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Old 17th Mar 2004, 12:43
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Flightmapping
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Coventry
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Must visit

Have just come back from there last week. Are you visiting for a general holiday, or for the aviation "Must sees".

These include:

A day trip to Saba, the shortest runway in the world. Perched above cliffs, this landing is scarier than any Alton Towers ride.

A trip to St Barts for an equally adventurous landing, where the plane has to descend rapidly over a hill to reach the runway.

A visit to Maho beach at the end of the runway to watch a widebody landing. There are three hotels there - can get details if you want. Check out photos at Airliners.net.

A take-off in a widebody, where thye must bank steeply to the right in order to avoid the hill at the end.

AF still go there daily using an A340. I was already in the US, and wanted to visit Puerto Rico, so got there using local hops.

Yes, SXM is an expensive place to get to, but is a great destination for general holidays (even though it was p**ssing it down the day I was there) and plane spotters alike.

You might also want to consider flying to St Kitts (Excel weekly from LGW) or Antigua (various BA,VS & BWIA), and taking a day trip from there. It is possible (but not advisable) to do Saba & St Barths via SXM in a day from SKB, NEV, ANU etc.
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