All of the car rental info. you'll ever need

[cruisinqt]

After doing extensive research on car rentals in St. Martin I've come up with a wealth of info. I'd like to share. I've compiled all of the info. in this new thread to hopefully save many fellow cruisers the hours of research it took me get all of this info.;) Here goes:

 

They drive on the right hand side of the road here. The island has one main highway that circles the island making navigation easy. Rush hour traffic is from 8-10am and 4-6pm. On cruise ship days, the traffic is terrible in Philipsburg and parking is hard to come by. There are 5 car rental booths inside the pier: Hertz, Budget, and 3 local companies (not real sure which local companies are in there though). There is a Texaco right outside the pier to gas up at. All rental places inside the pier close at 5 pm, including many of those just outside the gates like Arthur's. All you need is a US drivers license to drive here.

 

Here are the websites for the rental car agencies in St. Martin:

 

www.budget.com - use code sx3 for the St. Martin cruise port location, it's hard to find on their website. I was quoted 61.56 (total final price) for a Toyota Corolla (intermediate car). They have a booth inside the pier.

 

www.sxmrentacar.com - this is the website for the local hertz franchise there. I was quoted $31 for an economy car, no taxes, fees included. They have a booth inside the pier.

 

www.arthurscarrental.com - local guy just outside the pier, comes highly recommended at cruisecritic. About $35 (w/out taxes) for economy car.

 

www.bestdealcarrentals.net - I was quoted $35 (w/out taxes) for a Toyota Yaris. The quote was for harborside pickup and he e-mailed me that the agency was a 5 minute drive down the road.

 

www.panoramiccarerental.com - No cars available for the day I was there. But I've heard good things about them.

 

www.paylesscarrental.com - about $35 for economy car. They pick you up and take you to their agency over by Simpson Bay Bridge. (not far)

 

www.sxm-cars.com - this website features several car rental places in st. Martin and you can rent them from this website, it's hard to tell who is at the pier.

 

I hope this helps some of you. If you have any questions, I'll try to answer them, but I think I've covered just about everything I know. Happy cruising!:)

[The Big Booper]

When we were there 5/29/07, the gas station before the pier had changed to Shell. After this one, nothing for 4 blocks but construction. If you miss it, must turn around.

 

We didn't rent since the Explorer gets in at noon and the car rental places all close at 5 PM.

[The Big Booper]

Simpson Bay Bridge is not exactly around the corner from the pier. 25-30 minutes? or more? I would think twice about that. You are going thru a heavy traffic area.

[scssting]

Thank You so much for all the info. This is exactally what I was looking for to plan our for our stop there in August.

[eellsinoc]

Could someone please confirm that Best Deal Car Rentals, is located at the Pier. I am getting a good quote from them and want to book - but I don't want to end up going out of the Pier area to get the car.

 

The website says they are located at the pier but one of the experiences above seems otherwise.

 

Anyone?

[fllady61]

I would go with a local company here. some are cheaper than the one's on the island. considering doing this when we go in September.

[eellsinoc]

I ended up reserving my car thorugh Budget today. Their site included all the taxes and fees. The other said I would not know my total until I arrived. I didn't care for that. I hope it all goes well. I would love to find a good driving map of St. Maarten. Do you know if Budget will give me one?

[Lib0007]

I used Payless last week when I stayed for a week at my timeshare. It was easy and cheap ($115/week). I'd rent from them again definitely.

[cruisinqt]

I've tried to nail down the details as to whether or not there are cars right there at the pier, but none of their websites give any info. about that.:cool: The wording most of them use is that they "have a booth at the pier." When I e-mail a couple of places they said the booth is at the pier but the cars are located only 5 minutes away. So I am guessing here but I think the situation is similar to that of the airport. The car rental booths are there at the port but you have to be taken "off campus" so to speak, to get the cars. They're probably not far away since the pier is pretty close to Philipsburg which is a sizable city.

 

Big Booper, thanks for the info. about where Simpson Bay Bridge is. The lady at the rental place that e-mailed me said it wasn't too far of a drive. So much for honesty.:rolleyes:

 

Everyone says that the car rental agencies are real good about giving you a map of the area and giving you pointers on where to go. I've found that to be true of every car rental I've had no matter where it was, like Grand Cayman, Vegas, New York, etc.:)

 

If I get any more info. on the location of these places and if they have cars right at the pier or not, I'll let you know.

[The Big Booper]

We have only used Hertz at the pier. The cars are 2 blocks away and we were driven there in a house vehicle by a car jockey. 1 minute trip.

 

Here is a link to a map of the island. The map can be blown up on screen to get details.

 

http://www.stmartinstmaarten.com/map/psmap0198.pdf

 

Look at the lower coast for Simpson Bay and then look to Great Bay where the ship docks. That is not close and that part of the island between the 2 bays is congested.

[cruisinqt]

I replied to this several days ago but for some strange reason the response is not on this thread. I've done several responses on several threads and none of them are showing up. What's up? Can you accidentally put yourself on the ignore list or something?:confused: I need to do some investigating here because something's up.

 

Anyway,thanks for the heads up Big Booper about the Simpson Bay Bridge. When I e-mailed the company the woman said it was "not far away." So much for honesty.:rolleyes:

 

After several e-mail responses I get the feeling that the rental car situation at the pier is similar to that of the rental car situation at the airport. The taxi's have a monopoly on the airport and you have to go off campus to get a rental car. It may be the same thing at the pier. I've had several rental car companies say they have a booth at the pier but the cars are about a 5 minute shuttle drive away.

 

Eellsinoc, I've heard many cruisers say that they got great maps, pointers on where to go sightseeing, and where to eat from the rental car companies. I've found that true everywhere I've went to rent a car including the Grand Cayman's, Vegas, New York, etc. Every rental car company I've ever used had maps handy there in the car and at the rental booth.:)

[Sandysurprise]

We used Arthurs Car Rental in 2005. Locally owned and you get service by Arthur himself. The car was in great shape, the prices were good and the service was fabulous. He even took a picture of our group and emailed it to us. He is located a few feet from the entrance to the port.

 

We are going back in 2/2008 and plan to use Arthur again!!

Good Luck.

[JC Butterfly]

this is great information!

[JanesCruisingBuddy]

I was looking at the map that The Big Booper provided the link to. I really would not want to rent a vehicle in a forien location and then find myself in miserable traffic (I have seen miserable traffic in Haiti - would not expect St. Martin to be that bad - but anyway).

 

It looks to me as if the road skirts out arround the city. Would I be right. Would that main road be bad?

[MoCruiser]

We used Arthurs Car Rental in 2005. Locally owned and you get service by Arthur himself. The car was in great shape, the prices were good and the service was fabulous. He even took a picture of our group and emailed it to us. He is located a few feet from the entrance to the port.

 

We are going back in 2/2008 and plan to use Arthur again!!

Good Luck.

 

I second the recommendation to use Arthur's. We have used him 3 years in a row and are renting a Jeep from him next week. You walk straight out to the road in front of the port, turn right and walk about 50 yards and his place is right across the road. Can't miss it.

[dawne577]

I just reserved a car from Budget and in the fine print it stated that it was only to be used on the Dutch side. Has anyone else been restricted like this when using Budget?

[cruisinqt]

No, I've never noticed a restriction like that. I wonder how they are going to know you went all over the island with the car. It's a small island so they can't go by mileage. Are they planning on following you or something?:confused: That seems like a weird stipulation to put in the contract considering it's next to impossible to keep it enforced.

[kal]

No, I've never noticed a restriction like that. I wonder how they are going to know you went all over the island with the car. It's a small island so they can't go by mileage. Are they planning on following you or something?:confused: That seems like a weird stipulation to put in the contract considering it's next to impossible to keep it enforced.

 

They don't have to do anything. If you have a problem with the car or are involved in an accident ON THE FRENCH SIDE, they could choose to void the contract and associated responsibility.

[wander2beaches]

We just returned from St. Martin and rented a car from Budget. I just read the fine print and don't see that statement. Here's the email listed on our contract: budgetstmaarten@megatropic.com If you've never been there before we had some difficulty naviagating the island. Good luck!

[m steve]

I had a reservation with Budget and whenwe arrived they had no cars at the pier and could get one from the airport in an hour (Island time) but sent me to a local booth 2 stalls away and got a car from them at the same price as Budget quoted. Turns out we ended up paying more (above their rates) for a dirty car. I used Arthurs and it's a loooong walk from the pier especially if your returning with DF liquor boxes. I had 2 bad experiences with the Hertz franchisee both overcharging and had to contact Hertz for a refund. They are near the airport and not convenient. I have reserved w/ Budget again and hope.

[The Big Booper]

Hertz is at the airport AND at the pier. Which office overcharged you? I have always been charged what they said it would be at the time of rental, when I bought the car back.

[m steve]

This was 4 years ago and there was someone else with overcharges as well who was about ready to hit the clerk.

[alphakitty]

DH and I rented a jeep at the dock from Antillean Car Rental. He took us off site to pick up the jeep. It wasn't the newest or cleanest, but we were ok with that. We figured if anything happened to it, he'd never notice. LOL The cost was $85 for the day including insurance. We drove all over the island, exploring dirt roads. (Found Friar's Bay beach this way...beautiful place!) We found the island very easy to negotiate. There were plenty of signs pointing us in the right direction. Some were handmade though. :)

[dawne577]

Our original reservation was with Hertz but they were going to put a $900 hold on our CC for a one-day rental. I felt this was ridiculous so started looking elsewhere. Under the terms & conditions on the Budget rental agreement it states "cross border traffic: cars are allowed on the Dutch side of the island."

Has anyone else noticed this on their reservation?

[The Big Booper]

We never reserve, just walk up to Hertz and drive away. They quote a rate and that is what they charge. They have never said anything about staying on the Dutch Side only. Hertz is the most expensive but I feel we don't need time-delaying hassles, etc. to save a few bucks. One less drink on the ship.