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St Maarten- First time at this port

sydneymate

By sydneymate,
in St. Martin/St. Maarten

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sydneymate

sydneymate

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Posted

Have never cruised before and this will be our first attempt. St. Maarten is on of the ports where our ship the Freedom of the Seas will stop next month. As we would like to explore the island by ourselves rather then booking any excursions, can someone please recommend some stuff which we can do by ourselves (2 adults & 2 kids) and which won't cost much $$$. Just do not want the ship to leave the port. Is renting a car advisable or taking local transportation advisable? :confused:

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TC Cruiser

TC Cruiser

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The easy and cheapest thing to do is take a short walk to the shops and beach hotels. Browse the shops and have a drink at Holland House or other patio. I don't have much information about the beach by the pier but there is one.

 

All three times we've had a stop at St. Martin we took a van to Orient Beach. Some of the bars such as Kon Tiki rent chairs and umbrellas. It's a very nice beach. When you exit the pier from the ship walk towards the signs for taxis. There is a cul du sac where you can get in a van with other passengers. You will be dropped off near either Pedro's or Bikini Beach (restaurant) and can arrange for a time to be picked up. We play on the safer side and start looking for a ride back about 90 minutes before the on-board time because of unpredictable traffic.

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Karysa

Karysa

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As long as your children are old enough to walk 20 minutes at a time I have a great an inexpensive day in mind for your family. Walk to town and catch a bus to Mullet Bay beach and after a couple of hours or so walk over to Maho beach and then bus back to town and walk back to the ship when you are ready. Each walk is about 15 minutes or 20 at the most and the bus is $2 pp each way so $16 for the 4 of you and you get to see something really unique to St. Maarten. :)

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CathyK2

CathyK2

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Have never cruised before and this will be our first attempt. St. Maarten is on of the ports where our ship the Freedom of the Seas will stop next month. As we would like to explore the island by ourselves rather then booking any excursions, can someone please recommend some stuff which we can do by ourselves (2 adults & 2 kids) and which won't cost much $$$. Just do not want the ship to leave the port. Is renting a car advisable or taking local transportation advisable? :confused:

 

All times I've been to St. Maarten/Martin, we have always rented a car. If you are wanting to take the loop around the island on both the Dutch and French side, it is by far the most convenient. With that said, you say you are looking for something not costing much money and a car rental does cost you, so you will have to weigh out convenience to cost. As others have stated, there are some great options to do on the island that won't cost a lot of money. What types of things do the kids enjoy?

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navybankerteacher

navybankerteacher

Posted
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thank you so much. If I do go for a car rental, should I book well in advance or can we walk in and book a rental. BTW any idea how much is it for a compact car? Any suggestions on do's and don'ts .

 

A rental from Coastal (pretty reliable agency) should be about $50-$60 all in. It is a good idea to book in advance - particularly if you will be in port with Manu other ships - to be sure of availability of type car you want.

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renata102

renata102

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As long as your children are old enough to walk 20 minutes at a time I have a great an inexpensive day in mind for your family. Walk to town and catch a bus to Mullet Bay beach and after a couple of hours or so walk over to Maho beach and then bus back to town and walk back to the ship when you are ready. Each walk is about 15 minutes or 20 at the most and the bus is $2 pp each way so $16 for the 4 of you and you get to see something really unique to St. Maarten. :)

 

What are the directions to walk to the busses from pier and where do they drop u off at MAHO beach ? Then how do we walk to mullet bay?

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curtailed2

curtailed2

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Take the southernmost path at the golf course until you find Sonesta Maho and then cut through. The beaches are very close to one another. You'll run into it if you just walk southwest.

Edited by curtailed2
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Karysa

Karysa

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Can someone please post walking directions from mullett to maho

 

Walk the exact opposite as the taxi drives you. Walk across the parking lot where the taxi drops you to the road that goes directly through the golf course. It's the only road. You can't miss it. So when you cross the parking lot ( safer than cutting across the golf course) and you get to the road that goes through the golf cours go to the right. At the end of the road turn right and walk through the Maho entertainment area and follow that to Maho beach. It's super easy. When you drive it on the way there you will see that it's really not possible to get lost or miss it. You will be able to see and hear the planes as you get nearer.

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Karysa

Karysa

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What are the directions to walk to the busses from pier and where do they drop u off at MAHO beach ? Then how do we walk to mullet bay?

 

Maybe someone who has walked to the bus from the pier can verify this for the both of us but I will give you the basics. When you exit the pier area to the port area you will see a sign that directs you to town. You can see it across the bay as well. You basically take the sidewalk and walk to the left following the crowd. In 10 minutes or so you will reach the boardwalk and Front St is directly perpendicular to that and Back St is the next St or 2 streets from the boardwalk. I have seen a bus stop by the bank. I have heard that there are many stops and my kids have taken it further in to the shopping area at a bus stop ( they said it's very easy). In Maho it drops you by the traffic circle/grocery store area across the street from the beach from what I remember ( my kids took it further actually to the casino just past Mullet beach at the beginning of the Cupecoy area). I'm sure there are many posts about this if you do a search. We have gone by taxi and car but not by bus.

 

To walk to Mullet go to where the bus drops you off and walk away from the beach toward the entertainment area where the resorts, casino, and restaurants are. You want to be on the side of the street where the Sonesta Maho is and walk to the end of the sidewalk and turn left. This road is the Road that passes through the golf course. From here it's about 5 more minutes to the parking lot which will be on your left hand side ( it's fairly big and there will be quite a few cars normally) from the parking lot you will see the paths to the beach. It's about a 15 minute walk from one beach to the other.

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Karysa

Karysa

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Can someone please post walking directions from mullett to maho

 

A simple acknowledgement that your questions have been answered every now and then would be nice. I just thought that this needed to be posted since many of your questions have been answered and you have yet acknowledged them.

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Turtles06 Great Review Rare

Turtles06

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A simple acknowledgement that your questions have been answered every now and then would be nice. I just thought that this needed to be posted since many of your questions have been answered and you have [not] yet acknowledged them.

 

I'm glad you posted this. I see this happening on far too many threads lately. An OP starts a thread to ask questions, people take the time to post very helpful replies, and the OP comes back to ask more without so much as a thank you for the prior replies and help.

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