Taxi v. Rental Car

St. Maarten is one of our port calls on our July Freedom cruise. Teenage boys want to hang on the fence at Maho and watch the planes. We also want a little bit of beach time and Maho doesn't seem great for that. 2 families - 10 people (2 small kids).

Can anyone give me a good idea of price for taxi to Mullet Bay to Maho and back to ship, or does it make more $$ sense to rent a couple of cars or a van?

What about some sort of private tour? We do not want to be herded around with a prescribed group tour.

If we rent and drive ourselves, do we really have much more time to see anything else? 2 ships in port and all day port call. DH is pretty adventurous and is comfortable driving in unfamiliar settings.

Any input is appreciated - we're a little over a month out and need to make reservations soon! :confused:

My family of five was in St. Maarten a week ago today. My kids are 14, 10, and 6. We rented a jeep and visited several places. We went zip lining at Loterie Farm, but unfortunately my 6 year old and I couldn’t participate. The younger version of the ropes course, Ti Tarzan, wasn’t available because the workers were tied up with a Royal Caribbean excursion on the larger courses. He and I waited in the tree lounge. DH and the other 2 kids had a great time. After that, we drove to Marigot and climbed to the top of Fort Louis. The view was great. Then, we drove to Mullet Bay where we had burgers on the beach and swam a little. Finally, we stopped at Maho to see some of the big jets before heading back to the pier. We easily fit all of this in from 8:00 to 3:00, even with taking a few wrong turns. We paid $127 for a jeep and a GPS. We could have gotten a car for much cheaper, but DH wanted a jeep. Even so, we talked to a family of four who spent more than us by hiring a taxi driver just to go to Loterie Farm and Maho. We were glad that we rented.

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My family of five was in St. Maarten a week ago today. My kids are 14, 10, and 6. We rented a jeep and visited several places. We went zip lining at Loterie Farm, but unfortunately my 6 year old and I couldn’t participate. The younger version of the ropes course, Ti Tarzan, wasn’t available because the workers were tied up with a Royal Caribbean excursion on the larger courses. He and I waited in the tree lounge. DH and the other 2 kids had a great time. After that, we drove to Marigot and climbed to the top of Fort Louis. The view was great. Then, we drove to Mullet Bay where we had burgers on the beach and swam a little. Finally, we stopped at Maho to see some of the big jets before heading back to the pier. We easily fit all of this in from 8:00 to 3:00, even with taking a few wrong turns. We paid $127 for a jeep and a GPS. We could have gotten a car for much cheaper, but DH wanted a jeep. Even so, we talked to a family of four who spent more than us by hiring a taxi driver just to go to Loterie Farm and Maho. We were glad that we rented.

 

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Can you tell me who you rented from, and did you book on-line or call? DH has a Jeep and would be happy to drive one. That sounds like about what we had planned, minus the zip lining.

We rented from Coastal and reserved it ahead of time online. Everything went smoothly.

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After a day of driving on St. Maarten, DH said that he would have had a hard time driving a car on some of the roads that we took.

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After a day of driving on St. Maarten, DH said that he would have had a hard time driving a car on some of the roads that we took.

 

 

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What roads did you need a jeep on in St. Maarten? We rent a car on vacation. We have even stayed in the hills of Anse Marcel at the Marquis which is on some very, very steep hills and never needed more than a corolla. The worst road on the island right now to me is the drive in to Friar's Bay beach and there are so many pot holes there that nothing would help.

I couldn't name the roads, but it was on our way to Loterie Farm. We took some wrong turns and the route that the gps took us on to get back on track were more like steep alleys, only narrower. We were in residential areas with dead ends. Not paved, lots of potholes. The gps was confusing because the guy would say things like, "Turn left, you're gonna want to turn right here!" Huh? After Loterie Farm, the rest was pretty easy.

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I couldn't name the roads, but it was on our way to Loterie Farm. We took some wrong turns and the route that the gps took us on to get back on track were more like steep alleys, only narrower. We were in residential areas with dead ends. Not paved, lots of potholes. The gps was confusing because the guy would say things like, "Turn left, you're gonna want to turn right here!" Huh? After Loterie Farm, the rest was pretty easy.

 

 

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Sounds like your GPS had my map skills.:D

How is parking at Mullet Bay and Maho? I think we would probably go to Mullet Bay first in the a.m., and then head to Maho for around noon.

How is parking at Mullet Bay and Maho? I think we would probably go to Mullet Bay first in the a.m., and then head to Maho for around noon.

There's a parking lot at Mullet that is free. At Maho, we parked in a lot just after Maho beach when coming from Mullet. We were charged $5. If there was free parking, we didn't see it.

Mullet then Maho is a good plan since the big jets come in the afternoon.

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There's a parking lot at Mullet that is free. At Maho, we parked in a lot just after Maho beach when coming from Mullet. We were charged $5. If there was free parking, we didn't see it.

 

Mullet then Maho is a good plan since the big jets come in the afternoon.

 

 

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We have never paid for parking at Maho. We take the curve to the left at the Sunset Bar and Grill and park on the right side of the road.