St. Maarten on Sunday

[martyap]

We'll be in St. Maarten on a Sunday in March.

Not planning much shopping but are most stores open/closed?

Would like to spend time on Orient Beach.....would it be more crowded on a weekend day?

[bcirish]

If the ships are in the stores in Phillipsburg are open. The beaches are more active on the weekends but Orient is a very long beach area with lots of chairs- you will have more issues with other cruisers than locals. Most of the locals go to other beaches like Maho and Baige Rouge and longue Bay. If you are only looking for beach - they have really cleaned up the beach by Phillipsburg and they run a special of $20 for 2 loungers an umbrella and 5 beers - can't beat that with a stick! The water taxi is $6 a person for the entire day and you can go back and forth to your ship ( cost for the day for 2 - $32 - not bad!. If you choose to walk it is between 1-2 miles from the ship and not much of walks. The best spot IMO is to your far right when you come off of the taxi - the one with the blue umbrellas - kind of away from the roaring crowds - not sure of the price there but the price above is the going price that we saw last week and last summer. NOt sure of the cost of the taxi to Orient since when island we rent a car.

If you have a sweet tooth - do not miss the Belgian Chocolate Shop on Old street off of Front street and she recently opened a shop on on the docks which she says is doing well - she actually delivers your purchase to the ship s o you do not have to carry your melting chocolate with you -she is a delight and although a bit pricey - the chocolate is hand made and to die for!

 

All this being said - we have been going to SXM for almost 15 years and staying on island so this information is mostly land based - over the last several years we have also become cruisers and last week we were in port in SXM again. We chose to stay in Phillipsburg and avoid the island traffic and it was delightful. We will do the same next time we come in by ship! Enjoy yourselves - we love this place!!!!

[Karysa]

Favorite beaches of the islanders for their family gatherings on the weekends are LeGalion and Mullet. Orient gets much of its crowd from cruisers and Sunday is usually a slow day for ships in port. The best idea for you would be to head to Orient in the morning as the stores that will be open in Philipsburg will open later on a Sunday. If you get to town at 1 or later you should be able to find enough stores open to keep you busy.

[pe4kids]

Marty,

Been on the island several Sundays and never had a problem with anything we planned to do. Sundays are usually a slow cruise ship day so Orient beach should not be crowded and most shops should be open. Sunday is also a family day on the island and like a previous post indicated most families go to other beaches for their fun.

There is lots to do and lots of beach bars and restaurants on Orient Beach so my wife and I are really looking forward to getting back there even though it's only for one day!

We talked about taking a taxi together to Orient Beach - planning on leaving as early as possible to get to the beach. Are you guys still on?

Tim