St Maarten Ferry

[voyager89]

Hello,

 

Due to the fact that I don't have a job anymore for almost 2 months and im.going on the oasis in a week, I have been researching pretty much every single thing I could, even probably more LOL and I have been reading about a ferry from St Maarten that could take you to other nearby islands like Saba, Anguila, and St Barts. Have you ever gone done this? Maybe I should stay in St Maarten since I've never been there, however I'm curious to go to another island, since it is like a 15 minute ride and its pretty inexpensive.

 

Would like to know if you've done this or what would you do if you were me. :)

[ticktoneer]

Hello,

 

Due to the fact that I don't have a job anymore for almost 2 months and im.going on the oasis in a week, I have been researching pretty much every single thing I could, even probably more LOL and I have been reading about a ferry from St Maarten that could take you to other nearby islands like Saba, Anguila, and St Barts. Have you ever gone done this? Maybe I should stay in St Maarten since I've never been there, however I'm curious to go to another island, since it is like a 15 minute ride and its pretty inexpensive.

 

Would like to know if you've done this or what would you do if you were me. :)

Just stay on St Maarten if you've never been there. Don't waste time travelling.

[susie8862]

Just stay on St Maarten if you've never been there. Don't waste time travelling.

Totally agree. Have been there 4 times and STILL have tons more that we want to do and see.

[ChipLondon]

St Maarten is one of the nicest islands anyway, loads to see and do, no need to go to other smaller islands, inless you really like to be alone. On which case The Oasis might not suit you.

[TravelerThom]

Just stay on St Maarten if you've never been there. Don't waste time travelling.

I have been to all of the mentioned islands (stayed on some) and they are all quite interesting, but I agree that if you've never been to Sint Maarten see it. OP's quoted 15 minute ferry time is very optimistic. Yes it is only 20 minutes from Marigot to Anguilla, but that does not count getting to Marigot, checking in ahead of time, etc, etc. Saba and St. Barths can take almost an hour and a half, and run close to $100. Service to Saba is not scheduled every day.

 

enjoy Sint Maarten

Thom

[JMG]

We have also been to all 3 of those islands. Beautiful and different in their own way but definitely stay on St Maarten. Leaving the island could create a major headache that you do not want to encounter.

[Ocean Boy]

St. Maarten is an awesome destination in its own right. If you have never been there I would suggest staying and seeing that island. As others have mentioned, if you decide to go to other islands it is going to involve a fair amount of travel time since most of the ferry service to near by islands is from Marigot, the capitol of the french side of the island, and not from Phillipsburgh where the cruise ships dock.

[Ocean Boy]

I have been to all of the mentioned islands (stayed on some) and they are all quite interesting, but I agree that if you've never been to Sint Maarten see it. OP's quoted 15 minute ferry time is very optimistic. Yes it is only 20 minutes from Marigot to Anguilla, but that does not count getting to Marigot, checking in ahead of time, etc, etc. Saba and St. Barths can take almost an hour and a half, and run close to $100. Service to Saba is not scheduled every day.

 

enjoy Sint Maarten

Thom

 

For some reason, I find this island quite intriguing every time we sail by it. How did you like it there?

[voyager89]

Oh I guess you beat me to it! I'm so excited to be there already... Hopefully I will be able to go to any of those islands in an RCI cruise soon :)

 

Any tour you can suggest me to take while in St Maarten maybe?

 

Thank you all

[GMoney]

I've been really interested in the ferry and neighboring islands (especially Saba) for sometime now. I'd encourage you to take a look, but doing it is just tough logisitically. You need sufficient time. Keep in mind traffic on SXM can get tricky, you have to clear immigration in the country you're arriving in (which can take time), and then the ferry schedules don't always work in your favor. There are several detailed posts here on the SXM board - check those out and Trip Advisor as well.

[TravelerThom]

I've been really interested in the ferry and neighboring islands (especially Saba) for sometime now. I'd encourage you to take a look, but doing it is just tough logisitically. You need sufficient time. Keep in mind traffic on SXM can get tricky, you have to clear immigration in the country you're arriving in (which can take time), and then the ferry schedules don't always work in your favor. There are several detailed posts here on the SXM board - check those out and Trip Advisor as well.

Saba is probably the most interesting of these islands. It is a special municipality of the Netherlands, but its official currency is the US Dollar. It has a population of under 2000. The official language is Dutch, but hardly anybody [maybe nobody] on the island speaks it and essentially everybody speaks English. Sint Maarten since 2010 has been a constituent country of the Netherlands, so I don't think there are any immigration formalities going between the two. Saba's capital, The Bottom, was until the early 1940s reached by 800 steps carved into stone coming up from the sea; there is now a road of sorts, and even an airport (with a 400 meter airport runway; even shorter than St. Barths' 650 meter runway - both these airports are exciting, to say the least, and you get some bragging rights if you live to tell the tale:eek:)

 

Thom

[beachchick]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think you need a passport if you go to the islands mentioned from St. Martin, don't you? I would think that clearing immigration on both ends might eat into port time even more.

 

beachchick