St Maarten

Looking for some information for my sister who is sailing on oasis of the seas 15th Oct 2014. She has been asking me about Maho Beech and how far it is from the port. Can she get a taxi there and roughly how much would it cost. Hubby and I have visited st Maarten twice, once we did the island tour, the other time we just got the water taxi into town and did a bit of shopping.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

You would get a better response, or find the answer if you post in the ports of call forum under St Maarten.

Good luck!

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Maho Beach is a 15-25 minute ride from the port area.

You have two options for transport there. Get a cab at the port area; this would be roughly $20-30 range.

Alternatively walk 10 minutes from the port to the main town area and go to Back Street. Here you can get a public bus (they run constantly). They are the same exact minivans used by taxi drivers. Look at the licenses plate to see if it is a bus or taxi. A bus will be $2 to Maho; the drivers are public employees and not allowed to accept tips.

Getting around St. Maarten by public bus is virtually no different than by taxi except for the increased cost of the taxi.

A round trip water taxi ticket is only $7 (one way is $5). So if your sister didn't want to walk from the port into the town, just get a roundtrip water taxi ride. The water taxi takes you to basically within a short block of Back Street.

You should Google the date she will be in town so you can see the flight landing schedules.

Some get free drinks at Maho

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=240825&d=1343469270

Looking for some information for my sister who is sailing on oasis of the seas 15th Oct 2014. She has been asking me about Maho Beech and how far it is from the port. Can she get a taxi there and roughly how much would it cost. Hubby and I have visited st Maarten twice, once we did the island tour, the other time we just got the water taxi into town and did a bit of shopping.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Taxi rates:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=43475739&postcount=10

We take the bus for $2 per person, each way.

Some get free drinks at Maho

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=240825&d=1343469270

I tried to talk my wife into doing this. Ha!. We paid full price. She is not a very good sport

:D

I tried to talk my wife into doing this. Ha!. We paid full price. She is not a very good sport

:D

Next time save the cab ride and go here, close to the ships. After shopping you will head straight back to your ship/cabin:p

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=257106&d=1358046825

Every time I visit St. Maarten, I rent a car. It's the only port where I do this. There are several agencies right at the port- quick and easy. The island is very easy to navigate, and you're usually there long enough to really make the most of it. Hit Maho Beach. Then head to Grand Case for lunch. Really a lot of bang for your buck.

We did a short walk into town and took the bus for $2.00. It's called a bus but it's really a white van. It makes a few stops along the way. It was a 20 minute ride. We watched the planes, had lunch and then walked back to the place where we were dropped off and took the bus back into town. It was all very easy.

We caught a shared van right at port. There were three of us, and it seems like it was 10 to 15 bucks for all of us. It wasn't a large amount, and it took us right to the beach. When we were ready to leave, we went to the bar/restaurant, and waited for a van to fill up so we could return. Easy-peasy, and that beach was so much fun!

Rent a car or Jeep.

Much easier, unless you are a bad driver...

Looking for some information for my sister who is sailing on oasis of the seas 15th Oct 2014. She has been asking me about Maho Beech and how far it is from the port. Can she get a taxi there and roughly how much would it cost. Hubby and I have visited st Maarten twice, once we did the island tour, the other time we just got the water taxi into town and did a bit of shopping.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

She has missed her cruise.

She has missed her cruise.

Spent to much time planning...

Maho Beach is a 15-25 minute ride from the port area.

 

You have two options for transport there. Get a cab at the port area; this would be roughly $20-30 range.

 

Alternatively walk 10 minutes from the port to the main town area and go to Back Street. Here you can get a public bus (they run constantly). They are the same exact minivans used by taxi drivers. Look at the licenses plate to see if it is a bus or taxi. A bus will be $2 to Maho; the drivers are public employees and not allowed to accept tips.

 

Getting around St. Maarten by public bus is virtually no different than by taxi except for the increased cost of the taxi.

 

A round trip water taxi ticket is only $7 (one way is $5). So if your sister didn't want to walk from the port into the town, just get a roundtrip water taxi ride. The water taxi takes you to basically within a short block of Back Street.

 

You should Google the date she will be in town so you can see the flight landing schedules.

I'd allow 30 - 45 minutes to get to Maho, unless very early in the day. Certainly not 15.

Taxi service is based on number in the taxi, and they will combine travelers. If just one or two it should be $20. With 3 - 5 it should be $9 per person , and with six or more it should be $8 pp. That's each way, of course.

The walk into town from the Cruise Facility is not 10 minutes. Google Earth says that it is 22 minutes to the Courthouse.

The public buses do not run constantly, they run when they come by, as there is no set schedule. The drivers are independent contractors and decide when and where they drive. They are NOT public employees. Tips are not solicited, but I'm certain would be appreciated. $2 per person would be $4 for two, and not asking for change from a $5 would be appreciated.

The trip by bus will take a bit longer than by taxi (in addition to the time to get to Backstreet to find the bus) because they do stop regularly to discharge and pickup riders.

Getting around St. Maarten by bus is vastly different than by taxi, as the buses are on fairly regular routes and there are MANY tourist spots that you can't get to by bus. No service to Dawn Beach, le Galion, Orient, Baie Rouge, Longe Bay, Prune Baie, and more. No direct service to Grand Case. And to reiterate, it's on the driver's schedule when you travel, not as in a taxi.

gary

 

The public buses do not run constantly, they run when they come by, as there is no set schedule.

Right, no set schedule. When you need one just go to a bus stop location and one will be by shortly as they are constantly running. To say they do not run constantly is misleading; only they are not on a fixed schedule.

We have tried to offer drivers a tip and they refused; this happened more than once. One explained they were not allowed to accept tips. I'm only relating my limited experience.

From the pier to Back Street is about .75 miles of walking. Maybe 10 minutes is pushing it; just depends on your pace. I did suggest the water taxi roundtrip as an alternative to the walk.

If I were trying to hit the popular tourist spots and see some of the local flavor I would not hesitate to suggest a bus. Economical, really no more or less comfortable than most taxis, and easy to find at all times.

If, as you suggested, your goal is to see some of the other less traveled to spots, no a bus will not work. I have also had the experience on busses where if a majority of people want to go to one place instead of where the driver intended, the driver may do so. So definitely a bit more adventurous there than a taxi.

OK.

gary