Island Tour with Orient Beach; how to do on our own?

[syndyj]

This will be our first visit to St. Maarten and I want to make the best of the day. The ship excursions do not offer anything that suits us, so this is what we want;

 

An island tour of both Dutch and French side with stop in Marigot then on to Orient beach to relax at our leisure.

 

Shoretrips.com offers this tour at $55.00 a person with beach chairs and umbrella,and you just arrange a time to be picked up at Orient beach to be taken back to the ship.

 

Can we do this tour on our own for less than shoretrips.com? If so, how do we do it ?

[gtaylor]

You don't mention how many there are of you.

 

If you're a small group you could consider the Family and Friends Tour, or if you're only a couple, consider just grabbing a taxi.

 

In either case, lounges and umbrella would be extra at somewhere around $5 to $7 per item. Sometimes that would include a free drink.

 

_____

We must sail, sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it -- but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor. Oliver Wendell Holmes

[sangoofy]

portpromotions.com offers similar - 6 hr tour, both sides of island, 1 hr shopping in Marigot,3 hrs swim, snorkel, bbq lunch on beach, with 1 welcome drink , chair all included for $47 or $47.50 pp if you book online

Pick up and drop off is right at ship pier too. They bill your cc, send you a confirmation that you print off and bring with you. Rep will wait at pier for your party, even if passengers are delayed due to ship tendering as they are used to it. We are booked for 6/18/04- party of 9.

[syndyj]

After doing my "research" I think the port promotions tour is worth the money, and we booked it for our trip to St. Martin as well. Thanks to all who responded.

[sangoofy]

Syndyj: When do you go to St. Maarten. Maybe we could share reviews on this excursion, dependent on who goes first. We will be there on June 18, 2004, sailing on the AOS.

[syndyj]

sangoofy, we will be in St. Maarten September 28th, so you will be there before me. I would love your review of this tour and any tips you have to share as well.

[debcruiser]

We will be there in Feb 05. I would love to have a review also.

 

Conquest 11/02, 8/03 2/04

 

[sangoofy]

i will post a review of all excursions we take as well as our ship review upon our return

[theseas4me]

Sangoofy- Have you used portpromotions before? We too were trying to find an excursion for St. Maarten that was a little bit of everything. This sounds like a good one.

[sangoofy]

Not used them before but recommended by a couple of friends who have that were very pleased, not this particular tour though.

[Andee]

We rented a scooter and toured the island on our own--it was a great day!

[sandybeachy]

We were on St. Maartan last week. We rented a jeep for $75 (they also has a cheeper car for $55) right at the pier and drove around the island clockwise - going to Marigot first and then Orient beach for lunch & sun. An excellent way to spend the day!

 

AOS 4/25/04

 

 

[Karitannis]

We booked the Shoretrips.com excursion for our 6-12-04 trip on Carnival Glory. I'll post results when I return

[kRUZIN'LADY]

SANDYBEACHY,

We are going to St Maarten in July and plan to rent a car also. Did you get a map with your car rental? How long does it take to tour the island? Did you make any other stops besides Marigot and Orient Beach?

Thanks for your reply.