Orient, Marigot, and Maho in one day is it possible?

[Love2Cruise27]

Hi! We are going to be in St. Martin from 8 to 5:30. I would like to see Orient Beach, Marigot for shopping, and Maho Beach to watch the planes (not necessarily in that order). Is it possible to do all 3 in one day? Is there a recommended order to do them in? Should my husband and I take taxis or look into renting a car? How exactly would we go about renting a car?

 

Whew that was a lot of questions. I look forward to hearing suggestions!:)

[mackfam]

When we were in St. Maarten a couple of years ago we rented a van (there were 7 of us) right where the ship docked. We then drove completely around the island stopping at a couple of beaches. We didn't do any shopping as not our thing but there would have been time to should we have wished. We drove around the island in a clockwise direction (recommended to avoid possible traffic delays in the afternoon) so that takes you past the airport and Maho Beach first, then Marigot and finally Orient Beach. We were nervous about hitting traffic and missing the ship but there was no problem and we could have stayed longer at Orient Beach. We had a great day and would do the same again.

[Love2Cruise27]

Thanks for the info! Was it expensive to rent the van? Did you find it difficult to navigate the island? Do you just use a map?

[mackfam]

Thanks for the info! Was it expensive to rent the van? Did you find it difficult to navigate the island? Do you just use a map?

From what I remember I think it was around $80 for the van. We negotiated a bit on price. Once we got out of the town area it was easy. They gave us a basic map at the car rental place. We didn't have any problems finding our way.

[ladeeesquire]

we went on a tour with bernard and did all those things. Not sure if you've considered this.

[Seenie]

Go clockwise. The traffic jams happen on the stretch between P'burg and the airport. Busy intersections, bridges that open etc. Maho, then Marigot then Orient beach. Relax and you won't have a problem with traffic from Orient beach to P'burg.

 

The only problem with doing it that way 'round is that the big planes come in during the afternoon ... in the morning, you will probably be seeing the smaller inter-island flights.

 

I'd be tempted to find a cab and negotiate a price for a day tour.

[MDSue]

Go clockwise. The traffic jams happen on the stretch between P'burg and the airport. Busy intersections, bridges that open etc. Maho, then Marigot then Orient beach. Relax and you won't have a problem with traffic from Orient beach to P'burg.

 

The only problem with doing it that way 'round is that the big planes come in during the afternoon ... in the morning, you will probably be seeing the smaller inter-island flights.

 

I'd be tempted to find a cab and negotiate a price for a day tour.

The whole fun of going to Maho is to watch the big planes come in- I would definitely go to Orient first and stop at Marigot on the way to Maho. They need to check the plane schedule to make sure they get there in time for the bigger planes.

The taxi fares add up though- I know we spent more on taxi fares than some of cc'ers who took a tour with Bernard.

We really didn't have much of a problem with traffic coming back, but we allowed plenty of time just in case.

One big problem I've had with cab drivers in St. Maarten is that they don't always return for you when they say. Twice, I've made arrangements for a driver to pick us up at a designated time, and they didnt show up. Luckily, we found other drivers to take us.

[Karysa]

It was recently posted that the KLM 747 (Fl#785) AKA the "Big One" is scheduled for Tues & Sun at 11:00 currently. Something to consider if you will be stopping in St. Maarten on those days.

[Love2Cruise27]

It was recently posted that the KLM 747 (Fl#785) AKA the "Big One" is scheduled for Tues & Sun at 11:00 currently. Something to consider if you will be stopping in St. Maarten on those days.

 

Where can I find the plane shedule? We are going to be there on a Friday.

[Love2Cruise27]

Thanks for all the info! I did look into Bernard Tours and it sounds really great but my husband doesnt want to be on someone else's schedule. He wants to be able to stay as long as we feel like.

 

Has any one had experience renting a cab for the whole day? Any cost information?

 

If we rent a car how is the parking at the beaches and Marigot? Any suggestions?

 

Thanks a bunch :D

[gtaylor]

Joyce Prince has a page on her website with the real-time actual landings and schedule information. You can see it here.

 

Check it today, and then on Fridays as you get closer to your cruise to see what's actually happening.

 

gary

[GTO-Girl]

Thanks for all the info! I did look into Bernard Tours and it sounds really great but my husband doesnt want to be on someone else's schedule. He wants to be able to stay as long as we feel like.

 

Has any one had experience renting a cab for the whole day? Any cost information?

 

If we rent a car how is the parking at the beaches and Marigot? Any suggestions?

 

Thanks a bunch :D

 

he doesn't know what he's missing......:D.

 

All the free rum punch, water, cokes, and diet cokes you can drink. No worries about leaving your valuables in the van (Bernard stays with it) and most important no worries about traffic and getting back to the ship on time.

[gtaylor]

The Taxi Association offers an 'All Day Tour' for $250 for up to 6 people.

 

They also offer a 3 hour tour for two for $90, the 'Circle Tour'.

 

No problem parking at any of the beaches, but Marigot can be a problem, especially on Wednesday and Saturday, and Philipsburg is a nightmare every day.

 

gary

[bajathree]

The Taxi Association offers an 'All Day Tour' for $250 for up to 6 people.

 

They also offer a 3 hour tour for two for $90, the 'Circle Tour'.

 

No problem parking at any of the beaches, but Marigot can be a problem, especially on Wednesday and Saturday, and Philipsburg is a nightmare every day.

 

gary

 

 

This is interesting....has anyone does this thru this service?

[JustUs275]

he doesn't know what he's missing......:D.

 

All the free rum punch, water, cokes, and diet cokes you can drink. No worries about leaving your valuables in the van (Bernard stays with it) and most important no worries about traffic and getting back to the ship on time.

 

Dianne - I like the idea of Bernard's too, the only thing is my husband is (overly?) concerned about getting back to the ship in time. When you say no worries about getting back to the ship on time, what exactly do you mean? If we book a tour through our cruiseline, at least the way I understand it, if the tour is delayed the ship will either wait or get passengers to the ship.

 

Thanks!

[snorkelman]

The Taxi Association offers an 'All Day Tour' for $250 for up to 6 people.

 

For a family of four it is significantly cheaper to rent a car and drive yourself. It is not hard, as there is one main road that rings the island. I don't know how much a 6 passenger vehicle would cost to rent for a single day, but I cannot imagine it comes anywhere close to $250, even with insurance.

[14ersco]

Next month when we are in St. Martin we have a sub-compact booked with Avis for $44 for the day using the Hilton Honors discount. Avis is just outside the port facilities. Hertz is at the port and will take the AAA discount. Either of these can be reserved through their US web sites. Some on CC will warn you that these are local independent operators working under the respective brands; but heck I had an independent operator last week in Missouri when renting from Budget.

[LaurieHoffman]

Dianne - I like the idea of Bernard's too, the only thing is my husband is (overly?) concerned about getting back to the ship in time. When you say no worries about getting back to the ship on time, what exactly do you mean? If we book a tour through our cruiseline, at least the way I understand it, if the tour is delayed the ship will either wait or get passengers to the ship.

 

Thanks!

 

Just did Bernards last week. Loved it and our guide 'Mailman'. We elected after the tour to be dropped off in town for shopping. We still had about 3 hours before we had to be back on the ship. We could have elected for our driver to take us back to the ship directly but we choose to stay in town and shop as did everyone else in the group. We walked back to the ship on our own, very simple walking path, easy, flat surface, and it took about 15 minutes total.

 

Don't worry about getting back on time. Bernards has a great reputation on these boards as well as Trip Advisor and they won't get you back late or even rushed.

[Last Mango]

Next month when we are in St. Martin we have a sub-compact booked with Avis for $44 for the day using the Hilton Honors discount. Avis is just outside the port facilities. Hertz is at the port and will take the AAA discount. Either of these can be reserved through their US web sites. Some on CC will warn you that these are local independent operators working under the respective brands; but heck I had an independent operator last week in Missouri when renting from Budget.

Driving on St. Martin really is okay. I've done it when I've been there with a bunch of friends at a timeshare.

 

This cruise is with hubby and friends so we're planning on renting a car for the day. Thanks for mentioning which companies are at the port ... that's just what I needed to know.

[kcparrothead]

The Taxi Association offers an 'All Day Tour' for $250 for up to 6 people.

 

They also offer a 3 hour tour for two for $90, the 'Circle Tour'.

 

No problem parking at any of the beaches, but Marigot can be a problem, especially on Wednesday and Saturday, and Philipsburg is a nightmare every day.

 

gary

 

The Taxi Association website with the info on the All Day Tour has been down for awhile now. Will we be able to walk off the ship and arrange this tour at the taxi stand??

[gtaylor]

It works for me -- I have it open right now in another window.

 

gary

[go noles]

I clicked on "all day tour". First it said "error on page" but then a reservation page came up. Try it again.

[kcparrothead]

OK - Thanks - I tried it last week and again over the weekend. Guess I should've tried today before I made that post! :rolleyes: Sorry!!:)

[libertybelle41]

Can't make up my mind on what to do when we get off the ship..soooo I look to you guys for suggestions.

 

We have been on Bernard's tour and loved it, but wanna grab a taxi and go somewhere else. Don't really mind going back to Orient, but wanna know if any of you have a beach, resort etc..that you would recommend. .We would like to snorkel, have a cocktail (or four:)) and swim.

 

We have about 4hrs to spend somewhere (I do want to shop a bit, especially for my quavaberry rum in town:))

 

We had booked a rccl excursion to snorkel in Pinel island, but that got cancelled.

 

Thanks!

[gtaylor]

I just posted a suggestion to consider Mullet Bay Beach then Maho over in this thread.

 

gary