Netherlands Antilles.

Population

The local population consists mostly of descendants of Dutch settlers and the slaves kidnapped from Africa. Meanwhile, 49% of the population in the Dutch part of foreigners. Most locals are Protestants, Methodists, in particular, while the French rather part of the Roman Catholic faith dominates. There are also small Jewish and Seventh-day Adventist communities.

Politics and Government

Sint Maarten is an “island area” (eilandgebied in Dutch), a component of the Netherlands Antilles comparable to a municipality. The Netherlands Antilles are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands though not in the European Union. Its currency is the Antillean guilder (however, the United States dollar is widely accepted). A planned restructuring of the Netherlands Antilles on December 15, 2008 will see Sint Maarten become a separate country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands (like Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles are now). This dissolution is still planned, but has been postponed to an indefinite future date.

The island area of Sint Maarten is ruled by an island council, an executive council, and an administrator (gezaghebber in Dutch) appointed by the Dutch Crown.

Urban areas

• Philipsburg with 1,228 inhabitants
• Lower Prince’s Quarter with 8,123 inhabitants
• Cul de Sac with 7,880 inhabitants
• Cole Bay with 6,046 inhabitants
• Upper Prince’s Quarter with 4,020 inhabitants
• Little Bay (Fort Amsterdam) with 2,176 inhabitants
• Simpson Bay with 736 inhabitants
• Lowlands with 232 inhabitants

Simpsonbay, Madame Estate, Dutch Cul-de-sac, Duch Quarter, Cole Bay, Oyster pond, South Reward, Saint-Peters, Pointe-Blanche, Middle Region, Cay hill, Upper Prince’s Quarter and Lower Prince’s Quarter.

When to Go

St Maarten is warm all year round, but the rainy season (June to October) can bring humidity and hurricanes. The island is a cruise ship magnet for most of the year, so there is not much of an off-season, but prices are highest during mid-December to mid-April. The best times to visit are November to early December and May to June.

Philipsburg

Philipsburg is the main town on the Dutch side of the Netherlands Antilles island of Sint Maarten, on a narrow stretch of land between Great Bay and the Great Salt Pond. It is also the capital of all of Sint Maarten. As of 2006, it has 1,338 inhabitants.

It was discovered by Christopher Columbus on 11 November 1493 but there was already an Arawak settlement there before he made the discovery. Philipsburg was founded in 1763 by John Philips, a Scottish captain in the Dutch navy, and soon became a bustling center of international trade. Two historic forts bear witness to Philipsburg’s strategic importance in St. Maarten’s history: Fort Amsterdam and Fort Willem. ^[1]

The main shopping district, Front Street, is in the heart of the city. Philipsburg has a port that is home to many cruise liners, including the Carnival Valor.

Saint Martin

Saint Martin is a tropical island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately 300 km (186 miles) east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km² island is divided roughly in half between France and the Netherlands Antilles; it is the smallest inhabited sea island divided between two nations.

• The southern Dutch half comprises the Eilandgebied Sint Maarten (Island area of St. Martin) and is part of the Netherlands Antilles.
• The northern French half comprises the Collectivité de Saint-Martin (Collectivity of St. Martin) and is an overseas collectivity of France.

Collectively, the two territories are known as “St-Martin/St. Maarten”. Sometimes SXM, the IATA identifier for Princess Juliana International Airport (the island’s main airport), is used to refer to the island.