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St Maarten activity suggestion


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22 hours ago, PORT ROYAL said:

 

As you appear very aware of alternatives, to fully assist other CC members, could you please confirm the bus numbers, from exactly where you alight the local bus at the cruise terminal, first to Toppers, then to Toppers Restaurant, and the return to the cruise terminal, plus approximate timetables.  This will definitely encourage people to also use local transportation.  Because $2.00 to Toppers, $2.00 to Toppers Restaurant (Kim Sha Beach), and $2.00 back to ship is a steal for the cost conscious.

 

 

 

The buses are not buses in the sense you are thinking.  They are not numbered and do not run on a set schedule.  Rather they are vehicles (most often a toyota van like vehicle with a side door) that stop whenever requested.  From the cruise ship you either take the water taxi over to the shopping area or walk over (approximately 15 minutes).  Find the diamonds international corner and then head towards Back street (BEHIND the courthouse) to the area where the street vendors are set up (the ladies selling things under tents).  Once on back street you are looking for a van with the word MAHO in the window to go to the Dutch side and towards the airport.  Flag the driver down with a wave, say good morning when you get in and you are on your way!  Whenever you would like the driver to stop just say "Stop Please!" and they will.  You pay when you exit.  To catch the bus back to Philipsburg just stand along the road side and watch for one that has the word P-BURG in the window.  It will then drop you off in the area of the street vendors and you can again walk to the ship or take the water taxi back over.   Cost is around $2pp each way depending on how far you take the bus.  

 

The buses can get crowded as the driver will stop to pick up people until they are full when they travel around, since this is one of the main forms of transportation for the locals.  Hope this helps!

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2 hours ago, MandiesPharm said:

 

 

The buses are not buses in the sense you are thinking.  They are not numbered and do not run on a set schedule.  Rather they are vehicles (most often a toyota van like vehicle with a side door) that stop whenever requested.  From the cruise ship you either take the water taxi over to the shopping area or walk over (approximately 15 minutes).  Find the diamonds international corner and then head towards Back street (BEHIND the courthouse) to the area where the street vendors are set up (the ladies selling things under tents).  Once on back street you are looking for a van with the word MAHO in the window to go to the Dutch side and towards the airport.  Flag the driver down with a wave, say good morning when you get in and you are on your way!  Whenever you would like the driver to stop just say "Stop Please!" and they will.  You pay when you exit.  To catch the bus back to Philipsburg just stand along the road side and watch for one that has the word P-BURG in the window.  It will then drop you off in the area of the street vendors and you can again walk to the ship or take the water taxi back over.   Cost is around $2pp each way depending on how far you take the bus.  

 

The buses can get crowded as the driver will stop to pick up people until they are full when they travel around, since this is one of the main forms of transportation for the locals.  Hope this helps!

Okay, fully understand, the walk to the water taxi, then the Q, the the cost of the water taxi, then another walk, then faff around looking for a shuttle, then go to the Distillery actually equates to just about $2.00 less than catching a taxi directly from the cruise terminal.  Totally agree this could be considered a saving to the cost conscious like yourself.  Thank you for your post, showing consideration for those who are frugally minded.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Did a Bernard's Tour two weeks ago - they are awesome!  I think I've taken them four times and my DW will take her seventh next week -- they have many offerings, reasonable rates - & lots of rum punch (if that's your thing)

 

They do both tours and transport (drop off and pick up at an arranged time).  The last time, they dropped us off at the Pinel Island ferry and we spent three hours on Pinel, they picked us up and took us back to the cruise port.  I can't say enough about them - we've done something with Bernard's each of our trips to St Maarten.

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  • 1 month later...

I recommend going to Pinel Island.

 

Here's a video of Pinel Island, which focuses more on the island itself.  https://youtu.be/nVazZZTUUiw Subscribe to KD Travel Adventures for more videos.

 

We went to the taxi terminal when we got off the ship and told them we wanted to go to Pinel Island.  We ended up sharing a taxi with a couple that wanted to go to Orient Beach.  It was on the way to our drop off to take the "ferry" (small boat that holds maybe 30 to 40 people) to Pinel Island. Check times because the first ferry of the day depends on the time of the year.  But, we got off the ship right away and just got there early. We did wait a little bit. I've heard good things about the beach, but we didn't spend much time there, as we walked on the trail around the island, which has gorgeous views in all directions.  I also tried the snorkeling area (for a fee), and have heard great things about this too, but my experience wasn't the greatest because the water was really choppy and stirred up due to a tropical storm 150 miles away. But, I would go back to Pinel Island in a heartbeat and even try the snorkeling again. HOWEVER, one very important note to make, make sure you tell your taxi to pick you up at a certain time and give yourself enough time to get back.  We asked the taxi driver that dropped us off to pick us back up at a specific time and he was right on time.  But, there isn't really a place to call for a taxi, so its important to schedule it ahead of time.

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  • 1 month later...
On 10/9/2019 at 7:28 PM, Benzbuddy87 said:

We are thinking of returning to Orient Beach, and wanted to take the local bus.  Do all of the buses run through Back Street?

Also, a visit to Toppers means we would get on the Maho Bus, is that correct?

 

Yes they run from Back street.

 

Yes you need a bus that says Maho for Toppers.

 

 

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