Maho & Mullet Bay

Find Saint Martin’s main airport on a map and you've found Maho Beach. How close is it, you ask? Well, if you’ve ever seen a photo of sunbathing tourists gawping as 747s approach the runway just yards above their heads, it was probably taken here. So come by all means and get your own snap, but you may well find that the roar of engines and the smell of jet fuel deters you from staying too long. 

Thankfully things are calmer on Mullet Bay Beach, a short walk away. This is the tropical paradise you've always dreamed of: white sands, swaying palms, clear water. Waves can get surprisingly high here, making it a magnet for the island’s surfers. Mullet Bay is also the site of the island’s only 18-hole golf course.