Pinel vs Mullet

[NoVa Mimi]

We will be on St. Maarten/St. Martin on 11/10/15 and had originally planned to do a jet ski tour. However, due to a chipped disc in my back, I was told by the doctor no jet skis for now...bummer! Well now to formulate plan B. We have never been to the French side, after many trips to the island. Taking traffic and transportation into consideration, which option might be suggested for a relaxing day, a bar, shade and as little hassle as possible getting to and from, under the circumstances with my back? I would also like to allow time to stop by the chocolate shop in St. Maarten for our chocolate order :) Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. We are unfamiliar with the taxi system as we have always walked or taken a tour right from the pier.

[pghsteelerfan]

We will be on St. Maarten/St. Martin on 11/10/15 and had originally planned to do a jet ski tour. However, due to a chipped disc in my back, I was told by the doctor no jet skis for now...bummer! Well now to formulate plan B. We have never been to the French side, after many trips to the island. Taking traffic and transportation into consideration, which option might be suggested for a relaxing day, a bar, shade and as little hassle as possible getting to and from, under the circumstances with my back? I would also like to allow time to stop by the chocolate shop in St. Maarten for our chocolate order :) Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. We are unfamiliar with the taxi system as we have always walked or taken a tour right from the pier.

 

First of all, small world! We're in Manassas Park over by the VRE station. :)

 

On our Carnival Valor cruise in May 2013, we spent the day in Pinel Island. We were there on our first cruise though a Carnival excursion that is no longer offered. We really wanted to get back, but the taxi situation can be iffy, so we booked a private tour. Unfortunately the private tour company we used no longer does the Pinel Island tours. To get there, it's only about a 20 minute ride from the cruise pier to Cul de Sac, which is just north of Orient Beach. From Cul de Sac is a 5 - 10 minute ferry (actually a boat) ride over to Pinel Island. The boat goes rather slow, so it's not like a speed boat ride that you can get tossed around in. Pinel Island itself is beautiful, has plenty of loungers with umbrellas attached, bar with plenty of shade, not as crowded, beautiful views and calm water. The problem isn't getting a taxi to take you to Cul de Sac, it's getting a taxi back from Cul de Sac to the ship and the reason is because Pinel Island is not a popular destination for cruise ship passengers (many don't really know about it). It might be possible to get a cab to pick you up if you have a phone and can make arrangements with a driver to call when you're ready, or get an agreement to pay the whole fare when he or she returns to pick you up. That can probably get tricky though. I've seen posts where others rent a car and drive over, but I don't know how much it costs to rent a car for a day. We didn't want to do that, too much of a hassle. If you are going with a larger group, then you may not have trouble getting a taxi to come back to Cul de Sac for you. That may be too much of a hassle though.

 

Mullet Bay is more popular and I believe it's just north of Maho Bay. We've never been there but have heard it's nice. Taxis may be there waiting to pick up cruise ship passengers, but I'm not positive.

 

We were just on another cruise, same itinerary, as we were in 2013. In St. Maarten this time, we went to Divi Little Bay, which is a 5 - 10 minute taxi ride from the cruise center. They do have a large taxi stand and can help direct you. Divi Little Bay is just on the other side of Great Bay in Philipsburg, where the ships dock, so it's very close to port. I think the taxi ride was $4.00 or $5.00, each way. We rented loungers with an unmbrella for a total of $15.00 (2 loungers, one umbrella). There is a shaded bar as well since it is a resort. There were others there, but it was quiet. It's also a pretty beach.

[CarolRoy]

We will be on St. Maarten/St. Martin on 11/10/15 and had originally planned to do a jet ski tour. However, due to a chipped disc in my back, I was told by the doctor no jet skis for now...bummer! Well now to formulate plan B. We have never been to the French side, after many trips to the island. Taking traffic and transportation into consideration, which option might be suggested for a relaxing day, a bar, shade and as little hassle as possible getting to and from, under the circumstances with my back? I would also like to allow time to stop by the chocolate shop in St. Maarten for our chocolate order :) Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. We are unfamiliar with the taxi system as we have always walked or taken a tour right from the pier.

We will also be in St. Martin 11/10/15 on the Emerald Princess. What ship will you be on? We are planning on going to Mullet. However, Divi Little Bay might be another option. Have been to Orient Beach a few times. OB is way too, too crowded now especially with four ships in port this day.

[NoVa Mimi]

Steelerfan, we are over by the hospital...indeed a small world! :) Thanks so much for the information as I hadn't even thought of the issue of return only getting there. As it will only be the 3 of us, I'll have to think this over as I just don't want to have to anticipate any issues as I feel it takes much of the enjoyment out of the relaxing day. Divi sounds like a nice alternative, thank you!

 

Carol, we will also be on the Emerald Princess! :) Aren't you excited? It's almost our turn! I agree about OB, much too crowded to be enjoyable.

[CarolRoy]

 

Carol, we will also be on the Emerald Princess! :) Aren't you excited? It's almost our turn! I agree about OB, much too crowded to be enjoyable.

 

Glad to finally meet someone on our cruise. I guess we will not have a Meet & Greet. Seems to be no interest for a M&G. The board for this cruise is very quiet.

[elklemi]

I am wanting to get to Pinel Island in January and would appreciate if you will post when you return if you made it and had any problem getting a taxi for the return or what you did instead. Have a great cruise.

[MrSchwump]

There doesn't seem to be a wealth of taxis at the ferry to Pinel. Our taxi didn't come back when we'd planned so we had to squeeze into another cab to get back to the ship.

 

It is a nice getaway. Much quieter than Orient beach.