Renting Car Vs Taxi for my Itinerary

[rock249]

Hi All,

 

Hoping you can advise me in the right direction. I will be in St. Maarten on a day where there will be a total of 8 cruise ships :eek:

 

It's my first time on the island and I plan to see/do the following: Maho Beach for the planes, Le Galion beach for swimming and Marigot for shopping. Would you recommend renting a car or taking a taxi? There are 4 of us. Also, the reason why a tour company is not an option is because I see that most take you to Orient Beach and with the presence of nudists, it wouldn't be the most appropriate for our family.

 

Finally, in what order would you recommend I see/do the things/places I mentioned above? Our cruise is docked from 8am-5pm on a Wednesday.

 

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!!:)

[rock249]

Anyone..??

[newcruiser6]

We are wondering the same thing.

 

Got a quote of $55 for a car rental. I had read that a taxi to just Maho would cost us $40 and that wouldn't get us anywhere else.

 

We'd like to go to Maho and to one of the nice beaches as well.

 

How hard is it to navigate the island on our own as first-timers?

[hinkster]

Never taken a cab to that side of the Island, but did it from the ships shore excursion. Marigot was nice, paid $20 for 2 coffees and 2 pastries, but wow were they good. Shopping there was expensive, and all in Euros. At first glance things seemed similarly priced, but once you convert from Euros, WOW!

 

The best shopping is in Philipsburgh.

 

There will be tons of cabs outside of the port. Negotiate a price with the driver, they are all fairly honest. Head away from the port in the morning. If you decide on shopping in the port, do so in the afternoon as alot may already be back on their ships. Check flight schedules for the airport/airlines. That will tell you when alot of flights are arriving/departing at the airport and thus will let you know the best time to stand on the beach and get blown away!

[rock249]

We are wondering the same thing.

 

Got a quote of $55 for a car rental. I had read that a taxi to just Maho would cost us $40 and that wouldn't get us anywhere else.

 

We'd like to go to Maho and to one of the nice beaches as well.

 

How hard is it to navigate the island on our own as first-timers?

 

Would you mind sharing with me what company you got that quote from?

[navybankerteacher]

For your three stops, you should go to Marigot first, because big planes do not start arriving at SXM until about 12:30. Then head from Maho to Le Galion no later than 2:00 PM - to give yourself at least an hour at Le Galion. From Le Galion back to the port is easy down the east side of the island, avoiding all the Phillipsburg traffic.

 

If you would be happy with watching just the smaller inter-islands planes coming in, a lot better route would be to go straight to Maho for an hour or so, then up to Marigot, then across to Le Galion. This would be much more time efficient.

 

Are you sure about the $55 for the car - does that include all the usual extras which would make it closer to $75-$85?

[gtaylor]

As I posted in a question to another thread, what is it that is drawing you to le Galion, as opposed to Mullet Bay Beach, when you are considering Maho Beach as well.

 

Also, what would you be shopping for in Marigot?

 

Perhaps you should rethink your destinations?

 

gary

[#1TravelMom]

We always rent from Coastal right at the pier. Definitely reserve in advance. They have nice vehicles and are very friendly. They offer a GPS for $5 with all the sights and beaches preprogrammed. I agree with the above post - Marigot, Maho and Le Galion. I don't personally think there is anything great in Marigot, but that's just my opinion. There are really nice views from the top of Ft. St. Louis in Marigot. We love Le Galion - never crowded.

[rock249]

As I posted in a question to another thread, what is it that is drawing you to le Galion, as opposed to Mullet Bay Beach, when you are considering Maho Beach as well.

 

Also, what would you be shopping for in Marigot?

 

Perhaps you should rethink your destinations?

 

gary

 

Hi Gary,

 

Thanks for your response. To be honest with you, I had never really considered Mullet Bay Beach bu after looking it up right now, I think that will suit my family and I just well. So thank you!

 

As for Marigot, it's our first time on the island and I heard how Marigot is a popular destination so that's pretty much my sole reason for visiting. As well as trying the much-talked about Sarafina's. Would you recommend I skip it? Not shopping for anything in particular.

[navybankerteacher]

Hi Gary,

 

Thanks for your response. To be honest with you, I had never really considered Mullet Bay Beach bu after looking it up right now, I think that will suit my family and I just well. So thank you!

 

As for Marigot, it's our first time on the island and I heard how Marigot is a popular destination so that's pretty much my sole reason for visiting. As well as trying the much-talked about Sarafina's. Would you recommend I skip it? Not shopping for anything in particular.

 

Mullet Bay can be rough - it is a good beach, but perhaps not if you are travelling with small children. Also, if it your last stop, you will have to go the long way around the island to avoid the hideous afternoon traffic to and through Phillipsburg, while Le Galion is on the east side, an easy, uncrowded drive back to the port.

[Karysa]

Mullet Bay can be rough - it is a good beach, but perhaps not if you are travelling with small children. Also, if it your last stop, you will have to go the long way around the island to avoid the hideous afternoon traffic to and through Phillipsburg, while Le Galion is on the east side, an easy, uncrowded drive back to the port.

 

Do you really think that the vast majority of cruisers go the long way from Maho to Philipsburg even in the afternoon?

[gtaylor]

Only you can decide if you want to visit Marigot.

 

Some love it and some don't.

 

We usually only visit to go up to Fort Louis for the view or maybe hit the Marigot Open Air Marketplace on a Wednesday or Saturday. (Often to buy fresh fish rtght out of the boat.)

 

In lieu of Sarafina's, you could stop at The Taste Factory, which is directly on the route to Mullet/Maho.

 

 

Re: the traffic. Two things here. 1) There is a new schedule for the Simpson Bay Bridge that just went into effect a few weeks ago. We don't know how that will affect traffic (car or yacht) and 2) The new Simpson Lagoon Causeway will be opening in a few weeks. The entire justification of this multi-million $ project was to alleviate the traffic problems of Simpson Bay and Cole Bay.

 

Nobody knows how these two changes will affect traffic, but the intent was to make it flow better.

 

gary

 

p.s. Yes, sometimes Mullet Bay is rough, but usually enjoyable.

[gtaylor]

Regarding flight times, I posted this the other day:

 

Unless there is a specific reason that you need le Galion for the calm (water?) I would highly recommend just heading by taxi to Mullet Bay Beach instead. Going to le Galion would consume at least an extra hour of your precious time on the island, taxi or self driving.

 

Spend your beach time there, then walk over to Maho Beach to see the planes, and then catch a taxi back to P'Burg or the Cruise Facility around 2:00.

 

Easy Peasy.

 

Consider this, and if you still think le Galion we'll plan for that instead.

 

Re: Flights at Maho, see this earlier post to someone, where we missed the big ones:

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtaylor

Your day is a VERY good day to visit.

 

Right now the schedule shows KLM with a 747 from Amsterdam arriving at 11:15 and the Air France from Paris arriving at 13:50 with their Airbus 340.

 

Last May we headed over to Maho for such a lineup and the KLM was 50 minutes early and the Air France was cancelled.

 

Good luck.

 

 

gary

[Bstein493]

We have been to st. Martin a few times and will be there again next week. We have always rented a car and tooled around the island for the day. This way we can do anything we want and go to a few beaches and shop. You can rent a car near the ship. The only thing we would recommend is get a car from a well known rental company. We are renting from hertz and it is about $60 for the day. We did a less expensive place last time and got a horrible car.

[#1TravelMom]

That's funny - we rented from Hertz one time and got a horrible car. We called the main headquarters when we returned but they didn't really care.

 

We play less than $60 and always rent from Coastal - always very nice cars.

[Karysa]

That's funny - we rented from Hertz one time and got a horrible car. We called the main headquarters when we returned but they didn't really care.

 

We play less than $60 and always rent from Coastal - always very nice cars.

 

We rented from Hertz twice this past year and they even dropped us off back downtown when we turned the car in at 3. With 7 ships in port on that particular day we knew that Philipsburg was going to be a parking nightmare and they offered to drop us to make our day less stressful. In 2012 we were stood up by Arthur from Arthur's car rental and Hertz came through for us. I would not hesitate recommending them based on the service that we have received. My sister rents from Coastal and has been happy with them BTW.

[neptuno]

Anyone..??

 

 

If you have a family (we are four), renting a car is the best. You can travel at your own pace and detour when you want. Taxis are not cheap, they charge per person, full price for kids, and rental cars are a value, albeit the most expensive we have found in the Caribbean. Our last car rental was $75 total plus fuel, inside the gate. We are researching others outside the gate for a better value, when we will be returning to St. Maarten 12/24. Hopefully we will have better info to share after that.

[Suzyrn89]

If you have a family (we are four), renting a car is the best. You can travel at your own pace and detour when you want. Taxis are not cheap, they charge per person, full price for kids, and rental cars are a value, albeit the most expensive we have found in the Caribbean. Our last car rental was $75 total plus fuel, inside the gate. We are researching others outside the gate for a better value, when we will be returning to St. Maarten 12/24. Hopefully we will have better info to share after that.

 

Just wondering what you found for a car rate? We want to go from the port to Marigot, to Maho to phillipsburg. I'm concerned with parking and road closures, we have a gps and there will be 4 of us, so do we rent a car or do a taxi?

[InsideCruiser]

That's funny - we rented from Hertz one time and got a horrible car. We called the main headquarters when we returned but they didn't really care.

 

We play less than $60 and always rent from Coastal - always very nice cars.

 

I just looked up Jan 27th on Coastal's site. $98 for a Hyundai Elantra. Includes port fee and tax. Insurance and fuel extra.

 

The 5 of us can get a cab to Anse Marcel for $45. So return for $100 tip included.

 

Way too much for a rental. 5 of us would be tight in an Elantra anyway.

 

IC

[Karysa]

I just looked up Jan 27th on Coastal's site. $98 for a Hyundai Elantra. Includes port fee and tax. Insurance and fuel extra.

 

The 5 of us can get a cab to Anse Marcel for $45. So return for $100 tip included.

 

Way too much for a rental. 5 of us would be tight in an Elantra anyway.

 

IC

 

There are a couple of great spots to pullover and get photos from on the steep and hilly road that goes to Anse Marcel. One spot that I like is the one where you can get great photos of Pinel Island from and one looks over the Raddison. Ask your driver to pullover (carefully :) ) so you can get some great panoramics.:)

[Ctravelwriter]

To be honest, it won't make much difference as either way you'll be sitting in a traffic jam for most of the day! I was there two weeks ago - there were NINE cruise ships in port - and it was awful. We didn't like the island at all in any case (except for Marigot), but the traffic definitely made it worse.

It took two hours to get from Maho beach back to the cruise port, a journey which usually takes 30 minutes. A LOT of people were late for their ships that day.

The island is very easy to navigate and the roads are fine, so it just kinda depends whether you want to sit in traffic jams just with your family or with a few others/a local taxi driver!!

[Karysa]

To be honest, it won't make much difference as either way you'll be sitting in a traffic jam for most of the day! I was there two weeks ago - there were NINE cruise ships in port - and it was awful. We didn't like the island at all in any case (except for Marigot), but the traffic definitely made it worse.

It took two hours to get from Maho beach back to the cruise port, a journey which usually takes 30 minutes. A LOT of people were late for their ships that day.

The island is very easy to navigate and the roads are fine, so it just kinda depends whether you want to sit in traffic jams just with your family or with a few others/a local taxi driver!!

 

 

Sounds just awful. Was the new causeway bridge open when you were on the island? This will hopefully help ease the traffic coming from Maho in the afternoon. I wonder if the new 3 pm Simpson Bay bridge opening time contributed to your excruciatingly long return trip.

[Ctravelwriter]

The bridge had JUST opened, I believe the day before (they were still finishing off the roundabouts at one end!). So, when we reached that junction, there were definitely people who were using the bridge pouring onto the road too, without it apparently easing the problem... Sadly I think it was just pure volume of people. Eight or nine - or even five or six - ships is just too many, for everybody's sake (and in our opinions, St M was definitely not worth bothering with at all in any case!). That day was a horrible picture of what the Caribbean will turn into if reasonable measures aren't take to prevent overdevelopment and overuse...

[Karysa]

The bridge had JUST opened, I believe the day before (they were still finishing off the roundabouts at one end!). So, when we reached that junction, there were definitely people who were using the bridge pouring onto the road too, without it apparently easing the problem... Sadly I think it was just pure volume of people. Eight or nine - or even five or six - ships is just too many, for everybody's sake (and in our opinions, St M was definitely not worth bothering with at all in any case!). That day was a horrible picture of what the Caribbean will turn into if reasonable measures aren't take to prevent overdevelopment and overuse...

 

For someone looking for a place of Caribbean beauty Maho would not have been my suggestion to you especially given the sheer number of cruisers and holiday vacationers that would have been on the island. Le Galion, Anse Marcel or Grand Case would have made for a much nicer day for you I think. We like renting a car and heading to Grand Case when on a cruise stop. It's a lovely old fishing village that now has many restaurants and small boutiques and cafes. Beaches not inundated with cruisers are much easier accessed when you have a car as well. To me St. Maarten is a great place for a vacation because its easy and relatively safe even at night getting around, and all of the great dining choices as well. I too would have hated to be at Maho and of course that awful drive back on my cruise stop day as well.

[dodger1964]

We rent car each cruise and always end up spending most of our time at the sunset bar at Maho beach. I never get tired of watching the planes land and take off.

 

To op. we have been to orient beach a couple of times. There is "boundary" between clothing optional and regular beach. There will be a few topless women walking on regular beach, but not that many. Orient beach is very long and you would be fine if u stay away from rock barrier. It's a beautiful white sand beach, kind of touristy..many bars/restaurants, but a lot of fun