St Maarten with Kids - St Bernards or LeGalion/Little Bay

I'm stuck what to do for our St Maarten day when we come in April with our kids who will be 10.5 and 6.5 years. So far, I've narrowed it down to either St Bernard's Tour, Le Galion Beach or Little Bay Beach. Any ideas of what would be the best? I've written out what I know as pros and cons of each

St Bernard's Tour

• Pro: Gets great reviews
  
• Pro: See a good variety of places including Maho beach
  
• Con: A bit worried of an excursion outside of RCL
  
• Con: pricey (we've already booked an RCL excursion for our Nassau day)
  
• Con: the beach included is Orient which is not my first pick for kids (nudity and water is rougher)
  
• Pro or Con: Day is set for us
  

Le Galion

• Pro: calm water for kids
  
• Pro: good relaxing day with our own schedule
  
• Con: Have heard Taxi's are a bit harder to catch coming home
  
• Con: Basic beach with no water toys and bare amenities
  
• Con: Will we get bored with just a beach?
  

Little Bay Beach

• Pro: calm water for kids
  
• Pro: good relaxing day with our own schedule
  
• Pro: Quick taxi ride
  
• Pro: Restaurants, water toys for rent
  
• Con: Will we get bored with just a beach?
  

Any thoughts from those that have done one, two or all of the above?

As a note, our Nassau day is beach time, I think St Thomas will be beach and Coki World.

I can't edit my post anymore, but to add to

St Bernard's Tour

..Con: Not sure if kids would be bored?

I've done Bernard's twice and Le Galion 3 times. First time with Bernard's we did his regular tour that grouped us with other people. (this included our kids who enjoyed it btw). We only saw the occasional topless person on the short time we were on Orient, not a big deal. You can actually see this anywhere on that area of the island including Le Galion.

Second time we did Bernard's, we did a private tour with friends of ours so we customized it slightly. It was a lot like our first tour with a few different stops and we chose to go to Le Galion this time due to the calm water. I was never worried about using Bernard's tours instead of a ship tour (I've actually never used a ship tour and instead book private tours I've read about here. ;) )

Several of our trips to St Maarten we've just taxied to Le Galion on our own. Last year it was $6 a person one way and there are always taxis stopping by the beach to go back to port, never had an issue with that. I can't tell you if your kids would be bored or not. We love laid back beach days, my kids play in the sand & water, older ones sometimes read while laying in the sun, etc. I also pack small inner tubes we can easily blow up to play with in the water as well as some small sand toys.

Good luck deciding! :)

I've done Bernard's twice and Le Galion 3 times. First time with Bernard's we did his regular tour that grouped us with other people. (this included our kids who enjoyed it btw). We only saw the occasional topless person on the short time we were on Orient, not a big deal. You can actually see this anywhere on that area of the island including Le Galion.

 

Second time we did Bernard's, we did a private tour with friends of ours so we customized it slightly. It was a lot like our first tour with a few different stops and we chose to go to Le Galion this time due to the calm water. I was never worried about using Bernard's tours instead of a ship tour (I've actually never used a ship tour and instead book private tours I've read about here. ;) )

 

Several of our trips to St Maarten we've just taxied to Le Galion on our own. Last year it was $6 a person one way and there are always taxis stopping by the beach to go back to port, never had an issue with that. I can't tell you if your kids would be bored or not. We love laid back beach days, my kids play in the sand & water, older ones sometimes read while laying in the sun, etc. I also pack small inner tubes we can easily blow up to play with in the water as well as some small sand toys.

 

Good luck deciding! :)

Thanks for the feedback. Helpful that you've done both.

Great that you did a private tour so you could cater to what you wanted to see (it's a little too pricey for us). The only thing I would change on the regular tour would be Orient for Le Gallion. Everything else sounds great. And I do like that it's a mix of different things to do and see . Our other two ports will be beach days so it may be a good variety.

Was the water rough at Orient? Or was it ok?

Thanks for the feedback. Helpful that you've done both.

Great that you did a private tour so you could cater to what you wanted to see (it's a little too pricey for us). The only thing I would change on the regular tour would be Orient for Le Gallion. Everything else sounds great. And I do like that it's a mix of different things to do and see . Our other two ports will be beach days so it may be a good variety.

Was the water rough at Orient? Or was it ok?

Yeah I think his price has gone up since we went.

Orient definitely had waves to it, can't say I remember any undertow but definite waves for sure. Our kids just stayed in the shallow area or went out with one of us. Also, when he takes you to Maho, that beach isn't recommended to swim in because it is really rough there.

Yeah I think his price has gone up since we went.

 

Orient definitely had waves to it, can't say I remember any undertow but definite waves for sure. Our kids just stayed in the shallow area or went out with one of us. Also, when he takes you to Maho, that beach isn't recommended to swim in because it is really rough there.

Right now there is no beach at Maho, just boulders. Hopefully the sand will be washed back in. It can be rough, or flat calm - depending on wind conditions.

I've heard that the water at Maho is rough. We would just go for the planes. No plan on swimming there. But what happened to the sand?

I did Bernard's several years ago and emailed him to ask if we could be dropped off and picked up at Le Galion instead of Orient. He said it was not a problem and the driver was prepared to do this, but in the end - we decided to get dropped off at Orient with everyone else. If you are interested in Bernard's tour, I would suggest you email him.

I did Bernard's several years ago and emailed him to ask if we could be dropped off and picked up at Le Galion instead of Orient. He said it was not a problem and the driver was prepared to do this, but in the end - we decided to get dropped off at Orient with everyone else. If you are interested in Bernard's tour, I would suggest you email him.

Good to know. No harm in asking. Maybe there will be another family who would like the same.

How far in advance do you need to book? We're still 6 months away so have time to decide.

Good to know. No harm in asking. Maybe there will be another family who would like the same.

 

How far in advance do you need to book? We're still 6 months away so have time to decide.

I've booked anywhere from 2-4 weeks from our sail date whenever we use Bernard's Tour.

I've booked anywhere from 2-4 weeks from our sail date whenever we use Bernard's Tour.

Thanks. That helps. So we have lots if time to decide.