Need Help Mapping Out Itinerary, Please

[CurlyRed964]

We will be in St. Maarten 8/29 on the Caribbean Princess. My family and I would like to visit Orient Beach (Kakao Beach Club), go to Wajang Doll for lunch and shop in Phillipsburg. We arrive at 7:00am and must be back on board by 5:30. Is this doable on our own with taxi's? About how long should we spend at the beach, lunch, shopping to make sure we make it back in time? I suppose we could eat at the Kakao's. But I am dying to get some Indo food. My family is far away (or passed away) and it's hard to get good, authentic Dutch Indo food. Advise?

 

Thanks!

[The Big Booper]

There is no problem doing this with cabs. It is a 20-25 minute cab ride from the pier to Orient, at 6pp in a large group. The dispatchers will assemble groups, many of the cabs are vans. Where is the place you want to have lunch?

 

In any case you then cab back to P-Burg and have the driver let you off at the main square near the flea market, court house, etc. This is also 20-25 minutes.

 

From there you can get back to the ship either by cab or by the water taxi ( a small ferry operation). Both are roughly $3 pp, the water taxi gives you a great photo-op of the harbor and the ship. You can also walk back which will take 20-30 minutes, depending on how fast you walk. Since you are on a time budget, spend the bucks for the ride back.

[gtaylor]

(Or might have been) :)

gtaylor, thank you so much for the information about the Wajang Doll. I am dying to get some Indo food, but never would have heard of the restaurant without your help. Also, thanks for the information about them moving the location. We might have searched high and low on Front Street looking for where they used to be.

 

Thanks!

 

You're welcome.

 

This is certainly possible to do using taxis.

 

It's easy to catch a cab from the Cruse Facility to Orient for about $6 per person as Booper indicated.

 

An unknown is the true cost of a taxi from Orient to Simpson Bay Lagoon, where the restaurant is located. That route IS NOT on the official rate sheet. (Booper indicates that new rates may now be in effect.)

 

We saw a comment posted here last year that a taxi between the Aiport and Orient was $30 for two people. I would expect your fare to be about that, even though it's a shorter distance.

 

The fare from Simpson Bay back to Philipsburg should also be about $6 per person.

 

If you choose to have lunch on Orient, I wonder why you have decided on Kakao. A cheeseburger there is about $15 (without tip). I, personally, would head on down towards the Pirate, where the prices are quite reasonable. Their website has apparently died, so I got this out of the WayBack Machine.

 

You should be able to spend the time from like 9:00 - 12:00 at Orient, take a taxi to Wajang Doll, have a nice lunch and taxi back to Philipsburg for shopping without any problems. Doing the shopping last puts you just minutes away from the ship, so not to worry.

 

Enjoy your lunch,

 

gary

[CurlyRed964]

Thanks for the info Gary. Once again, you've come to the rescue. How far is Pirates from Kakao? If we decide to just stay at the beach, I'd like to check it out.

 

Thanks!

 

Tamara

[gtaylor]

It's only a few hundred yards between The Pirate and Kakao.

 

Take a look at Ed and Sandra's Panoramic of Orient. (Note the link to a larger, more detailed version on that page.)

 

Note that The Pirate is down near the clothing-optional section of the beach at Club Orient, and is adjacent to Pedro's, the main taxi drop-off point.

 

gary