To rent a car or not ???

We, my family and I (wife and 2 kids 10, 14 ) are on the Westerdam arriving in St. Maarten on 4/5 at 12:00 noon. We will be in port until 11:00pm. My question is should we rent a car and tour the island or just use the land or water taxi's to get around ? If we do rent a car, what time to the rentals usually have to be returned? I just want to make the most of time we have there. Anmy advice is welcome.

Thanks

Whether or not to rent a car can only be answered by you....some people are not comfortable with the idea that they must get themselves back to the ship or feel they can plan an itinerary to get what they want out of each island. My advice is to decide what you really want to do on St Martin and then figure what the cost is to get there and back both by taxi or renting a car. Most rental cars need to be returned by 5 pm so that would be a factor also. Driving is on the right and the roads and signs are good so dont let that deter you. The water taxis only go back and forth from the pier to town. Regular taxis like to "fill up" to maximize profit and if you want private ride = cost is more. Also you are docking at noon - might not get off right away so your time margin could be even less for returning the rental. My opinion - in your case - would be to 1) take a ship tour (afternoon) and then explore Philipsburg in the evening or 2) take a taxi to a fairly close beach and then come back and explore Philipsburg (ie. shop/dine) in the evening. It will get dark on you so that should be factored in also. Good luck and have fun whatever you decide. We had a blast exploring the island in our jeep !!! but we had all day.

What do you want to do? Go to the Butterfly Farm near Marigot? Hang out on the Dutch side? Go to Orient Beach? There are so many wonderful options. I love this island. What's important to you?

Thanks for the information...to clarify a little, we are arriving at 12:00 so, I expect we will be off of the ship by 1:00pm. I think we will try heading over to see the planes taking off and landing first. How far from the pier to the place where planes are landing ? After that we would like to do some snorkeling and then maybe a little shopping. Can anyone recommend a place for snorkeling ? We have our own equipment so we won't need rentals. I am a little concerned about being in town after dark. Has anyone had any problems with safety there?

The island is quite safe. While I would not walk around sporting diamonds and a ginormous Rolex you should be more than fine.

I would bag the car rental idea. Most have to be back by 5 and you will not make it. Well you could but it would be a hassle.

I have not snorkled in St. Martaan. There are just other islands I prefer for that. Orient Beach is great and there are several threads on it. It is, on one end, clothing optional and you will see women without tops. It's on the French side. The snorkling, I hear, is not that great.

Phillipsurg is very typical of what you would expect of a Caribbean town. There is a heavy eastern influence so the scent of Nag Champa inscense mixes with the flowers. It feels more exotic than Nassau, for example.

Maho Beach is where the planes land. I know it's not far from Phillipsburg but we didn't do that. I am always afraid one is going to drop on my head!

We just got back from St. Martin, our 5th time there. We have been to Dawn Beach and found the snorkling awful. Liked Orient Beach but didn't know there was any snorkling. This time we enjoyed taking the local bus, for $1.50, to Marigot. Then for $1 we went to Baie Rouge Beach. When the bus stopped there were only two seats. Said we needed four and two local men got off so we could get on the bus! Only saw one couple from the ship on beach who said snorkling was good but there were strong currents. You can see caves from beach where snorkling is but we decided not to try it. There were maybe 50 people on the beach, most staying at hotels. Met couple with rented car there for a week. They said they'd been to all the beaches and kept coming back to this beach.-We had to wait maybe 15 minutes for a bus back to Philisburg and that was $2.

Anyone can just flag down any bus. You do not have to go to a bus stop. The buses are white window vans.They have a sign in front windshield of where they are going but you can just ask if they are going where you want to go. They will tell you yes or no! Don't know when buses stop running re:time but you can ask. They go all over the island. You can get a bus that goes to the beach by airport.Also ask any local where to get a bus. If you have question about this, you can email me at bonniejns@hotmail.com.

Following...thank you for the great info!

Following...thank you for the great info!

I hope you noticed that the "great info" is 12 years old and pre-Irma.

I hope you noticed that the "great info" is 12 years old and pre-Irma.

Yes, I’m aware. I am reading info on several sources. I’m aware there has been a hurricane with I frastructure however there’s stil helpful information here.