Planespotting in Philipsburg, St. Maarten

2019 Transatlantic Cruise on MSC Divina

Day 16 MSC Divina - Philipsburg, St. Maarten -- November 21, 2019

Please click here for video of our day in St. Maarten.

Big Brother was very excited about this port stop and he was the one leading our group on this day since he knew much of what to do. Philipsburg is the the capital of Sint Maarten on the Dutch (south) side of this Caribbean island. Our main goal was to go to Maho Beach to see the landing of the planes. Other than that we did not have much plans but probably just roam the streets in downtown Philipsburg.

Early morning sailing into Philipsburg.

We were the only ship docked in port that day.

I was standing right outside the tourism office as I was taking this photo.

The Port of St. Maarten is quite new and nicely set up with shops and cafes spreading out in the plaza of the cruise port. One can really feel the tropical festive atmosphere with band playing music as we got off the ship. There were organized taxi rank with plenty of vans waiting for business and they were managed by the many personnel wearing orange vests inside the port. I believe they told us that from port to downtown would be $8 per person one way and $16 roundtrip. We were told by the tourism office people that it's a 10~15-minutes walk. That didn't seem too bad so we set out to walk. We were planning to spend some time in the downtown area, and then take taxis to Maho Beach later. As we were walking around the port plaza trying to figure out our route to downtown, we also noticed that there were water taxis for about the same price posted. 

As we were walking out from the port, we were met by different tour operators trying to get us onto their waiting buses along the sidewalk. After Big Brother bargained with a couple of them, we got on a big van for a day tour around the island for $15 per person. They would take us around the island, including the French side in the north, then at 1:00, they will take us to Maho Beach for plane watching. After that a drive through downtown and then bring us back to port in the afternoon. Not a bad deal, so we got on the bus and waited some more for additional passengers. We were also told not to tell the other passengers that we paid $15 because they were charging the group of French passengers $20. I think with the 10 of us, we were in a good bargaining position. 

A terrible picture, but this shows the small bus we were in for the day tour.

It started raining soon after we got on the bus and that was why I only got this photo of the two flags from the bus as we were crossing the invisible border of the two countries.

Oyster Pond, French side on the left and Dutch side on the right.

Now we are on the French side of the island.

Then we stopped at the Rotary Lookout Point for some photos as the sun finally came back out.

Very pretty at this eastern end of the island.

Highway along the beach.

Then we stopped at a roadside stand that sell souvenirs and snacks. They also had many iguanas roaming around waiting to be fed.

Yikes! I don't like lizards.

Feeding the iguanas.

Just taking a picture of the tour company as I stepped back onto the bus.

If I am not mistaken, this is probably called Orient Beach. A very pretty beach indeed but very touristy. Our driver told us to go and use the free restrooms here but we had to pay for using the stalls.

Then we were brought here to a busy town called Marigot.

Here, they had clean public toilets for free right across from the Marigot Market.

Saint Louis Fort on top of this hill.

Still lovely weather.

More iguanas here.

Strong wind blowing at the colorful merchandise at the outdoor market.

Another monument of the two countries as we crossed the border on the west side of the island.

When we reached Maho Beach, it was pouring rain and we saw people scampering to find covers as we drove through the beach area looking for parking space. We found parking near the casino and we had to stay near the casino for the rain to stop. The weather here changes so suddenly, it can be sunny for a minute and then rain the next, very unpredictable, I guess. 

Everybody was finding shelters at the Sunset Bar and Grill except the area where it was rained on. Our driver was very kind and helped us find a table, wiped down the wet surfaces and got us all the stools we needed where we could settle as the rain tapered off. This was an excellent spot for us to watch the planes.

The beach is empty now.

Menu of Sunset Bar and Grill

We were all very hungry by now, so we ordered a few  pizzas and some beer as we waited for the planes to come. Son and Big Brother already checked and had the schedule of the planes coming in so we were good to go.

Oh, Corona!

By the way, those were excellent pizzas, piping hot and delicious!

Here comes the first plane!

A Jet Blue. Didn't quite catch the whole plane here.

Can't tell what this one was. You'll have to look very hard for this one.

This next one was the largest we saw that day, an American Airlines plane.

While we stayed at the Sunset Bar, son went own to the beach with many others just to have the excitement of having the plane flying right above ones head.

This was the last one we saw that day.

Passing by the Princess Juliana International Airport as we were leaving Maho Bay.

Our ship waiting for us!

Driving through downtown. There didn't seem to have much around but I could be wrong. Saw many jewelry stores that are in other Caribbean ports. Next time if we ever come back, maybe we should spend some time there.

Back to the beautiful cruise port of Philipsburg.

We had a good day with a surprise tour around the island. We were lucky that the weather turned nice after the rain so we could do some planespotting at Maho Bay. What a memorable experience!

Warm Mediterranean Seafood Salad

Tuscan Garbanzo Soup

Beef Strip in Mushroom Sauce

We'll be in San Juan, Puerto Rico tomorrow. Can't wait!

"Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. "   -- Job 5:7~9