Looking for St Maarten Tour Recommendation

I am going to St Maarten for the first time in October and we are interested in just doing a tour of the island to see all of the highlights. I would like to book a tour in advance so we aren't worried about finding someone, waiting, etc. I am even willing to pay more for it just to be my husband and I so we aren't waiting to fill the taxi, van, etc. Any recommendations please?? Thank you so much!!! :)

Your ship will certainly offer an excursion to see the Island Highlights so that's an option.

Hopefully, someone will post with info of independents who do this as well.

http://www.bernardstours.com/

We used Bernard's Tours a few years ago. Full day tour of the island with several stops and time at both Orient and Maho beaches. They were excellent and provided drinks for the van and got us back in plenty of time.

http://www.bernardstours.com/

 

We used Bernard's Tours a few years ago. Full day tour of the island with several stops and time at both Orient and Maho beaches. They were excellent and provided drinks for the van and got us back in plenty of time.

We have also used Bernards tours and really enjoyed our time.

You can book either a shared tour with Bernard or a private tour...There were 5 of us and the private tour worked out great. Joyce Prince is another private guide company you can check availability with.

We did Bernard's Tours and were very pleased. DJ Dave was our tour guide and he was fantastic. When we go back to St. Maarten we'll use them again.

Google Joyce Prince tours. She is great and very responsive. She will also give you suggestions should you need them. We did research so knew what we wanted to do. St Maarten is one of my favorite islands.

We were in St. Martin in November and we booked a private tour with Joyce Prince Tours. She was fabulous and we will use her again when we go back.

Try Costco excursions under their travel page. Not sure if you have to be a member. Put in your ship and date, and a port by port list shows up.

Try Costco excursions under their travel page. Not sure if you have to be a member. Put in your ship and date, and a port by port list shows up.

Are you guys living off the grid. Have you seen the damage? St. Martin will take months to get back to receiving tourists and years to return to normal

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Are you guys living off the grid. Have you seen the damage? St. Martin will take months to get back to receiving tourists and years to return to normal

 

 

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Has anybody heard if the port was damaged? If not, I'm pretty sure they'll be getting tourist-ready ASAP so they can start getting the $$$ flowing. I'd say go ahead and book a tour with Bernard's and if they can't do it they'll let you know. Of course, you might not WANT to drive around looking at hurricane damage, but that's another story. Depending on your itinerary that might be all you see at whatever ports you go to.

And lest anybody accuse me of being callous or insensitive to the plight of the islanders, I have to point out that my home is located directly under the projected location of the eye of Irma at 2 am Monday. DH is putting up the shutters now and I'll be going out to bring in the loose stuff soon.

My heart goes out to the islanders affected by Irma, and the Texans affected by Harvey, and everybody affected by disasters. But the islands will still be open for business as soon as they can and those of you who are cruising there soon should expect to see damage. Try to support the locals by getting off the ship and spending money. It may not look like the paradise you're expecting but consider it a chance to see a life that's different from yours, and maybe gain a new appreciation for the power of Mother Nature.

Definitely going to participate in helping these folks when we are there in January. Either by giving them money through tourism, or bringing things they need, helping out, or all of the above. Hoping the docking area isn't badly damaged so they can start receiving tourism money again quickly.

The cruise port is completely destroyed. Heartbreaking.

:eek: Massive Destruction!

It'll be a very long time before port stops will be possible for St. Maarten! :(

The cruise port is completely destroyed. Heartbreaking.

I just read that too! Also the Maho airport. It's closed for at least two weeks. So very sad for these people. :(

From Dutch Naval Blog

Crew from HNLMS Zeeland are currently assessing damage to the container port and nearby cruise ship pier. Initial cautious conclusion: could have been (even) worse, there are no wrecks and the 'basic elements' of the port are still there.

However concern that upcoming storm/hurricane Jose may cause further damage to weakened structures.

Also 100 Dutch marines and army specialists are on the way for relief operations and to counter looting. quotes report that many of the local police have lost their homes.

https://marineschepen.nl/nieuws/live-blog-noodhulp-orkaan-irma.html

They say that we get a lot of pleasure planning trips. Even if you never take them. I say go ahead and do the research. We certainly won't be able to provide you with any concrete information for a while but use the search button. There's lots of great information on there.

Happy planning.😊

Are you guys living off the grid. Have you seen the damage? St. Martin will take months to get back to receiving tourists and years to return to normal

 

 

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Not living off the grid, as a matter of fact I live in Houston so we just went through Hurricane Harvey. Joyce from Joyce Prince tours emailed me before the hurricane to tell me to stay safe and I also emailed her before Irma hit. She told me they were very scared. St. Maarten will rebuild and cruise ships will be going back to that beautiful island.

My prayers for all of the people being impacted by Irma!

It was announced a while on one of the TV stations that the US is trying to get the coast guard and naval vessels into St Maartin to evacuate many stranded Americans.

I have no idea how they are going to do this. Hope we get more reports later this evening.

Cruise ships returned to Grand Cayman after eight weeks following Hurricane Ivan and after only three weeks to Cozumel following Hurricane Wilma (although they had to tender in until the docks were rebuilt), so these islands will likely see cruise ships return by November in time for the return of ships from other parts of the world. All the same activities, shops and restaurants may not be available though.

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Cruise ships returned to Grand Cayman after eight weeks following Hurricane Ivan and after only three weeks to Cozumel following Hurricane Wilma (although they had to tender in until the docks were rebuilt), so these islands will likely see cruise ships return by November in time for the return of ships from other parts of the world. All the same activities, shops and restaurants may not be available though.

 

 

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Was the damage to the island this bad though? Is there a part of this island that was not at least very badly damaged? The storm was not only strong but it was really large as well.

Main concern now would be to evacuate the tourists ; and of course, food, water, shelter, schools, hosp facilities and power for residents,,,We do not expect it to be ready for quite awhile.....many areas seem quite devastated,..

If our ship stops there in Jan we will be surprised but happy to visit, even if much has changed,

Main concern now would be to evacuate the tourists ; and of course, food, water, shelter, schools, hosp facilities and power for residents,,,We do not expect it to be ready for quite awhile.....many areas seem quite devastated,..

 

If our ship stops there in Jan we will be surprised but happy to visit, even if much has changed,

September is thankfully the lowest of the low when it comes to visitors on the island. Many of the restaurants are closed and the owners and staff off island.