Car Rental on St Martin?

Is there a place to rent cars on the island by the docks? That is what we are hoping to do is to get a car that will allow us to do whatever we want to do that day.

ANY ADVICE OR TIPS IS WELL THANKED IN ADVANCED!!!

Sorry but I can only help a little bit. I believe there is a car rental place on the dock. Generally car rental prices in St. Martin are quite reasonable. Most roads are in good condition but traffic can be heavy at times especially during the "rush hours" (AM - about 8AM-9:30)(PM - about 3:30PM-5:30PM).

Traffic is especially hectic around Philipsburg when there are a lot of cruiseships in.

One piece of advice - if you rent a car NEVER leave anything valuable in the car (even in a locked trunk). Violent crime is rare in St Martin but car breakins are a problem. When we rented we did not even bother locking the car - we fugured it would clue in any potential thieves that we had left NOTHING of value in the car. We had absolutely no problems.

Best Deal car rental is directly at the pier. We rented from them last year on our AOS cruise. We did make an internet reservation ahead of time and had no problems with this company. It appeared that Best Deal and the other companies at the pier had some cars available even if you did not reserve but the prices quoted for these were higher than our internet price (we paid $55/day for a jeep).

We too have used Best Deal, thought they were fine and found them much better to deal with than the branded companies... http://www.bestdealcarrentals.net/

I booked by phone w/ Alamo for $28 from 9 am til 2 pm. We need to take a cab to airport and they will drive us back. I have rented from Hertz in the past and they try to rip you off. That was the local franchisee and Hertz us sent a refund for the difference between guaranteed rate and what they charged us.:)

Not sure if you saw/read any of the other posts regarding the Joyce Prince tours. Joyce also has a car rental company - you can find her e-mail address on one of the threads. Sorry I don't have it with me now. She is very trust worthy and offers fair prices.

I booked by phone w/ Alamo for $28 from 9 am til 2 pm. We need to take a cab to airport and they will drive us back. I have rented from Hertz in the past and they try to rip you off. That was the local franchisee and Hertz us sent a refund for the difference between guaranteed rate and what they charged us.:)

Be aware that at that time of day it could easily take well over an hour round-trip, pier -- airport. Besides normal 'rush hour' traffic, there are scheduled bridge openings at 9:00 (traffic out of the lagoon) and at 9:30 (inbound).

gary

Do yourself a huge favor m steve and book something at the pier!

Found a picture of a line of ships leaving Simpson Bay Lagoon through the open bridge. Note all of the ships outside the lagoon waiting to enter. Sometimes the bridge is open for a LONG time.

gary

Hi! We just got back from a 7day cruise and visited St. Maarten. We rented from Arthur's Car Rentals at the pier.

He was EXCELLENT. I emailed him before our trip and he answered all of our questions. Our ship pulled into A.C. Wathey pier and we walked to his rental place. He gave us a map and told us where to park for downtown shopping.

We were the only ship in port that day so it was easy driving - thank goodness!!

Arthur was very pleasant and professional. We would rent from him again if we ever go back to St. Martin. :D

Does he have a web site? What was his charge for a regular car, not a jeep?Thanks.

Arthur's... http://www.arthurscarrental.com/

How are the roads in St. Marten? Easy to navigate? Our ship also goes to St. Thomas, where the rental prices seem much higher and driving is on the left, which I'm not too confident about. Bestdeal car rental in St. Martin, however, has a mini-van for only $60 bucks. Besides the traffic at peak times, how easy a drive around the island is it?

IMO driving in St. Maarten is no problem at all. Yes, traffic is heavy at times, but the roads are fine and it's easy to navigate.

As islands go, roads here are pretty decent. If you stick to the main routes (to Orient Beach, Marigot, Phillipsburg, Simpson Bay, etc), you should have no difficulty. You will hit pockets of traffic at a few of the crossroads. Make sure you have a decent map of the island.

We just got back and rented a Ford Windstar from Arthur. He is a really nice person to deal with and very professional. The vehical suited our family of 5 perfectly. I would not hesitate to rent from him again.

The roads in St. Maarten are very good and driving around the Island is not all that difficult. Make sure you stop at Maho Beach and watch the planes land between noon and 2 pm. It is an experience not to be missed.

St.maarten what a great place to visit with 37 beaches we only visit like 10.

We got our car from www.grandcasecarrental.com and also got some really good tips where to go and a map from the island.

For a preview have a look at this site http://www.angelfire.com/il2/sxm/pics/96pics.html

There a lot places to go.

just booked a car with arthur's because of convenient location, cc recommendations, and their promptness in replying. they charge $50/day for an automatic corolla. other vehicles for less but not all are automatic.

has anyone used budget is it right on the pier? do they accept us insurance?

Dean 45, Budget is right on the pier. There are about six different rental agencies there with little buildings right next to each other. I know Hertz was one of the others. I can't tell you the rest.

The intermediate car they gave us was a Mitsubishi with only 800 miles on it. We were very happy with the car.

I rented a vehicle from Arthur's Car Rental today. He was very prompt in returning my email.

He was also very appreciative of my business which means alot to me.:)

Most US insurance won't cover you in a foreign country - call your agent and make sure !!!!! Suggest you purchase theirs ($20.00 +-) We used Hertz (prebooked using 800 international telephone # from website) on St. Martin, Antigua and in San Juan. Excellent clean vehicles at all 3 and superb customer service. In St. Martin they are a 2 minute walk right at the pier. In Antigua they delivered car to a hotel for us - also 2 minute walk off the ship.

We also had good luck with Arthur's. Very friendly and helpful.

Here's a link for several car rental places in St. Maarten http://www.sxm-cars.com/

Dsoes Arthur have a location on the pier...his web site didn't say? Or perhaps I missed it.Also what type of additional coverage is needed?

Jim

You can now find us at the main gate of the Dr. A.C. Wathey pier 100 yards to your right only 1 min walk

Taken from his website.

As far as insurance:

Will my credit card cover me for damages?

Credit card coverages are almost always secondary coverage, which means you must first submit a claim to your own insurance carrier and the credit card company usually covers the excess for comprehensive or collision losses.

As with the insurance company policies, restrictions apply. Always call your credit card company's prior to rental as coverages often change...Renter must provide their proof of auto insurance by your credit card company.

I don't know if you got this far, but here's a link to his website.

http://www.arthurscarrental.com/index.htm