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on our own in St. Maartan

back2tampa

By back2tampa,
in St. Martin/St. Maarten

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2Ports

2Ports

Posted
Posted
I went to the taxi area and took the mountaintop tour and it was great. $45pp if my memory is correct.

Found a photo of the taxi rates posted by CC member srice

 

Done this - a different tour. They have many available, and will hook you up with others to save $$ if you wish. They will also do custom tours or combos. I highly recommend this. (It's the islands official taxi service - Dutch St. Maarten Taxi Association) They had a website but I can't find it right now, but they do seem to have a Facebook page. They are straight ahead right after you get off the boat. There are several CC threads about them.

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KBRADFORD79

KBRADFORD79

Posted
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St Maarten is our favorite island. The people are friendly and the sights are beautiful! We enjoyed Bernard Tours soooo much, we've booked them again. We didn't have Bernard himself but the guide "Sexy" did a great job nonetheless. This tour takes you on both sides of the island, Orient beach, Maho Beach, Seraphinas bakery in Marigot, etc. we stopped around six times and drank numerous shots of Rum Punch! Enjoy!!!

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edjny

edjny

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One more recommendation. Go to the Guavaberry Shop on Front ST. They have delicious Guavaberry Coladas and sell a great barbecue sauce and liquors.

 

They have an outlet for the Guavaberry Rum at a shop just off the ship on the dock. They sell all their varieties as well as a drink that they make up. They give you little samples and it does encourage you to buy a full glass as well as a couple bottles of rum.

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bighairtexan

bighairtexan

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As far as driving, the last 2 times (w/in the last 15 or so months) that we were in St. M, the traffic was HELLACIOUS. Stop and go and lots of construction. Driving in that is not my idea of a great vacation. I let someone else (Bernard or taxis) do the driving for me and that way I can DRINK! ;)

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PaisleyAnn

PaisleyAnn

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We spent our day in St. Maarten on our own last fall, and it ended up being one of our favorite days of our cruise.

 

We took a taxi (about $10) to Little Divi Bay Beach and Spa Resort. Prior to our cruise, we booked online, a couple's massage, through theie spa. It was about half the price of a couple's treatment on the ship, plus it was in a lovely resort/beach setting in a room with french doors/windows facing the ocean. (The spa is open to the public, so anyone can book services there). They treated us so well, and the spa was gorgeous and clean. We highly recommend them!

 

Afterwards, we walked Little Divi Beach (beautiful and calm), and then had lunch at the beach-front out-door restaurant on the resort property (again, open to the public). We finished the afternoon with a couple of drinks from their bar, relaxing and watching the ocean.

 

It was a perfect, quiet, not-crowded beach and a very nice resort to spend the day at.

 

(Note, the spa has other services too, such as pedicures and facials. All prices are typical land prices, not the high prices like on the ship).

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Ned11

Ned11

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I'm 33 lady and went solo in April. I took a taxi from the port and went to Maho Beach to watch the planes come in. I then took a taxi back to Phillipsburg, wondered round a bit and then walked back to the ship.

 

Had no problems. Enjoy!! :)

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baggal

baggal

Posted
Posted
As far as driving, the last 2 times (w/in the last 15 or so months) that we were in St. M, the traffic was HELLACIOUS. Stop and go and lots of construction. Driving in that is not my idea of a great vacation. I let someone else (Bernard or taxis) do the driving for me and that way I can DRINK! ;)

 

There will be 5 cruise ships in port the day we call at St. M. So, even though we normally DIY or take a taxi, we'll be biting the bullet and taking a ship's excursion. This way we are sure of transportation and in most cases, even if we don't get back in time the ship will be waiting for us. If not, its up to Celebrity to fly us back to Miami.

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BillOh Holiday Sharing Rare

BillOh

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St Martin is easy on your own. We have even just hired a cab and drove around to some of the sites. Cab to beaches. Walk in to town for the best shopping in the Caribbean.

 

We did the tour the first time and then did our own taxi thing the 2nd time. It was really very little hassle and lots of people to help you find a taxi. The only hassle was when getting off the ship there were signs saying how much to Orient based on the number of passengers. We saw the price for 2 people and said, "Lets go" but they made us wait for more people going to Orient. Then we asked specifically where we wanted dropped off and instead he dropped us off where his buddy was selling chairs. Minor.

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bigque

bigque

Posted
Posted
As far as driving, the last 2 times (w/in the last 15 or so months) that we were in St. M, the traffic was HELLACIOUS. Stop and go and lots of construction. Driving in that is not my idea of a great vacation. I let someone else (Bernard or taxis) do the driving for me and that way I can DRINK! ;)

Especially coming back from Maho Beach. Our Tour Driver with Bernards had to get out of the traffic and then took some back roads Which if you are not from there, you wouldn't know this driving yourself) he knew to get us back to town in enough time to do some shopping. If said that if he was to stay in the traffice we wouldn't have got back in time to be dropped off in town and would have had to go directly back to the ship!

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jbd2003

jbd2003

Posted
Posted

I was wondering about the taxi fares and water taxi and you answered both for me. DH and I wanted to go to the mountain top to take some pictures, do a little shopping and go to Maho Beach in the afternoon. I really don't want to do a tour but when I looked at the taxi fare it was $100 to the mountain top which I thought was a lil expensive to just drive to the mountain top and back. Did I miss something??

Loved your pictures and thanks again.:D

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Karysa

Karysa

Posted
Posted
I was wondering about the taxi fares and water taxi and you answered both for me. DH and I wanted to go to the mountain top to take some pictures, do a little shopping and go to Maho Beach in the afternoon. I really don't want to do a tour but when I looked at the taxi fare it was $100 to the mountain top which I thought was a lil expensive to just drive to the mountain top and back. Did I miss something??

Loved your pictures and thanks again.:D

 

What mountain top are you talking about? Is it Pic Paradise? I hike up there a couple of summers ago and it was hazy so the pictures were not very good.

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happy40th

happy40th

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We just did St Martin on our own a couple of weeks ago. We took the water taxi downtown and did a little shopping. Didn't really get anything but at least walked around. We then grabbed a local bus for $2 pp, really a passenger van, and went to Maho Beach to see the planes come in. Unfortunately, it started raining really heavy just as we got to the beach. It was short lived but we were soaked to the skin. We got some great pictures though. I sat at the Sunset Beach bar with a cold drink and took pictures as my DH used his DSLR to take over 250 pictures in 2 hours.:eek: We then took a cab back to the port and did some shopping there.

 

Here is one of my pictures from my little point and shoot. Who needs an expensive camera.;):D

 

how much is the water taxi?

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magsfife12

magsfife12

Posted
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When I visited a few months back I too took the local "bus" (actually a van) for a couple of bucks and watched the planes land at Maho. It is right on the beach. Not for everyone but it allowed me to get a flavor of public transit and watch some of the locals get about. Glad I checked out... and yeah the plans actually do land overhead!

 

 

Hi Bill can i ask where you caught the bus to Maho beach ? we go in 3 weeks and want to go see the planes , is the beach far from the port ? :confused: x

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