The last port of call for the Caribbean Cruise was the island of St. Maarten. The island holds the record of the smallest island governed by 2 countries (Netherlands and France). The cruise ship docks in the dutch side of the island, close to Philipsburg, St. Maarten. Karen and my parents decided to go shopping at this port so I went out on my own.
After disembarking, I made my way to the ferry terminal by the cruise port and bought a day pass for $7 which allows unlimited trips by the ferry.
The ferry trip from the cruise terminal to downtown is about 10 minutes.
Great Bay beach is located right next to the ferry at downtown Philipsburg.
The main street of downtown Philipsburg is “Front Street” where most of the brand name duty free shops are. Just running parallel to it away from the beach is “Back Street” where the buses to Maho Beach and Mullet Bay depart.
The walk from the ferry terminal (downtown) to Back Street is barely 4-5 minutes. As soon as I arrived there, I saw a bus waiting with Maho Beach – Mullet Bay sign. The driver confirmed that the fare to Maho Beach was $2.
The drive to Maho Beach is about 25 minutes by Bus. The driver dropped me off at the intersection of the Maho Beach and Princess Juliana International Airport where the following sign is.
The main point of visiting Maho Beach is not to see the beach but rather see the planes landing overhead at the airport that is right next to the beach. I had read online that most of the big planes land in the afternoon so I decided to visit Mullet Bay first instead.
The walk from Maho Beach to Mullet Bay is about 15 minutes and you don’t need a cab or a bus for that. Just walk along the shopping center and then cut through the golf course and arrive at Mullet Bay. It was hot out and I did not see anyone playing golf at that time.
Mullet Bay is beautiful !! It is nicer than Maho Beach with much gentler waves. The water was very clear and warm. One downside is that I did not see any proper restroom facilities on the beach other than a port-a-potty !!
After spending about an hour at Mullet Bay, I walked back through the golf course to the shopping area and then on to Maho Beach.
I got to see quite a few planes land including a couple of flights from United Airlines, American Airlines and US Airways each. I also got to see a few takeoffs.
After spending the rest of the day at Maho Beach, I hopped on a bus back to Philipsburg ($2 one way). After doing some souvenir shopping I took the ferry back to the cruise terminal.