Phillipsburg or Marigot for shopping

[lassy]

We will be in St. Martin in January and we were wondering which would be a better place for shopping and siteseeing, Phllipsburg or Marigot and how far to each? Can you take the water taxi to eithr city as well? Any information would be great!

[The Big Booper]

The water taxi from the pier only goes to P-Burg. To get to Marigot you have to go by taxi or rental car. Depending on traffic the trip takes 30-60 minutes.

 

P-Burg is similar to Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas. Marigot is, well, French; lots of higher end French goods. It helps to speak French, tho not necessary.

[kris1863]

completely agree with The Big Booper....

one more thing to add...if ur looking for jewelry, liquor, or even any deals, your probably much more likely to find them in philipsburg because of the volume of stores...and the intense competition = better deals for consumers...

oh and on the french side u may want to consider the euro exchange rate issue u will find in some stores...not all..but a decent number of stores...

[EggDropErin]

I agree with the OPs. Another vote for Philipsburg. The shopping there was great!

[lassy]

Thank you all for your imput i do appreciate it, sounds like Phillipsburg is the best bet, any opinions on a good beach spot as well?

[The Big Booper]

If you plan to just sit on the beach Great Bay Beach at P-Burg. is fine. If you want to go in the water this beach is not a good choice as there is a lot of marine traffic and the water could be dirtier than at the pristine beaches found elseware on the island.

 

There are a lot of fine beaches on this island, Orient Beach on the french side being the best known. It is a short 20 minute cab ride from P-Burg to Orient. Lots of cabs hang out at Orient so you would be able to go right back to the ship in 25-30 minutes and bypass the water taxi.

 

The more people in the cab, the lower the cost per person so be prepared to share. A loaded cab will be $6 per person each way.

[gtaylor]

Best choice for shopping and sightseeing depends entirely on what you might be looking for. Especially with that last question of a good beach.

 

Too many variables to answer yet!

 

gary

[lassy]

Thanks again for all the information. I think we will start with the shopping and go from there.