Jump to content

$8 vs $50.. City bus vs. City Taxi (they look almost the same)


Brianinidaho

Recommended Posts

A friend asked me to repost this from a few months ago. I hope it has some use for some fellow traveler. Inside a very nicely kept pier and shopping area is the line of taxis. To go from the pier to the Rhino Riders I was quoted $25 each way. A few “info booths” will ask you to take the water taxi into town then you can find a taxi. It is $5 round trip, and when we walked by there was quite a line. The water taxi takes you just a short distance. We walked about 5 blocks in way less time than paying and waiting for the water taxi. Kind of a scam I felt. Outside the gates of the dock area, we were offered rides to the rhino riders for 16 for four of us. Or, $2 a piece into town (this seemed tariffed, because several taxis and buses all said it was $2 to the pier). We walked downtown and found out the island has a great transportation system at cheap prices. White mini vans, which look like many of the expensive taxis, were labeled “bus”. They are $1.50 per person from one end of the island to the other, or $1 per person mid-way. So here is the secret: Look on the license plate or from window for the word “Bus” and a number, and flag the driver. See if he is going your way. We paid $8 round trip to Rhino Riders vs. $50 in a cab (25 each way) for 4 of us. And the return was simple, had a bus within 30 seconds of leaving Rhino riders. The traffic is all the same, so no advantage to a cab over the bus except we did stop twice to pick up people which added less than 2 minutes total to the ride. They do drop you off downtown instead of at the ship (unless you pay $2 more per person)… which was fine because we took our savings and bought 8 shirts for $20 and looked at 3 big beach towels for $10.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Brianinidaho. I was just online looking into the bus service. We are a family of 4. Kids 11 and 16. This is our first cruise and I like to do things that are a little different. What beaches and sites do you suggest us to go to? We like to snorkel and my wife and daughter like to shop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unfortunately, the buses are NOT especially useful for getting to some of the more popular beaches. They do not go to Orient Beach, Dawn Beach, Baie Rouge, Le Gallion, Divi Little Bay, Petit Plage or Anse Marcel. They are useful if you want to go to Marigot or the Maho Beach area.

Snorkeling: SXM is not the best island for snorkeling. However there is some limited snorkeling at Orient beach (in front of Pedro's beside the naturist resort Club Orient, there is good snorkeling at Dawn Beach (but sometimes the wave action at Dawn is just too rough), there is decent snorkeling at Divi Little Bay.

Shopping: There is good shopping in Philipsburg (where the ship docks) and Marigot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Zeno, is it possible to catch the bus from Great Bay Hotel to go to Maho?

In all honesty I am not sure - having never done that. Generally the buses in Philipsburg are lined up in the "Back" street area. Maybe Kal knows? I have used buses to get to Marigot - just picked one up at "Back" Street.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In all honesty I am not sure - having never done that. Generally the buses in Philipsburg are lined up in the "Back" street area. Maybe Kal knows? I have used buses to get to Marigot - just picked one up at "Back" Street.

 

You're correct, the buses are available at Back Street. I have never seen on at the Great Bay Hotel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks Brianinidaho and Zeno for your postings. Brian, do you mean that you can walk all the way from the cruiseship into Phillipsburg (town)? Is this an easy walk?....just follow the coastline? We were in St. Martin once and do recall taking the water taxi and it was a very short ride but a very long wait!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Leosmom: You can walk from the pier to Phillipsburg; we've done it. But, it is not a nice scenic walk along the shore. It is a hot, dry walk with no "view" (so to speak). Still, if the water taxi line is long (and if you want an excuse to have an extra dessert: "I walked so far today"), then it's perfectly fine. I think it took about 1/2 hour, but I really don't remember for sure.

 

beachchick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:) Thank you for replying beachchick. 1/2 hour doesn't seem so bad, but in the humid weather i know it's not as easy as it sounds. I like to walk when i can and as you say, it's a good excuse for an extra dessert or a reason to skip the treadmill that day :)

 

We will be in St. Martin next week and most likely will just wait for the water taxi, if we walk, i'll report back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:) Thank you for replying beachchick. 1/2 hour doesn't seem so bad, but in the humid weather i know it's not as easy as it sounds. I like to walk when i can and as you say, it's a good excuse for an extra dessert or a reason to skip the treadmill that day :)

 

We will be in St. Martin next week and most likely will just wait for the water taxi, if we walk, i'll report back.

 

It took us about 15 minutes to walk from the pier into town where the taxis are.. the weather was fine when we happened to be there, and like you mentioned, we felt good walking after stuffing ourselves on board.

 

When we were there, the water taxi lines were huge... walking was signficantly faster... but the comments are correct, it is not very scenic... but we saw parts of island life most didn't!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brian,

I was wondering if you took the water taxi from the pier, does it take you to where the buses are. I can't do a lot of walking becausse i have a bum knee so any information would really help me out!

thanks

 

 

 

QUOTE=Brianinidaho]It took us about 15 minutes to walk from the pier into town where the taxis are.. the weather was fine when we happened to be there, and like you mentioned, we felt good walking after stuffing ourselves on board.

 

When we were there, the water taxi lines were huge... walking was signficantly faster... but the comments are correct, it is not very scenic... but we saw parts of island life most didn't!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brian,

I was wondering if you took the water taxi from the pier, does it take you to where the buses are. I can't do a lot of walking becausse i have a bum knee so any information would really help me out!

thanks

 

 

There are (car) taxis right at the pier to take you to town. Or you can (in our case) wait 30 minutes to ride the water taxi into town. Either way should protect your knee.

 

Once in town, know that the white vans marked "bus" are a ton cheaper than the white vans marked "taxis"... Brian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brian,

I have a couple of questions if you don't mind. My wife and I are going to Orient Beach early in the morning. We will probably take a cab since they go to the beach instead of dropping you off the main highway. Then after about 3 hours we plan on taking a cab from Orient to Rima's store. The question I have is after Rima's(wife's choice), we want to go to Maho to see the planes and I am wondering if the buses run anywhere close to Rima's? If they don't, are there cabs that run by there?

Thanks for all your help.

Jeff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am sorry I don't know. But perhaps someone else here knows.

If it were me, I would walk into town, ask a local (like a store keeper) where the city buses come, and ask a driver. To us they were very helpful. Perhaps someone has info on routes, etc. I am sure they go to most places.. locals use them to get to work all over the island. They are fun, safe, and cheap. Brian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brian,

...The question I have is after Rima's(wife's choice), we want to go to Maho to see the planes and I am wondering if the buses run anywhere close to Rima's? ...

 

Rima's is located on Pondfil Road which hugs the south end of the Salt Pond. There are lots of buses on Pondfil Road so just catch one that is marked "Mullet Bay" or "Maho".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was wondering......what kind of store is Rima's?

thanks, mskatee

 

 

Brian,

I have a couple of questions if you don't mind. My wife and I are going to Orient Beach early in the morning. We will probably take a cab since they go to the beach instead of dropping you off the main highway. Then after about 3 hours we plan on taking a cab from Orient to Rima's store. The question I have is after Rima's(wife's choice), we want to go to Maho to see the planes and I am wondering if the buses run anywhere close to Rima's? If they don't, are there cabs that run by there?

Thanks for all your help.

Jeff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Brian:

Thanks so much for all of your info. on taxis/buses in St. Maarten. I do have a question for you and hopefully you can assist me.

DH/I plan to go on our own in St. Maarten. We would like to take a bus from Philipsburg to Marigot in the morning, walk around the shops and maybe have an early lunch there. Then we would like to go over to Maho Bay to watch the planes fly in. Stay there for a few hours, head back to Philipsburg to look at the shops there and head back to the ship.

Could all of this be done via. buses? What time does the stores open in Marigot? Explorer will be docked from 7am - 6pm.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just got back from St. Martin. Our ship docked in Phillipsburg at the Wathery pier and from there it was an easy 10-15 walk into Phillipsburg and the beachfront. We got off the ship, walked straight out of the cruiseship terminal, turned left (walk under the coconut trees), after a short walk, about 10 min you will see a sign that says walkway to Phillipsburg. This is where Bobby's Marina is and the beginning of the beach at Great Bay. If you are interested in walking into town, it was very easy to do! About 1/3 of the way is shaded (under the trees) and the rest will be in the sun and a bit hot but we felt it was definitely worth it....fast and we got some much needed exercise :) Our tablemates took a cab there from the pier and it cost them $3 p/p one way (others have said $2?). They walked back after meeting us in town and agreed it was a short walk and worth it; especially since it is much cooler at 5 p.m.

Thanks to everyone for the heads up re: walking. We were the only ship in port that day and the water taxi wasn't running and this was so easy and safe to do!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kal, thanks for the great photos, I really got sucked in by them.....you are quite the photographer!

mskatee

 

Thanks for the compliment! I don't know if you've checked out some of my other pixs, but if not go here for more on the island.

 

I'm getting the old Brownie Hawkeye dusted off for the upcoming SXM 2006 collection. Will be on island for 3 weeks in April/May. Stay tuned.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...