We grabbed the taxi for $8 each way to the other side of the island. There were lots of folks just walking to the closest beach, which is BEAUTIFUL! I was so glad we took the time and a few extra dollars because the ride is spectacular, up and down hills, and the little bar (I wish I knew the name, but no worry, it is where the taxi drops you) was great, complete with awesome wings and pizza and entertainment in the form of a DJ during the day. We happened to be there when a HUGE plane was taking off and that in itself is worth the trip! Umbrellas, towels, people, blowing out into the water when the pilot hit the jets! SO MUCH FUN!

We booked this trip as an excursion from our cruise. The only thing I wanted to see on St Maarten was the famous airport by the beach and this was the only excursion going to the airport that could be booked from the cruise brochure. It was clear in the description that beach access was not allowed but I had hoped that the view of the runway and snorkelling would make up for that. How wrong I was.

Starting with the positives. The boat was excellent, the crew very helpful, service onboard was friendly and top quality. The trip out from the dock to the airport was enjoyable enough. But as soon as the boat started manoeuvring to anchor it was clear we would be in no position to see the airport properly. We stopped about 250 meters from the beach, and positioned about 200 meters to the right of the runway approach. The runway itself is not visible from this position. One of the main attractions of watching aircraft from Maho Beach is watching takeoffs down the axis of the runway and the sharp turn the aircraft make to avoid the mountains. This was completely impossible from the boat. You could watch aircraft as they taxied onto the runway, but then they disappear from view and you can only hear them as they take off. If we had been in line with the runway we could have at least watched the takeoff, even though not experiencing the extreme jet blast as people on the beach can.

Watching the aircraft land is not thrilling as the whole point is to be close to the end of the runway with the aircraft only fifty feet above you as they pass overhead. They don't even pass overhead of the boat, let alone close above it, contrary to the advertising blurb. So the promised "airport adventure" was actually a huge anti-climax.

The snorkelling is also poor. The boat anchors over a flat sandy bottom. There are no rocks or reefs so there are no fish around apart from those attracted by a crewmember dropping food from a kayak. If you don't stick close to him you won't see any fish. It's hard to go snorkelling in the Caribbean and not see fish, but this trip achieves this feat magnificently.

The crew all wear tee shirts portraying the dangers of watching the aircraft on Maho Beach and in effect selling this boat trip as a safe alternative. The problem is such a sanitised concept cannot possibly be thrilling. The operator would be better off forgetting about going to SXM and using the boat for snorkelling trips, anchoring somewhere near where fish are plentiful.

This is a pleasant enough boat trip but totally misconceived and mis-sold. The boat anchors in exactly the wrong place to properly view the airport or see any fish. You can't even pretend to be thrilled by the few aircraft you see in the distance and the fish have to be artificially attracted by dropping food. Anyone wanting to experience SXM as you see it on youtube should avoid this trip and take a local taxi to Maho beach instead. You'll save a lot of dollars and have a much more enjoyable and thrilling experience.