Orient Beach from Cruise port

Might do a cruise that goes to St Maarten for end of October.

Questions is from cruise port to Orient Beach. Is it far and hard to get to?

My cruise is through Norwegian, would they offer excursions to Orent Beach? or would getting there on own be easier?

Is this a nicer looking beach then the one closest to cruise port?

Might do a cruise that goes to St Maarten for end of October.

 

Questions is from cruise port to Orient Beach. Is it far and hard to get to?

 

My cruise is through Norwegian, would they offer excursions to Orent Beach? or would getting there on own be easier?

 

Is this a nicer looking beach then the one closest to cruise port?

Orient Beach is simple to get to from the cruise pier via taxi on your own. Most people recommend doing this beach this way. You will have the choice of which of the many, many beach bars to patron and you can stay for as long as you like. The cost is approximately $7 pp each way as long as you share the taxi with others which is easy to do.

Great Bay is a great beach to stop for a drink but if you want a beach day it's worth the cost and effort to get to Orient.

Agreed, Use the taxis right outside the port, $7 PP in a shared cab, plus the driver may know the bartender at the beach bar (which they did for us) and got us an additional free drink..

I dont mean to hijack, but we are looking to do this as well, and need some help. Is there ample taxis to take you from orient back to the cruise port, is there somewhere they all gather? Also how many people do you have to share the cab with for it to be the $7

Thanks

Nice thoughts , but i be interested in forming a few groups to share cabs with others going there and back, in case anyone was interested in a meet beach day or at least arrange to do the cabs together thanks let me know

I dont mean to hijack, but we are looking to do this as well, and need some help. Is there ample taxis to take you from orient back to the cruise port, is there somewhere they all gather? Also how many people do you have to share the cab with for it to be the $7

 

Thanks

There's a taxi stand at about the middle of the beach. There will be taxis waiting. The dispatcher will probably make sure the cab is packed before sending it out. So the $7 is likely to happen.

Nice thoughts , but i be interested in forming a few groups to share cabs with others going there and back, in case anyone was interested in a meet beach day or at least arrange to do the cabs together thanks let me know

There is no need to 'form a group' to get the cheaper price. The taxi dispatcher at the Cruise Facility will group people together in a taxi unless you specifically request that only your party travel together.

Same at the Orient end.

Yes, there will be taxis mid beach, but the main taxi stop is adjacent to Pedro's and Club Orient. There will be many taxis there during the afternoon and even more as 'back to the ship' time arrives.

No need to make prior arrangements with the taxi that took you to the beach.

gary

And just to add to what Gary said, all of the ships dock at the same place, so your group in either direction may include people from other ships that are in port that day.

Would it be possible to do both beaches? orient and Goho on same day? goho the one with the planes?

Would it be possible to do both beaches? orient and Goho on same day? goho the one with the planes?

It's Maho Beach.

It's POSSIBLE, but note that the two spots are on the opposite ends of the island, at least 45 minutes apart, and the prime plane watching is between 11:00 and 2:00.

You might consider Mullet Bay Beach, adjacent to Maho, instead of Orient unless you are headed to the Club Orient Clothing Optional section of the beach.

gary

It's Maho Beach.

 

It's POSSIBLE, but note that the two spots are on the opposite ends of the island, at least 45 minutes apart, and the prime plane watching is between 11:00 and 2:00.

 

You might consider Mullet Bay Beach, adjacent to Maho, instead of Orient unless you are headed to the Club Orient Clothing Optional section of the beach.

 

gary

Do you happen to know how much this taxi might be? Thanks!

Do you happen to know how much this taxi might be? Thanks!

The taxi to Mullet Bay is $25 for 2 people and the driver will fill up the taxi bringing the cost down to $7 pp. There is also a bus you can catch to Mullet Bay for $2 pp. You would need to walk to Back St. which runs parallel to Front St. in Philipsburg. It's about a 15-20 mins. walk to Back St. from your ship. Upon return from Mullet to Philipsburg, you need to ask the driver exactly where to stand to catch the bus back. If taking a taxi back to Philipsburg, I would ask the driver to return at a specific time to take you back to the pier.

You can also walk from Mullet Bay to Maho Beach if interested and there are plenty of taxis at Maho to take you back to the pier for approx. $7 pp. and you can also take the $2 bus back from Maho to Philipsburg.

Is it possible to get a bus from Philipsburg to Orient Beach. How long would it take, do the buses run frequently and what would be the cost? Visiting St. Maarten in two weeks for the first time. Trying to decide if to spend a beach day at Orient Beach or Maho Beach. Do they both have free public access and washroom facilities?

Is it possible to get a bus from Philipsburg to Orient Beach. How long would it take, do the buses run frequently and what would be the cost? Visiting St. Maarten in two weeks for the first time. Trying to decide if to spend a beach day at Orient Beach or Maho Beach. Do they both have free public access and washroom facilities?

No, the local $2 bus that you may read about does not get you to Orient.

You might get to within a 3/4 mile hike to the beach by bus, or possibly pay the driver extra to take you there off of their regular route, but I don't think that you could count on it.

All beaches on the island are public, and they have mixed 'washroom' facilities. On Maho, there's a regular full service bathroom at Sunset Bar and Grill, and a Porta-Potty across the beach at (much cheaper prices) Guy's Driftwood Boat Bar.

On Orient, most bars/restaurants have free facilities for customers, and there are pay toilet and/or facilities at a few places.

gary

I dont mean to hijack, but we are looking to do this as well, and need some help. Is there ample taxis to take you from orient back to the cruise port, is there somewhere they all gather? Also how many people do you have to share the cab with for it to be the $7

 

Thanks

I think it might be 5 or 6 people to get the taxi full (vans). There are ample taxis to get you back. I always leave enough time. If the ship leaves at 4, I leave the beach at 2, 30 (or so) minutes to get back to the ship and 90 minutes to hit the stores by the dock.

Rent a car! Hertz is right there At the pier. Reserve it now to have your reservation. We went to Orient, Marigot, and ended at Maho. Super easy driving....parking was no problem either. A super relaxed day when we went....

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Here is a map so that you can picture where everything is located. The ships dock down toward the bottom in Philipsburg. If you look to the right and up you will find Orient. Then look to the left of Philipsburg and down at the bottom and you will find Maho.

This might help put things in a better perspective.

We have done the Orient Beach in the morning and then caught a cab over to Maho right before noon and had a wonderful day there.

The next time around we caught a cab and went over to Mullet Bay (next to Maho) to spend the morning and then walked over to Maho right before noon (15 minute walk and easy to do) and also enjoyed our day there as well.

I have reviews from both times listed in my signature line if you are interested. Our recent visit was just 4 months ago to Mullet---> Maho and it has TONS of pictures. :)