Renting a Jeep in St. Martin any suggestions on what we should see??

Renting a car at Phillipsburg pier, any suggestion as to a route we should take or stops - beaches etc. we should see. Any help is appreciated.

A car will be A LOT cheaper than a jeep.

What to see/where to go depends entirely on what your interests may be.

Just browse back through these threads and you'll get lots of ideas. Then come back and ask some specific questions.

interested to know what agency you are renting the jeep from? we are interested in doing the same on our trip.

Please, Please, Please...Jeep from where at the peir!!! Advice???

We were in St. Martin in July and prereserved a jeep with Best Deal Car Rental. They have a website and a rental office at the pier. The jeep cost $65 for the day and was brand new. We were very satisfied with the whole process and would definitely rent from them again.

Start at the car rental place and proceed in a clockwise direction around the island. Here are a FEW points along the way:

* Look-out over Great Bay at Ft. Amsterdam

* Look-out to view Simpson Bay and Simpson Lagoon

* Maho Beach to see the big planes land (>11:30am)

* Marigot Harbor incl Ft. de Marigot & Port La Royale

* Pic Paradise

* Friars Bay & hike to Happy Bay

* Grand Case

* French Cul de Sac & Anse Marcel

* Ilet Pinel

* Orient Beach

* Butterfly Farm

* Oyster Bay

* Naked Boy Hill

* Phillipsburg for shopping.

And for navigation, use the map.

For the first 5 people that e-mail me (in my profile) your physical mailing address, I'll send you a free printed copy of the map that I picked up last trip.

E-mail only! Don't post your address here!

And for navigation, use the map.

 

For the first 5 people that e-mail me (in my profile) your physical mailing address, I'll send you a free printed copy of the map that I picked up last trip.

 

E-mail only! Don't post your address here!

gtaylor--I tried but your profile showed that you do not accept e-mails. Susan

That's a problem with Cruise Critic -- they've disabled the one-click link to send e-mail, but you can download a vCard near the top, or just look at the 'Biography' link on the left.

In any event, you're #1, you'll get a map as soon as we connect -- for your Purrfect trip!

I am interested in renting a car or jeep for our upcoming St. Maarten port of call. Many who I'm sailing with are doing a catamaran tour but I've done that before and would like to try something different. I've been to Orient Beach also. Renting a car seems like a great way to "do our own thing".

My dumb Questions..

1 - Is it safe to rent a car and drive around the island?

2 - Are we talking defensive driving or reasonable speed?

3 - Parking at the various stops - is it simple and easy to find parking - ie at Maho beach for example.

4 - Traffic jams back into town.. Where are they and what time do you recommend I return the car to avoid them?

5 - jrchief21 mentioned Best Deal Car rental. Which company did you use? Has anyone use Avis or Thrifty?

6 - where is pickup of the car? Shuttle at the pier?

Thanks for the map offer gtaylor. Is it the same one as the website you provided? I was able to cut and paste that one in a word document and enlarge it. The disclaimer says it can be reprinted for personal use only so I figured it was ok. Great map! Thank you for the link.

Thanks everyone for the info. you've provided!

Yep, it's the exact same map that they sell on their website for $3.00.

They're available for free on the island and I brought some back.

E-mail me your address and I'll send you one. FREE!

1 - Is it safe to rent a car and drive around the island?

Absolutely! You can't get lost. There are some crazy drivers, mostly on motorcycles, but it's an easy island to drive.

2 - Are we talking defensive driving or reasonable speed?

It's usually SLOW driving. Defensive, yes, but usually slow.

3 - Parking at the various stops - is it simple and easy to find parking - ie at Maho beach for example.

Parking is readily available almost everywhere other than downtown Philipsburg. At Maho, just drive past the Sunset Beach Bar into the huge parking lot!

4 - Traffic jams back into town.. Where are they and what time do you recommend I return the car to avoid them?

There is traffic mornings and afternoons - typical rush hour stuff. As my friend kal advises, a clockwise trip around the island is probably best, usually preventing any jams trying to get back to the pier, but you haven't mentioned the time that you're in port.

5 - jrchief21 mentioned Best Deal Car rental. Which company did you use? Has anyone use Avis or Thrifty?

I don't have any experience with rentals at the pier other than using our island favorite people (Prince), who don't normally rent to day cruisers, but I've read very favorable comments about Best and Arthur's who do rent at the pier.

6 - where is pickup of the car? Shuttle at the pier?

Best and Arthur seem to have facilities at or very near the pier, but as I stated, I have no direct experience.

2 - Are we talking defensive driving or reasonable speed?

5 - Has anyone use Avis or Thrifty?

Gary makes a very good point in the nature of driving in St. Maarten. About 90% of the time it's sloooooow going. However, people on "suicyles" for the most part are very dangerous. It's like "extreme driving" with them. Because of the slow going and no backroads on the island, it makes little sense to get a jeep other than advertise you are on a cruise ship (one of 5,000 to 8,000 cruisers on a busy day).

I have seen many BAD reports on Avis and Thrifty. I've crossed them off my list long ago.

gtaylor, I have emailed you for a map. Any left? Thanks

That's a problem with Cruise Critic -- they've disabled the one-click link to send e-mail, but you can download a vCard near the top, or just look at the 'Biography' link on the left.

 

In any event, you're #1, you'll get a map as soon as we connect -- for your Purrfect trip!

Thanks again! I tried it that way--hopefully it went through! I still have a year to plan things but I always start early because I do want my trip to be Purrfect =^. .^=!!

>>Because of the slow going and no backroads on the island, it makes little sense to get a jeep<<

I agree with most of what you said, but this. I'm not sure why a jeep is any worse than a Toyota, Ford or Chevy. It cost more, but it's fun for those who want their hair waving in the breeze. In fact I suggest a jeep or convertible Mustang as a safer choice for those who want the fun of a motor scooter.

Kevin

>>Because of the slow going and no backroads on the island, it makes little sense to get a jeep<<

 

I agree with most of what you said, but this. I'm not sure why a jeep is any worse than a Toyota, Ford or Chevy. It cost more, but it's fun for those who want their hair waving in the breeze. In fact I suggest a jeep or convertible Mustang as a safer choice for those who want the fun of a motor scooter.

Kevin

It's not that a jeep is a worse choice, it's just that it is quite a bit more expensive. The difference between a jeep or convertible and a 'car' is probably more than enough to pay for your chairs, umbrella and SEVERAL rounds of drinks on the beach.

Anyone's choice, just NIX the scooter idea.

Just wondering if anyone has done this recently in St. Martin.....anyone can offer some advice

We just got back from a wonderful cruise, and St Maarten was our last stop. We rented a Jeep from a rental agency inside the port, thinking it was safer than outside the port. Boy we were wrong! As expected, we needed a credit card as a deposit, and an imprint was made of my husband's card. We did not use this card during the trip (we used cash and even paid for the rental with cash) and only used the card for these types of things. We had a great time there, and then we were at-sea for two days before coming home. When we got to the port in the US, I turned on my cell service and checked my email, I had notifications that our card was being used! I then checked our card and had close to $3000 charged on it from the Chicago area in the two days we were at-sea! Considering St Maarten is the ONLY place this card was used, it is clearly apparent that this man that worked at the rental agency was imprinting cards and selling the numbers to people in the USA. The people who were using my card in Chicago had an "actual card" with our information on it, they didn't use it online. They also were able to purchase small enough amounts to "fool" the bank, so they didn't turn off our card for irregular activity. Anyways, BE VERY CAREFUL here, and DON'T GIVE ANYONE YOUR CREDIT CARD!!!!

We just got back from a wonderful cruise, and St Maarten was our last stop. We rented a Jeep from a rental agency inside the port, thinking it was safer than outside the port. Boy we were wrong! As expected, we needed a credit card as a deposit, and an imprint was made of my husband's card. We did not use this card during the trip (we used cash and even paid for the rental with cash) and only used the card for these types of things. We had a great time there, and then we were at-sea for two days before coming home. When we got to the port in the US, I turned on my cell service and checked my email, I had notifications that our card was being used! I then checked our card and had close to $3000 charged on it from the Chicago area in the two days we were at-sea! Considering St Maarten is the ONLY place this card was used, it is clearly apparent that this man that worked at the rental agency was imprinting cards and selling the numbers to people in the USA. The people who were using my card in Chicago had an "actual card" with our information on it, they didn't use it online. They also were able to purchase small enough amounts to "fool" the bank, so they didn't turn off our card for irregular activity. Anyways, BE VERY CAREFUL here, and DON'T GIVE ANYONE YOUR CREDIT CARD!!!!

May I ask which agency we should avoid?