Self-Guided Island Tour

[brandn03]

Hi! I will be visiting St. Martin for the first time when our cruise ship (Carnival Dream) docks there next week. As of now, we plan to rent a car and take our own tour of the island. There will be 6 adults along for the ride. So far we plan to tour the island in the clock-wise direction, stopping first at Maho beach to watch some of the planes land and take off. I have heard the most of the activity is during mid-day, but will we be able to see any large jets around 9-10am?

 

After Maho we plan to head to Marigot to do some shopping and looking around, and then possibly a stop at Grand Case (not sure exactly what there is to see here). After Grand Case we plan to head on over to Orient Beach to spend the rest of the day before going back to Philipsburg for some more shopping before boarding the ship.

 

Anybody have other suggestions on things what would be worth a look on our way around the island? How bout some do's or dont's that maybe helpful with renting a car or navigating the island? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[dalitos]

Hi! I will be visiting St. Martin for the first time when our cruise ship (Carnival Dream) docks there next week. As of now, we plan to rent a car and take our own tour of the island. There will be 6 adults along for the ride. So far we plan to tour the island in the clock-wise direction, stopping first at Maho beach to watch some of the planes land and take off. I have heard the most of the activity is during mid-day, but will we be able to see any large jets around 9-10am?.

 

I am pretty sure most jets land at noon, or at least at noon there are a few coming within few minutes of each other so you get to see a few by sitting there for 45 minutes.

It would be a shame to go to Maho and not see the planes.

If you could tweak your schedule and get there later it would be much better.

We were there from 1:30 to 2:15 approx and saw I think 4-5 planes land. It was quite a spectacle.

[Karysa]

I too would suggest going to Orient first then head to the Lolo's in Grand Case for lunch go through Marigot and stop for a coffee and pastrie and then head towards Maho. That should put you in Maho around 2 which would be around the time that the big jets come in. The only issue with this plan is that you would need to check the hours of the Simpson Bay bridge openings in the afternoon. If I am remembering correctly there is not a 4:30 opening at that time of year so it should not affect you. It is about a 30 minute drive to the port so I would give yourself an hour because you will have to return the rental. Remember that traffic in the late afternoon can get quite heavy from the Simpson Bay area to the port area.