St Maarten - Butterfly Farm/Orient Beach

[august1963]

I think we want to do the Butterfly Farm on our own. What I'm wondering is the specifics of doing this..... I know we would take a taxi to the Farm, but my sister said that Orient Beach is about a mile from the Farm (she said you can see it) and that you would have to walk to get there, as there are no taxis around the Farm. My problem is that we have a 5-year-old that I know is going to say her feet hurt - lol. Should we bring a stroller? Can we get a taxi? Will we be able to find a taxi from Orient Beach back to the pier? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Jubilee 1988

American Family 1994

Imagination 1997

Sensation 1998

Elation 6/2001

Inspiration 2/2002

Triumph 4/2004

[bob&karen]

When you are dropped off at the farm, you may ask your driver to return (or have another taxi return) at a set time to pick you up. If you're a compulsive cruiser (hey, most of us on this board are) you may want to jot down the SXM taxi phone number when you're dropped off, so you can call them if need be. With all the taxi traffic at Orient Beach it shouldn't be a problem for them to pick you up.

 

B.

 

(With apologies to Jimmy Buffett)

"We're gypsies in the palace, at sea, away from home

The Order Of The Sleepless Knights will now assume the throne!

We shed our inhibitions, there ain't no wrong or right

We're gypsies in the palace and we're raisin' hell tonight!"

 

Carnival Triumph, April '02

Carnival Sensation, January '04

 

(Golden Princess, 4/10/04 - "Grown People Acting Like Children!")

 

4/10/04 Golden Princess Rogue's gallery: http://community.webshots.com/album/126040133QEaDiP

 

Cruise pix at: http://community.webshots.com/user/mageesworld

 

e-mail: bobandkarenny@yahoo.com

[CruiseFever]

Excellent advice.

 

There's really no reason to book a ships excursion to the Butterfly farm. All you'll get is probably a bus ride and a stop for shopping in addition to what you can do on your own.

 

In addition to the being able to see Orient beach down the way from the turn off to the Butterfly farm you can also see a cool villa area, one of the one's I wouldn't mind living in if DW and I ran away from home.

 

Happy Cruising

 

Chris

 

www.LifeIsCruising.com

 

Next up:

Caribbean Princess 06/04

Star Princess 10/04

Carnival Spirit 12/04

 

[jemingway]

When we did the butterfly farm and the beach on our own, the cab driver just waited for us. We didn't ask him to wait, he just did it on his own and he didn't charge us anything extra. We increased his tip, but it seemed like he had nothing else to do.

 

JV

[HoosierCruzer]

From the "for what it's worth" department; Orient bBeach is a "tops optional" location.

[glentally]

I thought it was a clothing optional beach?

 

Glen

 

CCL Fantasty - 85

CCL Destiny - 99

NCL Sky - 00

CCL Destiny - 01

NCL Star - 02

CCL Inspiration - 03

vegas trip- can I do this on a cruise board?

The big 50 years old cruise

RCI Adventure - 05 'BIG 50'

[dsclark]

FWIW, we went to a beach (not Orient) and had a blast snorkeling. On the way back, we met a woman who just did the Butterfly trip. She was upset because she didn't see many butterflies, and regreted not going to the beach instead. A wasted day in St. Martin is a terrible thing indeed.

[keysjohnson]

Orient Beach is fantastic. And yes, cabs area lined up to take you back to the ship. There are showers there also. You have to pay to use them, when I was there I think it was $1. There's a huge sign right before you enter the "nude" area so you'll know. Of course my husband ran right past it and kept on going. Needless to say, he loved it. And the snorkeling is great there too. We got 2 chairs, and umbrella and 2 drinks each for a total of $20. Have fun.

[powriel]

We were at Orient Beach in February and it is totally clothing optional. We were sitting at this hut having a drink on the clothing side and it didn't really matter. The ones that "forgot" their clothes walk wherever, so it might be quite an eye opener for your 5 year old.

 

Oh yeah, it cost 50 cents to use the bathroom!

 

8/25 Carnival Spirit

Conquest 2/03

Glory 2/04

[jaguar9748]

The Butterfly Farm is a fabulous place. Lots of butterflies, a cool tour and some neat souvenirs. For us, it was the highlight of St. Martin. Orient Beach was OK and it definitely has a clothing optional side. Those on that side were definitely NOT shy!

 

Kerri

Fantasy 7/96 & 3/99

Triumph 6/00

Fascination 6/01

Majesty of the Seas 5/02

Grand Princess 5/03

Navigator of the Seas 5/04

Disney Wonder - September 2004