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Taxi to Maho Beach


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I don't know the taxi rate as we took the bus ($2 per person each way). The roads were fine, with no problems. There is a boat however that was blown across the road and came to rest in the ditch right by the airport runway, so that was interesting. But no issues with the roads.

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I saw pictures showing Maho was destroyed so hard to believe it is up and running.

 

The beach is fine, other than the big rocks just outside of the Sunset Bar and Grill, and the planes are coming and going. The 'town' of Maho is another story. There is a lot of damage there. When we were walking through it from Mullet Bay most of the buildings show some, even a lot, of damage. The two big Sonesta hotels there had quite a bit of damage and I doubt they will open any time soon. It looked like the casino may have been opened, but it had some external damage as well. We did not go in, so I can't be sure. We did not see any other shops that were opened, but we were there on Christmas Day, so they may have been closed for that. There was a lot of scaffolding on the outside of the buildings and it looked like a construction zone in several areas.

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I don't know the taxi rate as we took the bus ($2 per person each way). The roads were fine, with no problems. There is a boat however that was blown across the road and came to rest in the ditch right by the airport runway, so that was interesting. But no issues with the roads.

Where did you get the bus?

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Where did you get the bus?

 

To catch the bus to Maho/Mullet Bay, you go to Backstreet - directly behind Front-street. It is a one-way street in the opposite direction of Front-street. There are bus stops at some of the corners, but any time you see a bus (a big van with a placard that say "Maho" or "Mullet Bay" in the window. I think they have a distinctive license plate number, but I forgot to notice) you can flag it down and it will stop. There are also buses that go to Marigot, so be sure to get on the right one.

 

To catch the bus back to Philipsburg, you can flag them down at the roundabout that leads off the main road from the airport and goes to Mullet Bay and the road in front of the runway. If you are at Mullet Bay, the buses go all the way to the parking lot, so you can catch one there. We had a bus driver offer to drive us from the Mullet Bay parking lot to the Maho round about for $1 a person, but when he noticed our swim suits were wet the offer was rescinded!

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To catch the bus to Maho/Mullet Bay, you go to Backstreet - directly behind Front-street. It is a one-way street in the opposite direction of Front-street. There are bus stops at some of the corners, but any time you see a bus (a big van with a placard that say "Maho" or "Mullet Bay" in the window. I think they have a distinctive license plate number, but I forgot to notice) you can flag it down and it will stop. There are also buses that go to Marigot, so be sure to get on the right one.

 

To catch the bus back to Philipsburg, you can flag them down at the roundabout that leads off the main road from the airport and goes to Mullet Bay and the road in front of the runway. If you are at Mullet Bay, the buses go all the way to the parking lot, so you can catch one there. We had a bus driver offer to drive us from the Mullet Bay parking lot to the Maho round about for $1 a person, but when he noticed our swim suits were wet the offer was rescinded!

 

RMH... A few questions...

 

Buses:

1 --- How many people do the "buses" hold... maybe 10 to 12? There are 14 in our group... just wondering how many buses we would have to split up between.

2 --- The cost is $2 per person per way correct? So round trip - $4 per person.

3 --- How many stops did the bus make on the way out to Mullet Bay? How many did it make on the way back?

4 --- About how long was the ride?

5 --- Were the buses crowded? Did you have to wait for several buses before you could get on board?

 

6 --- About how often do the buses run? Are they continuous?

7 --- Do you tip the bus driver?

8 --- When you wave/flag the bus to stop... do they blow their horn (like in Grand Cayman) and you wave for them to stop?

 

 

Mullet Bay:

1 --- No changing/shower facilities.. but food and drink? Basic cost of food and drink? And what were the options?

2 --- No bathroom ... but a port-a-potty?

3 --- Chairs and Umbrellas for rent? If so, the cost?

4 --- Do we need to change into dry clothes in order to be able to ride the bus back to backstreet from Mullet Bay?

 

 

I appreciate the feedback. We were considering going to Mullet Bay and walking over to Maho but then we changed our mind and decided just to go over to Great Bay for some beach time and then to Front Street for some shopping. However, I am reading that the water at Great Bay is not good and I keep reading about how wonderful Mullet Bay is. I had my heart set on Mullet Bay, but others in our group thought it would be best just to stay close to town. After reading about how you rode the bus and enjoyed Mullet Bay... I think I'm going to change my mind again... (hey, I'm a woman, isn't that what we do...lol) and go to Mullet Bay for a few hours via the bus. The others in my group can stay in town and I'll meet up with them later on Front Street for shopping.

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Someone on Tripadvisor who apparently lives in Saint Maarten said the roads are open and people can rent cars. You may have to go into Phillipsburg to do this because I am not sure the rental car offices by the ship’s dock shopping area near the shopping port section are operation or are still there. This person advised that you may have to go through a local to get it set up. I realize you are asking about taxi transportation, but since you did ask about the roads I thought I would put this on here for anyone else who is interested. There were some links to YouTube posted in some posts on the tripadvisor boards of areas that are coming back on this island. Most of restaurants and bars I saw on them were on on the Dutch Side.

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I hope this gives you what you need Have a great trip. I would for sure adventure out to Mullet Bay - solo or with the group.

 

RMH... A few questions...

 

Buses:

1 --- How many people do the "buses" hold... maybe 10 to 12? There are 14 in our group... just wondering how many buses we would have to split up between. - You could probably squeeze 14 into a bus if you squished together. The buses have jumper seats that come down and seat 4 people per row with two more in the front.

2 --- The cost is $2 per person per way correct? So round trip - $4 per person. - Correct.

3 --- How many stops did the bus make on the way out to Mullet Bay? How many did it make on the way back? - Totally depends on how many people want to get on or off. There are no scheduled stops, but if you have a lot of people getting on on off, the bus will stop more than if 14 of you are squeezed in and the bus is at capacity and the driver is not able to pick anyone else up.

4 --- About how long was the ride? - Getting there was about 25 minutes. We only stopped 2 or 3 times. Coming back was about 30 minutes. We stopped about 10 times..

5 --- Were the buses crowded? Did you have to wait for several buses before you could get on board?- Our group of six was able to get on the first bus we saw coming and going, but with 14 people you will have to find a totally empty bus. That could be done in the parking lot at Mullet Bay since that is the turn around point and most people get off, but it might be harder in Philipsburg. I never saw a totally full bus.

 

6 --- About how often do the buses run? Are they continuous? - No set schedule, but I would estimate every 7-10 minutes. We were there on Christmas Day, so there may be more running on a non-holiday.

7 --- Do you tip the bus driver?- We did not, but I am sure if you did the driver would appreciate it

8 --- When you wave/flag the bus to stop... do they blow their horn (like in Grand Cayman) and you wave for them to stop?. - No horn blowing that I noticed. They just pulled over to the side of the road and we got in.

 

Mullet Bay:

1 --- No changing/shower facilities.. but food and drink? - Correct Basic cost of food and drink? And what were the options? - We did not ear or drink, but they had a bar-b-que set up and drinks in a cooler. We did not ask about price.

2 --- No bathroom ... but a port-a-potty? - Correct

3 --- Chairs and Umbrellas for rent? If so, the cost? - $5 per chair. $5 per umbrella.

4 --- Do we need to change into dry clothes in order to be able to ride the bus back to backstreet from Mullet Bay? - We were told we could not get in when we had dripping wet swim suits and we were pretty sandy. So, I would at least towel off, put a cover up over your swim suit, and clean off the sand so you appear dry - but as long as you are not dripping wet like we were ou should be OK not changing.

.

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I hope this gives you what you need Have a great trip. I would for sure adventure out to Mullet Bay - solo or with the group.

 

THANK YOU!!!!! I have officially changed my mind and will be traveling to Mullet Bay for a few hours of beach, water, and sun. Riding the bus in Grand Cayman is very easy and picture the same process and easy for St. Marteen based on your description. I appreciate your reply and feedback. I can't wait...

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RMH... A few questions...

 

Buses:

1 --- How many people do the "buses" hold... maybe 10 to 12? There are 14 in our group... just wondering how many buses we would have to split up between.

2 --- The cost is $2 per person per way correct? So round trip - $4 per person.

3 --- How many stops did the bus make on the way out to Mullet Bay? How many did it make on the way back?

4 --- About how long was the ride?

5 --- Were the buses crowded? Did you have to wait for several buses before you could get on board?

 

6 --- About how often do the buses run? Are they continuous?

7 --- Do you tip the bus driver?

8 --- When you wave/flag the bus to stop... do they blow their horn (like in Grand Cayman) and you wave for them to stop?

 

 

Mullet Bay:

1 --- No changing/shower facilities.. but food and drink? Basic cost of food and drink? And what were the options?

2 --- No bathroom ... but a port-a-potty?

3 --- Chairs and Umbrellas for rent? If so, the cost?

4 --- Do we need to change into dry clothes in order to be able to ride the bus back to backstreet from Mullet Bay?

 

 

I appreciate the feedback. We were considering going to Mullet Bay and walking over to Maho but then we changed our mind and decided just to go over to Great Bay for some beach time and then to Front Street for some shopping. However, I am reading that the water at Great Bay is not good and I keep reading about how wonderful Mullet Bay is. I had my heart set on Mullet Bay, but others in our group thought it would be best just to stay close to town. After reading about how you rode the bus and enjoyed Mullet Bay... I think I'm going to change my mind again... (hey, I'm a woman, isn't that what we do...lol) and go to Mullet Bay for a few hours via the bus. The others in my group can stay in town and I'll meet up with them later on Front Street for shopping.

 

 

Of course you need to be dry and covered to take a bus or a taxi for that matter.

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I hope this gives you what you need Have a great trip. I would for sure adventure out to Mullet Bay - solo or with the group.

 

Stupid question perhaps, but do the buses (and taxis for that matter) all take American $ or did you have to exchange for local currency?

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Stupid question perhaps, but do the buses (and taxis for that matter) all take American $ or did you have to exchange for local currency?

 

$US are widely accepted throughout St Maarten, including the taxis and the buses. Just make sure you have smaller bills. If they do need to give you change, it will likely not be in $US, but in local currency (Guilder?)

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It has been two years since we visited the island with a cruise, but I’d add that the bus was a great way to get around. We took a bus to Maho Beach, and a taxi a back to the port (just because it came first and we could help some fellow tourist fill the taxi), and felt the taxi didn’t offer anything extra. We will be taking the bus in a couple of weeks when we return, visiting Mullet and Maho. Enjoy!

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