Bernard's tour review

[sebas030]

Hi all,

 

We went to St-Maarten last week and we toured with Bernard's, this is my review;

 

We booked 2 weeks before our cruise via their website, made the deposit with Paypal ( 5$ each ) and received a confirmation email a few minutes later from Bernard's. The next day we received the instructions on were to meet there at the pier. I would have to say that this part was the most unclear part of the whole thing.

 

The easiest way to reach Bernard's : walk straight up from the pier where the ships dock. All the way strait forward until you pass a few shops left and right. Then you will face shops and your only option is to turn right and follow the path, a few steps and you are now facing the roundabout. Go left and follow the roundabout sidewalk for a few steps and you will see the large white tent of Bernard's just outside a fence and a large parking lot facing it. To reach the tent you will have to exit the secure area of the port, there is a little security booth at the gate and the security person there asked where we were going and she let us pass and indicated us were to go.

 

There are a few other tour compagnies in the parking lot, for Bernard's you have to go in the tent, pay your excursion and then wait outside for the tour to begin. It was crazy in the parking lot, buses and buses and taxis and buses :eek: The email we got asked to be there at 8:30, we were there at 8:15 and waited until 8:50 before we were called to board a small bus. We had a 24 passengers bus and it was full. A/C was operational, bus was clean, windows were clean, smelled clean...all was perfect so far.

 

The driver got in the bus and opened his mic, and introduced himself as the "mailman" ( since I read many reviews I knew he had a great reputation ). He made a few jokes and told us he had water, softdrinks, Island coffee ( cold beer ) and his famous rum punch, all complimentary with the tour !

 

We left the parking lot at 9am and we started our journey ! It was a great journey ! It was our 2nd time on the Island, the first time we just took a taxi to Mullet beach and walked to Maho later in the day...this time around we wanted to see more of the Island and it was great !

 

We did all the stops listed on the website, Mailman had great knowledge of the Island and was funny.

 

It would be to long to go into details for each stop we did, but here are a few pointers :

 

Small bills are "needed" in a few stops, at the Iguana stop you can tip the man who is there to feed them and entertain us. At the Lookout Point there is a man who takes care of live sea creatures that you can handle and tips are welcomed. At Orient beach it will be ( if you wish ) 10$ for 2 chairs on the beach, an umbrella, 2 drinks and free wi-fi. And of course for your driver if you feel he deserves it ( we did :D )

 

Lunch stop is in Marigot ( us $ is accepted everywhere ). We went to Sarafina's, we had 2 delicious pastries and a foot long baguette sandwich for 12$us ( we expected to pay more for this quality of food ).

 

We had 45 minutes in Maho and saw a few planes landing and a few leaving.

 

Tour was on time and lasted a full 6 hours even if we left 30 minutes later then we expected.

 

Again I have to say that the Mailman was great, the tour was great and we recommend it highly !

 

 

Thank you for a splendid day in St-Maarten !!!

[1bets1]

How long did you stay at Orient?

[LuCruise]

Thank you for your review. We are definitely debating between Bernard's or just going to near by beach. Got to know about having small bills.

Would you say the tour is good for kids?

 

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[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[sebas030]

Thank you for your review. We are definitely debating between Bernard's or just going to near by beach. Got to know about having small bills.

Would you say the tour is good for kids?

 

Sent from my ONE E1005 using Tapatalk

 

 

As I said, the first time in St-Maarten we just took a taxi to Mullet beach and then walked to Maho for drinks and watch the planes...the tour was so much better !!!

 

Kids? I would say yes because of a few things:

 

The van has a/c, so very comfortable,

You are not stuck in the van for 6 hours, you get out a few times.

You can handle live sea creatures right on the beach.

You get up close and personal with iguanas

You have about 1:30h at the beach

You have about 45 minutes in Marigot to grab a snack ( a few steps from the ocean )

You have about 1h at Maho beach to watch the planes or swim.

 

 

Have fun !

[sebas030]

Thanks for the report!

 

 

You are welcome!

[The Fun Researcher]

Just want to make sure we reserved with the right guy. This is the right site for the Bernard you are talking about on this site right?

 

http://www.bernardstours.com/

 

We are a group of 10, doing the Island tour II, and did the Paypal deposit of $5 each.

 

Does Bernard typically call or email for confirmation of availability? We'll be there Apr 7th.

 

Dan

[The Fun Researcher]

Just want to make sure we reserved with the right guy. This is the right site for the Bernard you are talking about on this site right?

 

http://www.bernardstours.com/

 

We are a group of 10, doing the Island tour II, and did the Paypal deposit of $5 each.

 

Does Bernard typically call or email for confirmation of availability? We'll be there Apr 7th.

 

Dan

 

Nevermind. Must have been the right one. We got our confirmation email. Woo Hoo!!!

 

Dan

[denatravels]

Yay!! Glad to hear, as I booked in April. Looking forward to it.

[sebas030]

Nevermind. Must have been the right one. We got our confirmation email. Woo Hoo!!!

 

 

 

Dan

 

 

[emoji106]🏻 yep you have the good one !

[The Fun Researcher]

Yay!! Glad to hear, as I booked in April. Looking forward to it.

 

When in April? We will be there April 7.

 

[emoji106]🏻 yep you have the good one !

 

Great to hear! We love Saint Maarten but have mainly stayed around the port. Love the easy access to the beach and shopping.

 

We can't wait to explore more of the island. Both the Orient Beach and Moho beach look like a blast.

 

Dan

[denatravels]

End of April.

[The Fun Researcher]

End of April.

 

Hope you have a great time and beautiful weather.

 

Dan

[pcjmom]

I also just booked tour #2 for April 7. We are on the Freedom of the Seas.

 

 

My receipt doesn't have a date on it or the tour #. I assuming a more detailed one is forthcoming? This is just the payment receipt that I've received so far.

 

 

PCJMOM

[The Fun Researcher]

I also just booked tour #2 for April 7. We are on the Freedom of the Seas.

 

 

My receipt doesn't have a date on it or the tour #. I assuming a more detailed one is forthcoming? This is just the payment receipt that I've received so far.

 

 

PCJMOM

 

Cool! Maybe we'll be in the same group! We will be a group of 10. One family of five with three kids 8, 12, 14 (boy, girl, girl). One Family with a daughter aged 9, and a set of Grandparents.

 

Yes, you will get an email from Bernard that has detailed information about how to get to their location from the dock, and it will list your time to meet as well as which tour you booked and such... For ours, we meet at 8:30am and leave at 9am

 

Kindly,

Dan

[pcjmom]

I just got it :)

 

We'll just be 3 (me, husband and 15 year old son). Our 2 older sons are staying on land- this will be the first cruise without them :( One is in college, the other in grad school and working. We are cruising with my bother, his wife and 2 boys, but they are doing something different on the island. Ours says 8:30/9:00 also!

 

 

Looking forward to it!

 

PCJMOM

[sebas030]

It always says 8:30. When you go in the tent to pay the rest of your tour the will put a sticker with the tour number ( 1 or 2 ) on one of the person in your group. Then you wait outside the tent for the drivers to be ready. They have multiple drivers and van. If you want to tour with an other group just tell the dispatcher the total number of guest you have and they will fit you all together I am sure.

[Lineaway]

We will be on this tour in a couple weeks. I have been reading that Maho Beach is getting more crowded now. How was it when you were there????

[sebas030]

We will be on this tour in a couple weeks. I have been reading that Maho Beach is getting more crowded now. How was it when you were there????

 

The beach was full,

 

Lots and lots of people on the beach.

 

Sunset bar and gril was packed to the max...they bought the building next to it and are currently renovating/expanding and it's going to be a nice addition...but for now it is to small...

 

Cars were stuck in traffic on the road behind the beach at some point.

 

It is NOT, imo, a beach to enjoy the beach...the reason you go to Maho is to watch the planes land and take-off.

 

A small sample of the people on the beach :

 

[/img]

 

Have fun !

 

.

[CatherineM]

Wow! How many ships were in port that day?

 

 

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[sebas030]

Wow! How many ships were in port that day?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

 

4 ships that day !

[Turtles06]

We were in St. Maarten last Sunday, Feb. 7, on a port call, and also had a great tour with Bernard's. We did tour number 2, which gave us about 90 minutes at Orient Beach, half an hour in Marigot (it was Carnival and our guide/driver wanted to get out of there before it became impossible), and about half an hour at Maho.

 

I agree that Maho is not a place you'd go to for a beach day; it's a rather crappy beach. Just go for a short while to watch the planes. Our ship was the only one in port that day until 1PM (when one other ship docked), so things weren't as zoo-ey as I imagine they are when multiple ships are docked. Still, the bar at Maho was packed.

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

[TNcrzr4life]

Thanks for the great info. We are on the April 17 sailing of Freedom. We want a good island tour with lots of variety. I will be on his website ASAP!