Bayside Horseback Club and Butterfly Farm..Questions

[SF]

We were thinking of going horseback riding at the bayside riding club. Has anyone used this company and if so what did you think? Also, how much is the 1 hour ride? I read on the boards that the two hour horseback ride is $60.00 but their website doesn't mention prices.

 

Also, what do you think of the Butterfly Farm? What is the admission price?

 

Can you walk to the riding club from the Butterfly Farm?

 

I know a taxi to that area is $6.00 per person and since we're 4 people just to get there and back would be $48.00. I wonder if it's worth it when you add the admission prices to these two places. Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks.

[gtaylor]

May I suggest doing a search?

[SF]

I did a search and it didn't answer all of my questions.

[jdmaillet]

Go to http://www.baysideridingclub.com and it will answer all your questions about fees. You have to click on the "next" button at the bottom of the page. It covers all their pricing and ride times.

 

I've been told that the butterfly farm and riding club are within walking distance to one another. I had quite a few questions about this a couple of months back and everyone was great in answering all my questions. If you do a search, it should come up.

 

I'm booked for March (planning to do both) and I'll post when I return.

 

HTH

Jenn

[SF]

Jenn,

 

Thanks for the help. I'll check their site out again. I might have missed the next button as I couldn't find the info on the fees.

 

We're scheduled to go next month and if we do I'll post to let everyone know.

 

Thanks. :)

[gtaylor]

I guess the results of my recommended search, above, didn't get posted to the board.

 

 

You might like to follow these threads:

 

Thread 1

Thread 2

Thread 3

Thread 4

[SF]

gtaylor:

 

Thanks for the links. Reading about the experiences other people have had with the different stables has helped us make a choice.

 

Appreciate you taking the time to mark the links.

 

Now that my questions are answered I have to get in touch with them via email. Hopefully they'll still have some time open.

 

Thanks.

[lyndasilk]

Hi SF!

We did some horseback riding at Bayside in November 2004. I booked through email but when we arrived at the stables, they did not have any record of our reservation. Luckily I had brought all the emails and they honoured the reservation. The fellow there said something about a disconnect between the lady booking the reservations and the stables. So just wanted to let you know about that.

 

We took the 1 hr ride which was fine. I'm not a big horse fan but my DD loves it and that's why we went. I had ridden only once before but had no trouble with the horses. They walk all the way and need very little direction from the rider. The scenery is very beautiful; the beach was nice of course and the stables is nestled in amongst the mountains which I didn't expect. I think we paid $40/person for the 1 hour. Your horse goes in the water but just walks in the very shallow part of the beach; for the 1 hour ride, you don't get the horse swimming that you get with the 2 hour ride.

 

As I said, I'm not a big horse fan, so it was okay for me. But my DD loved it so if you're a horse person, you'd probably enjoy it. No cantering or trotting, the horses are restricted to just walking because of safety concerns.

 

We were able to wear shorts on the ride and were quite comfortable. I was surprised at this because we always have to wear pants where I live to ride. We also wore our trainers which were fine.

 

If you have any questions, just let me know! Have fun! Lynda

[SF]

Lynda:

 

Thanks so much for sharing your horseback riding experience. I'm not really a

horse fan either but thought it might be something to do after visiting the butterfly farm. Did you also go there?

 

I may contact them and see what times they still have available and then make a decision. I was kind of concerned about the safety issue but if the horses just walk then I'm sure that will be ok.

 

Thanks for replying to my post.

[Robin G]

Hi SF--

 

We went to both Butterfly Farm and Bayside last year. We're going back to Bayside next week for another one hour ride. My 8 year old daughter had a blast. Any questions on either one, just let me know.

 

Robin

[SF]

Thanks Robin,

 

Let me know how it goes as we leave about two weeks after you. Did you like the butterfly farm? How long did it take you to tour it? How much was cab fare there? Thanks again and enjoy your cruise.

 

SF

[jdmaillet]

I sent an email to Bayside to reserve our ride next month and she emailed back and said I needed to call. I did that and gave them my Visa #. It took a few emails before she responded. I guess I should do a followup email to have something in writing to confirm I did indeed make the reservation. The connection was quite lousy when I called.

 

I am doing this with DD12. DH and DGD7 will be with us. Trying to figure out what they can do while we are on the ride. Is there a beach within walking distance for them to hang out on? Neither one of them are very big walkers. We are going to try and go to the butterfly farm, do the 11 am ride, and spend some time on Orient beach. Is this too much?

 

Can someone who has been tell me how long the cab ride is to The stables/ butterfly farm? Not sure which one we'll get to first. Also, how far a cab ride to Orient (specifically Bikini) and then back to ship.

 

Thanks to all,

Jenn

 

We are going on the 3/8. What about everyone else?

[Robin G]

SF--

 

We liked the Butterfly Farm. My 8 year old daughter, though, was kinda funny about it. I don't think she liked them flying around her face. It seemed to freak her out a little, in a funny way. They had a nice little gift shop. I think we spent maybe an hour there, tops. You could definetly spend more or less time there, depending how much you want to watch the butterflys fly around.

 

We had rented a Jeep for the day. After the Butterfly Farm and Bayside, we drove to Marigot for lunch and some shopping. So we just had a leisurely day. It was a great day, really. My daughter's favorite port and Bayside was her favorite excursion the entire cruise.

 

They do give the kids helmuts to wear. The horses walk at a very slow pace. No trotting whatsoever. In fact, if you give me your email address, I can send to you our photos from last year. I used our digital camera and I can send them to off to you. They got pretty good. I can send them of the Butterfly Farm, too.

 

Robin

[SF]

Robin,

 

How was driving in St. Martin? We've been there several times but never rented a car.

 

I'm not sure I'd like the butterflies flying around my face either. Is that what they do all the time? What kind of tour do they have or do you just go into an area and walk around? Did you also have to leave your credit card # to hold a reservation at Bayside?

 

I'd like to go back to Marigot but I don't think the open flea market will be operating when we are there. How far is it from the Butterfly Farm to Marigot?

 

I'd love to see the pictures but where can I write to you to give you my email address.

 

SF

[Robin G]

SF:

 

We had no problem with driving. We rented from Hertz right at the pier. My husband drove and I navigated. Hertz gave us a great map and we had no problem at all. Although I have heard some unfavorable stories on these boards.

 

When you get to the Butterfly Farm, you can either walk around yourself or you can wait for a "tour" to start. Everything is extremely informal there. The guide we had was very heavy with a french accent and almost difficult to understand but I loved just listening to her voice, it was almost like singing. We arrived about 9:30 am - 10 am and the butterflies were flying all around and they would land on your head, arm, wherever they felt like it. The guide just asked that you not attempt to remove them -- just let them fly off by themselves, which of course they did. I think we walked through the entire farm (which is really an enclosed tented area) in about 15 minutes and by then the tour began so we walked through again with the guide, (with maybe around 10 other people) another 30 minutes perhaps with about 15 minutes or so at the gift shop.

 

We then drove next door to Bayside. Yes, I emailed Bayside my CC info to hold the reservation. If you do that, I recommend that you do it in two separate emails. Send your name and CC # in one email and hit send, then your exp. date info and hit send again. You could also do this over the telephone, but again, they are very french and I found them difficult to understand. After Bayside we drove to Marigot for lunch. Maybe 30 minutes or so to downtown. It seemed like forever to get there but we were starving!! I did not see any type of flea market.

 

Other than posting your email on this board, I wouldn't now how else to send the photos. Sorry!!

 

Robin

[jdmaillet]

Can you tell me how far the walk (time-wise) is from the Butterfly farm to Bayside- and how long the cab ride is from Bayside to Orient (thinking Bikini Beach)? Will there be cabs in the butterfly farm / Bayside area?

 

Thanks

Jenn

[plannermom]

bayside is right next door to the butterflies (less than 5 minutes). to get a cab, we had to walk about 10-15 minutes back to the main road.

[zurmoly]

How far to Bayside from the dock? Taxi? Thanks

[plannermom]

it was about a 20 minute cab ride.

[stan wood]

We rented a car and toured the island. We stopped at the Butterfly Farm and went to Orient Beach. Once your leave the pier, the traffic was not bad and we had little difficulty-although we wondered what some of the traffic signs meant. The car was $50 (January-peak season) for a Toyota Corolla with 260 miles on it. I believe the Butterfly Farm was $10. and it was only a few potholes away from Orient Beach. It provided us with the freedom to see whatever we wanted, when we wanted. I would rent again. If you have any specific questions, feel free to e-mail at d_sedy@yahoo.com

 

I don't remember any butterflies flying around my face, but a couple did land on shoulders or arms.

 

If there are 3 or more in your group, renting is probably cheaper than taxis or tours and you have the ability to choose your own agenda.