5 hours in St. Martin

We have a taxi service reserved to take our party of 10 around St. Maarten/St. Martin for a 5 hour window on our upcoming cruise on NCL Gem. We are newbies, and having never been to the islands have no idea what to expect in terms of traffic/travel time. We will have the taxi from 9 am - 2pm, if that helps.

Our only two definite plans are to spend a bit of time at Mullet Bay, and take the kids to experience Maho for the airplanes. We would also like to visit the french side, but most of what I'm seeing that I'm interested in looks from the maps like it would be adding in too much travel/drive time. I thought Grand Case looked gorgeous, would consider Marigot to shop and find a nice bakery, and also thought about the Northern end of Orient Beach (rather not have the kids in the nude part!). I also read good things about seeing L'Embouchere Bay. Obviously, I know there is no way to do all of it, but is it even likely to do Mullet Bay for say 2 hours, Maho, plus ONE of these french side options? Are there other good french side options for a large family group that might fit into our itinerary better?

I am open to all of your suggestions/thoughts - like I said, we are all noobs! :D

Sounds like an awful lot to cram into 5 hours.

You need to check the flight schedules for planes, otherwise you'll waste a lot of time waiting at Maho. There are a couple of recent threads here with schedules.

I'd choose one side or the other, East-West (not French Dutch). East beaches-Orient, L'Embouchure/Galion, Dawn et. al.; or West side, Maho, Mullet, Marigot, Grand Case. And then chose 1 or 2 places and give yourselves plenty of time out and back as traffic can be heavy especially going to or coming from Maho.

If West Side, I would go to Marigot first then come back to Maho/Mullet. Grand case is probably too far away given your time. Seraphina's or Suciere for bakery/sweets will satisfy any hunger issues. Plenty of spots along waterfront as well.

If East, I would head to Orient(just to say I was there) then maybe stop back by Galion, if not tired of the beach, great spot for kids and Chez Pat is a nice place to spend some time. Or just come back into Phillipsburg and walk along the boardwalk .

We have a taxi service reserved to take our party of 10 around St. Maarten/St. Martin for a 5 hour window on our upcoming cruise on NCL Gem. We are newbies, and having never been to the islands have no idea what to expect in terms of traffic/travel time. We will have the taxi from 9 am - 2pm, if that helps.

 

Our only two definite plans are to spend a bit of time at Mullet Bay, and take the kids to experience Maho for the airplanes. We would also like to visit the french side, but most of what I'm seeing that I'm interested in looks from the maps like it would be adding in too much travel/drive time. I thought Grand Case looked gorgeous, would consider Marigot to shop and find a nice bakery, and also thought about the Northern end of Orient Beach (rather not have the kids in the nude part!). I also read good things about seeing L'Embouchere Bay. Obviously, I know there is no way to do all of it, but is it even likely to do Mullet Bay for say 2 hours, Maho, plus ONE of these french side options? Are there other good french side options for a large family group that might fit into our itinerary better?

 

I am open to all of your suggestions/thoughts - like I said, we are all noobs! :D

Not sure how much the taxi is costing you. If you're not committed, check out Bernard's Tours. We have used them twice and they take you all around the island for about $40 pp (maybe less for the kids).

In stead of 9:00. - 2:00, you might think about 11:00 - 4:00. (assuming ship sails at regular 5:00 PM). You could hit Phillipsburg shops first, best times at Maho for planes is roughly noon to 2:00 PM - then either Mullet Bay followed by return to ship via French side -- the last thing you want to do is get back to ship from Mullet/Maho area in mid-late afternoon. Of, after Maho go straight up to Marigot or Grand Case - getting back from either by going across north end and down east side of the island beats heading east across south end of the island.

Highly recommend going to Grand Case for lunch. Nothing like fresh grilled lobster with your feet in the sand. St Martin is a small island so make sure to go to the Marigot Market before Grand Case. St Martin is our favorite island with wonderful food, beaches and people. Sunset Beach by the airport is another must see.

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We were planning to go to Marigot, but I read that a lot of places are closed in the afternoon for siesta. Is that still true?

The taxi is costing us about $28 pp for that 5 hours, and includes water, beer, and soda. We thought it was a good deal. Unfortunately we are locked into 9-2, can't change the time.

Sounds to me like it might be best to just plan for Maho and Mullet Bay. :( Was hoping to squeeze one more stop in, but didn't really think about massive traffic near Maho. I will have to look at the plane schedule. I personally don't much care about seeing Maho, but the kids (ranging from age 8-14) are all excited about it.

Thanks for the insight everyone! Much appreciated :D

We stayed on the beach in Grand Case for a week in January. They have a small airport that has small,planes that land right over the beach. If you want to skip the masses at Maho you could go to Grand Case which has wonderful beaches and food and catch a small plane or two flying in.

I wasn't quite in the right spot. We were walking down the beach and I couldn't get my phone/camera out fast enough!

Hello Benny,

Looks delicious, we've never been to St Martin.

Do you know the name of the restaurant ?

Thanks

Highly recommend going to Grand Case for lunch. Nothing like fresh grilled lobster with your feet in the sand. St Martin is a small island so make sure to go to the Marigot Market before Grand Case. St Martin is our favorite island with wonderful food, beaches and people. Sunset Beach by the airport is another must see.

 

 

 

 

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A morning at Mullet Bay Beach and then some time at Maho sounds fine to me. You can get a feel for flight arrivals by checking Joyce Hanley-Prince's website Maho Beach Page on the same day of the week that you will be there. Make sure to adjust the 'Time Period' option.

Since you're locked into the 9-2 timeframe, which I read as being dropped off back in Philipsburg or at the ship by 2:00, traffic back from the Maho area really shouldn't be any problem at all.

Between Maho and Philipsburg, you will pass two of the best Bakeries/Pastry Shops on the island. Taste Factory and La Suceriere

If the photo above of lobster interests you, consider a late lunch at Antoine's By the Sea, back in downtown Philipsburg, looking over the beach and the water. Do some shoppng and then make your way back to the ship

gary