Land Tours In St. Marteen

[TropDaddy]

Hello Cruise Addicts,

We will be sailing the Valour in June. The last time I went to St. Marteen I hated it. I wasn't really a big fan of the shopping there. I would much rather take a land tour instead. So my question is for anyone who has been on a land tour in St. Marteen are there any ones you would reccomend?? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. When we went to St. Marteen last time on the Glory the entire French side was closed and only the Dutch side was open due to a holiday. Is the French side any better?? Would you reccomend going to the french side over a land tour??

Thanks for the help

 

[Ted_D]

Trop,

If your entire perception of St. Maarten is based on the insanity of downtown Philipsburg with its narrow streets teeming with thousands of tourists, then I know why you disliked the experience. There is certainly nothing scenic, restful, or of significance there other than hundreds of shops. For my wife, it's a slice of heaven. For me, I stay on the ship more often than not.

The rest of the island, however, is significantly more laid back and there are picturesque beaches and
pleasant little villages. The French side, in particular, is not nearly so heavily populated and the pace of
life is significantly slower than you saw in Philipsburg. The town of Marigot looks like it belongs in rural
France, not the Caribbean. Shopping there is more elegant, more expensive, and more European. And
there are a lot of charming little bistros and French restaurants. The north end fishing village of Grand
Case is very cute, though a little ramshackled looking. Orient Beach is also on the French side and
is considered one of the finest in the Caribbean. Sight seeing of a really special kind can occur on the
topless side of Orient. . . . .

In my opinion, the best way to see the island is to hire a taxicab driver for a tour of 3-4 hours. You can
do it nearly as cheaply as you can take a ship-sponsored excursion for 2. And, if you find another couple
to share, it becomes quite reasonable. My only warning to to negotiate the price up front, with no room for misunderstanding. The entire island is only half the size of Washington, DC, so it can be seen
comfortably in less than half a day.

Ted

 

[Jeff & Susana]

"downtown Philipsburg with its narrow streets teeming with thousands of tourists"

Not to be missed.......

.........because everywhere you look all beer is only $1.00!

Now that IS something to write home about!


Jeff & Susana

 

[Babushka]

Sorry to hear that St. Maarten is not your favorite spot. For us it was the opposite...we loved this island! We rented a jeep with another couple and another couple rented mopeds and we cruised around the whole island and had a wonderful time. We stopped at Orient beach for a couple hours and rented beach chairs w/umbrellas for really cheap and that included a drink. We love the water so we swam and rented wave runners. After we stopped in Marigot for lunch and went shopping. I thought this part of the island was charming, I preferred it to the Dutch side. It was a really relaxing day done at our own pace. We even had time to do some wandering and shopping at the little shopping area where the ship is docked. I hope on your next visit you will find some new things for you to enjoy, hopefully the French side will be much more appealing to you. Good luck and hope you have a wonderful time on the Valor. We will be sailing on the Valor next April to the Western Caribbean!

 

[TropDaddy]

Hi Ted ;
Thanks for taking time to respond to my post. You had it just right narrow streets and to many shops all trying to sell the same thing. After your description I am looking forward to seeing the French side now. Hope I can get a nice tour guide to show us around.

 

[TropDaddy]

Thank you for the beautiful pictures you posted and the advice you offered on the narrow streets and dollar beer. I hope I can enjoy it this time as much as you did .

 

[TropDaddy]

Renting a jeep sounds fun. Did you have enough time to get all this in during your short stay "WOWWWWW" Can you drive from the Dutch side to the French side ?? Hope we can enjoy this time as much as you did . Thanks for your imput

 

[Babushka]

Yes, we definately had enough time to drive around the island in our rental jeep. As I said before we visited Orient Beach for 2 or 3 hours then drove over to Marigot and stopped at an outdoor restaurant for lunch then walked around there and did some shopping. We did not feel rushed at all. I don't know how long you are there for...I believe we were there from like 9 or 10 am to maybe 5 or 6 pm. Can't quite remember. If you are interested in the jeep, we got off the ship and walked down toward the shops, the car and moped rentals were off to the right near a large parking area. We split the jeep w/another couple and each couple paid $40. We were given a map at the rental office and had no problem finding our way around, although the couple w/us that rented the mopeds had visited St. Maarten before and had somewhat of an idea where to go. I heard you can also get the water taxis that take you to the Dutch side beach and shopping areas but we opted to drive around on our own.