Beach walking distance to stables and butterfly farm?

[jdmaillet]

Hi

 

I'm trying to plan our St. Martin day. I have DH, DGD7, DD12. DD12 wants to ride. I'm thinking a tour of the butterfly farm in the am and orient beach (not sure on section) for a few hours and then DD and I could do the 1 hour ride at Bayside Riding stable from 4-5 before going back to the ship. I'm not hip on the swimming with the horse 2 hour ride. I'm not an experienced rider and although DD is, sounds kind of high risk to me while being on vacation. We always seem to end up in emergency rooms when we travel :~(

 

Questions: Do we have to taxi from Butterfly farm to Orient or is it walking distance? Do we have to taxi from beach to stable? If not, which section of the beach would be best? Has anyone done just the 1 hour ride? Was it worth doing?

 

DD just has this dream of always wanting to ride on the beach (she's a western gamer and has never done this) so if we can do it without a huge hassel, then I'd like too. Also, wondering what DH and DGD can do during this time. Maybe hang out at the beach or go back to the ship? Being unfamiliar with the area any help or input would be appreciated!!

 

Thanks

Jenn

[gtaylor]

I'm guessing that it is about 1 1/2 miles between Club Orient at Pedro's, which is probably the closest point, and the Butterfly Farm. See the map, E-11. It's flat, but it would be either a long hot dusty walk or a long hot muddy walk, depending on the weather.

 

Consider that the Butterfly Farm and Bayside stables are located right next to each other, and within walking distance of Galion Beach, also known as de l'Embouchure, where services are available. Perhaps Galion would serve you for a beach, and then all of your activities would be right there together.

 

You definitely don't want to be shuttling back and forth between the ship and the Orient area!

[Robin G]

Last February, we did both the Bayside Riding Club (1 hour) and the Butterfly Farm. We had rented a Jeep for the day so we drove from one to the other, even though they are right next to each other. There is a beach right behind both of these locations that you could walk to. Very empty, except for maybe five people. I wouldn't suggest the water for swimming, however. The horses eventually take a stroll through that area and as soon as the water hits their tummys, well, nature takes over and you instantly have about 12 - 15 pooping horses. Our kids all started screaming and we just started laughing. We all had to lift our feet out of the water or our shoes would have been very dirty. Had I been swimming nearby, however, I don't think I would have been laughing!! Go to another beach!!

 

Robin

[jdmaillet]

Thanks for the replies. I guess because all I'm reading about the stables & the butterfly farm they mention being next to beautiful Orient beach so I thought it was closer. How was your one hour ride? Did you enjoy it?

 

Thanks,

Jenn

[Robin G]

Oh yeah, we had a great time. We're going back to St. Marteen next month and have reservations with Bayside again. The horseback riding on the beach and them pooping in the water was the highlight of the cruise according to my eight year old daughter. What lovely childhood memories we're building for her!!

 

Oh, I did forget to mention, the few people that we saw on the beach while horseback riding, some were nudies -- Bayside is on the French side. My husband claims he didn't "notice". Sure...

 

Robin

[jdmaillet]

Thanks for the info, Robin. Not to beat a dead horse,(ha! excuse the pun:~) but could you describe the ride for me? Was it just a slow nice me-andering kind of thing? Aslo, wanted to ask.... Hadn't really considered taking DGD on this. She is 7 (8 in July). Is she old enough to do something like this? She is very tiny for her age and does not have any riding experience.

 

Thanks,

Jenn

[Macwoman]

Can you send me some more info on this stable and how to get there. My kids would love to ride a horse. My youngest rides so she would be thrilled. How do we get there from the ship??What does it cost?? Do you have to make reservations???

 

E-mail me......we will be cruising on the Mariner in Feb........

 

Barbara

jbmcilrath@comcast.net

[jdmaillet]

Do a search and you'll get the link to the website which answers a lot of your questions as far as prices, location etc. I know it's next to the butterfly farm and it's called bayside riding club.

 

Jenn

[gtaylor]

Do a search and you'll get the link to the website which answers a lot of your questions as far as prices, location etc. I know it's next to the butterfly farm and it's called bayside riding club.

Jenn

You could use the links in my post (#2) above.

[Robin G]

Yes, it was a very slow me-andering walk. I even questioned if the horses would take off on a trot or something once they hit the beach because maybe they would be excited when they saw the water or something, but they said they wouldn't, and they didn't (they just pooped). My daughter was 7.5 when she did this last year. And unbeknownst to me, it was my husband's first time on a horse. He didn't tell me this until AFTER the ride was over!! You can reach them at http://www.baysideridingclub.com and the woman's name is Arent. She's very nice and I love when she talks to the horses in french. They're website is very nice also.

 

Jenn, beating a dead horse, that was funny!! LOL!!

 

Have Fun

 

Robin

[jdmaillet]

Duh, of course- your links right up above. Can't believe I missed that! I'm thinking maybe DH can do the butterfly farm with DGD while DD and I do the ride. Although, I kind of hate missing the butterfly farm. On the other hand, I don't want them standing around waiting for us and city boy DH won't mount a horse!! To coordinate this, does the butterfly farm do the tours at any specific time? Such as on the hour etc. I know they are right next to each other but DH has bad ankles and back problems and is not a big walker. Is it a reasonable walk for him to come over to the stables when he is finished at the Butterfly farm? Thanks for all the great replies. I don't know why I'm so stressed at coordinating this.....

 

Thanks,

Jenn

[gtaylor]

Even though we spend three or four weeks a year on St. Maarten, we've never done the Butterfly Farm. Maybe next time.

 

My understanding, though, is that they do a 'tour' whenever several people arrive, but that you are allowed to wander around the complex before and after the 'tour'. How long you take is determined by how interested you are in the butterflys and if you want to take a lot of pictures while you're there.

 

He can always hang out in the gift shop.

[plannermom]

we went to the butterfly farm and galeon beach this past thanksgiving. They gave actual tours once they had a small group. Our family started out in the group but our daughters (8 & 7) didn't find it all that interesting so we just let the group go ahead and we wandered around on our own. They provide you with juice the butterflies are attracted to. Our daughters had a blast dipping their fingers in it and waiting for butterflies to land on their hand.

[jdmaillet]

That is great information. I've decided to try and book the 11am ride at the stable so if we could do the butterfly farm before then, that would be great. It's nice to know that if we just want to wander around on our own, we can. So, I'm guessing that Galieon beach is close enough for dh and dgd to hang out and wait for us on the ride.

 

Thanks again,

Jenn

[jdmaillet]

reviving this thread to ask those of you who have used Bayside a question. Did you make your reservation through email? I've emailed twice this week to reserve and I haven't heard anything back.

 

Thanks,

Jenn

[Robin G]

Yes, I've always booked via email. Email them again. This last time, once I emailed her a second time, they got right back to me. You could call them on the phone, but I found their english with a french accent difficult to understand. But that was just me!!

 

Robin

[mcgraiha]

how far is bayside from the cruise pier? our ship is supposed to dock at 10:00 a.m. and the only ride we would possibly be able to make is the 11:00. is that enough time? what is the best way to get there?