ATV on your own

[laura6769]

I'm looking to rent a ATV for the day in St Marteen instead of renting a car. We have an ATV at home so we're comfortable using it and especially on the streets.

I think a tour will slow us down and I don't like being herded. I like to be on my own and do my own thing but I don't want to miss out on any ATV trails offroad.

 

Question - to those who have done the ATV tour. Was most of it on main roads and streets or did you do a lot of trails and ride along the beach? Do you think those areas are public or would you have to be in a tour to do them?

 

Thanks

[WackyWayne]

When we did this tour, most of it was on public roads or what appeared to be fairly public trails/areas. It was fun & scenic, but pretty tame riding.

 

http://stmaartencruiseexcursions.com/ATVStMaarten.htm

[Beach_gal]

Can we rent these on our own or must we be part of a group? I too want to explore via ATV but don't want to be on a schedule.

 

Those of you that have rented on your own and explored the island without a guide, where did you go and what did you do?

 

There are so many places I want to see, eat, shop and hang on the beach for a couple of hours I don't think I can cram it all in :mad:!

[laura6769]

Beach Gal - looks like we have the same idea!

 

I have found two ATV rentals that don't require a tour. Basically we will be treating our ATV as a rental car for the day but can feel the wind in your hair. :)

 

mandyhalley@hotmail.com has $90 rentals. I found her contact through Jill Astro - found her site on St Maarten Activites. She said there are only one or two trails and she can provide maps.

 

I don't feel a tour is necessary especially if you're going to be travelling on public tours anyways.

 

The other ATV place is Solid ATV http://www.solidatvscooterrental.com/ $85/day but seems to have a good rep. I found one lengthly review on here about the "asian man" who rents really good atvs. He's just not as good replying to e-mails.

[Beach_gal]

Thank you so much! I've also been referred to Nasa car rental.

 

When are you cruising? If it's before me, take notes and get back to me with any advice or tips! :)

 

And I'll do the same! So much to see, so little time!

[laura6769]

I'm going first week of Feb.

I shall report back!

[CaroleSS]

Laura,

We also have tried to contact Solid ATVs in an attempt to rent ATVs while at port. No, he's not good about returning emails! (nor can I call him at the number listed on his website)

 

How long do you think I should wait to hear back from him? I"m trying to make a reservation, but not having any luck with a response. I hate to just wait to get there and take my chances, but I'm considerring going with someoen else just to have a confirmed reservation.

 

Please let me know if you hear back from him!!!

[laura6769]

Hey CaroleSS,

I e-mailed him quite a few weeks back. 3 or 4 weeks ago? No word. There are 3 cruiselines the day I'm in St. Martin so I wouldn't like to wait around much either. I'm going Feb 7th.

There's also a skype address on his e-mail so I may try that next.

Edited November 16, 2012 by laura6769

[Beach_gal]

Good gawd I just checked and there are FIVE ships the day I'm there :eek:

 

This ought to be fun :rolleyes:. When we're on St. Thomas and Grand Turk there's only 2 so that's manageable, but five is going to make for some major congestion.

 

I'm wondering if we ought to rent a jeep instead. An ATV sounds like so much more fun, but I want to shop and will need a place to put all our stuff (rum, jewelry, perfume, spices, etc). Can't tell my husband about my dilemma or he'll insist on the ATV and nix the shopping!

 

Let me know if either of you are able to successfully reserve anything. I'm going to email several places now and see if anyone responds.

[CaroleSS]

Yes, we have 4 in St Martin and 6 :eek::eek: in St Thomas. Don't the cruise lines know that I want to have the island to myself?!?!?!? :D

 

I sent an email to Mandy Halley and she replied right away.

"The office is 15 minutes walk from the port, 2 minute drive. I also give you a map and show you different spots. I have fully clutch, semi automatic and automatic bikes. The price for the fully clutch is $100 and the price for semi auto and automtic is $85. If you have any other questions do not hesitate to email or call."

 

Since I've contacted Solid and not gotten a reply (in two weeks), I'm going to just go ahead and book with Mandy. What is it that they say about a bird in your hand?!

[cemor66]

Would you know if Mandy Halley's shop has a web page? I was just in St Martin a few weeks ago and saw a ATV rental shop as I was walking the road from the pier to Philipsburg. The rental shop was on the other side of the street that I was walking, but I should have gone over to investigate for future reference.

 

Yes, we have 4 in St Martin and 6 :eek::eek: in St Thomas. Don't the cruise lines know that I want to have the island to myself?!?!?!? :D

 

I sent an email to Mandy Halley and she replied right away.

"The office is 15 minutes walk from the port, 2 minute drive. I also give you a map and show you different spots. I have fully clutch, semi automatic and automatic bikes. The price for the fully clutch is $100 and the price for semi auto and automtic is $85. If you have any other questions do not hesitate to email or call."

 

Since I've contacted Solid and not gotten a reply (in two weeks), I'm going to just go ahead and book with Mandy. What is it that they say about a bird in your hand?!

[CaroleSS]

Cemor66,

If she has one, I haven't found it and she never directed me to one during our email conversations. I will say that she is quick to respond.

 

She called me, her phone is 721-522-6656. Since the number is outside the US, either I can't dial it or just don't know how, but I gave her a deposit and she emailed me a receipt right away. She said her shop is a 2 minute ride (or 15 minute walk) away from the pier. She is arranging for us to be picked up at the pier. She will provide us with a suggested route and maps. I said we had thought about lunch at Grand Case and she said she had several good places she could recommend.

 

We haven't been yet, but she seems to provide good customer service, so I feel comfortable with her. I'll post something in March when we return!

[Xplorers]

We definitely recommend renting ATVs but caution you on where you rent from. You needn't book this ahead of time as there are many people trying to rent you an ATV as soon as you get out of the main gates of this port.

Be careful when renting with Mandy. If you have an excursion booked later in the day, rent from another vendor. Mandy holds your ship cards as a form of security deposit. When we made it back to port for our excursion, customs officials would not let us through without our cards. We missed our pre-paid excursion because Mandy had our cards (we did rush back to Mandy and negotiated exchanging drivers license and credit card for our ship cards but by the time we made it back to port, the excursion had left).

Be sure to inspect the ATVs for damages and take a time-stamped picture of them. When we returned the ATVs, she charged us $95 for cracks in the front bumper (bumper also had duct tape on it). It cost us over $500 to rent two ATVs from Mandy ($200 rental, $95 bumper, $14 gas, $218 for the excursion we missed).

One of the ATVs we rented wouldn't go in reverse, requiring you to push it back to get out of parking areas. The same ATV had trouble starting (sometimes it would start, others it required a manual start with the pull cord).

 

All of this being said, it is a beautiful island and ATVs are an excellent way to get around. We went around the entire island, following the coast line, in about 3 hours which included several stops to admire views, take pictures, walk on the beach and stopping at some shops.

[dodger1964]

Beach Gal - looks like we have the same idea!

 

I have found two ATV rentals that don't require a tour. Basically we will be treating our ATV as a rental car for the day but can feel the wind in your hair. :)

...

 

I would recommend just renting a jeep. You can still feel the wind in your hair with the top off, it won't cost much more and will be safer.

 

We have rented a jeep from two of the providers at the port. Both were great..brand new 4 door jeep wranglers and cost about $100 for the day.

[sammyd93]

Hey Xplorers. My group and I had wanted to rent atv's for the day in St. Maarten. We were wondering where you could drive them. Are their any off road paths you can take? Can you drive them on the beach? Also, if we wanted to stop at shops, is there a place to park them and leave them? Any info would help. Thanks