St Marteen & St Thomas

[Xcitdcruiser]

Hello hoping X cruisers can help - I've confused myself & haven't received responses from the ports board.

 

I'm getting these 2 ports very mixed up re the shopping areas.

 

Which one of the two has the pretty colourful alleys filled with shops - maybe referred to downtown?

 

In St Marteen I though we'd do a little shopping (where??), then taxi to Maho around lunch & taxi back with plenty of time (heard traffic is bad)

 

In St Thomas, we'd like to head to Coki beach first then get dropped off for a wonder (alleys / shopping ?) then make our way back to the port.

 

Anyone know?

[mrsdoc3]

St. Maarten has the pretty shopping area. St. Thomas, not so much, at least not in Havensight.

[Fouremco]

Hello hoping X cruisers can help - I've confused myself & haven't received responses from the ports board.

 

I'm getting these 2 ports very mixed up re the shopping areas.

 

Which one of the two has the pretty colourful alleys filled with shops - maybe referred to downtown?

 

In St Marteen I though we'd do a little shopping (where??), then taxi to Maho around lunch & taxi back with plenty of time (heard traffic is bad)

 

In St Thomas, we'd like to head to Coki beach first then get dropped off for a wonder (alleys / shopping ?) then make our way back to the port.

 

Anyone know?

From your description, I'd say you have it right. Here's a typical photo of Philipsburg in Sint Maarten:

[Xcitdcruiser]

Yes - thank you - that's the one!

Does anyone know the approx. cost of taxi from the pier to Philipsburg? (or is it walkable)

 

Are there cabs readily available to go to Maho?

 

And lastly, how does Philipsburg differ from Margiot?

[hospvol]

Philipsburg definitely differs from Marigot. Marigot is French.

[awhfy]

The pier to Philipsburg is walkable; however, there is a water taxi that is about $6. St Thomas downtown (taxi ride from Havrnshurst, ?$5) is where the alleys are & I feel the better buys

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[robtulipe]

Yes - thank you - that's the one!

Does anyone know the approx. cost of taxi from the pier to Philipsburg? (or is it walkable)

 

Are there cabs readily available to go to Maho?

 

And lastly, how does Philipsburg differ from Margiot?

Philipsburg is walkable from the cruise terminal area and the route has good sidewalks. It is about a mile to the east end of Front St. Near the town you can take a slightly shorter route by going diagonally through the marina area at that end of town. There is also a water taxi to that marina or the center pier in town for $6 multi trips all day or $4 one way. At the square in town just inland from that center pier is where you can catch a taxi to Maho.

The funny thing about Marigot is that I am French and many of the vendors at the market there couldn't speak French since most come there from the Dutch side or from other islands thus spoke only English.:eek:

 

Edited February 5, 2014 by robtulipe

[New Hampshire]

The shopping that's in alleys is in town on St. Thomas.

[whataboutport]

I loved Marigot, it's beautiful there. There is a guy that has a stand that sells fresh coconut water and sugar cane juice. That sugar cane juice was the best I've ever had.

[riclop]

Hello hoping X cruisers can help - I've confused myself & haven't received responses from the ports board.

 

I'm getting these 2 ports very mixed up re the shopping areas.

 

Which one of the two has the pretty colourful alleys filled with shops - maybe referred to downtown?

 

In St Marteen I though we'd do a little shopping (where??), then taxi to Maho around lunch & taxi back with plenty of time (heard traffic is bad)

 

In St Thomas, we'd like to head to Coki beach first then get dropped off for a wonder (alleys / shopping ?) then make our way back to the port.

 

Anyone know?

St Marteen our favorite island.

[mcrcruiser]

There is a Chikungunya Fever virus born by tiger mosquitos & there is no cure .Read the Ports Section of Cruise Critic "Caribbean " & scroll to St Martin /St Maarten . This is a VERY NASTY FEVER VIRUS:mad:

 

To keep your chances down of getting bitten get pleanty of mosquito repellents both in spray & cream form for exposed skin on face & hands .Make sure that the products contain a minimum of 30% Deet . Don't get any in your eyes or mouth areas as it is a poison :o.

 

If you use sun screen put it on one hour before applying the mosquito repellents ,to allow the sunscreen to soak into your skin .

 

If you go into the water reapply the mosquito repellents asap .;)

 

You really DON't Want to be a statistic with this horrid virus.There are no known cures:eek:

[waterbug123]

St. Maarten has the pretty shopping area. St. Thomas, not so much, at least not in Havensight.

 

The shopping that's in alleys is in town on St. Thomas.

 

New Hampshire is correct. If you dock at Havensight, you need to get a cab to downtown Charlotte Amalie. You will find tons of shopping there, including some in little alleys that run between the main roads.