Taxis and buses and rental cars, oh my!

[hokie78]

OK--I've tried to do the right thing by searching/researching first, then posting. I've found a myriad of info that doesn't quite add up to what I need help with. The SXM itinerary for our day there would be something like this:

Orient Beach (likely straddling the swim suit/birthday suit line), with maybe a stop on the way there or back at Dawn Beach for snorkeling. If there's any decent snorkeling in the OB area we can dispense with Dawn. On to Maho for plane landings and food and drink at Sunset Beach Bar. We'll find out there how much a free drink is worth to my DW. How close is the casino to the bar? Then back to P'burg for a walk around town, courthouse, museum, and Front Street shopping. Order of stops is negotiable, other than afternoon timeframe for Maho. We're fairly adventurous, so the first thought was renting a car, with delivery right to the pier (or so they say). But with the discussion of traffic, roads and signage I'm having second thoughts. With this itinerary, taxis may require a 2nd mortgage, and the bus thing sounds like more "work" than I'd like and a little risky on routing and timing. Opinions/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[BuyReallyLow]

OK--I've tried to do the right thing by searching/researching first, then posting. I've found a myriad of info that doesn't quite add up to what I need help with. The SXM itinerary for our day there would be something like this:

Orient Beach (likely straddling the swim suit/birthday suit line), with maybe a stop on the way there or back at Dawn Beach for snorkeling. If there's any decent snorkeling in the OB area we can dispense with Dawn. On to Maho for plane landings and food and drink at Sunset Beach Bar. We'll find out there how much a free drink is worth to my DW. How close is the casino to the bar? Then back to P'burg for a walk around town, courthouse, museum, and Front Street shopping. Order of stops is negotiable, other than afternoon timeframe for Maho. We're fairly adventurous, so the first thought was renting a car, with delivery right to the pier (or so they say). But with the discussion of traffic, roads and signage I'm having second thoughts. With this itinerary, taxis may require a 2nd mortgage, and the bus thing sounds like more "work" than I'd like and a little risky on routing and timing. Opinions/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

This spring while on St. Maarten, we rented a Jeep Wrangler from Arthurs. I'm sure you've read the post on the difficulties some had, but we certainly did not! The Jeep was brand new - the cost for the day was under $100 (just barely:) ). We had two couples - so it was cheaper than having using cabs to get around, and we drove completely around the island, saw everything we wanted to see, and still had time to do a little shopping. Roads are well marked. There is one main drag all the way around the island - never did we feel we were lost. I would suggest that if your going to rent a car you bring your on-line confirmation # and a phone number. If everything isn't up to snuff at the pier, just use a payphone and give them a call. We were picked up within 5 minutes.

 

There are so many beautiful beaches on the east/south side of the island, that it seemed to be the best answer for us. Hope this helps.

[The Big Booper]

Budget, Hertz and several local cos maintain rental booths at the pier. Twice this year we just got off the ship, walked over to Hertz with no advance reservation and got a car with no problem.

 

Hertz closes at 5 PM, I think the others do similar as we got back at 4:59 PM and no one else was there except for the Hertz rental agent.

 

Th OP talks about going from Orient to Maho for the planes and Sunset Beach Bar. The two driving options are

1) Going north from Orient thru the Grand Case area and down thru Marigot and it's traffic maze on the West road to Maho or....

 

2) Down the east coast road thru the salt pond and the road to the airport.

 

Both of these options go thru bottlenecks and construction which ties up the roads. To make it work leave the ship early so that you can spend a reasonable time at Orient and still give you time to slog to Maho for the 747 dive bombing show and then back thru the Maho/Simpson mess to the pier.

 

There is only one road ringing the island but there are several roads on the Dutch side going various places. Download a map and carry it with you. All the intersections have signs pointing to areas/villages which help you. And remember, what looks like a two lane country road can be a major road, especially going out of Maho to the western road.

[Eileen G]

We just rented a car in St. Martin and did just about what you want to do. We went towards Orient beach first taking a side road past Dawn Beach. There is a lot of construction going on and we didn't feel safe parking the car as there was no place to park. We drove a little further up the hill and had a beautiful view of Dawn beach. Continue along the coast road as the scenery is beautiful. This road will take you back to the main road just before Orient beach. We spent a little time at Orient and had lunch at Pirates which was very good they have chairs and umbrells and are not so crowded. We then just continued around the island. The traffic in Margot was bad and the roads are tricky so look out for the signs. We arrived at Maho at 2PM and saw many planes land most were small. There is a list at sunset bar when the large jets land and they have a speaker so you can hear the control tower. Just make sure you leave in time to miss the drawbridge lowering at Simpson Bay. When we got back to Philpsberg the traffic was really awful. There is construction everywhere and we never did find a place to park so we went back to the port. We had a little extra time since we didn't get to stop in Philpsberg so we drove past the port and rode around the hills there and had some beautiful views. We got a great picture of our ship in port. Most likely whoever you rent the car from will have a good map. Hope you have a great trip.

[texancruzer]

We were on 11/26 Serenade sailing. We like to rent cars so we can do our own thing.

 

St. Marten was a blast for us. We also had two couples and rented a jeep wrangler from Hertz way ahead of time. Once off the ship we walked a short way to car rental area and went very smoothly and out of there in no time.... make reservations ahead !!!! On Antigua we had to have the car delivered to the pier area and yes they were right there right when they said they would be (I reconfirmed our reservation right before we left the states)

 

We first headed to church (you will see it from your ship) and then out towards Simpson Bay Lagoon (the big lake area you will see on maps) but did not go "around" it opting instead to head up to Cole Bay, then Marigot for lunch and shopping, then to Grand Case then over to Orient (snorkled at the very end of nude area) but only because it was windy that day and was calmer there. Then down main road back to Philipsburg. We did not have any problems with construction or really that much traffic once out of Philipsburg. Just didnt feel traffic was THAT BAD...been in worse here !!

 

Island is small and never felt rushed or not enough time to do and see. Just always remember to head to furthest point out and work your way back as the day progresses. That way if anything goes wrong you will be closer to ship so as not to miss it :D

 

Also when I reserved with Hertz....I requested maps ahead of time. They sent them to me and so I was familiar with the island BEFORE I got there. I reserved thru the 800 INTERNATIONAL # I got off the website.

[The Big Booper]

Wise move going up Cole Bay rather than thru Simpson / Maho mess. Of course then you miss the afternoon plane show at Sunset Beach Bar at Maho.

[Brianinidaho]

Don't discount the BUS option. They seem to be plentiful, about every 10th car. Just flag them down and see if they are going where you want to go. $2 or less a person, depending upon where you are going. And you don't have to worry about parking, traffic laws, accidents and insurance issues outside the US, etc.

 

This may not work for your plans listed above, but certainly should be helpful for many who just want to go one or two places. The Buses are the same white vans that the Taxis look like, just look at the license plate and it will say. Don't worry about the stops, many don't stop and if they do, it adds 20 seconds or so to your trip. No biggie for most. LOL