Has Anyone Done Marigot & St. Phillipsburg On Your Own

[Shirley C]

Has anyone donhe Marigot & St. Phillipsburg on their own? How far of a cab ride is it? Cost of cab? Any other info on things to do??

 

Thanks.

[swifs]

We rented a car at the port and drove over there. We walked around and looked at the shops, had lunch and returned to the ship. We probably would have had time to go to a beach but we didn't bother.

[halbfl2]

Has anyone donhe Marigot & St. Phillipsburg on their own? How far of a cab ride is it? Cost of cab? Any other info on things to do??

 

 

We were just there the end of Jan. You will be right in Phillipsburg, so can walk around on your own. We took the local bus to Marigot and back. That town is not nearly as nice as Phillipsburg.

[FunCruiser56]

Go down to the port of call boards and you will probably find lots of answers to this question.

Cabs seem to be abundant, but might be a big expensive...

 

Bev

[WNcruiser]

You will be docked in Phillipsburg,easy to do on your own. Marigot isnt much in my opinion but there are plenty of jeeps for rent in town.

 

There are several local guides for hire which we did. It was only $25/pp and we drove the entire circle of the island, stopped in Marigot as well as several other picture stops and then had about 1 1/2 hours at Orient beach. Great day for a great price.

[Shirley C]

You will be docked in Phillipsburg,easy to do on your own. Marigot isnt much in my opinion but there are plenty of jeeps for rent in town.

 

There are several local guides for hire which we did. It was only $25/pp and we drove the entire circle of the island, stopped in Marigot as well as several other picture stops and then had about 1 1/2 hours at Orient beach. Great day for a great price.

 

 

Did you book the guide ahead of time, or were they right there where the ship docks?

[WNcruiser]

We did not book ahead. When you get off the water taxi, walk straight ahead. You wont miss them! If you do want to book ahead, check out: bernardstours.com. I have heard nothing but good about him and his tour.

 

Unfortunately, I found out about him on the ship from others who booked with him.

[Duanerice1]

We just rented a car and toured the island. Started off shopping in Phillipsburg because we didn't know when we'd get back. Shops close early. Went to Orient beach for a while, Grand Case then spent a little time in Marigot which we enjoyed. Very easy to do.

 

This last time we just took the boat over to Phillipsburg.

 

enjoy,

Duane

[Davey Interweb]

I like renting a vehicle in St. Maarten; it's an easy island to get around and it's just a nice drive. You absolutely have to be mindful of the time, and allow yourself a good 1.5 hours to get back to the ship from the French side (even though it's only a 30 minute-ish drive from Phillipsburg in the morning). This is especially true if you plan to head to Maho Beach (even though it's on the Dutch side). Rush hour traffic around the airport can be nuts.

[katjam]

We have done the cab self tour route in the past. Would recommend doing the french side St Martin in the morning as the traffic back in the afternoon can be a brutal bottle neck. Also it leave browsing the shops of St Marten for the later part of the day which is where all of the better buys on jewlery ect are and it is very close to the ship if you want to push the envelope! In St Martin, the morning markets, bakeries are awesome and very french. there is a nice lookout and that would leave you free to do a circle island and some beach time for the rest of the day. We also had a late lunch on the St Marten side which was very good - wish I could remember the name of the place but it was Caribean food - goat roti ect. This time round we did book a local tour company thru the intranet based on recommendations found on cruise critic. We are going with Bernards Tours ( see http://www.bernardstours.com) as my parents who have never cruised will be with us. The tour is $35pp and covers sightseeing on both sides of the island, a 2 hour beach stop at Orient beach and ends with shopping in Phillpsburg which is close to the ship to finish the day. It is a small van format with 6-8 per van. Which ever way you go I hope you have fun!

 

Katjam

[texancruzer]

We rented a jeep through Hertz. (Also rented on Antigua and in San Juan) ahead of time. Called the 800 international # and booked all three at once. Easy and painless. Ended up not being able to use one in San Juan. Was going to drive to El Yunque but storms in mountains cancelled that. We were not charged for reservation.

 

St. Maarten is easy to drive around. We headed straight for the French side and had lunch and shopped in Marigot. Then some off roading - up to Grand Case and then over to Orient Beach (spent @ 2 hrs there) then back down to Phillipsburg. Had a blast. Easy to do.

 

[CelebrityMan]

Hi,

 

If you'd care to see recent photos of both places, I offer links from January '09:

 

French Saint-Martin:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/570366055YkqghI

 

Dutch Sint Maarten:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/570313731mDzNtu

 

Saint-Martin Butterfly Farm:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/570330520LIBLDt

 

We fully enjoyed both sides of the island, but would agree with a previous poster that Philipsburg was the easiest to do on your own. Of course, you're docked in Philipsburg, but it's also more 'user friendly' shall we say -- by virtue of its' layout it's an easy town to walk and to shop.

 

Marigot is beautiful in its' location, and the drive over and back is also quite lovely. But we didn't care for the shopping in Marigot, finding Philipsburg much more affordable, though the outdoor market in Marigot was very nice.

 

 

 

 

 

CM

[Shirley C]

Hi,

 

If you'd care to see recent photos of both places, I offer links from January '09:

 

French Saint-Martin:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/570366055YkqghI

 

Dutch Sint Maarten:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/570313731mDzNtu

 

Saint-Martin Butterfly Farm:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/570330520LIBLDt

 

We fully enjoyed both sides of the island, but would agree with a previous poster that Philipsburg was the easiest to do on your own. Of course, you're docked in Philipsburg, but it's also more 'user friendly' shall we say -- by virtue of its' layout it's an easy town to walk and to shop.

 

Marigot is beautiful in its' location, and the drive over and back is also quite lovely. But we didn't care for the shopping in Marigot, finding Philipsburg much more affordable, though the outdoor market in Marigot was very nice.

 

 

 

 

 

CM

 

Thanks for the input. I think we are going to play it by ear once we get there.

 

Anything else you care to share about the ship or the ports?

[cruise47]

How much was the cab fare from the cruise port to the St. Martin side?

[RCfanNdallas]

I have been to St. Maarten 3 times and the thing I enjoy most is heading over to the airport and eating at the Sunset Beach Bar and Grill and hanging out at Maho Beach. If you have ever seen videos or pictures with people on the beach and huge jets landing right over them, that is in St. Maarten....Depending on how long your stay in port is, renting a car (jeep is the most fun with top down) is the best way to get around. On my last cruise, I was on Celebrity Solstice and we were in port from 8 in the morning till 10 at night. Not only where we able to enjoy the airport beach, but drove around to Orient beach and hung out there as well. I am not a shopper so I can't tell you much about that but I love this island.

[Davey Interweb]

We were in St. Maarten a few months ago, but we didn't go to Maho Beach this time. Is the Sunset Beach Bar & Grill still operating? Last I heard the owner was deported from the country.

[floridacruisers]

The last time we were in Marigot this past January, I picked up some island spices such as curry and a bar-b-que rub...great! I generally stop at Olive's. If you want to try some local cuisine, try Rosemary's for curry or fish. Ask around, people there will direct you. Mmmmmmmm....

'

[snugsno1]

We were in St. Maarten a few months ago, but we didn't go to Maho Beach this time. Is the Sunset Beach Bar & Grill still operating? Last I heard the owner was deported from the country.

 

I was in simpson Bay ( near the AirP in Sept for a week) the Sunset bar was still in business but we did not have time to visit, we walked towards the drive and diecided it was too dark to do it on foot.

I really love every thing about St. Maartin.

[Davey Interweb]

Heh. I never tire of St. Maarten; it's like we find something "new" with every visit (I've been there nine times). I couldn't say the same about places like St. Thomas or Grand Cayman.

[Linco711]

We didn't go to the french side, didn't want to waste the beautiful day traveling. Just stayed where we docked and had a beach day. It's a beautiful beach. We rented beach chairs with cushions(very Comfy) that came with a bucket of beer;) for a very reasoanble price..then had lunch at one of the local restaurants near the beach. We also walked around the town and did a little shopping. It was a great relaxing day. :) Whatever you choose to do, I know you'll enjoy it.........

[Shirley C]

We didn't go to the french side, didn't want to waste the beautiful day traveling. Just stayed where we docked and had a beach day. It's a beautiful beach. We rented beach chairs with cushions(very Comfy) that came with a bucket of beer;) for a very reasoanble price..then had lunch at one of the local restaurants near the beach. We also walked around the town and did a little shopping. It was a great relaxing day. :) Whatever you choose to do, I know you'll enjoy it.........

 

 

Great -- so we can just walk off the ship and still enjoy beach, shopping and food?

[Buellwinkle]

We did the 12M Challenge excursion which was great but took up a good portion of the day. Philipsburg is just a town filled with jewelry stores and a boardwalk with open air bars that are 100% set up for tourists only. It depends on what you expect, if you expect to drink, use the beach with a view of the harbor and shop for jewelry, Philipsburg is the place to be. At night, Philipsburg shuts down completely, so don't expect much after say 5PM. Asking the ship's concierge was totally useless. We asked the cabbie and that's the best resource. They said Marigot is boring, Orient beach has some restaurants but at night they start to close so she took us to Grand Case (prounounced Cass). This is a town that opens up in the afternoon and stays up into the wee hours. It's a lot more authentic but still has souvernir shops but on a more artistic scale than just t-shirts, towels and trinkets with St. Martin printed on it. The restaurants where much nicer and we ate at one on the beach that was beatiful in a french rustic caribbean way. I have pics at http://www.buellwinkle.com/Caribbean2009 if that helps any. We were there exactly a week ago.