I Know Nothing about St. Maarten!

[frisbeewife]

I've been to St. Maarten twice and rented a car both times. It's really easy to drive around the island, as opposed to some other Caribbean islands where I wouldn't DREAM of trying to drive. This gives you the freedom to go where you want, when you want. The rental place is right at the pier and is very convenient to pickup and drop off.

 

Just another option to throw out there.

[ski_mom]

I've been to St. Maarten twice and rented a car both times. It's really easy to drive around the island, as opposed to some other Caribbean islands where I wouldn't DREAM of trying to drive. This gives you the freedom to go where you want, when you want. The rental place is right at the pier and is very convenient to pickup and drop off.

 

Just another option to throw out there.

 

Was it expensive to rent a vehicle and do they have larger vehicles? We have a group of 6.

[gtaylor]

Is the best closest place to catch a bus in the harbor/market/touristy spots in Marigot at where the busses line up on the road in Marigot that leads to Grand Case or do they drive through the road that Serafina's bakery/ferry terminal are on?

I think it is just at the terminal.

 

A bus from Marigot to Philipsburg via Cole Bay would head through downtown Marigot, not the road headed to Sandy Ground.

 

gary

[frisbeewife]

Was it expensive to rent a vehicle and do they have larger vehicles? We have a group of 6.

 

 

 

I honestly don't remember how much it cost, but I'm not rich so it couldn't have been too bad. We were a group of 6 also and we got a nice minivan. I suggest googling "car rentals St Maarten cruise ship port". There should be 2 or 3 companies that rent at the port. Anyway, for our group it just ended up being better than schlepping around on the busses or paying for taxis.

 

Good luck! We enjoyed Maho Beach, the butterfly farm, Orient Beach (didn't take the kids to the nude part tho) and just generally looking around at how people there live. What I have not done in my 2 visits there is stop in Philipsburg for shopping. Maybe next time.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[frisbeewife]

Oh - if you're driving yourself allow plenty of time to get back to the ship. There can sometimes be pretty good traffic jams, although I've heard they've done some improvements to the roads to help with that.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Poppy42]

We're arriving to St. Maarten this fall on RCI Adventures of the sea. I booked this specific cruise to visit the ABC islands as we love to snorkel! St. Maarten is our last port of call and I know nothing about it.

 

What do we do here? Is it also a great snorkel port? Shop? Beaches? Sail?

 

Help?

We go on a cruise that stops at St. Martin at least once a year. We take a van ($7 p/p each way) to Club Orient (not just Orient Beach) and enjoy a great NUDE DAY working on our all-over tan at this French resort - because it's private there are no vendors pestering you. It's very quite and laid back. Just bring sunscreen and towels. $7 each for a chaise lounge and $6 for an umbrella. There's a resturant and a snack bar - prices are reasonable. Don't be surprised if you run into fellow cruisers.

[rmf11699]

I assume cash is best for taxi's and not the credit card?

[Poppy42]

I assume cash is best for taxi's and not the credit card?

Yes