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Excursions in St. Thomas and St. Maarten

Celticsun32

By Celticsun32,
in St. Thomas/St. John

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138east

138east

Posted
Posted

Tons of folks do this. I have done it several times. The taxis are large safari cabs that hold many people on benches on the back of a truck. Google "St Thomas safari cab picture" to see them. These cabs charge per person. A ship's excursion would likely have similar transportation.

 

On St Marten you go to the taxi stand and tell the dispatcher where you want to go. They quote you a per person price and put you in a cab or van, which might be a shared ride. You will pay more per person for a private cab.

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cruisinfanatic

cruisinfanatic

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Has anyone taken a taxi to Magan Beach in St.Thomas instead of doing the excursion? is it safe?

No reason you can't but I would think it costs more. You can get on any bus that goes there right outside the ship. They fall over themselves trying to get you to go. No excursion necessary. There is an entrance fee to get on Magans Bay

You may want to consider bypassing that biggest tourist trap beach on the island though.

How about a nice (usually quiet) stretch of beach with facilities, chairs for rent, food and bar?

Emerald!

 

Emerald_View_1.jpg

 

Emerald3.jpg

 

Emerald2.jpg

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Russ Lomas

Russ Lomas

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How far is it from the port? Can you rent chairs, etc?

Emerald is the closest beach to the Crown Bay terminal. We went there on our last cruise and really enjoyed it. It was a lot busier than in the photo posted above, but still not crowded. Much less busy than Meagan's Bay and so much closer. Think the cab ride is $3 per person and it takes no more than 5 minutes to get there (just up and over the ridge to the left when you dock). You will see airplanes coming and going all day, but nothing like at St. Maarten. Glad we did Emerald and will likely do it again in the future. Sorry I do not know the answer to your question about chairs. We just toss our towels in the sand. We used the facilities including the shower over at the Best Western hotel right on the beach as in the photo above.

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minn0315

minn0315

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The last time we were in St Maarten we wished we could have spent more time in Marigot.

 

Can we hire a car or taxi to take us there and stay with us for about two or three hours and then take us back to the ship?

 

It seems that the ship's excursions don't give us enough time to just chill in Marigot.

 

Thanks for any info.

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moopetguy

moopetguy

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The last time we were in St Maarten we wished we could have spent more time in Marigot.

 

Can we hire a car or taxi to take us there and stay with us for about two or three hours and then take us back to the ship?

 

It seems that the ship's excursions don't give us enough time to just chill in Marigot.

 

Thanks for any info.

 

My family ran into the same problem the first time we were in St. Maarten -- the RCI shore excursion only gave us about 45 minutes in Marigot. A taxi should be $8 USD per person from the pier to Marigot (one way).

 

If you're budget-conscious then you can walk into downtown from the ship (about 15-20 minutes) and take a mini-bus (that the locals use) for $2 per person (one way). The mini-buses have sign cards in the front dash window showing where they go to. It's about a 30 minute ride by car or bus from Philipsburg to Marigot.

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rdsxgrl28

rdsxgrl28

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How far is it from the port? Can you rent chairs, etc?

 

It is really a quick ride. We did it in 2014, with 5 ships in port. It was much less crowded than Magans.

 

Yes you can rent chairs & umbrellas, I think it was 7 or 10 dollars. The hotel if I remember right was a Best Western. It had a nice restaurant which was not too expensive.

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pjnj40

pjnj40

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In St Thomas, I did Sapphire Beach twice. I love it there. They do provided chairs there. Taxis will take you there. They also have taxis waiting on side when you ready to leave. They don't like to leave us tourist stranded. On my last visit i heard megan bay is 4 dollars to get on. This remind me back home on jersey shore. Anyway, last year there was 19000 people visiting for the day and sapphire was so quiet that like 300 spread out around. No feeling to be cramp in. very spacious with calm water.

St Marteen I did mayo beach. I would avoid this beach because it got destroyed in hurricane last year. I was there last year and there was plenty of room for everyone to walk around, now it just a small path with tons of jagged rock. Too bad they don't do beach replenishment program like ny and nj do. Since you want to go to marigot, just go to taxi stand and they bunk you up with other cruisers.

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Lionesss "Live from...." Rare

Lionesss

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The last time we were in St Maarten we wished we could have spent more time in Marigot.

 

Can we hire a car or taxi to take us there and stay with us for about two or three hours and then take us back to the ship?

 

It seems that the ship's excursions don't give us enough time to just chill in Marigot.

 

Thanks for any info.

 

 

 

 

Still looking for something to do on this Island.

 

At this site is it just a beach or are rentals available, like snorkel gear?

 

Thanks

 

Safe travels.

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matj2000

matj2000

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St.Maarten is the easiest place to rent a car.

 

We do it every visit.

 

The cars are right at the port and the island is an easy place to drive.

 

I think the total price for the day was around $65 for the day.

 

Highly recommended..........

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