some water taxi questions

[meab]

still trying to decide what we're going to do on our st. maarten day, but i have a few questions about the water taxi.

 

if we just wanted to go into p'burg for some shopping, i would take the water taxi RT to avoid the walk from the cruise terminal.

 

but what about if we want to head to other areas of the island, like a beach. do we need to take the water taxi to p'burg to catch a regular taxi, or are there regular taxis right at the cruise terminal?

 

from what i've read here, it seems that if we want to take a local bus (say to marigot), we will need to water taxi into downtown p'burg and then find the bus....and then do the same in reverse.

 

we will be traveling with 4 young children (1, 3, 6, 9), so would like to avoid taxis in general...but also we do not want to swim at great bay, so i'm trying to find a compromise!

 

because there are 6 of us, the taxi fares really add up quickly...ie $8pp sounds harmless, until you multiply it by 6, and then times 2 for the round-trip....DH does NOT want to spend $100 on a taxi for a beach day when we live 15 minutes from a very nice beach here in south florida!!!

 

also, i think i read somewhere that the water taxi doesn't charge for kids under 3...does anyone know about regular taxi fares?

[Karysa]

still trying to decide what we're going to do on our st. maarten day, but i have a few questions about the water taxi.

 

if we just wanted to go into p'burg for some shopping, i would take the water taxi RT to avoid the walk from the cruise terminal.

 

but what about if we want to head to other areas of the island, like a beach. do we need to take the water taxi to p'burg to catch a regular taxi, or are there regular taxis right at the cruise terminal?

 

from what i've read here, it seems that if we want to take a local bus (say to marigot), we will need to water taxi into downtown p'burg and then find the bus....and then do the same in reverse.

 

 

 

we will be traveling with 4 young children (1, 3, 6, 9), so would like to avoid taxis in general...but also we do not want to swim at great bay, so i'm trying to find a compromise!

 

because there are 6 of us, the taxi fares really add up quickly...ie $8pp sounds harmless, until you multiply it by 6, and then times 2 for the round-trip....DH does NOT want to spend $100 on a taxi for a beach day when we live 15 minutes from a very nice beach here in south florida!!!

 

also, i think i read somewhere that the water taxi doesn't charge for kids under 3...does anyone know about regular taxi fares?

 

I would try and find the money somewhere because shopping in Phillipsburg with 4 young children would more then likely end up as a stressful rather than relaxing day and what you would end up spending on items you buy or break (it happens alot in these crammed stores) you could spend taking a taxi to the beach and having a really nice day. LeGalion would be perfect and Little Bay would be nice and a little cheaper. For 2 to LeGalion it is $32 return and $20 to Little Bay from the pier. It is a little cheaper for the next passengers. It would be a long walk to town with the smaller children to catch a bus to Maho but it can be done if you take your time. I wouldn't bother going all the way to Marigot myself with children of this age, just head to a beach.

[meab]

karysa,

thanks. we will probably not be doing any major shopping in p-burg, although we do need to pick up some dutch chocolate sprinkles. we will probably find them at a grocery store - i think someone somewhere recommended sang's?

 

i was just wondering if we have to take the water taxi to town to pick up a regular taxi to go somewhere on the island, or if we can just take a taxi straight from the cruise pier.

 

if we opt for the public bus, we will probably go to mullet bay.

 

the two older kids want to do the kids zipline at loterie, but there isn't anything for the little ones there, so i think we'll have to save it for another trip. just looking for something else that's a little *different* to do while we're there...

[Karysa]

Mullet Bay beach is beautiful but it can have some rough waves. Our then 14 year old got knocked over good enough last year that she didn't want to go back there and we went to other beaches after that on our trip last spring.

Something else that you may want to consider is the Playstation which is an old catamaran that has been turned into a playground that is anchored in the Simpson Bay area. Aquamania has information about it on their website. We have used Aquamania for many excursions but not for this. Anyway it is $20 per child and free for adults and has slides and ropeswings etc.. They have a picture of it if you look under kids stuff on the website. It is not ziplining but it might work for your entire family. Simpson Bay is on the way to Maho/Mullet so you could take the same bus I would think.

When are you going again? I am going on vacation there in July and was planning on walking from the watertaxi dock to Little Bay to see if this would be doable for an upcoming cruise. My teens want to shop but we are stopping on a Sunday so most shops won't open until 1pm so I was thinking that we might just take the water taxi to town and walk over to Little Bay, swim for a while and then walk back. I would like to try this with DH first and see if there is a sidewalk and that it is indeed safe. If it doesn't work out in the dry run then I will make alternate plans for our scheduled cruise day on the island. I was thinking that if you are going after July then I could post about my experience and then you could see if it was something that you may like to do.

You do not need to take the water taxi to town. You can take a taxi from the port area. You can walk to town but it would take at least 20 minutes to get to the bus stop area on Back Street.

Have you considered St. Martin park and zoo. It is another place that you might want to check out and it is very near the town.

[meab]

karysa,

thanks. i sent an email to aquamania asking a few more questions. that might be a great option for us, so a big thank you for recommending it!

 

we will be there at the end of this month. nothing like waiting until the last minute to plan, but i guess it could be worse! ;)

 

thanks again!

[Karysa]

If you do go over to the Playstation please post about your visit when you get back. I haven't seen a review on it on this board and I would be interested in knowing if it is indeed another good place for families to visit on the island.

[meab]

will do. it seems like there really isn't any info on this place ANYWHERE! my email from yesterday is still unanswered, but I'll give it a week before investigating further.

 

I'll keep you posted.

[meab]

i heard back from the folks at aquamania this morning. it's $20 per child. there is a beach with restrooms available, so the little ones can hang back with one adult, while the other adult takes the older kids to the playstation.

 

this should work out well for us, as the little ones can be entertained while the big ones get to do something fun (vs zipline where there isn't really anything to do with the little ones while they wait).

 

thanks again, karysa!

[GeneD]

We stayed at the Sonesta for a week several years ago and I believe it was on Little Bay. We walked into town and back many days. Not a bad walk but I think a taxi was only $5 then to go one way. Just looked it up and found that it was on Great Bay about a 10 minute walk from Philipsburg. Just down the street was a hotel on Little Bay so I guess we were close.

[Karysa]

i heard back from the folks at aquamania this morning. it's $20 per child. there is a beach with restrooms available, so the little ones can hang back with one adult, while the other adult takes the older kids to the playstation.

 

this should work out well for us, as the little ones can be entertained while the big ones get to do something fun (vs zipline where there isn't really anything to do with the little ones while they wait).

 

I hope that they enjoy it. Let us know when you return.

[Karysa]

We stayed at the Sonesta for a week several years ago and I believe it was on Little Bay. We walked into town and back many days. Not a bad walk but I think a taxi was only $5 then to go one way. Just looked it up and found that it was on Great Bay about a 10 minute walk from Philipsburg. Just down the street was a hotel on Little Bay so I guess we were close.

 

Sonesta is on Great Bay and Belair and Divi Little Bay resorts are on Little Bay. The beach does not connect between these two beaches and the road is steep and busy so that is why I want to try the walk before I take our teens. Not sure if it is the safety or the whining that I am most concerned about. ;)

[gtaylor]

Sonesta is on Great Bay and Belair and Divi Little Bay resorts are on Little Bay. The beach does not connect between these two beaches and the road is steep and busy so that is why I want to try the walk before I take our teens. Not sure if it is the safety or the whining that I am most concerned about. ;)

 

You can see part of the walk (in reverse) in my Bus Ride video. Jump to about 14 minutes to begin at Little Bay. The bus turns left after Sonesta Great Bay -- you wouldn't go past the Radio Shack, but would continue straight onto Front Street at that intersection (or be on the beach at that point).

 

gary

[gtaylor]

will do. it seems like there really isn't any info on this place ANYWHERE! my email from yesterday is still unanswered, but I'll give it a week before investigating further.

 

I'll keep you posted.

I've got a photo of the Playstation over in my PhotoBucket.

 

(click)

 

gary

[Karysa]

You can see part of the walk (in reverse) in my Bus Ride video. Jump to about 14 minutes to begin at Little Bay. The bus turns left after Sonesta Great Bay -- you wouldn't go past the Radio Shack, but would continue straight onto Front Street at that intersection (or be on the beach at that point).

 

gary

 

Thanks alot Gary. A picture is worth a thousand words. The sidewalk seems really narrow on the side of the road going up the hill towards Belair beach resort. Do you happen to remember if there is a wider sidewalk on the other side of the street? I think that I would be ok walking towards the traffic but I would be nervous walking back to town. Thought that walking from the water taxi stand in town would accomplish my husband getting a chance for some great photos, me getting in a good walk, the girls getting in a swim, taking the water taxi back to Chesterfields for DH Mahi-Mahi wrap, a quick stop to put the wet towels in the cabin and water taxi back to hit Boolchands for DH and Color Freak for our teens and then water taxi it back to the ship. I might have to modify this a little and take a taxi at least back from Little Bay if there isn't a sidewalk on the other side of the road. Thanks again.:)

[gtaylor]

No, that's the only sidewalk, and before this there was nothing. There's nothing on the other side. Check the video again.

 

gary

[Karysa]

No, that's the only sidewalk, and before this there was nothing. There's nothing on the other side. Check the video again.

 

gary

 

I believe you. The video makes me want to be there now! How long do you think it would take to walk to Little Bay from the Water taxi stand in town?