Newie questions about Bernard's Tours

[dinibo]

We are going on our first cruise this summer and I have read several great reviews for Bernard’s Tours and have decided to book with them for our visit. I did have a few questions that I was hoping someone who has already been on the tour could help me with:

 

What kind of clothing should we wear? We are doing tour 2 with the longer beach stop at orient and plan on doing some swimming. Are there changing facilities or should we wear our suits on the tour with some sort of cover up? How do people normally handle this? Also how do they handle getting everyone back to the bus at the same time? I’m just curious about the logistics as this is our first tour of this type.

 

In regard to lunch where/how should we plan on eating to make the most of our time? Should we expect to pay in cash and if so do they accept dollars? How much cash would you recommend taking for an average lunch?

 

It looks like our stop in Marigot is pretty short. Is 30 minutes enough time to actually do any shopping? What was your experience? Were there any other opportunities to do any souvenir shopping? It looks like the tour ends around 2:30. Was that your experience as well and if so did you have time for any shopping near the port afterwards? What kind of prices should we expect from vendors on average and will be expected to haggle?

 

Thanks so much! I’m pretty new to this so any help is greatly appreciated!

Edited March 7, 2017 by dinibo

[mollyeilis]

Swimsuit with coverup. Bring a towel. There was a bathroom at orient but it's HOT in there and there was a line.

 

No there's no time for much of anything in Marigot in my experience. Get in line at serafinas hope they give you the right food get back to the shuttle.

 

Shopping near the port doesn't feel like a haggling place to me.

 

My son and I are among the very few who didn't appreciate our Bernard's tour. The guide yelled his lectures (though he was using a PA system on the shuttle), the stops to see sea urchins and iguanas were obviously just a "tip my friends or relatives" ploy (and the urchin stop made my son and I so sad for the sea creatures the guy was mishandling and keeping out of the water). Orient was fine though really short. We despised Maho and almost just took a taxi back because we were so bored.

 

 

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[dinibo]

Thanks for the info although sad to hear it went so poorly. Hopefully it isnt quite so rushed the day we are in port.

[kitkat9438]

I agree. Swimsuit and coverup. We have been on Bernard's tour several times and have even arranged a private tour going to Pinel Island for more privacy and less crowding than Orient. I highly recommend him. They stay with you the whole time. The shuttle bus is parked at the beach or wherever you stop and you are free to drink the beer, water, famous homemade rum punch etc. you are given a return time to meet back up.

 

I also agree about Sarafinas. The best almond croissants and pastries plus fresh squeezed juices. Great way to start the day.

 

We always pay cash because French money is different than American. You don't want extra fees on your credit card. Some card companies charge. They all accept American money. We actually picked out a fresh spiny lobster out of a cage and had it grilled for lunch. Can't remember the price but not cheap. There are burgers, chicken, etc. in different eating spaces.

 

Some of the places that rent the two chairs and umbrella offer a free drink.

 

The stop at Maho is awesome and Bernard's crew knows the schedule.

 

Enjoy. We are going back in December. St Martin is our favorite island. I hear Bernard now sells his rum punch which is great.

[teknoge3k]

I had a similar thread a while back about Bernard's and all I got was positive feedback. Everyone loved the tour. I will be back from there before you go there and will have a pictorial review when I return.

[phabric]

I am thinking on taking one of his tours.

 

He asks for a $5 deposit. How did you do it, if you do not have a Paypal account

[Karysa]

We are going on our first cruise this summer and I have read several great reviews for Bernard’s Tours and have decided to book with them for our visit. I did have a few questions that I was hoping someone who has already been on the tour could help me with:

 

What kind of clothing should we wear? We are doing tour 2 with the longer beach stop at orient and plan on doing some swimming. Are there changing facilities or should we wear our suits on the tour with some sort of cover up? How do people normally handle this? Also how do they handle getting everyone back to the bus at the same time? I’m just curious about the logistics as this is our first tour of this type.

 

In regard to lunch where/how should we plan on eating to make the most of our time? Should we expect to pay in cash and if so do they accept dollars? How much cash would you recommend taking for an average lunch?

 

It looks like our stop in Marigot is pretty short. Is 30 minutes enough time to actually do any shopping? What was your experience? Were there any other opportunities to do any souvenir shopping? It looks like the tour ends around 2:30. Was that your experience as well and if so did you have time for any shopping near the port afterwards? What kind of prices should we expect from vendors on average and will be expected to haggle?

 

Thanks so much! I’m pretty new to this so any help is greatly appreciated!

 

 

If your bathing suit cover is a dress (and your suit and dress are dry) lol, then it's fine to wear that over your bathing suit in the town of Marigot but if it's truly a beach cover that's sold in the bathing suit section then it's probably not considered appropriate attire in Marigot.

 

Perhaps those that said that it was ok did not realize that you were going to Marigot or have never been there themselves.

 

I would feel very, very uncomfortable strolling the streets of Marigot in a beach cover-up. If you do wear just a beach cover over a bathing suit you will get plenty of disapproving looks I would think.

 

Marigot is not a beach strip, it's the Capital of the French side.

 

I may be old fashion on this but even in Phillipsburg I only think a bathing suit and beach cover is acceptable on the boardwalk and not shopping in the jewelry stores on Front St. If you have money they will welcome you there though but it's way more touristy than shoppping in Marigot as Marigot really is a town, and a French town at that!

 

OP you asked a good question but in my opinion you were given the wrong answer.

 

Thirty minutes may be just enough time to stroll the market to ( yes lol haggle) get souvenirs, a pastry and a quick stroll to the Marina Royale in my opinion but you need an hour to enjoy it to me.

Edited April 9, 2017 by Karysa

[SouthCaribbean2017]

Just did the tour last week.

 

Had an excellent dessert crepe at Serafina's, but their turnaround time is a bit much...it took 20-25 minutes for the food to come out, and that's half your time right there (and it doesn't take that long to make a crepe).

 

The "market" is really a bunch of tourist trinket stalls where everyone is effectively selling the same stuff. Nothing local or interesting to buy. A short walk nearby is the West Indies Mall, which has some more upscale brand stores if you're interested in that.

 

I'd say skip the market and just grab some local food while you have the chance.