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Car Rental Info in St. Maarten?


cruisevirgin3

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Don't do it. If you've never been on one of these small islands with terribly narrow streets and slightly crazy tour bus and taxi cab drivers, I wouldn't do it.

 

I've rented cars and driven in many parts of the United States and have driven around Scotland. I don't mind a challenge and didn't even mind driving a manual transmission in Europe and having to learn to navigate round abouts. However, after having seen the exceptionally narrow streets and the way the locals drive and the inexpensive cab fares to get around the islands, I'd never take a chance by renting a car or a scooter. It's just to risky IMO.

 

Traffic flows pretty well but, they seem to have a system that the locals know and accept. They don't get ticked at each other, I didn't see any road rage or yelling going on but there is a lot of horn honking. It seems to be a system of how you honk your horn to indicate your intentions or if you're just saying high to a neighbor. There also seems to be an acceptable system for cutting someone off to get into traffic flow.

 

At any rate, while I normally recomend renting a car to get around, I would not recomend renting a car on an unfamilar island and definately not in St. Maartin unless you are familar with their driving habits.

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Your probably correct. While I haven't driven a cab, I have driven in most large metropolitan cities such as Washington DC, San Francisco, Denver, Las Vegas, Dallas, New Orleans French Quarter,Edinburgh Scotland, Inverness Scotland and many more points East and West in the US. So long as I know the rules of the road, nothing much bothers me. However, the rules of the road seem to be somewhat different on the islands.

 

My point was simply that they have a different system than what you'll find here at home. Not knowing the system and being overconfident can be the ruination of a great vacation. Taxi's were easy to find, cheap to come by and would take you almost anywhere you wanted to go. IMO, it's at least as cheap and considerably safer than risking being struck by another driver thousands of miles from home. Keep in mind that it doesn't have to be you that causes the accident. A taxi assuming you'll yield (by their standards) and you go could cause an accident.

 

Many people do it without problem. You'll probably be among them. Personally, I'll just take the taxi's and leave the concerns at home.

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The comments about St. Maarten driving are good observations, but there is a key point missing. The comment about "a system that the locals know and accept....a system of how you honk your horn to indicate your intentions or if you're just saying high to a neighbor" is very true. Anyone who doesn't understand that system becomes the problem. You really don't want to be THE PROBLEM anywhere.

 

Without doubt we can all drive on the island, but it takes undivided attention to the road, customs, and traffic particularily on the French side. Unfortunately, for a meaningful visit, the layout of the roads prevents you from just avoiding the difficult sections.

 

The REAL ISSUE is the driver WILL simply miss out on the sights and sounds of the island. You gawk and things become very dangerous. You paid good money to get to the island then trying to save $50 is not smart. Besides if you rent a car, you won't have a clue of what you're looking at. A taxi driver will not only know all the shortcuts, but will give you an endless narrative about everything you see.

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I found absolutely no problem renting or driving a car on St. Maarten. My husband and I did it last February and plan to do it again this February. He drove and I navigated via a wonderful map. I tend to do alot of "leg work" prior to a trip and we know where we're going and how to get there. It is definetly a time saver and if there is "gawking" to do, we pull over and get out of the way. This goes for on vacation or not. No problems whatsoever! Nor do I believe we were a "problem" on the road. We received no dirty looks, horn blowing, etc. We drove from Phillipsburg to the East side and up and over to Marigot. We spent the day exploring and having a wonderful time at our own pace. We had our 8 year old daughter with us and she had a wonderful time as well. Hope this helps!

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I just returned from my cruise, I rented a car in St Maarten, and also in St thomas. I would not do it any other way, I really don't know what Doug was saying. It is the best way to see the island and do what you want. I would highly recommend using Arthur's Car rental

 

http://www.arthurscarrental.com/newfile4.html

 

He was great, he will pick you up at the docks. Price was great also.

 

ARTHUR'S CAR RENTAL

Front Street # 7 - Philipsburg

Sint Maarten - Netherlands Antilles

Tel/Fax: (599) 542-6260

Cellular: (599) 557-5565

or

info@arthurscarrental.com

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